Productivity styles. Planning personalities. Work habits. Whatever you call it, it's real, and it matters. It's your productivity personality — a model that describes the approach you take when it comes to planning out your tasks and setting goals, which influences how efficiently you're able to get things done! Knowing your productivity personality can make all the difference.
So what's your style? And why does it matter? Do you move around a lot or prefer sitting in one spot for hours? Are you the kind of person who likes to have a plan of action or do you tend to work best when working off the cuff? What about organizing things? Are you an alphabetizing freak or are piles better for you?
Most people can be placed into one of 3 types, and each type has their own approach to getting things done. Here’s why knowing your productivity type can help you take bold action to design a more productive—and fulfilling—life.
Leverage Your Strengths
Productivity is a difficult thing to master. It can change week to week, depending on your circumstance or what life may throw at you on a particular day. So the best way to get stuff done is by knowing what your unique strengths are and leveraging them for productivity. Everyone has strengths that can optimize performance, but if you aren’t clear on what yours are, you may be working against yourself.
Like The Essentialist type, maybe you’re more detail-oriented than big-picture driven. Perhaps competing with yourself is a source of motivation. Maybe you have the natural zest and energy of The Enthusiast, who’s fueled by tackling new tasks and projects. Understanding the unique drivers of your personality can help you reframe and redefine the tasks in front of you to counteract feelings of stress and overwhelm, get things done, and problem solve when obstacles stand in the way.
Are you…
- Analytical
- Collaborative
- Strategic
- Intuitive
- Creative
- Detail-Oriented
- Charismatic
- Vision-Driven
- Competitive
- Innovative
- Solutions-Focused
- Spontaneous
- Relational
- Self-Motivated
- Adaptable
We don’t all share the same strengths, but you can leverage yours to activate your unique productivity personality and chart a course for success.
Implement Sustainable Habits
The flip side of having strengths is, of course, having weaknesses too. Oftentimes we lean so heavily on our strengths that we end up creating a bit of imbalance in other areas. Perhaps your competitive and results-driven approach to planning leaves you little time for yourself. Or, if you’re The Futurist type, your powerful visions for the future may consume any mental energy you had for hashing out the practical details.
We all need habits to counteract our more natural tendencies and strengths. Creating sustainable practices that remind us of where we need support can help to refresh and revive us, allow for the ample time and space to be successful, and keep our creativity alive and well.
Some of the habits that may benefit your unique productivity personality are:
- Prioritize you and schedule in activities that refresh you
- Ask for help and support in the areas you tend to lose steam or get overwhelmed by the details
- Work through a singular task at a time vs. multi-tasking
- Alternate periods of concentrated work with periods of rest or play to refuel you
- Remember to allocate enough time to each project
- Delegate and foster teamwork
- Remove distractions like your phone or inbox when you need to focus
- Denote high-priority items on your task list
- Set automated reminders for yourself
- Create enough margin in your calendar so there’s room for hiccups
- Do activities you enjoy to keep your creativity fresh
You may not need to implement all of these habits; that’s the beauty of knowing where you most need a little support and attention! Trying on just one new habit can be a game-changer when it comes to knowing your productivity type.
Create Lasting Change
Last, but certainly not least, is the point of it all: to create lasting change. I’m really not one for productivity hacks that don’t last. Where’s the fulfillment in that? Taking meaningful and productive action toward your goals should be a consistent and joyful practice. And it can be—with the right tools and information.
That’s why I encourage you to look deeper than the latest productivity tips and tricks. At Ponderlily, we go beyond task completions to embrace the joy of planning and pursuing a life well-lived. We long for our products, tools, and resources to inspire you to create space for relationships, personal enrichment, and fearless dreams so that you can achieve the success and the life you want.
And that’s why it all starts with you—and your unique personality.
Discover the strengths and traits that will help you move away from a sense of overwhelm to a place of daily fulfillment.
Click below to take our Productivity Quiz and discover YOUR Productivity Personality.
When you do, you’ll also receive a personalized list of free resources to support the needs of your personality type.
Get started below…
WHAT’S MY PRODUCTIVITY PERSONALITY?
