Do you feel like you can be doing more for your acting career?  There are days where you may feel unsatisfied, lazy and unsure.  Sometimes a positive boost will give you what you need to get out of your funk and into making things happen for yourself.

Even if you did just one thing a day that is still better than doing zero.

We’ve put together 11 ultra-productive actor tips to help you get things done.  Not everything on our list will be the perfect anecdote for you but hopefully out of the 11 ideas mentioned, you will find at least one that best suits you.

11 Things Ultra-Productive Actors Do Differently

#1 Prepare Ahead of Time

Don’t wake up in the morning not having your day already planned.  Ultra-Productive actors already have a schedule mapped out the day before, week before, months and sometimes years before.  But before you get to crazy, try to have a plan mapped out for the week to give you focus on achieving the goals you wish to achieve.

A terrific tool to use is something called TRELLO.  It’s a visually intuitive set up that is extremely easy to use.  It’s sort of like having digital post it notes across your screen and helps you see what you have going on at a glance.

#2 Do It Now

You need to acquire the do it now and get it done attitude.  When you briefly look at something and then go back to it later in the day or week, you actually waste more time because you’re putting double the amount of time into it. Get it done the first time and move on to the next thing.  This saves you time!

#3 Get The Hard Stuff Done First

I know it can be difficult to do the things in life that we don’t really want to do.  But if you tackle the harder things first, it gets you closer to the things you wish to do that are more fun.  In fact, by tackling the harder stuff first, you will be freeing up more time to enjoy that “other” stuff.

#4 Avoid Small Distractions

At times there are smaller, less important issues getting thrown at you and this can be distracting.  Sometimes we can actually overwhelm ourselves by doing the in between things while thinking we are staying focused on the main agenda.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case.  When we tend to take a moment here and a moment there on little things, we keep chipping away at time needed on the major things.  Put things in their respective places, without losing out on your main objective.

#5 Exercise In The Morning

It’s been said that working out in the morning has been known to aid productivity.  It forms a positive mental mind and provides energy to take on large work days.  Don’t forget to eat well!  =)

#6 Don’t Over Email

One of the biggest time sucks out there is email!  Email when we wake up, email in the middle of the day, afternoon, night, before bed…

Get a handle on when you will allocate time to check your emails and move on to the next thing. Even while checking your emails, be mindful of how long it takes you to chop through each one.  If you are spending ten minutes here and there that actually may be WAY too much time taken out of your life.

#7 Don’t Be A Master Juggler

Check out this Standford University article that talks about how multi-tasking makes you less productive.  It can actually slow your thought process down by making it harder for you to switch from one thing you are working on to another thing you are working on.  The point is that it’s wiser to zero in with all your attention one element of doing, finish the task and then move on to the next task.  This provides clarity of thought, accurate precision and a higher function of consistency to get things done.

#8 Maintain A Positive Mindset

Keeping on with a strong mental positive mindset is essential and beneficial.  There will be dips in your day that just happen naturally and it’s always important to remember the key of positive thinking.  When there are slumps and bumps, ultra-productive actors keep cool and understand there are always ups and downs.  Practice a positive way of thinking and it will become habit-forming.

#9 Set Realistic Goals

Sometimes we get too ambitious and can have a tendency to set unrealistic goals.  We try to take on too many things at once or cram the impossible inside of our days.  It’s important to always give yourself the necessary time needed to achieve what it is you set out to achieve.

#10 Get Proper Rest

Sleep is important.  If you are pushing yourself too hard and not getting the proper rest, you will burn yourself out and find yourself down and out.  Sleep. It’s important for your health, sharpness of thinking and energy.

#11 Know When To Take A Breather

It’s okay to take a break.  You determine what necessitates time away from things.  Is it intervals of 5 minute breaks throughout your day.  Is it grabbing lunch?  Give yourself time to step away from your hustle.  When you go back to your work after a break, you will go at it stronger than ever, with new-found power.  You need to rejuvenation when it matters.