This Is How You Get Consistent Results

Hello there. Molweni bethuna :)

I hope you're doing well, and happy new month!

Can you believe we're almost halfway through the year? Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those posts about checking in on your goals or doing a mid-year review. We’ve got other posts for that😂! But seriously, it is something to start thinking about, and we’ll circle back to it soon.

To be honest, this past month felt like I was fighting for my life! There were so many moving parts (both personally and professionally). But I made it through. Rest assured, it was not by chance. When I reflect back on it, I made it through the past month by leaning on discipline (showing up even when I didn’t feel like it), sticking to my systems, and trusting the processes I’ve built for myself. I was more anxious than usual and overwhelmed at times, but relying on my productivity process helped keep that anxiety from becoming paralyzing. It didn’t eliminate the chaos, but it helped me stay consistent in the midst of it.

In a nutshell, I stuck to what I like to call my productivity process. Now, please note, this isn’t an official term, but indulge me for a moment...

Remember back in varsity how we all had different ways of doing things? Some more extreme than others, might I add. There were the students who always pulled all-nighters, cross-nighting was their thing. Then there were the early birds; you’d hardly see them at the study centers in the evening, but they were the first on campus and in class every morning. And of course, there were those who seemed to be living their best campus life, rarely seen with a book in hand, yet somehow they kept progressing year after year.

I can’t leave out the ones who were always busy with something, constantly surrounded by books, always working on an assignment or preparing for something. Come submission time, everyone’s style really came through. Some were early birds, handing in assignments days before the deadline. And then... there were people like me, last-minute folk, sprinting to meet the deadline. My friends and I used to laugh about how it always came down to the final minute. At one point, I wondered if I was addicted to the adrenaline rush because why was I always running to submit something? 😂

Looking back, I realize I struggled with time management, finding a rhythm that actually supported my productivity and, if I’m being honest, sometimes even discipline. Okay, I won’t be too hard on myself, I was young. But if I take the emotion out of it, that’s really what it boiled down to.

From as early as our school years, it’s clear that we each have unique ways of working and accomplishing tasks. This highlights our individuality and the different processes we use. At school, we often adopted the methods of those closest to us without truly reflecting on what works best for ourselves. Your career is not a group project so in the professional setting, you really have to take time to understand yourself and your working style. You have to take time to develop an effective working style.

In the professional world, it’s essential not only to understand your own effective work style but also to demonstrate that understanding. Just like in school, your effectiveness at work is ultimately reflected in the results you deliver. The key is to identify what helps you thrive and build your systems around that. I love a quote from James Clear that perfectly captures this idea: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

In the last blog, we touched on using your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to build smarter work strategies. That’s the starting point. But to ensure that those strategies are truly effective and sustainable, they need to be supported by solid systems. These systems are, in part, built on your understanding of your personal productivity process.

It’s important to remember that your productivity process isn’t static—it will shift over time, evolve with the seasons of your life, and adapt to the roles you take on. That’s why regularly reflecting on how you work best is so valuable.

When trying to understand your productivity process, consider asking yourself:

• When during the day are you most productive or focused?

• What kind of environments help you stay in flow? (Quiet, collaborative, structured, flexible?)

• Do you thrive by tackling the easiest tasks first to build momentum, or do you prefer starting with the hardest ones to get them out of the way?

• Are you motivated by tight deadlines, or do you prefer having ample time to plan and execute?

• How do you manage mundane or repetitive tasks—automate, batch, delegate, or schedule them at specific times?

• What tools or methods help you stay organized and reduce mental clutter?

• How does your energy shift throughout the week—and are you accounting for that in your planning?

• Do you need frequent check-ins and structure, or do you prefer autonomy and uninterrupted blocks of time?

The more intentional you are about observing your natural patterns, the easier it becomes to build systems that support, not fight, your workflow.

When you truly understand yourself and how you work, you begin to execute your tasks with less anxiety because everything is done with intention. There goes that word again: intention. I’ll never stop emphasizing how important it is. You won’t build a thriving career by accident; it requires deliberate, intentional effort.

That means being willing to iterate, to test, adjust, and refine your approach until it works for you. Don’t get stuck in the thinking or discovery phase. Start taking action, and improve your process as you go. A system that works is one that helps you consistently achieve your goals and complete your tasks. If you find yourself falling short on most of your goals or struggling to stay on top of tasks, it’s time to evaluate your process.

The truth is, productivity isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what matters, in a way that works for you. No one else can define that process for you, but you can start shaping it today. Your career won’t thrive by chance, it thrives by choice. So choose to be intentional. Choose to build systems that support your growth.

As a new month begins, take a moment to set your intentions for the month, outline clear actionable steps, lean on your productivity process and set yourself up to win!

Lots of love,

Zizo