To be completely honest, I’m not a fan of hustle culture. I don’t think we need to constantly be busy or working, because most of that is just toiling in vain.
To me, it’s better to be efficient because our time is precious.
In this post, we’ll go over some productivity hacks that’ll make your life easier.
1. Use Your Commute to Empower Your Mind
When you’re commuting, you can either use that time to rejuvenate your mind or transform it. Either way, you’re empowering your mind to either make space for inspiration, or fill it with possibilities.
There is something to be said for “clearing your mind” by going for a drive. You can use the time you’re traveling to clear your mind and focus on the good you wish God to bring into your life.
If you want to fuel your Kingdom mindset, listening to motivational podcasts while commuting can help you get motivated to pursue your dreams and goals, every single day.
2. Declutter Your Inbox
There are two kinds of people in the world: those with tens of thousands of emails, and those with less than 10.
If you’re one to “let your email inbox go,” then it may benefit you to get it organized! It’s totally possible. Set aside time to go through your inbox and delete promotional emails and unsubscribe to companies that you currently aren’t aligned with.
Even if you have 100,000 unread emails, it’s completely possible to get that down to zero with a little dedication. When you allocate a little time each day, you’ll get that down in just a few weeks.
Tip: Start by searching for all emails from a specific company, and delete the emails from a month ago and older (but keep order confirmation emails).
3. Focus on One Thing At a Time (Monotasking)
Multitasking is overrated. It leads to burnout, and it can make you less focused. When you’re less focused on the task at hand, it’s easier to miss something or do something incorrectly.
When you want to give everything your best and show your best self to the world, it’s better to focus on one task at a time. This is called monotasking.
Instead of spreading yourself too thin, focusing on one thing at a time will help you be more precise. When you’re less prone to making mistakes, that means you’ll require less rework in the future. So instead of having your hands in many different things, shift your focus to the current task at hand.
4. Only Respond to Emails at a Certain Time
With today’s culture, a lot of people jump at every notification… and that includes email. Instead of immediately responding to every email, you can establish an expectation by only responding to emails during a certain time of the day. When I was in my 9-5, I would focus on responding after lunchtime.
When you’re too quick to respond to people, it creates the expectation that you’ll ALWAYS do that. And in the future when you don’t/can’t, people will get upset. This can also create the illusion that you aren’t busy with other tasks. So if it’s a non-urgent matter, try to assign a specific timeframe during each day to respond to emails/requests.
5. Turn off Notifications
With the last piece in mind, for the sake of your sanity, it can immensely help to turn off notifications on your phone screen.
I used to have my lock screen loaded with lots of notifications; every Facebook message, every Facebook update, every text message. Now, I don’t have ANY pop up on my lock screen except for Telegram messages from my family. Everything else can wait until I’m available to check it all.
6. Designate Work Zones
Experts say that you shouldn’t have a television in your bedroom, because that room should be designated for sleep. That way your mind gets trained to fall asleep quickly while you’re in bed.
The same can be applied to your work area. If you have a designated work area in your home (if you work from home), your brain will become wired to focus on work in that area. You’ll be less likely to get distracted by other things if you work in a designated workspace.
7. Plan Your Day the Night Before
Instead of feeling rushed in the morning, especially if you’re in a time constraint, you should definitely consider planning ahead the night before. This means deciding what outfit you’ll wear, and you can press it the night before if needed. This also means deciding what you’ll eat for lunch if you’ll be out.
8. Don’t Burn Out
This goes hand-in-hand with prioritizing self care. Self care isn’t selfish; it’s meant to help you refill your cup so you can overflow onto others. It isn’t about manicures and massages; it’s about setting boundaries, learning to respect your body, and nourishing your body with the right nutrients and fuel it needs to thrive.
When you learn to slow down, you become more effective. God doesn’t want you to burn out. He doesn’t want you to spend your days in anxious toil.
“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” – Psalm 127:2
9. Learn to Set Boundaries
Giving too much without receiving enough to replenish yourself will lead to burn-out. If you’re the type to always say “yes” at the expense of your mental and physical health, here is your permission to set loving boundaries. When you establish boundaries for how you allow others to treat you, you’ll feel much better.
Learn to say “No” when it does not feel aligned with what God is calling you to do. Learn to prioritize God, your family, and yourself. Focus on what matters for eternity.
10. Trust Your Instincts, FOLLOW YOUR HEART
Jesus said that you CAN trust your heart. As believers, we have tender hearts.
“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” – Ezekiel 36:26
Did you know that your heart AND your gut have neurons? In fact, the gut has been referred to as the “second brain,” because according to science.org, “The human gut is lined with more than 100 million nerve cells—it’s practically a brain unto itself.” There are even neurotransmitters in your gut! So TRUST your gut instinct, because it is intelligent.
According to heartmath.org, “The heart is the most powerful source of electromagnetic energy in the human body, producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body’s organs. The heart’s electrical field is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated by the brain. This field, measured in the form of an electrocardiogram (ECG), can be detected anywhere on the surface of the body. Furthermore, the magnetic field produced by the heart is more than 100 times greater in strength than the field generated by the brain and can be detected up to 3 feet away from the body, in all directions, using SQUID-based magnetometers.”
You can read more here:
https://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/intuition-research
https://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/energetic-communication
God made our hearts and guts sensitive for a reason; to help guide us towards what’s best for our lives. You can ask God to help you discern what you need to pay attention to. Too many people disregard the intelligence of our hearts, and we end up dealing with those consequences. When you trust your instincts, you can make the right decisions instead of making the wrong ones and having to waste time dealing with the consequences.
11. Start Each day with God
Instead of waking up and immediately checking your phone, check in with God. Spend time in prayer, and thank Him for all He’s done and will do for you.
Meditate on His Word. Focus on Scripture that calms worrisome thoughts. This will help you start the day with a refreshed mind, and you won’t worry as much.
12. Review your Goals Every Day
When you review your goals every single day, you become hyper-focused on what you really want out of life. Spend time in prayer and ask God to place dreams in your heart that are directly from Him; that are part of His grand plan for your life.
When you refocus on what God has planned for you, the noise fades away and you won’t get distracted by things outside of your goals.
God has a lot of special things planned just for you, that only YOU are meant to accomplish during your time on Earth. So instead of wasting precious time, refocus on what’s really important. This is why it’s super helpful to keep your goals in front of you. Out of sight, out of mind.
Make sure to keep your goals IN your mind throughout the day. You can help achieve this by creating a “Motivation Board” that will serve as inspiration for what God has planned for you, and what you really need to work towards.
I hope this list helps you to re-prioritize what’s really important, so you can become productive through honoring God instead of the world.
Cheering you on towards success,
XO
Lindsey Johnson
