One of my goals for this year has been to work on being more productive. It’s really easy to get swooped up in all the productivity books, apps, and podcasts all while not actually getting anything done!

Here are the things I’ve done already to actually fulfil that goal:

###Wake up earlier I’ve found the first few hours of the day I can get a whole lot more done than the later hours of the day. Even if I don’t, I get all the potentially useless crap out of the way(twitter, hackernews, etc). An added bonus here is this has been making it much easier for me to get to the gym and exercise.

###Work in different places I’ve split my time lately working on the couch, my desk at home, and at the coworking space. I’m likely going to remove the couch from that equation, but it’s been nice to be somewhere else in my house getting things done. Plus, the couch, most likely, isn’t the best thing for my back and posture.

###Have a clear workspace My desk needs to be clean! At home this can be a challenge, but elsewhere I can’t store all my junk so it saves me the hassle of cleaning when I head to the coworking space!

###Have a clear mind This is a tough one for me, but I’ve found a solution! I simply started writing all my ideas, tasks, and everything down. Either in my calendar on my phone or Evernote. I’ve particularly grown fond of the reminder feature on Evernote for simple things I need to remember for today(like mailing out a bill that somehow doesn’t have online billpay…). This frees up my mind to focus on whatever task I need to be focusing on right now.

These things are baby steps in the right direction. I’m hoping as this month closes out I can improve on my planning and scheduling. I really would like to be able to start a small side project I’ve had on the backburner, so having my day/week/month/year planned out will help me manage my time appropriately.