Where focus goes, energy flows. And if you don't take the time to focus on what matters, then you're living a life of someone else's design.

This may sound corny, but starting your day with a few minutes of gratitude helps to set the tone for the rest of your day. When you're grateful, it changes how you view yourself and others around you. You stop focusing on what you don't have and start paying attention to what you do have.

Start your day with gratitude

Music is a great way to lift your mood and create a relaxing atmosphere. Your brain interprets certain sounds (such as those created by musical instruments) as being enjoyable, which then triggers dopamine secretion. Music can help you concentrate, reduce anxiety, and even improve sleep quality.

Take time to listen to music  

If you find yourself losing track of time, take some time to organize your desk, closet, or space. Make sure everything has a designated place and everything is where it belongs. Organizing your space gives your mind something to focus on and makes it easier to stay on track Having a schedule helps you achieve goals and keeps you organized.

Get Organised

Exercise is a great way to clear your mind and get rid of stresses. Exercise releases endorphins throughout your body which makes you feel happy and relaxed. It’s much easier to focus on the positive things in life when you exercise regularly.

Do Something Physical 

Eating a balanced breakfast keeps your blood sugar stable throughout the morning, which boosts your productivity. Try eating foods high in fiber, protein, and complex carbohydrates. These foods keep you full longer and won't leave you hungry later in the day.

Don't Skip Breakfast

Multitasking means doing 2 or more tasks at once. This often happens when we are using our phones and computers. When you start working on something, stay focused until it’s completed. If you find yourself getting distracted by something else, tell yourself “no distractions!” and stop what you’re currently doing. You can always go back to where you were if you need to make sure everything is done correctly.

Don't Multitask

Email overload is a huge problem in today’s world. We spend so many hours checking email every single day that it becomes a huge distraction. Try stopping after 7 pm each night and focusing on family time instead. Turn off any notifications you have set up on your phone and computer and block out a few hours to finish the work you need to do.

Stop Reading Emails After Work Hours

Ways To Find Focus In A Digital World

When you are having fun, you want to do work; you don't need to give yourself discipline or gain motivation or create some fake reward; instead, you enjoy doing the things you need to do, thus making work more enjoyable. This video is based on the book Gamification.

Why should you care?

8 Core drivers that video games tap into and if we understand what it is then we can understand how we can implement it into our day to day life. Thus making life better.

Octalysis Framework

Make whatever you need to do have meaning and joy for you. The reason for this is that if you truly believe  in it then it will be much easier to actually complete it.

Epic and Meaning

When you level up and get better it makes whatever you are doing feel much better.People play video games to get better when we can see ourselves improving it makes us want to do more and get better. Have checkpoints or ways that you can see yourself improving.

Development and Accomplishment

<ul><li>How can I be more creative with this?</li><li>How can I gain more feedback</li></ul>

Empowerment of Creativity and Feedback

It has been studied that when you feel like you own something you take better care and cherish that thing significantly more. So any project that you are working on even if you don't like it. View it as YOUR project that YOU are responsible for and try to do your best to make it a good representation of you.

Ownership and Possesions

We play the same video games that our friends play so having a community that supports you and helps you when you face challenges is very important.

Social Influence or Relativeness

One thing I especially liked is the Octalysis Framework. Wow I enjoyed this!

My main philosophy for being more productive is simply to have fun, even when you're doing the smaller boring tasks. Researcher Yu-kai Chou has figured out how to do this using the addictive frameworks games use to draw players in to hours of play. He explains all the strategies in his book 'Actionable Gamification', which I break down in this video. MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO: Buy Actionable Gamification on Amazon: https://geni.us/JM3z Subscribe to my Deep Dive Podcast, hopefully we get to interview Yu-kai Chou in the future! https://www.youtube.com/c/DeepDivewithAliAbdaal Submit your video ideas and if we pick your video, we'll send you $100 - https://aliabdaal.typeform.com/video-ideas MY FREE ONLINE COURSES: 🚀 Productivity Masterclass - Principles and Tools to Boost Your Productivity - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/productivity 🎬 Video Editing with Final Cut Pro X - From Beginner to YouTuber - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/video-editing 🎓 How to Study for Exams - An Evidence-Based Masterclass - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/studying PART-TIME YOUTUBER ACADEMY: 🍿 My 6-week live online course - https://academy.aliabdaal.com CREATORPRENEUR 💰 My flag-ship course for scaling up your creative side-hustle - https://go.aliabdaal.com/creatorpreneur YOUTUBE FOR BEGINNERS COURSE 📸 This is for anyone who'd like to start a YouTube channel. You'll learn everything you need to get started as a YouTuber including how to script, shoot, and edit your first video - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/YouTube-for-Beginners MY FAVOURITE GEAR: 🎥 My YouTube Camera Gear - https://kit.co/AliAbdaal ⌨️ My Keyboard - Wireless Coral mechanical keyboard (Cherry Blue) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/keyboard 📝 My favourite iPad Screen Protector - Paperlike - https://go.aliabdaal.com/paperlike 🎒 My Desk Accessories + Todo List - Ugmonk - https://go.aliabdaal.com/ugmonk MY FAVOURITE SOFTWARE: ✍️ The best summaries of books (Shortform) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/shortform 📚 How I remember what I read (Readwise) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/readwise 🎵 Where I get my Music (amazing for YouTubers) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/epidemicsound 🎙 Deep Dive podcast - https://www.youtube.com/c/DeepDivewithAliAbdaal/ The podcast that delves into the minds of entrepreneurs, creators and other inspiring people to uncover the philosophies, strategies and tools that help us live happier, healthier and more productive lives. You can find it by searching “Deep Dive” on any podcast app (eg: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts etc). BE MY FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to my weekly email newsletter - https://aliabdaal.com/friendzone/ 🌍 My website / blog - https://www.aliabdaal.com 📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/aliabdaal 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/aliabdaal 💙 The Friendzone Discord - https://discord.gg/Dh2kGavffd 🎮 Twitch - https://twitch.tv/aliabdaal PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I get a kickback from 😜

How I Make Work Fun

The four-day workweek with a three-day weekend is nice, but condensing five days of work into four can prove stressful for some workers and may even be considered non-viable.  There may be other alternatives. Some organisational psychologists suggest shortening the workday, such as six hours rather than eight. Some businesses need to be available five days a week and may find it easier and more convenient to shorten the workday.

The four-day workweek

Eight-hour workdays are standard for many industries – and this structure is hard to change. Everyone thinks of work as five days a week, eight hours a day. But, the lack of evolution is a failure of imagination, not actually measuring people's results.  Studies show working longer does not necessarily correlate to greater productivity in general. Workers' output decreases sharply after about 48 hours. Other experts suggest the optimal working-hour number could be as few as 35 hours per week or six hours a day.

Arguments for a shorter workday

<ul><li>A shorter workday is linked to increased worker wellbeing and potentially heightened productivity. </li><li>A UK survey showed that, on average, people only feel productive for about half the workday. So shortening it could motivate them to increase that window. </li><li>Increased productivity could also stem from better worker morale. Many workers’ efficiency may increase while their mistakes decrease.</li><li>With shorter days, workers may be more inclined to do effective, efficient work instead of wasting time or taking on busy work to fill eight hours a day.</li></ul>

Benefits of a shorter workday

<ul><li>There’s no guarantee every worker will be equally productive during a shorter day, especially for less committed workers. </li><li>A shorter workday for multinational companies in some industries could also interfere with the overlap among time zones.</li><li>There may be hidden costs to employers, such as hiring more employees to make up for the need.</li><li>There’s also a danger that shortening the workday won’t actually change how much people work.</li></ul>

Potential pitfalls

There’s a lot of talk about four-day workweeks – but could shorter workdays be a better approach?

Stashed ideas

The case for a shorter workday

Professor Scott Galloway wrote in a post that went viral on LinkedIn: "Having balance at my age is a function of lacking it at your age." In his view, work-life balance is accumulated with career capital. Galloway's view likely reflects the lived experience of many Boomer and Gen X workers – people who worked hard to climb the career ladder early on will have the professional clout or financial resources to slow down later on. Yet, in the wake of the pandemic, there's more awareness of the need to balance work and personal lives.

Work first, balance later

Deferred gratification is common. Traditional thinking is that workers who put in long hours early in their careers and ascend the corporate ladder will find it easing up when they've reached financial security or a certain level of seniority. Galloway believes that "your professional trajectory is disproportionately, and unfairly, set by the early years of your career." If you want balance later in life, you shouldn't be seeking it in your twenties. Instead, look for opportunities to break through the competition, accelerate your job prospects and eventually reach grander career heights.

The case for forgoing balance  

The pandemic offered a fresh perspective on the role work plays in people's lives. People realised that their work hours don't make sense, and that work is only one aspect of their lives. Workers of all ages are seeking more flexibility in their jobs and trying to break the link between perceived productivity and presenteeism. However, workplaces generally reward those that prioritise grind while those who seek work-life balance may fall behind.

Why balance remains elusive 

The current discussion around work-life balance does have an impact. Industries trying to erode work-life balance will likely have trouble recruiting and retaining. Tight talent markets mean workers can be picky. However, the professional and financial pressures pushing young workers towards long hours and career commitment will likely remain. Galloway states that the reality is that working towards a work-life balance is slow and boring. Healthy work-life balance is a huge benefit later in life, so it's worth investing in it as early as possible.

Balance as an investment

Young workers want more balance between their personal and professional lives. But is this achievable without the early-years career grind?

Does grinding hard now earn work-life balance later?

<ul><li>In the U.S., a paid, voluntary break from a job that lasts longer than two weeks is generally considered unusual.</li><li>Sabbaticals seem to help people heal from burnout, but they are not a comprehensive cure</li><li>If sabbaticals can't fix your job, they can nurture your life outside it.</li><li>They let you tend to the wilting plots of your life's garden, the parts that struggle to get enough sunlight in the shadow of work.</li></ul>

Taking A Sabbatical

<ul><li>The business case against sabbaticals is not so clear-cut</li><li>They may be costly, but people who take them seem likely to come back more productive and more efficient</li><li>Many companies find that they are a powerful tool for attracting, and then keeping, talented employees-certainly something worth paying for.</li></ul>

The Cure For Work Weariness

Sabbaticals can give people an invaluable opportunity to rest and reflect on their identity beyond their job.

Ways To Find Focus In A Digital World

How I Make Work Fun

The case for a shorter workday

Does grinding hard now earn work-life balance later?

What Is Life Like When We Subtract Work From It?

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