A Green Beret shares his best productivity tips

US Army Photo

This post by Michael Martel appeared originally on Quora as an answer to the question "What was the best advice you ever received on being productive?"

Don't worry about being productive ...

Focus on your goals

Everyone wants to do more in their life. They want a better business, to make more money. They want to be able to manage their time more effectively. They want to get things done well and move on to the next task, project quickly and effectively.

Many people can never seem to get their time management under control.

But productivity and time management isn’t the real problem. The truth is the real problem is lack — lack of reasons you have to.

There is no real connection between what you want in life and the steps necessary to get there.

The Mission

I am often asked why the Special Forces are known for getting things done. We improvised, adapted, overcame what ever necessary to get the mission accomplished.

We trained for and executed missions where people's lives depended on the success of the mission — our own lives included. I know it sounds trite, but failure was not an option.

The steps (tasks, projects) we took were all tied to the success of the mission. That meant we had to get them done. The key is necessity.

Your Goals

How would it be if you established some BAGs (Big A-- Goals) in your life? Then changed your mindset where you knew those things that have to get done are tied to the BAG. How do you think that would affect your productivity and time management?

Take the time to sit down and think about what you want — really want. Is it to take your business to the next level? It might be more time with the family, either at home or on a special vacation. It might be a better house, a new car.  It might be a different lifestyle. These are your mission. Mission comes first, everything else comes last.

Whenever I am asked about being productive, I ask about a person’s goals. With great goals, people tend to get 'er done.

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