by Thando Mgobhozi
It is so easy to watch your life pass you by without even noticing. Having a productive day is not something that is hard to achieve and is certainly not a difficult mission at all. Always be willing to start somewhere with something.
Have a morning and night routine
Having a daily routine is a very effective way of managing your day well and ensuring that you get to do as many tasks as possible for yourself. It is entirely up to you what your routine entails according to what is important to you. I was never really a routine kind of person until I started feeling like my days were being wasted and I wasn’t getting much done. There was no progress whatsoever as I was just going with the flow of life every day.
Go to bed early and wake up early
I have struggled with this notion so much but now I understand why it is important. I always used to go to bed late and always wake up late and this affected the start of me having a productive day. I always woke up tired because I slept late and yearned to stay in bed more. Now I think I do fall under the category of not being a morning person but I have challenged myself to get out of this comfort zone because nothing good comes out of the comfort zone. I have challenged myself to go bed at 9 pm the latest and wake up at 5 am every morning to spend time with God for about 2 hours before I continue with the rest of my morning routine.
That is exactly 8 hours of sleep which is required for any human being. It hasn’t been easy and a lot of the times the devil has succeeded in putting me off track but I have realized that this is important to me and I have to do whatever it takes to always stay on track. Now, this does not have to be how your morning starts as I mentioned earlier it is entirely up to you how you choose to set up your morning routine. This was important for me because I realized that I wasn’t giving God enough time in my days and two hours every morning is not a lot for me.
Write down your to-do list
Writing down tasks to do is another way of ensuring that you do not forget what you need to do or have set up for yourself to do while being productive. Writing what you need to do is a sign of commitment and shows that you have your priorities straight. It also keeps you from procrastinating and leaving things to the last minute which is never a good idea. There are a lot of things to do even when you do not have a busy lifestyle or are unemployed. If you are unemployed then top your list of to-dos should be looking for opportunities on the internet and sending out your CV to different companies even if it’s once a day. If you are an entrepreneur, write down ways to improve and grow your business. There is always something to do. Head over to Pinterest if you are short of ideas and for some inspiration.
Work out
Staying fit and being healthy is a very big deal to me and that’s why I have incorporated that into my morning routine. It is important to work out even if you are not a fitness enthusiast or you don’t really like working out. Wake up and do some stretching because your body needs it after all that sleeping. You do not have to do anything intense and there many other ways of staying fit that do not include lifting weights and high-intensity workouts. Try yoga or dance classes or maybe even a sport that you might be interested in.
Read more often
Find motivating and inspiring books to read. My friend gave me a book titled God-centeredness and that is when I realized that I needed to change my life. It motivated me to spend more time with God and relying on Him more than ever. It has been such a challenging first half of the year for me especially in terms of my mental well-being. I never thought the reality of unemployment would be so daunting and I have often found myself frustrated with everything. I have been reading What happens when women walk in faith and it has really been helping me get through each day. I read at least one chapter every night before I go to bed. So I encourage you to always stimulate your brain by reading because knowledge is power and you don’t know how your life can change if you get your hands on the right books.
You should always want to better yourself in life. Be obsessed with constantly creating yourself and testing your limits.
Connect with Thando here, Instagram & twitter @thando_mg
