How Highly Productive People Develop Self-Discipline

Ambition is common, but self-discipline separates productive people from others.

According to Dennis Prager, “Happiness is dependent on self-discipline.” The biggest hurdle in achieving our goals is how easily we are distracted by things that do not count as progress toward our achievements.

However, practicing self-discipline is not easy and demands real commitment. To develop self-discipline, you must follow specific steps to help you attain your goals. Here are the top habits of Productive people that help them maintain self-discipline, which ultimately helps them achieve their goals:

Cultivate Vision.

Highly productive people clearly envision where they want to be in life. This sense of direction is like a guiding star, leading them to their destination. It’s impossible to be productive without this clear vision.

Create a vision board and review motivational pictures and quotes each morning to be productive. This will help you align your tasks with your goals. Visualizing requires conscious purposefulness, which enables you to clear your headspace.

Prioritize everything.

Another thing about self-disciplined people is that they finish their important tasks before they allow themselves any indulgences.

It’s crucial to prioritize tasks to avoid distractions during your day. Getting essential tasks done first relieves the pressure of an undone task and gives you a sense of control and plenty of time to be productive for the rest of the day.

For instance, if working on your next project will help you succeed in the future, it is important to work on it before you let yourself spend time with friends, on your phone, etc. As the saying goes, “Being lazy is the best reward for finishing tasks now.”

Say no to distractions.

The most substantial habit of highly productive people is their courage to say no to distractions. Productive people get distracted by social media and hangouts, but they say no to staying focused on their goals. This does not mean you can never indulge in social media presence or go out with friends, but prioritizing your work is essential.

Many people lack the courage to say no to a hang-out when they know they should be working. Once you have learned to say, you will notice that you are moving towards your goals. It is so easy to get distracted by people who are chilling, but “Don’t get distracted by people who are not on track.”

Handle one task at a time.

Highly productive people are realistic about their to-do lists. If you have spent many days procrastinating, it is impossible to finish everything in a day suddenly. Start by focusing on one task at a time instead of overwhelming yourself with everything that needs to be completed.

“If the finish line feels too far away, don’t look at it.” Keep yourself focused on what you have, and ensure you do your best while at it.

Break up goals into bite-sized nuggets.

Once you have a bigger goal, it's important to divide it into smaller chunks. You need to know all the steps to achieve what you want. Instead of feeling down, consider being practical. Divide your goal into what needs to be done daily, weekly, monthly, or in six months.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” You cannot expect everything you want to appear in front of you magically. It takes hard work, and every productive person has put in that hard work to realize their dreams.

Rewards and breaks

You cannot stay focused without sufficient breaks during the day. Every business, school, or workplace has breaks after a certain period because the body cannot function continuously for so long without resting. So, if you want to keep distractions at bay, taking breaks during the day or working period is essential.

It is important to acknowledge your hard work because when you give your mind breaks, it is more likely to stay focused on your goals. Otherwise, you will physically and mentally feel overwhelmed and burn yourself out.

After each day of doing what you intended, reward yourself with an hour of social media, dinner with friends, or just staying in and chilling on your own. This will also energize you and motivate you to work the next day.

Ensure you take one day each week off from work. It is important to give yourself a break before you start working again.

Always learn from mistakes.

Another thing that highly productive people do is learn from their mistakes instead of quitting. So, what if you made a mistake? It only adds to your experience and teaches you how to maneuver things better.

Every time you make a mistake, remind yourself that it is a blessing. The more mistakes you make, the more you will take yourself on the right path. Every goal accumulates lessons learned from your mistakes along the way. Record your successes and failures for continuous learning.

Drive for consistency

Our feelings can be contagious and deceptive when we know what we need to do. We can make ourselves believe we can take a break after one or two days of hard work. Consistency is the key to achievement.

Don’t argue with the plan you have made for yourself. Denying hard work is only habitual because we become accustomed to laziness. If you want to achieve something, don’t be passive to feelings that lead to the destruction of your plan.

When you finish your tasks, you will have plenty of time for laziness, self-pity, and fatigue.

Love what you do

Looking at hard work as a positive trait rather than something that strains you is important. When we force ourselves to work hard, it is natural to hate it because we cannot waste time anymore. Productive people love their work, making it easier to put in the effort needed to achieve their goals.

Whenever you feel distressed because of all that you need to do, remind yourself why you are doing it in the first place. This will help you develop a positive attitude toward your work.

Manage your energy

Self-disciplined people do not burn themselves out. Instead, they devote their effort to tasks that require energy. Sometimes, people make the mistake of building up all their energy for a task that does not require as much energy, and later, they feel tired because they have used it all up.

To achieve your goals, identify what requires active motivation and what you can do effortlessly. This is a difficult task for those starting from zero; therefore, begin by completing one task and perfecting it until it becomes a habit.

Then add another and slowly build up to it. “Relax, but don’t get too comfortable.” Your mind will fool you into believing you have done a lot when you achieve one goal, but this is not always true.

In summary, you can keep reading tips on self-discipline, but the real effort is to apply them in real life. Instead of looking around for more tips, start practicing them now.

As perhaps one of his most famous quotes, Steve Jobs said, “If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do?”

Always learn from the past, be in the present, and look ahead to the future. If you dream of success, it is time to put aside distractions and work on your goals.