9 to 5… 8:30 to 4:30… 7:30 to 3:30… We typically define our workday by the amount of hours we put in. Some of us, by choice or necessity, put in longer hours than normal folks either for more income or more productivity.

Is that what real productivity means? Does working longer hours mean more productivity? Well, certainly… that’s one way to get more things done.

But…

Jumping on the treadmill you call your job and dutifully going thru the motions until the quittin’ time bell rings, did you feel you were as productive as you could have been?

It’s frustrating to busy all day and really have little to show for it. I have those days. I’m relatively sure you have them too.

I ran across an idea from a very productive writer who suggests that you set a daily production goal to meet. You should set a target for yourself, for example:

• 3 full pages written
• rough draft of 1500 words
• 3 articles produced…

The point of the goal is simple: If the goal is reached in 5 hours, 4 hours, or 2 hours, then you can feel that no matter what else happens that day, you were as productive as you could have been.

A corollary to this is your output is easy to track. If you take a moment to write down the daily goal, the specific units (ie. words written) and the date, you can see at a glance what you have produced in a week, month, or year.

How valuable would that be to you?

Not only does this idea apply to your work or job, but you can apply the idea to any activity you engage in.

Try setting daily production goals for yourself. Depending on your area of interest some examples might include:

(ie.) 3, 4, or 5 pages written, 30 push-ups, perform 50 scales flawlessly, sprint for a mile, write 1500 words, rehearse your speech 3x, execute 200 reverse punches, shoot 200 hoops, swim 20 laps, etc…

Having a quantitative goal to meet every day will get you closer to writing that book, the black belt, or performing at Carnegie Hall because you’ll be able to see the progress every day. Nobody likes breaking a winning streak and looking at the numbers might give you the extra push you need when you’re not feeling up to the task.