I’d bet that almost 97% of entrepreneurs have never applied these tips before…

If you are at all like me, you’ve likely been through a phase (or more like a fog) where your productivity drastically decreases or takes a turn for the worse.

Simply put, life happens. It’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that. I know what it’s like to have a huge, massive, ginormous list of to do’s … and get none of them done.

So, I figured I’d take a moment and hopefully light a fire under your feet while guiding you and giving you 3 practical tips to drastically increase your productivity.

Since it’s likely that you’ve got things to do, I’ll keep this one short.

Productivity Tip Number 1: Prioritize Your Priorities

Oh, geez! Right? It seems so repetitive. But when you’re running your own business it can be difficult to figure out which items on your to do list are the most important.

So here’s a quick tip: prioritize your priorities. It’s easy. Just grab two blank sheets of paper. On the first one, list off all of the things you have to accomplish. Now pull out the second sheet of paper and number it 1 through 10.

This is the important part…

From the first sheet of paper, choose only 10 of the “to do’s” and write them out in order of perceived importance. After you do that, be sure to set a deadline and write down what you will reward yourself with if you accomplish this entire list within the given time-frame.

Be sure to actually write all of this out. In my personal experience, I’ve noticed that when I write out my goals, I am more inclined to accomplish them. I know pens and paper are so old fashioned, but just trust me, and do it.

If you have more than 10 things to do, just repeat this exercise for the rest of your list.

Productivity Tip Number 2: Tell Your Subconscious to Shove It

Do you ever have days where you constantly struggle to justify your reason for accomplishing nothing? (Wow, that was deep!) But really, think about it. My most recent experience came on New Years. From the time I woke up, until 3 in the afternoon, I had convinced myself that I didn’t need to do anything, because it was “a holiday.”

Now, with that said, I do agree that we must learn to step back. We need to be able to enjoy our lives while building our dreams, but as entrepreneurs — we’ve got stuff to do. And too often we also have excuses.

Even though I knew that I had many things I could be doing, I chose to sit around, all day, watching my favorite TV series on Netflix. Then at 3pm in the afternoon, I finally decided to get up and do something.

So what’s my point? Quit listening to your excuses. Negativity (and excuses) live in your subconscious and they will kill your productivity. (Yes, even the guy writing this article about productivity struggles with it. Like I said earlier, life happens. But mastering how to overcome any and every obstacle is what creates a success story.)

Bottom line: quit listening to all the negative, self-doubting thoughts and excuses that go round and round inside your head. Pick up a personal development book, read a few pages, and get things done.