How to be REALLY productive

An article reminded me of my own search of productivity. You see, to produce is one of the four main functions a human being has. It is not something materialistic or capitalist, it is part of being.

For some people, to be productive means to go beyond the expectations of their bosses. For some, it is to sell more. For others, to get the highest marks at an exam. Others will feel productive when after they run for two hours, their bodies start to respond positively.

Some people will find themselves productive when they are able to perform the delicate art of being good parents. Others, when they are able to celebrate their 50th. anniversary married to the same person.

Productivity is however not only based on personal sensations. Whatever others feel and express about us is also part of that and it does happen sometimes I feel I was very productive and someone else finds me a lazy person...

This is why the key point here is the criteria and to make sure others have the same points to check on you. If your criteria are not clear, then it is possible that you produce, and give very good results, but you won't be productive. Or if your criteria don't match others', then stress is one of the main outcomes here as there will be pressure on you.

To be productive as a person means that your personal resources are used in the best way possible. The less waste, more productive you are. And in terms of a person, it is good to check everyday on the self and see how to improve your own productivity because the result of that is a very deep satisfaction that you are fulfilling your role in the world stage.

Embracing change and transformation

As beings, we were born for transformation. It is not our purpose in life, but we all transform, without any exception.

As human beings, our transformation happens in many levels. Yes, there is the physical transformation and no matter how many surgeries you do, your body has just one tendency: growing and decaying. However, there is one transformation that impacts all others and that is in the area of awareness.

There are many reports on awareness and lots of research, but what is the importance for that?

Awareness, just like the body, has a tendency to "grow". That means a baby is much less aware than a teenager. However, after a while we reach a kind of maturity and then awareness stops "growing".

Awareness growth means learning and being able to change, and coping with changes. When your awareness is growing you can feel how you are able to change your mind, you are open to embrace people who are different than you and you keep on trying new things. It happened the last time when you were an adventurer, ready to try new routes for your work, holidays or creating a family.

But, just like with the body, sometimes you can feel some stiffness ("I can't accept that!"), tiredness ("This is too much for me!") or lack of strength ("This is my principle, but I can't uphold to it anymore!"). Just like with the body, you can do some exercises and keep it fit, but different than the body your awareness can get younger and ready for new things. Your awareness can get a new life...

If you really need to embrace changes at a faster speed, or you are going through times of crisis or chaos in your life, you need to exercise your awareness right now. The best method I know for that is meditation as it disconnects you from the external environment and it opens you for a deep inner experience.

When you meditate constantly you will notice that changes won't affect you negatively so much. Gradually, you will be able to cope with changes better and start your own changes in life until you get to that transformation, the final process in a chain of changes.

Your awareness will never get old, will never decay and you will be able to appreciate life from a totally new point of view.

How to check yourself?

If you are in a company and want to have success in a project, checking is a vital element to get that. Simply saying, when you check you know how far or how close you are from success, then you can make effective decisions in relation to the use of resources. If you don't check, well, you can reach there by sheer luck or a long experience...

Checking also avoids stress - hummm... I can see you're frowning on that. It is right that some checking methods are so complex that you need too much time for that and what was supposed to prevent stress turns into one of the big stress triggers. But it is not the checking in itself, rather it is the method you used for that.

Anyway, what happens if you want to reach success? Do you really want to get there?

I am sure you want, so a proper checking method is necessary for that. In general, checking covers two main areas of success:

• Quantity. You always have some measurement for that which can be money, free hours to spend with family or number of times you have smiled in one single day. It is easy if your notion of success is measurable, and it is always is. Checking quantity helps you to weight the amount of resources you need to invest, withdraw or get from somewhere; resources in this case can be people's help, skills, money and many other factors that come from outside.
• Quality. That is a bit trickier... Quality is subject to whatever you aim in your life, in this case, whatever you consider as success. For instance, if you buy a TV screen, what are the main points you will check in relation to its quality? Probably the quality of the image (if you are a technical person, you will be talking on display resolution and pixels; otherwise, how nice it looks), the quality of the material in terms of durability, etc. So, if you want to have success in your life, what are the main elements you need to check so that success is something that looks good, lasts in time, etc.?

That is probably more important for the self than for a project, so invest time in that. Learn a method that works with you - remember that a good checking method prevents stress, does not create it.

And what to do with the results? It is key that you implement the changes you noticed immediately. Postpone is not an option... Yes, you can try another method and see what are the results you get through that, and then implement whatever you need as soon as possible.

By checking and implementing changes, you are making sure that success came not out of luck and you can replay that later, or use the same steps in other situations. You can even help others doing that.

Blessings upon blessings

You have probably felt that when you help someone, you feel very good. Some researches have even pointed to helping others as the best way to deal with depression. And, what is that really?

I have learnt that feeling comes from blessings you get from other people and it is something very valuable nowadays. In fact, we have been seeing the recent protest around the world, where people go to the street to say ENOUGH! There is energy in that act. The same we have seen - fewer times - when people peacefully go to the streets to claim a right.

That energy is not only collective. Any parent knows that when their children is very upset with them, they feel bad, they can't work properly and concentration does not come easily. The opposite, which sometimes people don't notice, is also true: when a parent does something extraordinary for their children, they feel really well and that affects their work and concentration. And that is the power of blessings.

In a world with so many things to do, all the time, blessings can help you to move along a little smoother, more contented and more concentrated. That has immediate effect in your own well being and productivity.

Just do good, help someone, anyone, and experience that power coming to you. Use it especially in very tricky situations in your life and you will feel you can't stop living on blessings anymore.