5 Steps to being more Productive

As the year approaches its halfway point, our New Year's Resolutions may get left behind. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California says 25 percent of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions after one week and 60 percent within six months. That doesn’t mean you have to wait until next year to continue or even start a new goal. Why do we give up on our goals? What is stopping us from reaching our goals?

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb

We live in a world where instant gratification consumes us. If our internet search takes longer than one second, we complain about having slow internet. Imagine the current generation on dial-up! Goals take time, and time is something we may not have much of nowadays. How can we step back and slow down? What will help us achieve our goals, and how can we conquer our distractions?

Phone, email, and social media are wonderful tools when used correctly. However, they can become one of our biggest distractions. Any free time that we can muster is usually spent browsing through different forms of social media. Turn off the notifications, put down your phone, and reach for your favourite focusing oil. This will help minimise common distractions when you need to be focused.

If you are practicing the “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” concept, it may happen sooner than you think. Recommended sleep time for ages 18 to 64 is 7 to 9 hours. Productivity dramatically decreases when you are sleep deprived. Grab that Lavender and start diffusing. Warm up that kettle and have some herbal tea (Lavender, Bergamot, Roman Chamomile, Lemongrass, etc.), or place the oils on the bottom of your feet or on your pillow. Sleep is one of the best times for your body to recover. Creating healthy sleep habits will improve the quality of your sleep, which in turn leads to more productive days.

The benefits of meditation can be crucial to slowing down, achieving goals, and conquering distractions. Set apart a few minutes each day and really focus on your breathing. Find a quiet room and diffuse your favourite grounding blend. Studies show that individuals who incorporate meditation into their daily routine have significantly lower levels of stress. Daily meditation trains your mind to better focus on important things, keeping you on track for whatever you plan to accomplish.

• Focus completely on your breathing for two minutes. Concentrate on each breathe going in and out. Immediately after, take all of your focus and place it on what you need to accomplish most.

Do you have a goal in mind? Write it down! Dr. Matthews also concluded that those who write down their goals are 42 percent more likely to achieve them. Those who not only write down their goals, but also write down steps to accomplish those goals, are even more likely to achieve them. If you are serious about change and self-improvement, write it down, review consistently, and get to work.

Believe it or not, exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don’t give up on their goals. In fact, exercise increases energy levels and increases serotonin in the brain, which leads to improved mental clarity. You might need some doTERRA Motivate® to get you moving, but the benefits of exercise will keep you going.

If you do not work out a muscle, is it getting bigger or stronger? Of course not. The same applies to our own lives. If we are not pushing ourselves, are we growing or progressing? Let this year be different from past years. Improving ourselves should take effort. Just like a river, we have moments in our life that are fast and slow, but we should never become stagnate. Stagnate water is full of debris and can become toxic to those around it. Do all you can to get moving even if it is just a little. Eventually your stream will turn into a river.