Ultimate Guide to Understanding Productivity – 1 of 10

Let me welcome you to the Productivity series where I will be writing 10 articles and at the end of the article series, you will master the time.

Together we will explore productivity and how you can get 110% out of yourself without working for endless hours.

This is 1 of 10 Productivity Series.

Now, to understand productivity, we first have to talk about “what does productivity mean?”

What is Productivity

Productivity can be defined as the time you spend on the most important task and finishing the same task in a given time.

Now, to understand productivity, we first have to talk about “what does productivity even mean?”

Productivity = Output/time. 

This is a popular formula that is used by people around the world

To use this formula, first, you have to choose what you want to work on.

Let’s say, you want to start a YouTube Channel,  here, the first thought you will have is “I have to buy a new camera, new microphone, build proper setup, buy a high-end PC, and so on”.

After doing this, I will be able to make perfect YouTube Videos otherwise, how can I compete with bigger YouTubers?

Now, the problem is, instant of starting a YouTube Channel, you’re spending your energy on other stuff which is not as important as shooting the first video and publishing it on YouTube.

Those fancy tech gadgets are not needed right now, you don’t need a high-end camera to shoot yourself, you just need a smartphone.

So that OUTPUT needs to be useful to get things done, you have to choose what is important and what’s not.

For example, watching movies on Netflix is not useful or even important but doing exercise is useful as well as important because it will make you a healthy person.

As the greatest philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said “The first wealth is health”

Back to YouTube,

How To Be Effortless

Now that you understand, okay, I have to shoot videos, and later, I can focus on technical stuff.

To get some idea, you started searching on Google about topics that you want to make videos about and the one thing that popped up on Google was “How ChatGPT can end the world”.

So you choose ChatGPT for your first YouTube Video.

You did your research about chatGPT. Now, you’re telling yourself, “I will take 2 hours to shoot a video and 2 hours to edit the same. I will not spend more than 4 hours on this video.”

What you did is, you gave yourself a deadline. 

The deadline will remind your brain that, okay, you only have 4 hours to shoot this video, so finish this task immediately no matter what happens, other stuff can wait for a bit.

You can apply this ideology to anything else, 

Let’s say you’re preparing for the government exam and you know that the exam is in 3 months, so what you can do is, you can read those books that will help you to pass the exam instant wasting time on every single book

Once the deadline is set, your mind will only focus on that one task.

Process of Being Productivity

I mean, just take my Productivity course as an example,

I had the idea that I will make a productivity course for free which will go live on Youtube at the same time. I will also write articles about the course on bookiestalk.

The Productivity course was a task that I wanted to do but in limited time, I didn’t want to take months to shoot videos, edit and then write articles about it.

So, I gave myself 5 days to write, shoot and edit videos.

The first task was to write an Article and then shoot videos. 

This way, when I go to shoot videos, I won’t think much about what to talk about on camera, I will only stick to the article which I have written.

So first, I gave myself a deadline that, you have to finish the course in 5 days and I also set tasks in line, this way, I knew what I was supposed to do first, second, and third…

Now, before doing anything, I announced on my YouTube Channel that, “my productivity course will be out in the next five days”

What happened is, now, my subscribers know that Rahul is working on a Course that will be free and they will wait for five days and if I don’t publish anything then they will ask questions.

“The course was about productivity and you can’t even deliver the same in the time given.”

My reputation is at stake and I make money out of my website and YouTube, so I can’t lose their trust…

Now because my reputation is at stake, I will produce the course in the next 5 days, no matter what happens.

I really want to talk more about stake but the problem is, I want to go a bit deeper into it, so we will explore the “stake” in the 3rd article of this series, so for the time being let’s continue this.

Exercise For The Day

Write down on the paper where you struggle the most in life and be honest to yourself.

For example, I want to learn a coding language but I also have other important work to do whether it’s shooting videos or writing articles, I also have to give time to my family as well.

Right now, I’m thinking about how I can take 1 or 2 hours and learn Python.

Now, it’s your turn, ask yourself, what you want to do but you don’t have time for it.

Key Takeaways

• Decide what you want to do but that task needs to be useful and important.
• Always set a deadline for whatever task you’re doing.
• Remember you don’t have unlimited time, so choose which task needs how much time.
• Put something at stake (refer to 3rd article)

Quote of The Day

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” – Paul J. Meyer

Wrapping Up

There you go, this is what productivity means.

Do a Useful task but in limited time, don’t give yourself unlimited time. Also, while performing the task, have fun and enjoy the process, and don’t think much about the end result.

I might have gone a little far with this article but to make it simple, I had to do it.

This is part 1 of the 10-article series on productivity.

I have read tons of books on productivity, time management, and even on self-help. So I’m just sharing whatever I have learned throughout the years.

I’m hoping that whatever you’re reading here will make an impact on your life.

That being said, in the 2nd article we will talk about “I don’t have time”.

Have a great day and now, I will see you in movement.