How to Find Simple Ways of Being More Productive
Do you want to be more productive with less headaches?
Do you want to be more productive with less headaches?
Do you want to be more productive — get more things checked off on your to-do list? Maybe!
According to Webopedia, productivity describes the art of deciding and acting on your top priorities. When we work with our values, we give our life a sense of meaning.
For a start, we need to decide what we really want — then think through the steps involved. I’m going to discuss my writing journey and finding my productive path to become what I think of as a successful writer on Medium.
Open a Medium Account
After making a decision you want to write on Medium and get paid for your efforts by way of the Partner Program, go read the polices and rules that augment success on this platform and act accordingly. Go ahead and open an account.
Even though, I’ve been writing on Medium (joined Dec. 2019) for roughly one year, I’m still learning the ropes, while spending more time reading than writing. But, Hey, — that’s all part of the game. Read, write, — wash, rinse, repeat.
I read where some writers push out a post in 20 minutes or an hour and hit publish. I usually spend 3 or 4 hours writing and editing before I publish. But that’s okay. I’m still learning what the Medium community is expecting from me.
But my biggest hurdle over everything is managing ME. Since I’m a morning person, it’s more productive for me to write my best post shortly after I wake up. I’m striving for consistency, even though I may have a few disruptions to deal with.
Shaunti from Ninja Writers likes to plan her writing topics on Sunday afternoon to cover her writing prompts for the whole week. I think that’s a good strategy to avoid writer’s block. Plus, it helps you save time.
Being Productive is about Balancing
Productivity for most people includes continually balancing our wants with those of others, dealing well with stress and defining ourselves. Sometimes we end up putting effort on reacting to situations we don’t really care about. We’ll often be distracted by helping others with their needs and wants, neglecting our own time and priorities.
This reaction needs to be limited.
While veering off task to accommodate others is my biggest hurdle, it needs to be reduced. For example, if I must stop my writing task and go take care of the UPS Delivery person — I take it with a grain of salt — pick myself back up where I left off and move on. Unexpected things happen.
I understand that — so I try not to let overwhelm get the best of me. It’s a learned skill to not let stress bother you while dealing with interruptions and surprises that may be unavoidable.
Maya Angelou would often go rent a hotel room for 3 or 4 days and just write. This was her way of dealing with interruptions. But of course, she needed to know how to control the phone, if she even took one with her, I don’t know. Anyway, I thought Maya had an ingenious idea getting away from it all, so she could focus and get her job done.
Invest in Yourself
I’m a firm believer in investing in your writing craft. Improvement comes with meeting new people, learning new ways of expressing your perspectives, and building your self-confidence.
Here is a list of some of my most recent investments.
Ninja Writers Club Shaunta Grimes offers so much help for beginners and for those who need assistance on writing and publishing their novel. I enrolled in her course in June 2020.
Darius Foroux @ digitalbusiness.school. I’m so happy I chose to enroll in this course with Darius. He is such a humble creator and great presenter who is willing to share his struggles and guide you in the right direction.
Jon Brosio I purchased an eBook titled, “ How to Generate Viral Blog Traffic” and it has a lot of valuable information about building your email list. Jon is good about responding to all his emails with your question. I like that about him.
Tim Denning I read almost all of Tim’s posts, because I resonate well with him. Even though, he’s an Australian, he writes like an American. I also, purchased his helpful ebook that explains how to get started on Medium, finding an audience and why to choose Medium to write your stories on.
Casey Botticello is another valuable resource. I invested in his blogging guide and I’ve taken a writing course from him. On his page, you can find so many helpful links all in one place. I like that! It makes planning so simple. Casey also has a slack channel.
Henneke Duistermaat is someone I have been following for 8 years or more. If you sign up for her free newsletter, she will send you valuable information that she calls a snack. I like reading all of her posts that come through my email.
There are other wonderful connections out there, but for now I need to keep it simple. I can barely keep up with all of these wonderful writers and still have time to read all the other posts else where on Medium. I hope you got something our of reading my post today that you can apply for yourself on being more productive.
Thanks for reading
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