Practice makes perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. Practice makes progress. Let’s start from zero, by establishing that practice does not have to make anything. In its simplest form, practice is doing. Practice is studying, performing, presenting, speaking, loving, and trying. Practice takes effort regardless of its outcome. Practice is a lifestyle and an ongoing commitment to ideas, goals, and tasks that we must accept as part of a bigger process, or a bigger meaning. The beauty of practice lies in our choices. We get to choose what we practice and why. We get to define our process, our bigger meaning, and then decide our level of devotion to it.

So why do we practice? Why is practice so engrained in the methodologies used by professionals, coaches, mentors, and successful people? Unfortunately, going down these philosophical paths often welcomes broad terms like experience, purpose, discipline, success, and so on. This makes it challenging to be productive with our practice. My goal is to keep my exploration of productive practice simple and succinct, so that you can take these lessons and apply them to the circumstances in your life.

Simple breakdowns allow us to feel productive because we can actually check off boxes for the tasks we accomplish. By breaking things down into tasks or categories, we get a better view of what we actually need to do to make progress. I believe life can be categorized by three main themes: family, career, and social life. Sure, these themes have their own subcategories that inevitably disperse into more subcategories. Everyone’s circumstances are unique and ever-changing. However, we can agree that each of these themes requires a certain level of attention, effort, and time. Each theme presents pros and cons and in many ways, it is overwhelming to manage all three at once. Productive practice is important in life because people can only commit to a certain level of productivity. It’s up to us as individuals to decide if we take on these three main themes separately or collectively. Many people make the common mistake of thinking that practice has a defined quantity. They think that practice is only sufficient if there is a lot of it. This is not true. If we practiced all of life’s themes and subcategories in large quantities simultaneously, we would never have enough time to actually improve.

The rest of this article offers some short examples of simple breakdowns for not feeling, but being productive with your family, career, and social life. Find tips for improving your productivity at the end of the article.

Theme 1: Family

Family Includes Everyone

When I think of family, I think of my life right now. After proposing to my wife, Taylor, we got married, bought a house and a dog, and started having kids. It is so much easier to read that sentence than to live up to the goals and dreams we have already accomplished and the ones we have set for our future. As a husband I want Taylor to feel loved and appreciated, and to make time for dates and traveling. As a father, I want to make sure our son Beckett has fun and learns a lot. As a career-minded individual I want to maintain a high level of performance and professional development. As a former (trying to be current) athlete, I want to stay in the best and healthiest shape for as long as possible. In my opinion longevity is one of the great results of productivity. But how do you find enough time to accomplish all of those things every day, week, month, or year? You have to get organized.

1. Cut your to-do list in half.

Productive practice isn’t just completing as many tasks as possible in one day. Make a list of the 10 most important things you need to get done. Commit to one through five today and save six through ten for tomorrow.

2. Take more breaks.

Close your laptop and turn off your phone. Grab a snack and go for a walk. A break doesn’t upend your productivity, it actually enhances it.

3. Try the 80/20 rule. (aka the Pareto Principle)

Can you find things in life that require 20% of your effort to see 80% of your desired results? 80% of quality sleep happens in 20% of the time you actually sleep. 80% of your success comes from 20% of your ideas. You won’t always be productive, make the most of your 20%’s.

4. Use the morning for you.

Wake up early before distractions. For my wife and I, that’s our dog, son, jobs, and relationships with friends, family, and each other. Pick your favorite workout, book, radio channel, or hobby. Get up early enough to enjoy an hour of it before anyone else can influence your thoughts or actions.

5. Stop multi-tasking.

Taylor would hate this one. She is the only successful multi-tasker I know.

Stop spreading yourself too thin. Changing between tasks actually lowers your brain function and common sense. Choose the most important priorities. Attack them with full focus and energy.

Whether your family looks like mine or not, your life is busy and it takes productive practice to maintain your commitments. Depending on your circumstances, maybe your girlfriend or boyfriend is family, friends are family, or even your coworkers or strangers are family. The experiences we have across these relationships vary, often greatly, but there is still a level of unity and commitment that should be recognized.

Identifying family is a form of welcoming all of those around us. The simple understanding of global family: commit to treating other people, not matter what subcategory they fall into in your life, with the same energy and respect. Our immediate families should motivate us to work hard, improve our health and well-being, and look out for one another. They take up the most of our time and we should love them for doing so. The people we date are more of a roller coaster. Our lives get upended with a trajectory headed straight for the sky, known as the honeymoon phase, and often flips back around just as quickly before the downfall and recovery. Either way, we should love the journey for what it is. Coworkers might not get as close to us as the first two examples but we must appreciate and build camaraderie with them. Finally, the strangers we encounter take up a lot more time than we think. Although random and unpredictable, strangers are still part of our global family and should be loved as such. Keep it simple.

Use the breakdowns above to set boundaries while ensuring that you create time for the things that matter most.

In my opinion longevity is one of the great results of productivity.

Theme 2: Career

Define your goals. Make a list of your top 5 career goals: industry, income, job title, impact, career length.

What industry interests you? What income are you looking for? When you think of your dream job, what is the title and job description? Impact: Do you want to sell products? Do you want to coach younger generations? Do you want to do physical labor? Do you want to travel a lot? Think about the impact on yourself, your loved ones, and your vision of you in 10-20 years. Finally, how long do you want to work?

This might look like a long list but make 20 minutes to sit down and create this list. It will give you a tangible starting point. It will give you an initial outline of what you want from your job or business.

When I talk with friends, students, and/or clients I hear some pretty big questions about the meaning of life, finding fulfillment, making a lot of money, and balancing career goals with the other things they love. There are difficult transitions and difficult stagnations, but time will pass and we have to focus on what is controllable.

My 5 Career Goals

1. Industry: Education, combination of higher ed and small business

2. Income goal: no ceiling here but a nice round number would be in the ballpark of $400,000 annually

3. Job title goal: President, Founder, or Owner

4. Impact goal: Show people their goals are possible. Improve education in the US.

5. Career Length goal: ‘Til I die. I love what I do. I am kind of joking, but I do plan on working/staying busy a bit longer than most people.

The term “career” is not supposed to scare you. I am definitely guilty of associating career with identity and thinking that I will find myself 40 years from now wondering if I chose the right path. Ask big questions and set lofty goals but make sure you understand your priorities. Soon enough it will slowly start to make sense. There is no secret to success.

Takeaway: careers are defined by several things, some of which I listed above. Hopefully you now have a list as a starting point but if not, just start. One experience will lead to the next experience. Having a boss, a few coworkers, and completing some projects will answer some of those big questions for yourself. It doesn’t take long to figure out what you like and don’t like. The key is to take action and give yourself a chance to pursue your interests while also making a living. Your career does not define all of who you are but it is a chance to enjoy what you do and to have a positive impact while doing it. Make your list. Be productive. Always practice, always improve. Remember it is a process that takes time.

Theme 3: Social Life

Consider how your friends and acquaintances make you feel/ act.

Socializing is necessary. I don’t care if you are introverted and/or you work 23 hour days. Make time for friends, colleagues, and other people in your life. It improves your mental and physical health, and it’s been shown that people develop new skills faster, and more frequently when they prioritize spending time with other people.

Sometimes I struggle to keep up with being social. Those closest to me know it took me YEARS to open up. I was very shy growing up. I didn’t like public speaking, I was quiet, and I usually preferred to let the people around me talk first. I finally made a change as a sophomore in college by signing up for three public speaking and networking classes. The only thing that helped was presenting and starting conversations with people over and over and over again. I needed the reps and I needed the practice. As I write this section of this article, I can be honest that it still takes a lot of work to be social and socializing is quickly placed on the back burner when other things come up.

Story time.

A few Saturdays ago, Beckett missed his nap and was screaming about wanting to eat dinner. We had plans to have a fun family outing on a boat with some friends and had been excited about it all week. Combined with endless tantrums, work, and little sleep, our boating plans quickly went south. In addition, I skipped an “Ice Cream Social” networking event at work and when I got back home there was a missed call from my brother. How am I supposed to prioritize all of these things in one week?

Simple Steps for Managing and Enjoying Your Social Life

1. Focus on quality. Quality people over quantity. This ensures fulfillment, joy, and relaxation by spending quality time with less people.

2. Seek positive people. Surround yourself with people who have similar, if not bigger goals than you with their career, family, and health. The trickle down or trickle over effect works wonders.

3. Support other people.

4. Start with one of your favorite activities. Mark in on your calendar and put a reminder in your phone to practice the activity once a month. Progress to twice a month and then once a week. Continue adding/swapping favorite and new activities.

5. Respect your boundaries and those of others. Draw a clear line for yourself as an indicator for when you are over committed or overwhelmed. You do have to start by doing and showing up, then you can work in a few rain-checks.

Productive practice does not solve every problem that arises in our busy lives. It gives us a chance to take a step back and to take a deep breath, so we can organize our thoughts and plan of attack. When we are at our busiest we either thrive or struggle, so it is important to chip away at what we can manage.

Additional Tips to Improve Productivity

1. Productivity isn’t just for work.

2. Keep it simple.

3. Stop multi-tasking.

4. Rely on teammates and coworkers.

5. Take breaks.

6. Work your ass off. When it comes down to it, set yourself up to work as hard as you can. There is no article, coaching queue, or tip that can substitute for working extremely hard. Discover your threshold for hard work, utilize the methods that are necessary to create a consistent work ethic, and above all have fun doing it. We have one shot at life!