How To Be More Productive When You Are Alone

Spending time alone with yourself can be one of the most relaxing and productive things you can do, however, using your time alone to be more productive can be easier said than done. You can set a path to get the most out of yourself when you are alone. Are you ready to get more productive? 

You can be more productive when you are alone if you:

• Set goals
• Prioritize the day
• Limit social media 
• Take breaks 
• Find your inspiration 
• Do what works for you 
• Leave room to pivot 
• Find a way to enjoy the task 
• Reward yourself 
• Embrace the challenge

Using these strategies can improve your productivity when you are alone and present a new perspective on how you navigate life. 

Set goals

Goals are important because they help you visualize the desired outcome. When you know what it is that you want to accomplish, you’re more likely to do the things required to make it happen. This is especially important when you are alone and need to be productive.

Each day you need to set your intentions for the next day. Having a clear list goals when you get out of bed the next morning allows you to focus on the things that you intend to do. It also gives you additional time to strategize for the next day.

Setting goals is the difference between wanting to be productive and actually being productive. There’s a difference between being busy and productive. Just because you’re moving doesn’t actually mean that you’re being productive. This is where daily goals make a huge difference.

Prioritize the day

Once you’ve identified your goals for the next day, it’s time to prioritize. Prioritizing your goals is important because it can also influence whether or not you will be successful.

A good strategy is to identify the most complex or difficult goal and do that one first. Tackling the most complex and difficult goal on your list can give you that extra burst of confidence and motivation you need to continue to tackle the rest of your goals you’ve set for the day.

Don’t be afraid to take on a challenge before you’ve done smaller, less complex things. When you prove to yourself that you’re capable of handling challenging situations and getting your desired outcome, it increases the probability you’re going to be successful accomplishing the other goals you’ve set.

Limit social media

Social media is a great place to collaborate and network with like-minded individuals, but it can also be a huge distraction when you’re trying to be productive. When you want to be more productive when you’re alone, limiting your time on social media is crucial.

Social media can be a void space you fall into having conversations and interactions that may actually never lead to anything productive. When you’ve made a decision or set goals for the day, try to identify or do things that don’t require much or limited access to social media.

If your goal is to be more productive when you are alone, you can’t use social media to be a companion. Be strategic and purposeful with your time. Use social media when you need it, but when you need to focus and be more productive turn it off and be laser focused on your goals.

Take breaks

There are 24 hours in a day which means you have plenty of time to attempt to accomplish the goals that you set for the day and can be productive when you are alone. While you’re working hard to be productive throughout the day, it’s still important to take breaks from time to time.

Taking breaks allows you a moment to reset and see things a little more clear outside of the box. Taking a break can include listening to music, dancing, a nice stretch, going for a walk or taking a phone call.

Whatever you do when you take your break it’s just important that the activity doesn’t disturb the mindset that you started the day with wanting to be more productive. Use that break time to get another dose of motivation to be more productive when you are alone.

Find your inspiration

Productivity also requires some inspiration. Everyone does not wake up inspired to do great things even if they already have a plan. Being productive when you are alone can be inspired by things that motivate you to push beyond your circumstances.

Find your inspiration in things that work for you. Watching inspirational videos on YouTube, reading commencement speeches, and reciting affirmations are just some ways you can get inspired to be more productive.

When I want to be really productive, I play a personal soundtrack that I put together myself. Its a collection of different songs that really make me want to get things done. Find songs that you like and put together your own playlist and use it to motivate and inspire you to be productive when you are alone. Let that playlist be the hype squad that pushes and encourages you to keep going.

Do what works for you 

Everybody will tell you how to be more productive but at the end of the day you need to listen to yourself and identify what works for you. You’re going to try many different things and some things will be really successful and other things just won’t work out the way you expected.

The end result after all of that searching is you will find many things that really make you productive when you are alone. When you identify what that is make sure you do that. Don’t worry about it if it doesn’t follow the standards of others. Your productivity is your business.

Leave room to pivot

Being productive starts with a plan and goals you set for yourself, however, you’ve always got to leave room for other opportunities that may pop up you didn’t plan for. Leaving room to pivot allows you to still be productive without feeling confined or limited in what you can do for the day.

When you’re working through your daily goals you may identify other tasks and items that you think need to be done and it’s okay to pivot to those things. Remember, you do what works for you in order to be productive when you are alone. If that means you may have to pivot to handle other things to consider the day a success, do it.

Find a way to enjoy the task

When having fun it’s really easy to lose track of time. Incorporating fun into the things you have to do to be productive when you are alone, can make it easier to accomplish the goals you set for yourself. It can take it from feeling like a job to feeling more like passion.

A way to figure out how to find the fun in the things you need to do for the day, is to ask yourself a few simple questions.

• How can I enjoy this task?
• What can I do to make this task fun for myself?
• How can I make this work for the best part of my day?

When I go to the gym it’s one of the places I know I have to go but it’s not always a place I want to be. But I have found that I am able to be productive when I am alone during my workout by using a specific soundtrack I have created that keeps me focused and motivated. That’s when it becomes fun.

When you find a way to have fun it becomes just work. And because you do that work for you, doing work becomes fun.

Reward yourself

After grinding all day being productive, it’s time to reward yourself doing something that you enjoy. There are no rules and you don’t have to do what others consider a reward. Do what works for you.

Listen to some music, party, go shopping, or just do something that makes you feel good. You deserve to do something nice for yourself because you made it your business to be productive while you were alone.

Embrace the challenge

Anything in life that you want to do that is meaningful is going to be hard and it’s going to take some time to accomplish. That’s okay. You have to accept and embrace the challenge.

Once you have accepted the challenge that you will be productive, you will accomplish your goals. Not only do you increase the probability of success, you will also enjoy the process even more.

Know it’s going to be tough, and it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

How to be more productive when you are alone is possible, it just requires commitment from you to you. You can do this!