The secret to productivity

Of all the books I have read about how to manage your time and be more productive, I have yet to hear someone to mention what is quite possibly the single most effective means for being more productive. The power of this technique is so great that it makes working at double, triple or even quadruple your effectiveness and efficiency come naturally while simultaneously reducing stress.

The secret is simple. Enjoy what you are doing. If you enjoy the activity you are doing it ceases to be work but instead becomes a challenging game of skill and fun. Enjoyment and fun in the activities you do will eliminate procrastination and make work a lot easier. Furthermore, you will find all those bothersome distractions don't seem to impact you when you truly love and enjoy what you are doing.

When you are filled with fun and enjoyment, you enter a state of extreme productivity called flow. This state is where your mind locks in on the task at hand and focuses all your efforts. This state of pure enjoyment and focus can make you instantly double or triple your productivity. Instead of leaning back in your chair as your eyes drupe from the extra plate of fries your body is currently digesting from lunch, you shoot up in your chair and focus on the task ahead. This is the state where someone would literally have to pry you off your computer desk before you would leave work.

At this point you may be thinking to yourself, "Of course enjoying your tasks makes work easier, but it is the tasks I don't enjoy that I need to be more productive on! I don't read time management books to help speed up the tasks I already enjoy." You are completely correct in stating this. The tasks that we don't naturally enjoy are the ones that we tend to require all those productivity tips, techniques and hacks for. Now I am going to tell you why this 'secret' to productivity is, in fact, quite a well kept secret.

You have, within you, right now, the power to choose how much enjoyment you derive from any activity you experience in life. The experience you feel in any moment is a decision, that can be controlled from the stimulus provided by the environment. By deciding exactly the level of experience you want to have for any given moment you can make even repulsive and dreadful tasks a blissful state of enjoyment and flow.

How can you make this decision for what level of experience you want for your life? How can you take boring and mundane activities and energize them with the qualities of motivation and productivity? There are various techniques we can employ to focus our level of enjoyment from any given experience. By utilizing these techniques and practicing them we can remove much of the tedium we feel and make every moment a thrill and joyous experience.

The first way to ensure that your moments are filled with more joy and excitement is simply to ensure that your avocation is aligned with the types of activities you enjoy already. If your career doesn't fill you with passion or joy then you need to start looking for a new career. I'm going to cut to the chase here. Living for years and decades devoting a third of your time on this planet to a meaningless job producing widgets and cogs is a horrible way to live. Living your passion and making a little less money is far superior to earning a little more pocket change without any passion.

Source: www.scotthyoung.com