<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-623" style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 2px; background-color: #dddddd; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 20px;" title="Red Brick Clock" alt="Red Brick Clock" src="/assets/images/2011/12/Clock.jpg" /> ## Defining Personal Productivity

Personal Productivity is hard to find a definition for which works in all aspects of your life.  I believe that this is because the term has become fragmented into separate meanings for the personal and professional  aspects of our lives.  As I was pondering what does personal productivity  mean I came across a great definition at http://workawesome.com/productivity/personal-productivity/.

Simply put, personal productivity is completing the actions that move you closer to accomplishing your goals in a way that brings balance and ease into your life.

I like this definition for the following reasons:

  1. The Focus on Goals
  2. The Focus on Balance
  3. The Focus on Finishing

Goals

Goals are a great productivity tool for any aspect our lives.  In work we can make the most mundane tasks more fun if we attach goals to them.  We can make complex goals a matter of completing a series of steps, instead of a large expanse of undefined actions.  In our personal lives we can make almost all aspects of self-improvement a matter of goals.  This leads us to accomplishing more than getting home and watching TV all night.

Balance

Balance in our lives is easily lost.  If our personal lives overtake our professional life, then our work suffers.  Likewise if we let work overwhelm us we suffer.  Balance is necessary, and that is why in the Middle Way Method there are personal and relationship goals to carry out each week.  These goals help us maintain balance.

Finishing

Finishing is important.  If we do not finish we will be left with clutter to deal with.  If we have projects which we are always working towards, and never do then there might be physical or mental clutter.  Reducing clutter is part of the reason for the Middle Way Method, so that we can focus on what we can carry out and keep moving forward while keeping our minds uncluttered.

In the end being productive is about balance, and accomplishments.  We all wear many hats, and if we let one of those hats eclipse the others in importance we run the risk of being less productive overall.  It is hard to balance our responsibilities.   If we turn our responsibilities into a series of well-defined goals then we can balance all the goals in our lives, and come out as effective in personal productivity.  Focusing on what we want to do will help us stay productive, because we will not get distracted as easily, and we will be more productive in every aspect of our lives.