3 simple things I've learned from 2020 that will forever improve my productivity

I wanted to share with you 3 simple skills that helped me become way more productive in my job and private life. It's personal productivity advice, but I'm sure you'll be able to use it in your work life as well. I don't want to sound preachy or anything, it's just that I'm really excited about them and think they can help you too. They are listed from simplest to most complex.<br><br>**1. You don't really need motivation** <br>My whole life, I've been told that you need to be in a certain mindset or mood to be productive, and that it would be way easier to get things done if I was the sort of person that "just got things done". I always thought you needed to be motivated to do anything that didn't feel super fun. <br>Like most people, I was waiting for my motivation to magically sort its life out and do all the boring stuff for me. Turns out, motivation is vastly overrated. When I stop waiting for my motivation to step up and do anything even slightly annoying, it just gets done faster. When you see that your life is way better without the burden of all the daily responsibilities, you actually start to want to do them. Well, as much as anyone wants to do the dishes.<br><br>**2. You don't need to actually feel like doing something to start it** <br>This is similar to the above point, but more focused on the process of actually getting started. I learned that I don't need to feel like doing something. It's enough to know that I should be doing it. Like going to work out. I never feel like working out, but I know it's good for me, so I do it. I also learned that I don't need to overcome some huge mental barrier to start a new habit, I just need to *start*. <br>For example, when I'm driving home from work, I know I need to work out. I don't really feel like it, but I also don't feel like not working out. So I just put my gym clothes on and head to the gym. I don't need to overcome some huge mental barrier, I just put my gym clothes on and it's over. And it actually feels sort of empowering when I'm on my way to the gym and I know there's no way out. I already put in the work, I'm already on my way to the gym. It's sort of a weird thing, but it works.<br><br>**3. Planning brings a sense of control** <br>I'm a pretty laid back, easy going guy. It took me a while to figure out that planning and keeping track of events doesn't have to be tedious. It can actually be fun. Like planning my daily routine. Or planning my meals for the week. <br>You don't need to spend hours a day planning. Just use a planner or a habit tracker or whatever you like. Just make sure it's simple. The simpler it is, the more you'll like it, and the more you'll use it. <br>It's a huge productivity boost if you know what you have to do today, and you know that you can handle it. It's actually fun to sometimes just sort everything out for the next few days. Plan what you'll eat, when you'll go for a run, when you'll do grocery shopping, and so on. It's so much less stressful, you know exactly what to do the next day, and you can actually plan your other daily routines based on it. <br>Planning out everything also gives you the time to actually reflect on whether you're doing something you want to be doing. <br>For example, I really like cooking. It's one of my favorite things to do. Because of this, I always want to fiddle around with my cooking schedule, but I can actually keep track of whether I'm really doing as much of it as I'd like. Same for working out. <br><br>It's as easy as keeping track of habits in a notebook, and it's so much more productive.<br><br>**TLDR:** If you stop waiting for motivation to do anything, you'll be much more productive. You simply plan your routine, and then you do it. It's not hard, and you'll actually want to do it. It's like exercising. You never want to exercise, but after you exercise, you feel way better.