How does someone become more productive?

Break tasks up into smaller steps.  Incremental actions bring monumental results.  The bridge over Niagara falls was started with a kite string, after a kite flying contest.  Taking small steps brings an energy to the project that carries you along.  Sometimes with "difficult" tasks you need to find extremely small steps, but this is always better than doing nothing.  Even if you spend two minutes on a task, you are farther ahead for the next day.  With incremental actions, I've written many books, operated a business for decades, built a huge rock wall, became a black belt, built a house, and much more.  All of these projects seem huge if you think you have to tackle one of them all at once.

Here is a little poem:

Incremental actions
bring monumental
changes
With every fundamental step
your future rearranges
You may not know
what tiny task
could be quite instrumental
in moving your successes
to new and higher ranges

Want to Get More Done? Don’t Wait for Motivation...Trigger It.

Here’s something most people get totally backwards: motivation doesn’t come before action, it comes BECAUSE of action.

And the key player behind that magical shift? Dopamine.

You’ve probably heard of dopamine as the “feel-good” chemical. It fires up when you do something rewarding, like checking off a to-do list, hitting a goal, or doing something you enjoy. But what most people don’t realize is that dopamine isn’t just about rewards. It’s also about ANTICIPATION and MOMENTUM.

The moment you take even the tiniest step toward a task
like opening your laptop, tying your shoes, scribbling a sentence, your brain responds with a little shot of dopamine. It’s your brain’s way of saying, “Nice. Progress.”

That's the secret.

People who have dopamine wired to their daily activities just do them without any struggle, and if you use your dopamine properly you'll figure out the secret to starting without any resistance!

Psychologists call this the "behavioral activation system". It’s your brain’s internal motor, and dopamine is the fuel. When you move, you make the motivation happen.

Starting whatever "thing" or "things" is the hardest part, but if you use the power of your own activation energy your golden. As soon as you do that, all resistance to getting things done evaporates like it was never there in the first place.

Even if your to-do list is boring there's no problem 'cus you can hack the system!

Here's how: Link that task to something pleasurable (good music, a treat afterward, or just the satisfaction of checking a box.)

Over time, your brain will start associating the task with reward, and then the dopamine flows like warm nectar into your body.

Break your work into small wins. Celebrate each one. Watch the productivity stack up.

If you're looking for a bottom line, here it is: Don’t wait to feel like doing the thing. Start the thing, and THEN you’ll start to feel like doing it.

Productivity isn’t about overhauling your life overnight or squeezing more into your calendar. It’s about moving forward - intentionally, sustainably, and in alignment with your energy and values.

One of the most powerful shifts you can make is to embrace the idea that getting 1% better every day is enough. In my work as a mindful productivity life coach, I guide solopreneurs and hybrid workers to stop chasing hustle and start honoring their rhythms.

Productivity becomes possible when you stop trying to “do it all” and start designing systems that support your nervous system. That might mean starting your day with a grounding ritual instead of diving into emails, setting work hours that match your energy peaks, or having a 3-step shutdown routine that signals your brain it’s safe to rest.

When you layer intentional habits with self-awareness, progress compounds. Tiny steps, taken consistently, beat bursts of hustle every time. And when you create space for your brain to recover - like through breaks, movement, or even silence - you make room for insight, clarity, and creativity.

You don’t have to hustle harder. You just need to create conditions where focus, energy, and progress can flow with ease.

Productivity is a practice. Start small. Stay kind. And keep showing up 1% at a time.

Productivity doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from being more you.

Most of us try to be productive by pushing harder, stacking more to-do lists, or hacking our way through the chaos. The real key, however, is presence. Not the kind where you meditate for hours and then check out of life, but rather, the kind where you actually feel your feet, hear your breath, and meet the moment as it is.

From there, clarity naturally arises. Not because you force it, but because you’ve stopped resisting what’s true. You’re not lost in mental noise or trying to perform for some invisible scoreboard.

To be the most productive version of yourself, you have to be real and honest. Feel what’s here, even if it’s uncomfortable. (Especially if it is!) That’s where the energy gets unlocked. That’s when doing stops being effort and starts becoming flow.

When you're aligned with your essence, productivity stops being a grind and starts becoming a quiet kind of joy.

You don't have to try to be more productive.

You just have to stop abandoning yourself.

Productivity isn’t just about hours worked, it’s about managing limited energy within those hours. Even a perfect schedule won’t help if your energy is low. Align tasks with your natural energy peaks, take regular breaks and care for your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

Boost productivity by using tools like Time Blocking, the Eisenhower Matrix, Two-Minute Rule and Pomodoro Technique. You'll find more on each with a quick online search.

One of my favorite strategies is preparation, having all tools and materials ready and well maintained before starting. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe".

Another highly effective method is, at the end of each workday, write down the six most important tasks for tomorrow. Don’t list more than six. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.

The next morning, concentrate solely on the first task until it's complete. Then move on to the next.

What I love about this method is that, almost magically and overnight during sleep, your subconscious begins to work on those 6 important tasks. The next day, you’ll find that you begin with greater focus and everything seems to run more smoothly.