A structured, exhaustive step-wise approach.
Last Saturday was my most productive day ever!
I wrote three articles, organized my clutter at work, meditated for 30 minutes, made my monthly investments, spoke with an old buddy, worked out extensively, and went to bed early.
In a week, my old self would not have accomplished nearly as much. In fact, even my current “average” days out-shadow my previous most productive days.
I don’t have a schedule or the willpower to stick to it. What I do have, though, are refined methods, regular routines, and optimized frameworks, which have transformed my productivity.
Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before.
Franz Kafka
I’d like to share with you a complete productivity booster recipe based on both my experience and research. And I hope this significantly boosts your productivity.
S-L-E-E-P – A lots of it
With the advent of the damaging hustle culture, being sleep-deprived has become embarrassingly fashionable. I used to take sleep for granted as well.
Two terrible episodes of sleeplessness, on the other hand, were enough to push sleep to the top of my priority list — forget about being productive. It took everything I had to get through my days.
Sleep deprivation has a number of negative consequences, including impaired cognition, hypertension, memory loss, hormone disruption, increased heart risk, and obesity, to mention a few.
The quality of your sleep may make or break your following day.
I feel like an indestructible machine after 8 hours of undisturbed sound sleep, yet I’m hardly functional after 6 dazed hours.
Quick tips to accomplish this deadly task:
• Total hours matter and not the time at which you choose to sleep – Flexible schedule
• No electronic devices – Before half an hour of your sleeping time. • Choose a peaceful, serene activity before you sleep. (Pray) • Finish your dinner 3 hours before you sleep – to avoid feeling heavy & bloated.
Shift your Focus – Generic to Specific
We don’t have enough time in a day to do all we desire. That is why rigorous prioritization is not only effective but also essential. On typical days, shortly before going to bed, I will choose five things that I must do the next day at any costs.
And, in anticipation for my “go the extra mile” days, I mentally commit to three more things.
A two-page system – Kepp high priority, inevitable tasks on the first page and additional important ones on second page, for the day. Because of the additional layer of priority and the escape clause — you only have to worry about your second page once you’ve completed the first one — this 2-pages approach performs better than merely having a 10-task To-do list.
Define tasks with meticulous details
Vague jobs may imply anything and everything at the same time, which is why they’re so tricky. They can be interpreted in a variety of ways.
Stay away from any and all generalizations.
Carve the responsibilities on your page down until they’re so precise that they can’t be misconstrued, no matter what.
Disappear distractions like magic
Distractions are the bane of productivity, and nothing kills attention like distractions.
It’s difficult to resist distractions, whether it’s an Instagram notification flashing on your phone or your parents’ watching reality shows on television, or neighbors having a brawl.
So, take the simpler route and eliminate any sources of distractions ahead of time.
Proven tips to get rid of distractions:
• Put on headphones and play a song on repeat until a task is done. • Use blocking apps/software like LeechBlock (Free & Open Source). • Turn off all notifications on your phone.
• Choose a calm and isolating environment.
Intense work with Leisure Shots!
Intense work depletes concentration, mood, motivation, and mental energy, which are all replenished by leisure.
And when you amalgamate intense work with leisure bursts, the outcome will be consummate productivity.
A rule of thumb I vouch for is — for every hour of intense work, one should have at least 15 minutes of leisure. Naval Ravikant explained this brilliantly by saying,
“Forty-hour workweeks are a relic of the Industrial Age. Knowledge workers function like athletes — train and sprint, then rest and reassess.”
Ending Note
So, no strict schedules, no mad to-do lists, and no stoic determination are necessary.
If you execute this right, you will be able to do more in a day than most people do in a week. Also, consider this a beginning point; as you learn new methods, adjustments, and optimizations, this will develop and enhance.
After all, people are as diverse as they come. There is no universal productivity manual, just as there is no one-size-fits-all clothing.
Try it out, enjoy the mammoth spike in efficiency, stick to it, then modify and refine as needed.
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