The Secret to Developing a Productive Mindset

How do some people manage their time so well while others cannot?

How do some people work on their side-hustle while others are busy binging Netflix shows?

What is it that makes people work without feeling lazy about it?

It's all about having a Productive Mindset.

When it comes to developing a productive mindset, your beliefs and philosophies play a huge role.

If you are someone who believes that something won't be possible, it probably won't.

Why?

If you never believe in its possibility, you won't put in any significant amount of effort working towards it and thus, you won't notice any progress.

Damn! You were right... or maybe not.

Now let's say you have zero knowledge on a particular skill. But you believe that no matter how tough it is, you are going to put in the effort and eventually, you might be as good as or even better than what you wanted to be.

There are high chances you will succeed.

Why?

It's because you believe in yourself and that it is possible if you put in the right amount of work.

You see? You were right again.

Mindset plays a significant role here.

Believing in what you are passionate about and what you want to work towards is a must. If you don't believe, you probably won't get it.

But is believing in it enough?

Not at all. If that would be the case, I would close my eyes and believe that I have $100M in my bank account at this very moment. And probably you would too. Right?

Finding your productive mindset involves a lot more than belief. To find and execute the right techniques on how to get into the right mindset, it is important to know what exactly it is and why it is important.

What is a Productive Mindset?

Productive Mindset can be referred to as 'Mindset for Growth'.

When you are in the growth mindset, you are not only clear and focused on what you are supposed to do, but you are also passionate about doing it.

It is tough to keep up with the same excitement that you had on Day 1. As you progress with any project that you are pursuing, it requires more of your effort and time which, more often than not, is unpleasant.

People with the right kind of mindset manage to pull this off very easily.

But what keeps them always interested for so long?

Here's the thing:

I'm going to share with you 5 actionable tips that you can implement right away to get into the productive mindset and achieve the things you have wanted to for a really long time.

But before we get into that, it is crucial to know why having a growth mindset plays a magical role in making your dreams come true.

Why is having a Productive Mindset Important?

1. It sets you apart from the busy

Busy

I'm sure you might have come across people saying,

'I'm very busy.'

'I've got things to do.'

In most cases, these are the same people who are constantly stressed about meeting the next deadline. They multitask hoping to get work done quickly and are not so passionate about the work they do. Yet, they are stuck in this loop of pretending to stay busy and rushing at the last moment to meet the deadlines.

Apart from the frustration they have about the kind of lifestyle they live, they are not able to produce good quality work.

Productive

People with a productive mindset are the exact opposite. They maintain a work-life harmony & complete their tasks as soon as they can to avoid last-minute hassles. What's more is that they enjoy the work that they do.

2. It sets you apart from the lazy

Lazy

'I don't feel like it today.'

'I am stuck at this problem. I don't feel like solving it right now.'

These are the kind of people who like to pursue something until it is easy. Once they are required to put in a little more effort, they either keep procrastinating or quit right away.

Productive

A productive mindset makes people get up & work towards their passion no matter how hard it is because they are addicted to the process and not the final outcome.

Instead of procrastinating on it, they get it done quickly so that they can focus on other things.

3. It sets you apart from the negative

Negative

'I won't be able to do it.'

'I will surely fail.'

Majority of the people who are interested in something refuse to believe that they can do it. It is because of several factors like the time it takes to get there, the difficulty, the chance of failure, etc. These are the people who never even give it a try and simply reject the possibility that they can learn it.

Productive

People with a productive mindset do thorough research on the topic, why it takes so long, what mistakes people make, etc. After analyzing it properly, they make themselves a personalized plan to learn the skill in the best way and minimum possible time.

And they EXECUTE it.

The Secret About Productive Mindset

There's something about having a growth mindset that not a lot of people understand or talk about.

It recurs after every little achievement.

We, as humans, need a constant sense of satisfaction & achievement in whatever we do.

If you've ever taken a course on programming, you are taught to build the 'Hello World' program on Day 1.

Ever wondered why?

Because when you build something on the very first day, you get a sense of achievement after which your belief that you can build complex applications in the near future gets even stronger.

That's what the word says, MINDSET.

Everything depends on what setting your mind is in.

How to develop a Productive Mindset?

Once you take action towards having a growth mindset, everything falls into place & as a result, you experience less stress and more happiness.

Here are some insanely actionable tips to implement in your life:

1. Acknowledge Small Wins

As I mentioned above, every small achievement acts as a motivation to keep pursuing.

When you start developing a skill that takes a good amount of time to master, you should constantly have a feeling that you are making good progress.

The learning curve for most of the skills today is exponential where the initial growth is slow but increases at a faster rate after some time.

Whatever you decide to learn, consider the little wins as checkpoints and come back to them whenever you feel low to see how far you have come.

Once you leave no room for self-doubt, you will improve eventually.

2. Avoid The Crowd Mindset

Around 28 per cent of Indians prefer to book accommodation 1 week before travel, and 12 per cent prefer to book a day before travel.

Even when they have a choice, they choose to take the risk of not getting a good enough accommodation.

What did they have to do? Simply book a room at the hotel of their choice.

By delaying the effort, they multiply it.

Students procrastinate on homework, developers procrastinate on their coding projects, applicants procrastinate on job applications, & budding fitness freaks procrastinate on going to the gym.

You have got to do it NOW. The later you start, the harder it gets.

3. Repeat until it gets automated

This is more of a continuation to the 1st point. You need to celebrate small wins until you learn to make or do something significant with the skill.

Once you reach a certain level, it becomes a habit and it is no more a hassle for you.

In fact, a lot of times, you'll look forward to work and maintain consistency.

After some point, there also comes a stage where it happens subconsciously.

30-day challenges are a good way to bring it into practice.

Challenge yourself with something you have been wanting to or struggling to do for a really long time and do it for 30 days straight. By the time you complete your challenge, it would have already become a habit in most cases.

I started reading books as a 30-day challenge and now I read every day before going to bed and right after I wake up. This habit has played a huge role in maintaining my stress levels.

4. Do the most productive activities in your most valuable time

Out of all the time you have in a day, you should know these two types:

Least Valuable Time (LVT) and Most Valuable Time (MVT)

If you learn to make the best use of this time, your entire day goes well.

LVT is that part of your day when you are least productive.

MVT is that part of your day when you are most productive and your brain works at its best efficiency.

Here's what you need to do:

Experiment for around a week to figure out what your own MVT and LVT are. Then, schedule your day accordingly.

Complete some of your most important tasks during MVT and take a food or an exercise break (a task that does not require a lot of mental energy) during your LVT.

This is one of the best ways you can optimize your time for maximum productivity.

5. Don't Over-commit

When a lot of opportunities come to you at the same time, it can be hard to say 'no' to even one of them.

They bring along various possibilities like networking, promotions, career options & sometimes even money.

But we have a fixed number of hours in a day.

When you say 'yes' to all that comes to you, you subscribe to stress, specifically 'bad stress'. It eventually takes away a huge chunk of your energy and degrades your performance in the work that you do.

Check whether you have any time to take up any projects on the side. If you don't, check whether you can make some by eliminating low-value activities. If not, write it down somewhere and come back to it when you are ready to pursue it.

Finally, when pursuing anything, look within yourself because mindset is something that you can control but not external things.

Hi! I'm Keyur. I hope this article was helpful to you and you enjoyed reading it. I also deliver short pills of knowledge and lessons. If you'd like to get one every Sunday for free, you can subscribe here and I'll send them your way.

If you want to get in touch, feel free to write me at keyur@keyurkumbhare.com