As the new year begins, many of us set goals and resolve to be more efficient and productive. But there is always the same problem: where to start and how much harder do I need to work?

That’s not always the case, though.

Productivity can come in many forms, from organization and time management to personal development and well-being. Most of the time, it’s the systems you use that matter most.

You need to work smarter, not harder.

Achieving more with less

Don’t get me wrong. Working hard is important and necessary if you want to achieve anything meaningful in life. But without specific habits and systems, you will never be able to sustain your commitment to your life goals in the long run.

The strategies I share below have helped me be more productive and make better use of my time without making me feel burnt out. Feel free to try them and reach out to me to let me know whether they helped you or not in achieving your goals this year.

Here are my eight actionable tips to help you achieve more without trying harder in 2023:

1. Create a roadmap for each goal

Resolutions and goals are fine, but you need a plan to achieve them. Writing down a specific roadmap on how to achieve each goal makes it easier for you to start and definitely less overwhelming.

When you break down your goals into smaller steps, you have more chances to take action instead of just waiting for the perfect moment or wondering at the end of the year why you failed to realize that goal.

Example

Goal: “I want to save 20% more money than last year”

Solution 1: Save first, spend later

Solution 2: Get 2 more clients

Solution 3: Spend less on shopping

Then you take each solution and break it down even more. You get the idea.

2. Reflect on your days

Most people typically jump from one day to another without being mindful of that. Each day feels similar to the previous one, and they often even forget what day they are living on.

Days, weeks, months, and years pass, and they don’t realize it. That’s because they don’t take the necessary time to reflect on their days.

Try this: Every night, before you go to bed, write down (or sit down and think if you are not into writing at all) what happened during your day, and answer these questions:

• How many of my tasks did I complete?
• How do I feel about myself this day?
• What could have gone better?

Then write/think about one moment you consider your best and one you consider your worst from your day.

Improvement comes from being aware of our actions and then trying to be better by not repeating what doesn’t serve us.

3. Plan your day from the previous night

This is a crucial basic step.

Before you go to bed each night, dedicate some time to plan your next day. Specifically, answer the following questions:

• What tasks do I want to accomplish?
• Which of them should be prioritized?
• How much time do I estimate that I need for each task?

Don’t overwhelm yourself with many different tasks. Focus on a few of them, time-block and wake up the next day knowing exactly what you need to do and when.

4. Work in time blocks and take regular breaks

So, you have planned your day from the night before, and the next day you wake up and start working on your tasks, one after the other, right?

Wrong.

You can’t just believe that it’s possible to maintain your focus for long periods without being tired or distracted.

Let me guess what usually happens: You start working on one task, and after a while, you distract yourself and procrastinate cause you feel overwhelmed that you have to do all those things during the day.

However, your brain needs to take regular breaks to maintain focus and work at maximum capacity.

Solution:

Plan your work time as well as your break time – they are equally important. There are 3 ways I advise you to split that time:

• 25-minute work, 5-minute break (the so-called Pomodoro technique)
• 45-minute work, 15-minute break
• 90-minute work, 30-minute break (the one I use).

Try them and decide which one works best for you.

5. Disconnect from your devices

Our screen addiction is one of the main reasons that we can’t focus anymore. As I mentioned recently in a blog post regarding my biggest lessons from 2022, humans’ average attention span is currently around 8 seconds, 4 seconds less than 20 years ago. That means that we can’t focus on something for more than 8 seconds before becoming distracted.

If you want to get more things done, you should disconnect from your devices when you need to work on something. Deep work can’t be achieved when you have your notifications ringing. Flow state can’t be reached when you have access to cheap dopamine right next to you.

Solution:

Next time you need to perform deep work, try leaving your mobile in another room and going offline or turning your notifications off. I guarantee you will see results.

6. Protect your health at all costs

This is one of the most important tips, and it’s usually overlooked.

Everyone tells you that you need to do this and that to achieve your goals, but that’s not the whole story. There is a missing element.

And that’s your health.

Don’t forget that you will never reach your long-term goals if you neglect taking care of your health.

If you work hard all day long but don’t eat healthy meals, don’t exercise and look after yourself, you will probably feel awful after a while. That’s just facts.

If you care about yourself and your goals, work out for 30 minutes per day (or most days), consume healthy meals and ingredients, and stop living a sedentary life.

7. Plan relaxation time

Hustle culture has taught us that to achieve anything big in life, we need to work 12 hours a day, never stop working hard, and minimize our leisure time.

Let’s say you try that. Do you think you can maintain it for an extended period without eventually being burnt out?

Not in a million years.

What the gurus of hustle culture fail to point out is that the secret to the success they describe is the obsession over what you do, not just working hard and minimizing your time off. But that’s a topic for another blog post.

If you want your success to be sustained for long periods without you getting burnt out, make sure you plan some relaxation time every single day. Going out on weekdays, watching Netflix, sitcoms, sports, or anything else is not only acceptable but also necessary.

8. Focus on habits, not just goals

You may lose sight of the bigger picture if you only look to achieve certain goals this year. The purpose is not just to realize your New Year’s resolutions but to become a better version of yourself every day or week.

Instead of focusing on achieving goals—an approach that will make you happy only the day you achieve those goals—focus on building habits and, in that way, be content with your daily progress.

So, strive to repeat certain habits every single day.

By doing that, you have more chances to reach your goals, and you also change your whole mentality about life and success.

Decide what’s best for your needs

Those eight systems mentioned above are the ones that have worked for me by helping me not only set goals but also achieve them and make progress throughout the year.

However, every person has their own unique personality and needs. That’s why I advise you to first give those systems a try and then apply what suits you best.

I hope that they will help you achieve more in 2023 and maybe change your mentality on goal-setting.