7 Ways to Be Productive When You Don’t Feel like it

We know productivity is important. We understand that God wants us to use this life He has given us for His glory. Yet, year after year we fall into patterns of wasting time, procrastinating, and not getting stuff done. Maybe it’s because we only want to do things when we “feel like it”. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” The phrase “making the best use of the time” reminds us that wise use of time does not just happen. Here are 7 easy ways to be productive, even when you don’t feel like it.

1.     Make a weekly plan

A weekly plan is a way to tell the week where you want it to go. It is a fixed, yet flexible decision of what you will do and accomplish in the week. Part of my Sunday routine is to get out my planner and first write down appointments, responsibilities, and required to-dos. I then go back through and schedule meals and extra household chores to fill each day. I’ve found by being structured in the way I plan my week, it allows me to accept or reject things that come up. I have the flexibility to change my schedule as God leads me, but it gives me a framework.

2.     Decide on priority tasks.

Within your planner, it is important to decide what tasks are priorities for you. I like to choose 3 tasks for home/blogging and 3 tasks for work. These tasks are in addition to regular daily habits. Every day after I finish my priority tasks, I can decide to do more if I’m feeling up to it or just stop. By putting these tasks in writing in my planner, I am held accountable to complete them. It’s important to remember that these do not have to be done if God has something better in store for your time.

3.     Know your limits

The first thing we have to accept is that we have limits. We also have to be okay with the idea that not everyone’s limits are the same. We must have grace for our limits being less than someone else’s limits. God has formed us in His image with limitations. Our limits remind us that we are not God, the limitless King! The work He has given us will be within our limits.

4.     Set a timer

A timer is a great tool to help get you beyond your feelings and into action! I use the Pomodoro Technique when working to complete tasks. The idea is that you work for 25 minutes and take a break for 5 minutes. During the Pomodoro (25 minutes), you only focus on the task at hand. You continue this cycle of work then rest four times, then take a longer (15-30 minute break). 

5.     Reward yourself

Simple rewards give you something to work towards. If I complete a task, I may reward myself by reading a book, walking outside, or calling a friend. I try to avoid rewarding myself with television or social media time because both of those tend to be time traps for me.

6.     Learn to say “no”

No one wants to say “no”. We are conditioned to think “yes” is the only answer. Lysa TerKeurst talks in her book “The Best Yes” about sacrificing a “yes” for your “best yes”. She says in her book, “Saying yes all the time won’t make me Wonder Woman. It will make me a worn out woman.” Maybe the secret to the “best yes” is learning to throw in a “no” when encountered with a lesser request. It goes back to the passage from Ephesians 5 about “looking carefully how you walk….as wise” (Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV). God is the only one whose promises are always “yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV).

7.     Be purposeful in how you use technology

Lastly, I think it is crucial that we evaluate the way we use technology. Technology can be such a time trap and a controller for us if we allow it to be. When making decisions about the way we use technology, we need to consider what our purpose is for using it. If we do not make purposeful decisions about how we use it, I fear it will control us. As people of God, we must control what influence we allow a device to have over our time and space.

 Where we have influence over our time and productivity, we should use it. God blessed us with minds to think and make decisions over our daily lives. Purposeful decisions to allow or refuse requests will allow for a purposeful life. Our feelings do not have the final word in how we live our lives. God is honored when we thank Him for our lives by stewarding it well.