The way you do one thing is how you do everything. If you procrastinate at work, you procrastinate when it comes to cleaning at home. On the flip side, if you are productive in one area of your life, you will be more productive in all areas of your life. 

If you’ve ever wondered how productive people get so much more accomplished, that’s their secret. The habit of highly productive people is to be highly productive at everything they do.

Don’t mistake being productive as an innate quality or character trait. It’s not. Productivity comes from developing habits that are based on having a productive mindset. Once you set your mind to be more productive in all areas of your life, then you will strive to develop habits that achieve results.

Here are some examples of productive habits you can start to develop today: 

1. Be More Productive with Money

Every dollar you earn is an opportunity to improve your life, so don’t waste it. Instead, use a budget to see where you spend money. If you notice you are not spending money wisely, then make your budget more productive. A budget also helps you resist the temptation to spend more money than you earn. Budgeting is a great way to be more productive with money because every dollar you earn should be allocated for things that will make your life better – including your retirement. 

Budget Productively with Empower

If you are new to budgeting, there is no better app than Empower. Empower makes it extremely easy to create a budget and track your spending. Plus, they’ll even send you notifications when you come close to overspending in budget areas – a surefire way to prevent money mistakes. Then, at the end of the month, Empower will send a “financial report card” with real insights on spending more wisely in the future.

Download Empower to start spending wisely.

Teach Your Children the Value of Hard Work and Saving Money with Greenlight

Want a simple solution to set your children on track for financial success? You can teach them the importance of careful spending, wise saving, generous giving, and the value of hard work with Greenlight, the debit card for kids and teens.

Greenlight is a secured debit card tied to a bank account that helps teach your children about being smart with their money. You can set limits on how much they have to spend, so they will have to think twice before wasting money on mindless purchases instead of saving for that Xbox. 

You can teach them the value of hard work when you set up chores for them to do. After they complete the work, they get paid. You can teach them the importance of saving by giving them an incentive to do so with “parent-paid interest.” If they save so much, you will pay them interest. It’s a great motivator to get into the habit of saving while they are young.

The secured debit card is connected to a bank account, and you control how much to put on your children’s card (you can have up to five debit cards for one low, monthly fee). You can set limits on how much to spend at restaurants, at gas stations, and even how much they can withdraw from an ATM.

Sign up for Greenlight today and get your first month free.

Free Workshop – Join our free Simplify Money Workshop

The *only* way to save money is to spend less than you earn. That means you need to decrease your expenses or increase your income.

We want to help you do both.

Join our FREE Simplify Money Workshop to learn the fundamentals of growing wealth. Because when you can spend less than you earn, your money has no choice but to grow. You will build your savings and pay down debt. 

What’s more? We’ve got a bunch of free money-hacks to share with you:

  • Hacks to lower your monthly bills
  • Hacks to spend less on debt
  • Hacks to start investing
  • Hacks to increase your income by $20/month (with no extra effort)

This workshop has everything you need to accomplish the cardinal rule of personal finance: keep your income over your expenses.

Join our free 5-day Simplify Money Workshop, and start growing your wealth today.

2. Stop Going into Debt

Interest payments are leaching excess cash out of your account. You want to be more productive? Get out of debt so you can keep the money that belongs to you. Fortunately, there is a way to lower your interest payments before becoming debt free.

Balance Transfer Credit Cards are a great way to lower your interest payments, giving you an opportunity to pay down debt very fast. Here’s how they work:

You will take all of your credit card debt and transfer it to one card. This gives you one monthly payment, and the Balance Transfer Credit Card will attempt to lower your overall interest. Some cards offer 0% interest for 12-18 months (your new interest rate will depend on your credit score).

Check out the Balance Transfer Credit Cards over here at Credit Land. Find a card offering low interest, and put that extra money towards paying down your debt fast.

3. Let Your Money Be Productive on Your Behalf

Life happens. Most of our money goes to pay bills, like rent or mortgage payments, food, car payments, electricity, credit card bills, internet, TV, and streaming services. If you want to build wealth, then you will have to take control of your money. When you do, you will have money to invest.

When you invest, you are putting your money to work on your behalf. The investment mindset is to buy low today and hope your stocks or mutual funds rise so you can sell high down the road. Successful investing will provide an income source as the money you put in compounds. Investing is considered passive income because your money does the work.

Find New, Small Businesses to Invest in with Mainvest

Did you ever wish you invested early in companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Netflix? There is a way you can get in on the ground floor with small, local companies for as little as $100 with Mainvest, a crowdfunding platform for small businesses.

Mainvest is a funding portal that brings together business owners and willing investors. Mainvest vets each business, which increases the likelihood of success. So far, 96% of Mainvest’s investors have been repaid with a return on their investment. 

If you want to be part of helping the next great coffee shop, bakery, or microbrewery launch or expand, then start investing with Mainvest.

4. Keep Your Home Clean

Nothing screams unproductive like a dirty and cluttered home. Plus, a clean home leaves you with more time to get stuff done. Think of it this way: If you keep your house clean and decluttered, your mind will stay clean and decluttered. A clear mind is essential to being more productive in other areas of your life.

5. Be Productive in the Kitchen

Believe it or not, a change in your kitchen habits can make you more productive. It’s as simple as eating healthy, cutting out sugar, and limiting your caffeine intake. The easiest way to make this change is to start cooking for yourself at home rather than regularly eating out. Look up recipes on Google (specifically those that show up at the top of the search results because they are the best) and get cooking.

Get Cash Back When You Shop for Groceries with Ibotta

If you want to change your eating habits, make sure you download the Ibotta app. As you shop for healthier foods and recipe ingredients, you can be earning cashback. Simply take a photo of your receipt using Ibotta and get your free cash. Yes, it’s that easy. By choosing to be productive in one area of your life, it trickles into other areas.

Want to hear even more ways Ibotta can save you money? Check out our Ibotta explainer video, here!

Download the free Ibotta app (+ grab a $20 welcome bonus)

Win Cash Prizes for Weight Loss with HealthyWage

Here’s another example of productivity trickling into other areas: As you are more productive in the kitchen and start eating healthier, you’ll start losing weight. With HealthyWage, you get rewarded for losing weight with real cash through successful weight loss challenges. The added competition element of HealthyWage will motivate you to be more productive in your weight loss goals. 

Make a Personal Weight Loss Challenge on HealthyWage and win money.

6. Correct Your Posture

Good posture matters – especially when it comes to productivity. According to the American Posture Institute, “As observed through multiple studies, posture can have an overwhelming effect on our energy levels, hormone release, and overall productivity.” [source]

Invest in a Posture Trainer and Corrector to help you be more productive.

7. Don’t Be in a Hurry

As the productivity gurus at Day Designer say, “Busyness doesn’t always equal productivity.” When you see someone always rushing around, it doesn’t give off super productive vibes. Instead, it appears the person is scattered and unorganized. 

Highly productive people always eliminate unnecessary anxiety. One way to get rid of stress that stems from rushing around is to pay better attention to your time. Make an effort to go to bed earlier so you get enough sleep. Set the alarm to wake you up with enough time to get ready without rushing. Give yourself plenty of time to get where you need to go, which means giving yourself extra time instead of the exact driving time calculated by GPS. 

Pro Tip: Stop hitting snooze and waking up late. Read a book to help you fall asleep, and look at your phone to help you wake up.

8. Get Better at Something 

Pick a goal, and then try to find the most efficient way (aka easiest way) to accomplish that goal. Is your desire to save more money? Start working on your budget. Mindfully spend your money to keep your income over your expenses.

Check out these other ways to save money more efficiently…

Ibotta – Ibotta is a cashback app for everyday items, such as groceries and pet food, that works in-store and online. Download the free Ibotta app (+ grab a $20 welcome bonus), snap a pic of your receipt, and get free cash.

Want More (easy) Life Hacks? Check these out…

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7 Habits of Highly Productive People Story