A few days ago I took a few hours to think why am I productive and why am I not? I ended up with a list of things that I shouldn’t do in order to be much more productive.

The first thing when working on the internet is to be focused. We’re living in the world of Skype, GTalk, Yahoo! or MSN Messenger and any other chat or voice programs that you may think of. All these are going to distract you, so either don’t use them, or stay invisible. Only contact the people that you need in order to get the job done. You can also include e-mailing in this category. It’s another form of talking, more or less important things, that can keep you behind work.

The second thing is comfort. Make sure you have a good chair that supports your lower back. This is a good thing to fight muscle fatigue and future back problems. Another thing you should consider is what you’re wearing. Don’t wear tight jeans unless you really feel comfortable. Also consider Air Conditioning in the summer because at 35C (95F) outside, it’s not fun anymore. Keep the things like water, phone or anything that you use frequently near you.

The third thing is, in fact, your laptop or PC. If you have software or hardware issues, that will draw you back. Why get mad when you can buy additional 512 MB of RAM, if this is what you need? Why not pay for the Microsoft Windows license and for you antivirus key if that’s what keeps your data safe? You need your machine to be almost perfect. Don’t forget security. If you don’t have it now, buy it asap!

The fourth thing is not to become an workaholic. If you tend to only write and write and work and work you are going to forget how to live your life. After all we work to make money so that we can spend on vacations, yachts, games, cars or women/men! Take breaks: mini-breaks during the day to take your eyes of the monitor (no TV during this time) so they can relax, and weekends or small trips for your mind (will help a lot when you come back). It happened to me numerous times. Went on a trip and came back with a business idea that is still very successful.

The fifth thing is to set daily tasks. It keeps you focused to get it done during the day. Rate your work when you’re done. If you have completed the task, you will feel great and feeling great helps. Make sure you set up real tasks that you can fulfill.

The sixth thing is your health. I know I mentioned something related when talking about your comfort but health is much more than that. You need to get an average of 8 hours of sleep each night, and when you wake up you should have breakfast. Don’t skip it because that’s your energy provider to start your day properly. Also you may think of exercising if not every morning, then consider going to the gym at least 2 times a week. Don’t forget you ARE allowed to have sex if you have the proper age. One last thing: drink plenty of water. Experts say that you need to drink on average 2liters of water each day and many of them advise a tea after waking up.

I need to be honest, I am not doing all the things I wrote here but I try to, and that is because it’s one step closer to what I should become.

biggest mistake I am doing: cannot refuse those nice girls contacting me on Y!M to talk about … life …