Personal development: 5 simple but important things to avoid for better productivity

Why don't you try a fresher angle, re-evaluate and go for your goals with a newer approach that will help you accomplish those things you feel is impossible

Recent research suggests that most people who set goals regularly for themselves rarely achieve up to 50 per cent of them.

This could be frustrating  but the truth is instead of sticking to those goals which may be unrealistic , why don't you try a fresher angle, re-evaluate and go for your goals with a newer approach that will help you accomplish those things you feel is impossible.

Compiled by Beliefnet, here are 5 things to do when setting goals for yourself:

1. Don’t set unrealistic goals: Do you want to read more? Instead of trying for (and likely failing at) a goal of a chapter a day, commit to 10 pages a day or just single page a day. Determined to start a blog that you’ve been thinking about for years? Set a realistic goal, say one blog entry twice a month for starters. Looking to lose 30 pounds? Start small; try to lose one pound a week for five weeks and resolve to walk as much as possible and then slowly progress from there. The idea is to lower the bar initially to ensure early success and create momentum. For, as Newton’s First Law of Motion tells us – a body in motion, stays in motion! All you need to do is get started.
2. Don’t Tweet and Facebook every goal, but don’t try to go it alone either: Contrary to popular opinion, telling the world about your goals has very little value and can actually backfire. Instead, enlist a close (and trusted) friend to hold you accountable. Tell your friend or significant other your plan to read 10 pages a day, three times a week, and then ask them to check in regularly to hold you accountable. Or, you and your friend could do resolve to start a new routine together like going to Zumba or to the gym.
3. Don’t let your life slip away in 15-minute increments!: Despite technology tools we only dreamt about 30 years ago, productivity in the workplace hasn’t increased. Think about it, if you spend 15 minutes checking email 3 or 4 times a day, check Facebook twice, Twitter and a few other sites, that’s three hours a day down the drain! And, here is the kicker: Because those 15-minute interludes have become habits, chances are you do them daily and with little awareness. Simply put, it’s become a habit to waste time. If, instead, you just invested a mere 15 minutes a day into any specialized subject, reading about it (consuming all the best books you could find on the matter) and writing about it, over the course of five, years you’d become an expert on the subject matter equivalent to that of a Ph.D.
4. Don’t worry about the “streak,” consistency is key: The key to successfully developing any habit is about being consistent—over time. There’s no magical number of days it takes to develop a habit and the behavior doesn’t have to be performed on consecutive days. The key is to remain consistent over time and, eventually, the more a behavior or thought is experienced, the more likely it will be developed into a new habit. As the old Chinese proverb states, “Habits are cobwebs at first and cables at last.”
5. Don’t forget to track your progress: What gets measured, gets done. People who succeed at positive habit development are those who employ a system and track their behaviors. This works for thought and behavior habits . There are some great free apps to try, or you can even use this free habit- tracking template here. If you’re not tracking, you’re slacking!