Many times, people do not manage to reach their goals because they do not know how to organize themselves correctly ; and this is because to achieve our objectives it is not enough to think about them or to wish for them, we need to put them into practice in a feasible and structured way.

In this article we are going to review some tips to increase our effectiveness in the development and achievement of our projects. In other words, we will see how to be more pragmatic in our daily life .

What does it mean to be pragmatic?

To understand how to be more pragmatic, it is necessary to see exactly what this change in habits and behaviour patterns is. Pragmatism indicates the capacity that a subject has to follow procedures in an efficient and regular way , avoiding improvisations and postponements.

Generally, people with a pragmatic behaviour are able to achieve important things in their lives; they look for ways to fulfil their objectives in a practical way and avoid taking uncalculated or irrational risks.

If you are able to understand that for things to work properly you must have a high level of commitment and ensure that all the necessary parts work properly, and you put this philosophy of work into practice, then you may have a tendency to pragmatism.

Methods exist for a reason, and they are effective because they have been designed and tested to be so . Therefore, on many occasions the best thing we can do is to be faithful to those methods and follow them as firmly as possible in order to obtain satisfactory results.

How to be more pragmatic?

Now let’s review some effective tips to encourage our level of pragmatism and achieve the best results in our projects .

1. Look for reliable sources

The best way to ensure that we are following the procedure in the right way is to make sure that the source from which we obtained the information is reliable .

Let’s avoid taking information from the first source we find, let’s check elsewhere to make sure it’s true. In this way, we will get used to being more pragmatic through the search for useful information.

2. Commit to the project

In order to reach an acceptable level of pragmatism it is necessary to commit to the goal we want to achieve , then we will be able to look for the best ways to carry it out in an efficient way and with a method that we can fulfill without major complications.

The state of motivation generated by tasks is what makes us want to perform them, that is, the motivation towards something is what makes us want to follow a procedure to get that object of desire, which can be anything.

3. Base yourself on the real evidence

When we are looking for a pragmatic method to carry out our goals, it is necessary to check whether that method has been used in the past, and what results it has given in the same or similar situations that we have been in.

In this way, we will avoid disappointing results, which could discourage us and make us give up our projects prematurely. It is always best to take into consideration past evidence in order to carry out our plans.

4. Share your ideas

When we come up with a new idea, the ideal is to share it with others who also have the same enthusiasm as we do for doing things pragmatically. In this way you will be able to have different points of view that will allow you to make a new evaluation regarding the feasibility of your project.

5. Learn from mistakes

No one is free to make mistakes at some point , even when we take precautions not to, something could always go wrong.

It is important to understand that this is a normal circumstance of life, and that it is best to bring out the positive side of mistakes to avoid making them again.

6. Assume we are what we do

To realize our projects it is not enough to wish them or say that we will do them, it is necessary to put them into practice. It is then that we can begin to act more efficiently in our lives. Action always exceeds desire , although ideally they go hand in hand.

7. Avoid conformism

Conformity is the silent enemy of pragmatism. When we begin to conform frequently, our level of enthusiasm drops and with it goes our capacity for action . To be pragmatic one needs to have aspirations, and to be constantly reinventing oneself.

8. Set goals

When we set ourselves goals we are making an organizational structure of the objectives that we must fulfill before accessing new ones , and with that we are having a pragmatic thought and action that will allow us to be efficient.

Regardless of whether they are short, medium or long term goals, it is important to evaluate the feasibility of all of them to avoid being exposed to the frustration of not being able to carry out our projects after having invested a great deal of time in them.

This is one of the tips on how to be more pragmatic that is easier to follow, because it is based on setting deadlines and defining concrete goals.

9. Avoid underestimating the challenges

When we underestimate a circumstance that is significant for us, we are sabotaging ourselves, taking into account that by playing down something our level of enthusiasm for doing it gradually decreases .

If we are not careful with this situation, it could happen that by the time we realise that the matter is more important than we thought, it will be too late and we will not have the opportunity to employ any method to get the matter resolved.

10. Plan ahead

Time is a determinant factor in the achievement of goals, and in order to obtain adequate results it is necessary to understand that a structured procedure requires planning time , ideally we should start setting schedules for each of the activities we intend to do.

Bibliographic references:

  • Peiró Silla, J.M. (1990). Organizations: New psychological perspectives. Barcelona: PPU.
  • Truxillo, D.M., Bauer, T.N., and Erdogan, B. (2016). Psychology and Work: Perspectives on Industrial and Organizational Psychology. New York: Psychology Press-Taylor & Francis.