For me productivity and happiness don’t always go hand-in-hand, but for some people it does. For a writer over at Zen Habits these two elements are very important elements for a good life, so much so that a list of 52 tips for happiness and productivity was written.
Number 6:
Find your passion. Another indispensable tip. This might be the second on my list of priorities. Find something you love to do, and your life will become immensely improved. You will love your work, the thing that you spend 40 hours (or more) a week doing. You will become more productive, procrastinate less, be less stressed. You will produce something you are proud of, and happy about.
Number 42:
Lose arguments. I know someone who just celebrated his 50th anniversary, and I asked him for his secret to a long and happy marriage. He told me, that if I ever get into an argument with my wife, to just shut up. What he meant, I think, is that I shouldn’t try to be right in every argument. I think this is a reminder many of us need, not just the married ones. But instead of just giving up the argument, instead of trying to be right, instead seek to understand. Really try to understand the other person’s position, to see it from their point of view. This little tip can lead to much happiness.
With regard to number 42 …
When one chooses to remain quiet, and not to debate, the ego is sent
off somewhere, an opportunity opens to listen in an authentic way,
to take in what the other is expressing without the mental exercise
of finding fault with what is being said.