How effective or productive were you in 2021? Can you be honest and rate yourself on a scale of 0 to 10? Go ahead and assess why you picked that particular score. This honest personal assessment is necessary as we start a new year. The year 2022 is yet another opportunity to start afresh. Never mind what happened in 2021. If you excelled then that was awesome. If you did not excel still you can learn from your experiences and do better. The bottom line is that in 2022 you must be more productive. What you can do to become more productive in 2022 is the subject of this article.

Maximize Your Optimal Time Period

We all have times of the day where or when we operate at our best. For many people, that time is in the morning – usually up to midday or so. The time period varies greatly which is why it is important to figure out yours. Once you know it you must maximize. You must set out to cover and complete your key activities during that time period. Maximizing on that time period helps you accomplish more and with ease. You will be at your peak performance so you will most likely get more done in less time. You probably might have never stopped to think about what your optimal time period is. In 2022 start using this strategy to get more things done relatively with ease.

Schedule And Follow Through

Time management is central to productivity. You cannot just haphazardly go through the day without a structure. What differentiates us all is how we individually handle our days. It is the same number of hours in a day but different outcomes. The answer lies in scheduling your days and following through. I am always struck by the harsh truth that it is not so much that life on earth is short. Rather it is more in that we waste most of our time on earth.

Some of the things that silently steal our time are mobile devices, the internet, and social media. Time needs to be scheduled because if you do not you will not get all things done. Scheduling time is even more important to those who are self-employed or unemployed. This is because you have ‘freedom’ and ‘flexibility’, both aspects that can make or break you. Freedom without discipline and responsibility is as good as bondage. Use your time wisely!

Learn to prioritize properly as well. There are so many things vying for your attention all the time. Yet you can only do so much at a particular time. If you cannot prioritize what needs attention and when you will lose the plot.

Enough Rest And Sleep

We have just been talking about time management and this next area feeds off that. How effectively or not you manage your time has a bearing on rest and sleep patterns. It is recommended that an adult should have at least 6 hours of sleep every night. This has to be complemented by naps and breaks during the day where possible. Most health issues people struggle with emanate or emanate from lack of rest and inadequate sleep. Many of the other things you must do to be productive will be a tall order if you neglect this area.

Bite Off Only What You Can Chew At A Time

It is not a macho thing to juggle many balls. It is also not advisable to be a jack of all trades. Either way, you take it, you will end up with poor results and worse, you will hurt yourself in the process. Learn to specialize or narrow down your core focuses. In business and entrepreneur, many people ultimately struggle with burnout. This is because they want to do everything by themselves.

In 2022 start appreciating more the importance of delegating. Start appreciating more the place of outsourcing. Start appreciating more the importance of partnership and collaboration. You are not an island; you cannot do it all alone. It is also applied to gigs and opportunities in general. If an avalanche of them come exercise discretion to not overwhelm yourself. Learn to say no or pass some. Only do or handle that which you can at a particular time without straining yourself. You can flawlessly juggle 2 balls than you can 4 balls.

Operate In Your Zone Of Genius

I like to think this takes precedence over everything else here. You must know and operate in your zone of genius. You have passions or interests, you have skills, you have experienced, and you know. Take time to list what those are under each of those 4 categories. Then find what is common across all four. In other words, find the intersection of all those 4 categories. When you find it that is your zone of genius. That is the zone in which things come easily and naturally to you. That is the zone in which people will marvel and ask you, ‘how to do it?’ Once you are operating in that zone productivity will be the most natural thing.

Watch What You Eat And Drink

Last but not least, watch what you eat and drink. This is could be the most overarching factor that gets to determine how productive you will ever be. I know many of you struggle with drinking enough water every day. I also know that many of you probably struggle with excess drinking of alcohol. Many of you love to eat fast foods almost daily. I am also aware that many of you eat way too much starch every day. These are some of the many issues related to what you eat and drink that need to be addressed. Sway more to fruits and vegetables in 2022 and drink lots of water. As much as working out has its place the bulk of your physical wellbeing (or lack of it) stems from what you eat and drink.

Now that you have this vital information, no more excuses. Go on and make 2022 your most productive year ever.