There are certain mental blocks that tend to prevent us from optimising our lives and unlocking a more productive version of ourselves. These are often rooted in myths that we’ve internalised over the years, through observation and conditioning. The first step to overcoming these is acknowledging the fact that we have indeed (at various points) rationalised our lack of productivity by entertaining these myths.

Myth #1 – I Don’t Have the Time

Time is always in your control even if you don't feel like it is. Imagine for a minute that you won a million dollars today. Would you have enough time to do everything you want to? You certainly will! Time suddenly becomes more valuable and you’re able to organise it better.

It’s usually the case that if you have to do something and there’s a price associated with it, you're able to prioritise it, and you do have time for the things you prioritise. Many of us have this common excuse when it comes to daily physical activity, "I don't have time to exercise.” Now imagine if your doctor told you that if you don't exercise, you'll die in a week. Wouldn’t that affect your schedule? Wouldn’t you find the time to exercise all of a sudden?

It all boils down to making time and deciding how to use it. When you prioritise what you need to do, it's possible to accomplish several tasks in a day. Your time is definitely within your control, with hardly any exceptions to this rule.

Exercise – Audit Your Time

To take control of your time, there’s an exercise you can try out. Starting today, for an entire week, document your whole day. Carry a little notebook, and at the end of every hour, note down what you were doing. Measure and analyse this audit at the end of the week. You may be surprised to see that you spent 8 hours a day sleeping, and maybe another 8 hours doing some sort of work. But the most important question is, what did you do with the rest of the 24 hours that we’re all blessed with?

Here's a hint. Check out the screen time on your smartphone – you might be amazed to discover that the major chunk of your time was spent on social media or activities that you label unproductive. If you start doing the inventory of your entire week meticulously this way, you'll begin noticing big chunks of time spent unproductively. Then it becomes easier for you to develop designated time blocks. Use your time more productively – it's just a matter of being aware of how you utilise your time, and being creative with how you prioritise tasks.

Myth #2 – I Don’t Have the Motivation

There’s a misconception that many of us have that we need to be motivated to do something. In your mind you have created this distance or chasm between the thought of doing something and actually doing it. What does it take to cross that, to go from the thought to the act?

If you’re a professional who is good at what they do, then you will not seek to rely on motivation. You will instead rely on discipline, self-discipline to be precise. You will rely on putting in place systems that work for you, regardless of your feelings or mood. Take a simple activity like brushing your teeth every morning. You do it regardless of whether you’re feeling motivated or up to it. We don't apply thought to this simple activity because it has become part of our default behaviour, our daily routine.

The way you need to see motivation is a sort of feedback loop. Action leads to motivation, which leads to more action, not the other way around. So, don’t sit around waiting for the motivation to do something. Just get up and do it, and you’ll find the satisfaction of having completed it motivates you to do more, and to be consistent at it.

To produce reliable results, you have to rely on self-discipline to power you along, and figure out ways to put in place a system that works for you every time, without exceptions or excuses. Armed with this shift in perspective, bust the two myths that are keeping you from being a more productive person.

It’s not difficult; it just takes a bit of conscious effort and regular practice. In the next post, which will also be the last in this series on productivity, we explore simple strategies that actually work and have worked for others. So, keep reading and expanding your knowledge of productivity techniques.