For many years I felt life was super busy, but at the same time, I did not feel like I was making significant strides towards my ideal lifestyle.

I had a 9-5 that I didn’t expect to be at forever and entrepreneurial dreams, but I lacked the consistency and motivation to change things much.

I thought I had a procrastination or focusing issue, but what I really had were alignment and system issues.

Today I’m going to give you 5 steps to staying motivated, achieving and maintaining peak productivity, and getting into more Flow states, as opposed to forcing work that leads to burnout.

When it comes to productivity, it's not just about getting more done. It’s about being more intentional for a balanced and fulfilled life. 

The point I’m trying to get across is that productivity isn’t about squeezing work out of every hour of your day.

But about being more intentional with your time in a way that supports your biggest goals in life.

Procrastination and a lack of focus are major issues for people nowadays.

Much of that is due to living in a distraction-filled society.

It’s not uncommon for us to fall into what can be called an “unintentional default” state.

Many of us have allowed our devices to demand our attention and energy at any moment, as opposed to being in control.

Now more than ever, we need to be proactive about how we spend our time.

Because odds are if we aren’t, something that is not aligned with our goals will fill that time.

Being productive doesn’t just happen with the right mindset.

It requires a clear alignment of tasks with your larger vision and proactively setting up the right systems.

1️⃣ Rebalance Your Dopamine Levels

Dopamine is often dubbed the "feel-good" neurotransmitter, associated with the reward and pleasure centers of our brain. 

It's crucial for motivation, driving us to seek out rewarding activities. 

In the context of focus, dopamine influences our attention and ability to engage deeply with a task. 

When balanced, it helps us feel motivated and attentive, contributing to more 'Flow' states where we're fully immersed and productive.

However, the modern environment, filled with instant gratification through endless notifications, social media, fast food, porn, and entertainment options, can lead to a misuse of our dopamine systems. 

You can think of this as cheap dopamine.

This constant bombardment of stimuli creates a cycle where we're seeking the next quick hit of dopamine, rather than engaging in deeper, more meaningful tasks that require sustained attention. 

This misuse can diminish our capacity to focus, as our brains get rewired to favor short-term rewards over long-term satisfaction and achievement.

Strategies to Realign Dopamine for Better Focus

1. Optimize Energy: Focusing on our health and energy levels can significantly impact our ability to stay engaged. So this means fueling ourselves properly, establishing healthy mindful habits, and aligning ourselves with our natural biological clock. 

2. Intentional Device Use: Proactively setting boundaries around device use can help reclaim our attention from the dopamine-driven demands of technology. This means being intentional about when and how we engage with our devices, ensuring they serve us rather than distract us.

3. Engage in Deep Work: Cal Newport's concept of 'Deep Work' — periods of focused, uninterrupted work on tasks that are challenging yet rewarding — can help realign our dopamine response towards activities that are genuinely fulfilling and productive.

4. Mindful Breaks: Incorporating breaks that involve activities promoting a healthy dopamine response — such as physical exercise, meditation, or engaging with nature — can help reset our focus and enhance our productivity when we return to work.

5. Gratification Delay: Training ourselves to delay gratification and resist the urge for immediate dopamine hits through distractions can strengthen our focus muscles. This might involve setting rewards for completing tasks or using techniques like the Pomodoro Technique to intersperse focused work sessions with short breaks.

By understanding and adjusting our relationship with dopamine, we can improve our ability to focus, engage more deeply with our work, and move closer to our vision of a balanced and fulfilled life. 

It's not just about fighting distractions but about creating a lifestyle and workstyle that naturally encourages deep, rewarding focus. 

2️⃣ Know Your PQOs

PQOs = Prolific Quality Outputs

I learned about this concept in the book High-Performance Habits, and in there, there is this quote:

“Figuring out what you are supposed to produce, and learning the priorities in the creation, quality, and frequency of that output, is one of the greatest breakthroughs you can have in your career.”

Clarity is always the first step of peak performance. If you missed that training I shared a few weeks ago, be sure to go check it out. 

Once you’ve determined what your dream life would look like, you want to get clear on your Prolific Quality Outputs - or your PQOs.

PQOs are the outputs that are critical to achieving success and making a notable impact in your field.

The idea behind PQOs is not just about working hard but working smart on the right things that truly matter and can make a difference. 

High performers identify the key activities that will lead to the most significant results and dedicate their time, energy, and resources to excel in those areas. 

So if you’re looking to start or scale a business - Think about what outputs are needed to help move the needle the most. 

This could be putting together an offer, crafting your marketing funnel, building partnerships, or streamlining processes.

3️⃣ Make Your Calendar Your Boss

Time blocking is a time management method that involves dividing your day into blocks of time, each dedicated to accomplishing a specific task or group of tasks. 

This approach helps individuals focus on a single activity at a time, minimizing distractions and enhancing productivity. 

Once you know your Prolific Quality Outputs, these go on your schedule first. 

One of the most effective mindset shifts I help my clients make is making their calendars their boss!

So figuring out the best way to set up their schedule and sticking to it - regardless of what may pop up throughout the day (within reason)

Some people think time blocking would make life “too strict”.

But I’ve actually found the opposite.

I block out personal things as well: such as time with my wife, time to work out, play soccer, or just to unwind.

By having my time-blocked schedule, I’m able to be fully present and at peace in my personal life, knowing that I have set up my week in a way that will continue moving me toward my goals. 

Typically when people feel like they’re “out of balance”, what’s happening is one area of their life dominates things to a point where other things suffer.

This happens when we have not aligned our actions with our longer-term vision for our life.

Don’t Think of Work-Life Balance, Think of Work-Life Synergy:

We want to set our week up in a way, not expecting equal hours across our work and personal life, but with clear time blocks and intentions to move them forward. 

Again, this means being strict with your time, and not allowing frequent distractions.

Most things can wait. Be sure the people in your life are made aware of and respect your time - this is on you to communicate. 

Not all time is equal - figure out when you are your sharpest, and if possible, align your highest-value tasks with that time 

If you are aligned with your natural biological clock, that will probably be in the morning, and right before sunset.

4️⃣ Skill Build

Skill building is an underrated productivity strategy. 

The better you get at a skill aligned with your goals, the more effective you will be at obtaining that goal.

With your Prolific Quality Outputs in mind, consider what skills, if you developed, would help you feel more confident and capable.

That might be sales, marketing, public speaking, or leadership.

Building that skill set will have a clear positive impact on your overall productivity, so be sure to include that in your schedule. 

Something that was a profound mindset shift for me, was considering how much time each week I was spending progressing my life versus just maintaining it.

(“Maintaining” - paying bills, sleeping, eating, etc)

We all want personal growth.

But when we get caught in a loop of just “maintaining” our lives, stress and depression can creep in. 

So if you don’t currently: based on your long-term goals, decide what you could block an hour or two to your schedule that would move your life forward.

5️⃣ Just Do It!

Research has found that procrastination is really a motivational problem. 

It's an issue that arises when you’re working on things that don’t intrinsically matter to you.

This is why it’s so crucial to seek clarity on the long-term vision you have for your life and break that down to how you spend your time each day.

Ultimately productivity comes down to doing the work. 

It can be uncomfortable at first changing habits, but you can start small, and adjust as you go.

Don’t beat yourself up if you take steps backward.

The good news is as you continue to get back on the wagon, you will train yourself to make it easier and easier. 

Conclusion

So to maximize your productivity:

1. Rebalance Your Dopamine Levels

2. Know your Prolific Quality Outputs

3. Make Your Calendar Your Boss

4. Skill Build

5. Just Do It!

If you’re looking to level up your productivity and make significant changes in your life, check out my new free guide: 5 Actionable Steps to Transform Your Passion into a Career or Side Hustle (With ChatGPT prompts)

This is a cool resource I put together breaking down how to use Chat GPT to outline your vision for creating or scaling a passion business or side hustle.

Also, feel free to share this with someone you think could benefit from this information. 

Be blessed,

Widmarc 🌞