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Top 10 Productivity Tips to Achieve More and Create Peace of Mind
Do Your Most Dreaded Task First
Every one of us has one or more tasks on our to-do list that we dread doing.
Do it first thing. Writer Michael Hyatt talks about slaying your dragons before breakfast—there’s nothing more motivating for the rest of your day than crossing that monster off your list first thing in the morning.
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Write It Down
Uncompleted commitments take up psychic energy, each one making you just the tiniest bit more tired, more distracted, and therefore less productive.
The first step to managing your life and time is getting every commitment, large and small, out of your head and into a trusted system.
Get a Head Start
Before leaving your workspace, or before going to bed, take 10 minutes to look over the next day’s commitments.
Decide what you’ll do first. Look at that to-do list and decide whether any tasks on it can be delegated to someone else or crossed off the list altogether.
Do Your Most Dreaded Task First
Every one of us has one or more tasks on our to-do list that we dread doing.
Do it first thing. Writer Michael Hyatt talks about slaying your dragons before breakfast—there’s nothing more motivating for the rest of your day than crossing that monster off your list first thing in the morning.
Turn off Distractions
One of the major productivity killers is the distraction of constant interruptions: emails, phone calls, people appearing at your door…
Schedule a block of time to focus on that commitment, turn off all outside communications and give yourself the necessary luxury of undisturbed time to really focus on the matter at hand.
Take Breaks
There’s a limit to how long anybody can devote deep focus to a task.
After a certain amount of time, the law of diminishing returns kicks in, and fatigue—physical and/or mental—starts to impair your effectiveness.
Schedule breaks periodically even during the busiest days.
Batch Process
If the demands of your day include routine tasks, try to group similar tasks and schedule certain times during the day to knock them out.
By batching similar tasks, you save the time lost to ramping up multiple times a day and reap the benefits of momentum.
Eat a Healthy Breakfast
There are countless studies confirming the importance of breakfast for maintaining our health.
Healthy people are more productive. No matter how busy you are, eat a decent breakfast. It’ll fuel you for a terrific start to your day.
Get Some Exercise
Exercise makes you healthier, so be sure to get some exercise every day.
You don’t need to spend hours at the gym to get the benefit of this; take a walk around the block, or do some isometrics at your desk.
Delegate
Evaluate that to-do list carefully. What tasks could someone else do, thereby freeing you up to focus on the things only you can do?
An important key to productivity is doing only those things that only you can do, and giving somebody else the opportunity to contribute by doing those other tasks.
Say No
When someone calls or appears at your door with a request for your participation in some activity, take a breath and consider whether it fits into your own priorities
If the answer is no, then just say no. Practice it ahead of time: “Thank you for inviting me, but no.” “Thank you for thinking of me, but no.”
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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A system is...
- Something you do on a regular basis that increases your odds of success regardless of the immediate outcome.
- A collection of goals, tools, habits, and methods is not the sam...
Systems vs. goals
- If you do something every day, it’s a system.
- If you’re waiting to achieve it someday in the future, it’s a goal.
James Clear
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Focus on what matters
- Write down the end goal.
- Divide the goal into specific actions you need to take to get there. Think in terms of systems: focussed, routine actions that you can do daily.
- List a...
Steve Jobs
“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. It’s true for companies, and it’s true for products."
Seek Simplicity
- Find out if the problem really exists, and why. This will open a path to alternative ways of solving it.
- Some problems, which seem complex, often have simple solutions.
- What is the surest thing in that complex problem? That becomes your First Principle, your starting point.
- List out the possible solutions
- Focus on one good solution while removing the rest.
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Urgent ≠ Important
Time management can be tough. What is urgent in your life and what is important to your life are often very different things:
- going to the gym today isn't urgent, but it is imp...
Eliminate half-work at all costs
Examples of half-work:
- You start writing a report but stop randomly to check your phone for no reason or to open up Facebook or Twitter.
- You try out a new workout routine. Two days later, you read about another “new” fitness program and try a little bit of that. You make little progress in either program and so you start searching for something better.
- Your mind wanders to your email inbox while you're on the phone with someone.
Do the most important thing first
Decisions and choices that you make throughout the day tend to drain your willpower. You're less likely to make a good decision at the end of the day than you are at the beginning.
If you do the most important thing first, then you’ll never have a day when you didn’t get something important done.
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Communication as therapy
- Write down everything that’s weighing you down mentally and then burn it as a form of letting go.
- Write down everything you’ve learned from a difficult experience so you...
Meditation tips for peace of mind
- Take 5 to 10 minutes for a simple seated meditation.
- Take 100 deep breaths, counting “and one,” “and two,” and so on, with “and” on the inhalations and the numbers on the exhalations.
- Take a meditative walk, focusing solely on the physical sensations of walking.
- Find a guided meditation on YouTube and let it lull you into a blissful state of presence.
Creativity
- Engage in art therapy: paint or start a journal.
- Create a peace collage. Include images that make you feel relaxed and at ease.
- Take a walk with the sole intention of photographing beautiful things that make you feel at peace.
- Write a blog post about what gives you peace of mind.
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Live a 24-Hour Life
We, humans, want pleasure and results as soon as possible. We start taking action, but it often happens that we fall off the wagon because we don’t see results that fast.
From then on, eve...
Commit to Your Health
To increase the level of your health, and by default the level of productivity, because you will be more energetic and focused:
- Get enough sleep
- Create a healthy diet for yourself
- Move more.
Develop a Morning Routine
A morning routine aims to make you alert, help you take care of your health, intellectual and spiritual growth. Develop 2 types of habits:
- Habits that can improve the quality of your life in the present
- Habits that can improve the quality of your life in the future
Ideally, you should focus to form habits that give you both — such as exercising.
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Share your agenda
Don't assume people will automatically respect the fact that while you're working from home, you're still working.
Be proactive, share your schedule and explain when y...
Spend money where it counts most
Invest in a good computer, a good phone, and the most comfortable and ergonomically correct chair you can find.
Working from home means you spend a lot of time sitting. When you're uncomfortable, it's hard to stay focused and productive. See these things as investments, not expenses.
Split your work day into chunks
Instead of thinking an 8-, 6-, or 10-hour workday, split your day into four or five 90-minute windows.
That way, you will have on average 4 tasks you will get done a lot more efficiently. Take breaks between tasks to recharge.
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Side Hustle to Make More Money
You don't have to sacrifice all of your free time to start a side hustle, use the time you’re comfortable with and make a little bit of progress every day.
Take Action
Get to working on improving your finances today, not tomorrow. Reading the steps and thinking you’re capable of doing it but postponing it is just an excuse, an unprofitable one.
Communicate With Your Partner
Talking about your financial goals, and scheduling time once a month to go over your finances together can prevent money from affecting your relationship.
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Overthinking
It means overanalyzing something that happened, regretting an action, or worrying about the future of something.
It's when you can't think about anything else, and it'...
Overthinking and action
If you're overthinking an idea you can actually do something about, the best thing you can do is take action now.
This doesn't mean you have to suddenly run off to make something, it just means you start taking a step forward. We tend to overthink because we fear failure, but if we just start working, that dissipates quickly
Break the circle of overthinking:
- Relabel the ideas you're overthinking ("self-doubt," "anxiety," etc)
- Reframe your experience and identify your thinking errors
- Refocus your attention on the part that matters
- Revalue your brain's messages with the new information
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Trim the fat
Multitasking and directing your energy to unimportant tasks and activities will overwhelm and prevent you from being productive.
Focus on your 3 to 5 ...
Measure your results
To assist you with measuring results instead of time, keep done lists to feel more motivated and focused.
Have an attitude adjustment
We are more effective at work when we have a positive attitude.
A good attitude at work will help you set standards for your work and ensure that you're taking responsibility for yourself.
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Create Successful Habits
If you’re aware of negative habits, replace them with affirmative ones. Continue your new habit until it becomes second nature. Phase-out the old habit by replac...
Be Accountable To Someone
Being accountable allows an impartial observer to assess your work. It is advisable to work with people who have walked your path or who have had similar experiences.
Alternatively, someone who is completely unrelated to your interest may also serve as a watchful eye as they offer an unbiased perspective.
Focus On Smaller Victories
Focussing on smaller victories along the way gives you the self-confidence you need to forge ahead.
You might stumble upon setbacks along the way during the pursuit of smaller goals that will serve as valuable lessons since they allow you to iron out the creases before pursuing the larger goal.
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