We wake up every day knowing that the road set before us is often filled with overloaded schedules and endless to-do lists. Your productivity depends on a great number of variables, whether it is your own mood, devices, apps, or hacks. Nevertheless, these won’t help much unless you have the right mindset and attitude. Your mindset — how you approach life, people, and professional projects – determines the measure of your success.

Many productivity strategies are driven by short-term efficiency. However, we are frequently oblivious that certain strategic choices are necessary to maximize our productivity over the long run.

These principles will guide you through your day:

Start the day with your own warm-up routine: Your morning motivation defines your mood. Some people begin their day with a workout session, others with a fifteen-minute meditation session or even a walk in the park. These small – but meaningful – routines give you structure and create momentum to maintain a winning mindset. Furthermore, following a defined kick-off routine can help you establish priorities, defeat lack of motivation, and keep track of your goals.

Know you and your work habits: Do you work best during night time? All by yourself? With occasional breaks? Once you do know what works best for you, you then want to set your schedule accordingly. Every person and every work environment are different. Establish a work atmosphere that encourages you to become the best version of yourself.

Stop multitasking and become more productive one task at a time: Nowadays, we work in highly disruptive environments. However, if you’re aiming to complete several tasks at once, probably you will accomplish very little. Therefore, focusing on one project results in greater productivity, higher quality results, and lower anxiety. Ask yourself this: do you really multitask or are in fact just task switching? Remember to focus on the thing you should achieve and define your priorities. This is the power of single-tasking.

Promote Deep Work: Deep Work is the opposite of superficial, unfocused work. Cal Newport, the famous productivity expert who introduced the world to this principle, defines it as “professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limits”. To achieve Deep Work means to work uninterruptedly and totally focused on one assignment. Nobody can focus for more than eight hours straight but there are tasks that require higher commitment and attention. Therefore, avoid using social media. Even if it means making yourself unavailable or offline and turning off your notifications, so be it. The author argues that the ability to concentrate intensively is becoming extremely rare, and whoever can master it is in an extremely advantageous position.