13 Ways to a Productive Day

There is no better feeling than going to bed at night and knowing that you have completely done everything you should have done today. I’m sure it’s a feeling you would like to feel every day, but sometimes, not all days are productive, and sometimes most of them are not. A productive day does not come just like that and it is something that should be prepared for. It is important to remember that we are all different, each of us has a different schedule and so does the time we have to spend for our goals and tasks. Of course, each of us also has different daily tasks. The most important thing is to know how to use the time we have wisely.

I am going to bring here some tips that will help you prepare well for the day after and tips that will help you plan a productive day. If you make these tips a daily habit, you will see how your day becomes more productive and you will suddenly find that you can really accomplish more.

At the end of this post, you will find a free printable that you can print and use to write down your tasks.

So what are the 13 ways for a productive day?

The night before:

To achieve a productive day, there are a number of things you should prepare from the night before.

1. Do a 10 minutes cleaning

Before going to bed, spend ten minutes arranging the bedroom or house. Throw out visible garbage, put things you used in place, wash the dishes in the sink and take out the garbage. It is much easier to wake up to a clean and tidy house, than to a messy house. Once you wake up to a house where the dishes are still in the sink, garbage in different corners of the house, you will find yourself wasting important time in organizing and cleaning and you will get tired.

2. Dedicate time and thought to the tasks you have to do the next day

Spend 10 minutes writing down the tasks you need to complete the next day. You can use the printable at the end of this post. Think to yourself what are the things you want to accomplish tomorrow? What are the things you need to do to move toward your goals? Also, include regular daily chores. Note that you are writing a reasonable to-do list. If you set yourself a long and unreasonable to-do list, you will not be able to do it all and this will cause you frustration. Instead, write down the tasks you know you will most likely be able to accomplish the next day. On a separate page, you can write the rest of the tasks and then divide them into days.

3. Prepper and pack your lunch

If you work outside and tend to bring your lunch to work, be sure to pack it the night before. This preparation, which takes 2 minutes, will prevent you from rushing in the morning to pack your lunch and waste precious time.

4. Prepare your outfit

The most annoying thing is getting dressed in the morning for work and then finding out that your shirt is wrinkled, or that you are not finding the belt you need. Be sure to prepare your outfit the night before so you will avoid wasting time in the morning.

5. Go to bed early

Go to bed at a reasonable hour so you can get the hours of sleep you need. It is not possible to make a productive day if you have slept a small number of hours. You will be tired and unproductive. I’m not saying go to bed too early. Each of us has a different schedule, but be sure to get to bed early-ish.

in the morning:

1. Get up early

Getting up early in the morning, whether you work from home or not, is a great way to start the day. Usually, our most productive hours are in the morning. Even if it does not look like that, if you wake up one hour earlier than you usually wake up, it will give you more time to invest in the things that are important to you and do your chores. Think about how much fun it is to be able to do a task or two before you go to work. It could be doing laundry, writing a post, tidy any part of the house, cooking or anything else.

2. Make your bed

Make your bed straight as you get up. This is something that takes about half a minute. It’s not just a saying that if you want to start changing something in your habits, start by offering your bed in the morning. This is a simple action, but with a lot of meaning. In the military, the first thing we would do in the morning is making the bed in a certain way and we would be tested on it in the morning checking. This is an action that shows self-discipline. And in order to be productive and do your tasks during the day, you need to have self-discipline. Aside from the disciplinary aspect of it, it is an action that makes the room instantly calmer and more inviting.

3. Get ready for the day

Wash your face and prepare yourself for the day. Drink a glass of water or a cup of tea. Make yourself a breakfast that will give you the energy to start the day.

4. Go through your tasks

This is a great time to open up your to-do list you made the night before and go over it. You will also go over your tasks in the long run. What should you do today? Which of the tasks you have written down, can you do now? Divide your tasks according to priorities and importance.

5. It’s time to start the day

If you work from home, start get things done in the order you set for yourself. If you work outside, start getting ready for your day.

6. Don’t get into chill mode straight as you get home

When you get home from work, don’t let yourself get into chill mode too quickly. Once you sit down on the couch in sweatpants, your chances of getting up and do your tasks are low. Before you allow yourself to sit and relax, look at your to-do list again and start to do your tasks. For example, if you need to clean today, do laundry, or tidy up any part of the house, start with that. Always start with the thing that takes a lot of energy from you.

7. Do one task at a time

I don’t mean to perform a single task, like doing laundry and in the meantime do nothing until the washing machine is done. I mean don’t put too much on yourself with several tasks at once. If you have decided that you are currently going to sit down to write the work you need for your class, it means that you are only doing it for the period of time you have set for yourself, or until you finish. You are not going to mess with other tasks in the meantime.

8. Limit the time for activities that steal your time

You know yourself best. If you know you tend to sit in front of the TV and thus spend two hours in the evening before you even start doing your tasks, limit your time in advance, or tell yourself that you will not sit to watch TV until 8 pm, or until you finish at least 3 more tasks.

And here is the to-do list free printable:

I really hope this post helped you in any way. Always remember that we all have the same hours in a day, and we are the ones who choose how to use them. As long as you follow the tips above, you will see that your day will look completely different. Instead of ending the day with a sense of disappointment that you did not manage to do anything, you will go to bed knowing that you did manage to do most of the things you should have done.

If you have any more tips for a more productive day, I would like you to share them in the comments.