The Ultimate Productivity Counter: How Do You Measure Your Success?

Feb 28, 2023

How do you measure productivity?

I have one major task for today and that is to publish this blog post. Do I consider it a success once I publish this article? Does this make me productive?

Productivity is not measured by the number of tasks you have done or the number of projects you have accomplished. The best way to measure your productivity is by answering this question: “How well have I served today?”

I have learned that the best way to stay productive is not to obsess over my results. The fruits are not my focus. The branch bears fruit when it is connected to the vine. In the same way, I bear much fruit when I stay connected to Jesus.

My focus, therefore, is not to count my fruits but to stay connected to Jesus.

Jesus says in John 15 that we need to remain in his love. And we stay in his love when we keep his commands. And what is his command? Love each other as Jesus has loved us.

Therefore, we will remain in Jesus when we love one another as Christ loved us. And we give the most extraordinary kind of love when we lay down our life for a friend.

The key to productivity is to remain in Christ. And the way to remain in Christ is by loving one another to the point of giving your life for a friend.

Let me give you some questions to help you assess your fruitfulness:

1. Who did you serve today?
2. What kind of service did you do to that person?
3. How much did it hurt you to serve that person?

I hope that these assessment questions will help you not just measure your success but keep your focus on serving and loving others as Christ did to you.

I have a challenge for you.

Can you think of a person who will benefit much from reading this blog post?

Why don’t you serve that person right now and forward this article to him?

If you did that then you’re on your way to greater productivity in life. Congratulations!

Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

Give Yourself Permission to Rest

Feb 21, 2023

I almost missed my blog post release today.

I was too busy for the past few days that I didn’t have time to write my article. I needed time to rest after a hectic week.

May this be a reminder to you that you need rhythms of rest in your weekly schedule:

• Give yourself permission to rest
• Make time for one whole day of rest in your weekly schedule
• Enjoy your rest day and don’t be guilty about not doing any “productive” work that day
• Make sure you minimize exposure to social media and other distractions on your rest day

How do you spend your rest day?

Say Goodbye to Distractions: One App to Rule Them All and Become More Productive

Feb 14, 2023

Distractions like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are some of the greatest enemies of productivity. It’s easier to mindlessly scroll through Facebook than to finish your most important task for the day. It’s easier to laugh at those funny TikTok videos than to finish writing your article.

I have tried many different ways and strategies to minimize distractions on my mobile phone but none of them seemed to work for me. I want to share with you this app that helped me minimize my social media addiction. It’s called One Sec.

One Sec is a mobile phone app that helps you delay distracting apps and websites. Basically, it forces you to take a deep breath and helps you ask if you really want to open the potential time-wasting app (like TikTok or Facebook) before jumping in.

This is how it works according to its website: “One Sec works so great because it doesn’t forbid you to use apps and websites. It makes it more annoying. That way you’ll effortlessly change your habits.”

Here are 3 things One Sec has helped me with:

1. Fight against social media addiction.
By forcing me to pause for about 10 seconds before opening any social media app, it has helped me become more aware of my social media addiction. I didn’t realize I was mindlessly opening Facebook app on my phone until One Sec stopped me in my tracks.

2. Recover lost time from distractions.
This app has already helped me save 12.2 hours away from distractions in the last month I have been using it.

3. Establish a healthy relationship with social media.
By helping me become more mindful of my social media habits, I am now more purposeful in using social media apps. I no longer find myself opening Facebook automatically. I only use it now if I have a purpose.

You may want to try using the app for free so you can see it for yourself. Download it now and start redeeming lost time from distractions.

Wishing you a fruitful and successful week ahead!

And, oh, you’re welcome!

“I Really Don’t Know Anything”: How to Walk in Fruitfulness

Feb 7, 2023

I’ve always thought productivity is all about strategies and tactics. If I could just master the latest tips and tricks then I can be very efficient in my work and maximize my full potential. If I could just minimize all distractions, then I can be more fruitful.

Although these things may help in your productivity, what I have learned to be the most effective path towards productivity is this: confessing that you don’t know anything.

Proverbs 4:7 says, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.”

If you want wisdom in your life, you need to start by confessing your need for it. If you want to be more productive, then you must start by confessing that you don’t know how.

I think Aristotle said, “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”

The apostle Paul also said, “Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.” (1 Corinthians 8:2 NLT)

The key to productivity is to know that you won’t be able to make it without God’s help. Your knowledge and human understanding are not enough. What you need is divine revelation.

We need to pray the prayer of Paul for the church in Ephesus. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19a)

No one knows productivity better than God himself. He is the one who created all the trees that bear fruits. He is the one who created us with the capacity to multiply and bear fruits.

Jesus said it best when he talked about the vine and the branches. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NIV)

The key to fruitfulness is to remain in Christ. Our productivity depends on how we as the branches remain in Christ as the vine.

Here are some insights we can learn from the vine:

1. The branch gets its nutrients from the vine.
   Our source of life is God himself. We cannot produce fruits apart from the life that comes from Him. True productivity comes from Him and is sustained only by Him.

    

2. A branch that is detached from the vine cannot produce fruits.
   The greatest enemy of productivity is self-reliance. When you think you know all the answers and you think you can do it by your strength, then you are no longer dependent on God. You are now detached from the vine and you cannot produce real fruits.

    

3. A branch that is connected to the vine cannot have a will of its own.
   You cannot remain in Christ and still have your way of doing things. To remain in Christ is to do his will and to keep his commands.

    

It takes humility to admit that you don’t know it all. It takes brokenness to say that you need God. If you want to walk in fruitfulness, start by saying, “I really don’t know anything.”

Photo by Design Wala on Unsplash