How To Increase Productivity:
A Learned Perspective

It has been quite a month. My family and I went on a trip up north to enjoy the country air and canoe around a glistening lake. We got a little more than we bargained for. In the middle of the lake, we suddenly capsized.

Long story short, we made it back to town in one piece, with gratitude that we were wearing our life jackets.

Not two weeks later, I completed my reaccreditation exams to refresh some of my professional credentials after letting them languish a little too long while venturing to become an Internet mogul. I like to keep all of my batons up in the air, so no need to let these professional licenses expire.

Equipped with reminders of what it was like to overcome adversity, in life, studies and business, I compiled this list of productivity tips to give you the benefit of my recent adventures.

1. Find your productivity window.

When I was studying for my exams, processing mounds of information on an impossible deadline, I was amazed to find that my most productive time, when I concentrated the hardest and got most of my most difficult work done, started at 7 pm and lasted through 11 pm. That seemed strange to me in the midst of so much advice I was reading on the Web that it’s so important to be an early riser because mornings are most productive.

Once I recognized my own study patterns, I started to realize that everyone has their own "biorhythm" with respect to concentration and motivation -- we each have a daily time window during which we are most productive and, conversely, times where processing information can be frustrating for us.

I believe that if we all were to find our personal "productivity window," instead of listening to everyone else dictating to us when we are supposed to be our most productive, many more people would stop thinking that they are incapable of certain types of work or study and we would live up to our potential more consistently.

So how do you find your productivity window?

Well, for me it took a period of constant study over a week of full waking hours to start to see the pattern as to when my mind just opened up and started consuming information like a sponge.

If you have work piling up on your desk at volumes similar to mine, you might have similar luck and be able to find your productivity window in a week.

What I suggest, though, if your work load is typical for most of us and you don’t see any huge projects looming that might have you staying up till all hours, is that you take a period of two weeks to notice your work habits.

At what times of day do you tend to feel most frustrated? When does it take you the longest to process information? When you have to read things over and over until they sink in, what time of day is it?

In contrast, are there any other times of the day when you feel motivated and satisfied with yourself? When do you feel as if you had an engine inside you powering you toward your goals? When do you only have to read something once to fully understand it?

Sometimes this time frame is when you are about to turn off the lights and leave the office, or turn to some other part of your life. Do you ever find yourself wishing you could stick with your project then because it is the best you’ve done all day? What time is it when you feel that way?

See if you can translate these feelings and observations into blocks of time and whether they repeat themselves over the course of two weeks. Keep a journal to help you recognize patterns. If you can, you probably have found your productivity window.

The next question you have to ask yourself is whether you can rearrange your other commitments so that you can keep this time open for your work and career. You may find the changes staggering!

2. Avoid distractions.

Phone calls, email and You Tube videos, are the three evil stepsisters of success. While it is true that you should take frequent breaks while building your business, fifteen minutes as necessary should be enough! Any more than that is taking time away from endeavors that could really take your dreams to the next level.

Don't be too liberal with yourself by saying, "hey, I deserve a break." The top business people take short ones and are almost manic in their ability to work for long stretches without entertainment. There is a time for that -- after reaching your income milestones.

Stick to business until you see your goals taking shape. That will be so much more rewarding than realizing you spent hours being entertained by people who already carved out their own success. Focus on your own!

3. Read out loud.

When challenged by difficult reading, don't be ashamed to read it out loud to yourself. By studying complex material this way, you are actually teaching it to yourself twice. As you read, your mind picks up on exactly what it would if you were to read the material silently.

Then, when your mind hears your voice reading the words, it reinforces the lessons as if you were studying the material twice! Don't be ashamed to go back to elementary school when difficult reading material. It's better to learn it without struggling and getting discouraged.

4. Involve your children in your business.

It will be difficult at first to juggle business with family. I’ve already had my son say to me, "Dad, I'd almost rather than you went to work in an office. At least when you came home, you’d focus on me."

In response to this bombshell, I simply took him over to my computer and showed him what I did that day. I told him what I had already accomplished on my Website, and what I hoped to achieve within the next few months. I explained to my son that this was in a sense my "homework," and I had to do my homework just as he had to do his.

I then got philosophical with him. I said that 9 to 5 is a myth, a throwback to an earlier age, and that these days people worked more tenaciously in order to have more flexible schedules and less accountability.

I reminded him about the trip we took to Europe in the beginning of the year and that the weeks that we spent on that trip would not have been possible if I worked behind a desk. He calmed down after that - I'm pretty sure I got my message through.

I'm still trying to teach my boy that he's not the center of the Universe, but that's a subject for a different day.

5. Dealing with friends, family members and neighbors.

Tell your friends the same thing -- you are working for yourself now. You've ditched the boss, the office pool, the golden handcuffs, and now you have to spend the early moments building credibility with the search engines and with your audience.

No rest for the happily weary.

You certainly can take time off to do the things that are important to you. I'm incredibly excited to take off on Friday because my favorite performer is going to be in town and we are going to be in the front row.

After that, it’s the summer road trip!

We don't answer to anybody when we decide that it's time to play and see the world. But when I'm at home and in front of my computer, nothing can stop me from achieving my goals. And you shouldn't let the noise and temptation of the world from stopping you either.

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Those are five tips from my own experience on how to increase productivity, but these are countless others and they are yours to discover.

What are your income goals? Are you interested in making money online? Align yourself with people who are doing just that. Sign up for online business communities such as Entrecard and let these success stories inspire you.

Some of these Webmasters will tell you exactly what they make per month with their business and how they go about doing it (Make Money Online and John Chow dot com are two great examples). Let their success wash over you and motivate you to put these success tips into action.

Here’s to a more productive and profitable future that could be just around the corner!

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