5 ways to persuade yourself to be more productive

When you’re trying to persuade someone to do something, one tactic is to make it simple. You’re not trying to change their mind, you’re making it easy for them to say ‘yes.'

Use this technique on yourself by agreeing to just do five more. For example, make five more calls, read five more pages, or send five emails.

In many cases, 80% of the problem is getting started. By making that initial step easy, you’re not trying to change your mind; you’re doing what you need to get started and you’ll likely build the momentum to do a lot more.

Setting goals is how many of us achieve the things we desire most, but goals can also be daunting when they’re big, like writing a book. Persuade yourself to get moving by setting smaller, interim goals, such as writing a chapter every week.

Long-term goals don’t motivate. They can be too much—something you can’t wrap your head around—and cause you to freak out. Goals that are easier to accomplish can be motivating. When you see the end of something, you kick harder to get to the finish line.

Posting an intention on social media can also be motivating. This has to do with the behavioral science that watched people are nice people. A public commitment is like being watched. You don’t want to lose face or look bad.

To work, the public commitment persuasion tactic has to involve specific goal setting. You can’t just proclaim you’re going to write a book or run a marathon.

If one has never written book, for example, it won’t be effective. Provide a timeframe, such as a finishing a chapter this week. Smaller and more specific is better than large and general announcements.

Another trick for getting more done is to take a break. The brain and body are not meant to work nonstop, says Pink.

For whatever weird reason, we have the idea that powering through is the best way to get stuff done and a sign of our own virtue. We’ve got it upside down and believe amateurs take breaks and pros don’t. Athletes know that taking breaks is not a deviation from performance but is part of performance.

Your drive to get more done would increase if you would simply take a walk outside every afternoon.

Having a looming deadline can be a good motivator for committing to action. You can set them yourself or leverage deadlines given to you by a manager or coworker.

Deadlines help turn an abstract into something concrete, instead of a dull nagging to do something. Deadlines also provide the power of endings. It helps when you see the finish line.