Is purposelessness hindering your productivity? You’ve read countless articles, blogs, or self-help books on productivity. You may have even applied what you read, attempting to create more hours in your day. Trust me, that’s never going to happen. We all are given the same 1440 minutes per day. We all use those 86400 seconds, consciously or not, in the pursuit of something—God, family togetherness, fame, fortune, friendship, sleep, the perfect (or perfect enough) body, etc.
Doing Versus Being
So what do you want to be when you grow up? I thought I wanted to be a nurse from the day I got a book that included Band-Aids, a cloth sling, and a happy ending. Fainting while getting blood work done cured me of that ambition early on. So look beyond the doctor, fire fighter, or super hero of your childhood dreams. You get to play all those roles as a parent. Instead, determine your purpose. Look at your core values. Decide what is important to you. Go beyond what you do. Discover who you are or who you want to be.
What inspires you to take action? What motivates you to get up in the morning after you’ve been awake most of the night with sick children? What are you passionate about? As an Alpha WAHM, you’re probably passionate about a great number of things—and this is well and good—but what is the driving force behind your endeavors?
Look beyond the immediate and obvious answers. Yes, you’re inspired to take action and get your child with the broken bone to the emergency room. Of course, you’re motivated to get up and get that cup of coffee for its caffeine and sugar boost you need after a sleepless night (or, if you are like me, skip the caffeine and go for the donuts). Who isn’t passionate about family—especially one as wonderful as yours? Making a good living working from home and having time to do as you please also rank high on the list, but what is your greater purpose?
Being Purposeful and Productive
By knowing what is important and what fulfills your purpose, you increase your productivity. Purposefulness becomes your filter for screening all of the golden opportunities (and the slightly tarnished ones) that present themselves in your day-to-day life. You can eliminate many of the truly horrid choices. You can also evaluate and discard good ideas that don’t advance your purpose. Saying NO just became a whole lot easier. You’ll be sidetracked less and accomplish more. You’ll also see significant progress in key areas of your life because you are focused on your purpose and what is truly important to you.
Your decision-making might look something like this:
Even if your decisions are not this clear cut, you will feel more productive when you are pursuing your purpose and becoming who you want to be. You won’t have more hours in your day. You never will. You will have more days where the hours bring you closer to accomplishing your unique purpose, being YOU.
About this Alpha WAHM Blogger: Debbie Lynn Butler is the eBusinessButler™ serving authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs. She specializes in ghostwriting articles, blogs, e-books, newsletters, and Web pages for those who want to shine online. She is also the founder of AVA Professional Support Services and author of Online Presence Content Creation and Copywriting to Attract Your Ideal Customers. 
