The Greatest Productivity Secret Of Them All

Kivi Leroux Miller at Nonprofit Communications tagged me to discuss my best productivity secret. I don’t consider myself a productivity expert. However, in the past week a couple of people told me they don’t know how I accomplish all that I do. I guess I must be doing something right and I would be glad to share with you what has worked for me.

I have read many books that relate to the topic of productivity and try to apply what I’ve learned. There are several tips I can share with you that have helped me. Some of these are:

• Do your most important and difficult task first
• Procrastinate less important tasks
• Use technology when appropriate
• Set aside time to learn
• Build on your strengths
• Delegate tasks when appropriate
• Use a priority list (not a to-do list)
• Set and pursue big goals
• Take time off for yourself regularly

Benjamin Yoskovitz at the Instigator Blog initiated this writing project called The Ultimate Guide to Productivity. His challenge was to pick our single, best productivity tip.

When I think about the thing I have done that has made me the most productive, it doesn’t have anything to do with how I manage my tasks or how I use the computer. The greatest productivity secret I can give you is to…

Focus on your life purpose

When you focus on your life purpose, you are more productive. You are passionate about what you’re doing and less likely to get distracted by other unimportant activities. The ultimate result you are achieving is less about you and more about what you can do for others. You do it whether or not you get paid. You’re more motivated to fight through any obstacles that get in your way. You are also more productive because God has given you the talents, skills, experiences and opportunities to excel in accomplishing your purpose in life. You can build on your strengths!

Focusing on your purpose in life also keeps you centered on the right things. Being more productive is only valuable if it is applied to tasks that are moving you in the right direction. Moving faster and more efficiently in the wrong direction is meaningless. Stay focused and you will surprise yourself and those around you by the impact you will have in helping others and making the world a better place.

Discovering my life purpose made a tremendous difference in my life and the things I continue to accomplish. If you have not spent the time to find out what your purpose is, there is no better time than now. Check out the following resources that have been helpful to me:

• The Power To Be Your Best by Todd Duncan
• Aligned Thinking: Make Every Moment Count by Jim Steffen
• Visioneering: God’s Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Vision by Andy Stanley

If you would like to discover some additional productivity tips, check out these submissions that I traced back to the original request:

• Productivity Tips: Top 10 Ways to Stay Ahead
• Productivity Tips: Top 10 Ways to Stay Productive
• Zugunruhe Ultimate Guide to Productivity: Time Budgets
• How To Stay Focused For Greater Productivity
• How Productivity Comes From Clarity

This has been a great exercise and I hope you learned something from it that you can apply to be more productive. I am curious about what a couple of others would consider their best tips for being productive. So, I am tagging David Perdew at World Wanting Peace and Scott Couchenour at Serving Strong to share their insights and experiences on this topic.