Increasing your productivity is easy. It’s just a matter of making a few simple changes to your routine, or behaviour, or thinking, and your productivity will soar.
At least, that’s what countless online articles claim. The actual science tells a different story. Even a modest amount of research reveals that some of the most commonly touted claims about how to boost productivity fall apart in the face of the evidence.

The Advice On The Internet About Increasing Productivity

It's regularly claimed that you'll be more productive if you get up early - very early. However, there are many reasons why waking up early could be actively unproductive.
Sleep is crucial for our ability to function, and depriving yourself of it does more harm than good.

Myth 1: Waking up at 4 am will make you more productive

<ul><li>The most successful people experience 24-hour days just like anyone else.</li><li>However, the ability to use those hours productively differs tremendously from person to person.</li><li>Context is everything.</li><li>It's far easier to use time productively when you have the money and resources.</li><li>Few people have the option to use that time 100-percent productively.</li></ul>

Myth 2: We All Have The Same 24 Hours A Day

<ul><li>The idea that constantly being busy is the only way to be truly productive is the default assumption for many people</li><li>In truth, it has long been known that multitasking or 'task switching' actually erodes your productivity</li><li>The human brain has limited resources when it comes to attention and working memory - our abilities to focus on and think about things</li><li>Overworking yourself will compromise your ability to do simple tasks effectively</li></ul>

Myth 3: Keeping Busy Means Being More Productive

<ul><li>According to many people, productivity is linked to happiness - the happier you are, the more productive you will be.</li><li>However, scientific studies reveal that happy workers are only 12% more productive.</li><li>Persuading people to be happy often backfires: If people believe they must be happy, it is harder for them to achieve their goals.</li></ul>

Myth 4: You Should Be Happy in Your Work

<ul><li>As much as we might want to believe otherwise, when countless people are working equally hard for the same goals, the most important factor is actually going to be... plain old luck!</li><li>You can't tell people to 'be lucky' in the same way you can cajole them to work hard.</li><li>Our brains are sensitive to the balance between effort and reward.</li><li>When the effort we put in is not rewarded as expected, it causes stress and negative emotions.</li></ul>

Myth 5: Hard Work Always Pays Off

How much truth is behind the productivity myths touted by influencers, and do we all need to be setting our alarms for 4am?

Stashed ideas

A neuroscientist debunks the biggest productivity myths | BBC Science Focus Magazine

A company's balance sheet provides a tremendous amount of insight into its solvency and business dealings. A balance sheet consists of three primary sections: assets, liabilities, and equity.
Depending on what an analyst or investor is trying to glean, different parts of a balance sheet will provide a different insight. That being said, some of the most important areas to pay attention to are cash, accounts receivables, marketable securities, and short-term and long-term debt obligations.

Why Balance Sheets Are Important to Analysis

Many experts consider the top line, or cash, the most important item on a company's balance sheet. Other critical items include accounts receivable, short-term investments, property, plant, and equipment, and major liability items. 
The big three categories on any balance sheet are assets, liabilities, and equity.

The Three Categories

All assets should be divided into current and noncurrent assets. An asset is considered current if it can reasonably be converted into cash within one year. Cash, inventories, and net receivables are all important current assets because they offer flexibility and solvency.
Cash is the headliner. Companies that generate a lot of cash are often doing a good job satisfying customers and getting paid. While too much cash can be worrisome, too little can raise a lot of red flags.

Important Assets

Like assets, liabilities are either current or noncurrent. Current liabilities are obligations due within a year.
Fundamental investors look for companies with fewer liabilities than assets, particularly when compared against cash flow. Companies that owe more money than they bring in are usually in trouble.

Important Liabilities

Common liabilities include accounts payable, deferred income, long-term debt, and customer deposits if the business is large enough. 
Although assets are usually tangible and immediate, liabilities are usually considered equally as important, as debts and other types of liabilities must be settled before booking a profit.

Kinds Of Liabilities

Equity is equal to assets minus liabilities, and it represents how much the company's shareholders actually have a claim to. Investors should pay particular attention to retained earnings and paid-in capital under the equity section.Paid-in capital represents the initial investment amount paid by shareholders for their ownership interest. Compare this to additional paid-in capital to show the equity premium investors paid above par value. Equity considerations are among the top concerns when institutional investors and private funding groups consider a business purchase or merger.

Important Equity

Some balance sheet items are seen as more important for fundamental analysis than others, including cash, current liabilities, and retained earnings.

The Main Focus Points When Analyzing a Balance Sheet

A couple falls in love and gets swept up by the mood of Christmas. The campaign by luxury British fashion house Burberry combined Christmas with star power. The film that depicts a lifestyle also shows what Burberry sells. Why it worked:<ul><li>The campaign didn't sell to viewers but drew them in with a compelling story, a quality film set, an exclusive soundtrack, and choreography.</li><li>Burberry took their brand to an audience beyond luxury fashion by leveraging Romeo Beckham, son of British fashion icons.</li></ul>

Burberry, 'From London With Love', 2014

Canadian airline WestJet asked customers what they wanted for Christmas before they boarded the flight. Workers then had their gifts wrapped and placed on the baggage carousel when they arrived at their destination. The real-life film has been viewed over 48 million times. Why it worked:<ul><li>WestJet combined technology with manpower.</li><li>The generosity and spontaneity of the campaign mean no other brand has been able to top it.</li></ul>

WestJet, ‘Christmas Miracle’, 2013

This Cola Cola campaign brought the magic of a white Christmas to people in Singapore who would never experience it since they have tropical heat for their Christmas period. Why it worked:<ul><li>The campaign allowed people from across the world to share how they experienced Christmas. This brought Coke's tagline 'share happiness' to life. </li><li>It is an excellent example of Coke using its brand power without selling any product. </li></ul>

Coca Cola, ‘White Christmas’, 2014 

A boy befriends the loveable monster under his bed. Moz the Monster has fun with him every night and keeps him from being afraid.  John Lewis created this campaign with the tagline, 'For gifts that brighten their world'. Why it worked:<ul><li>The campaign resonated widely. Nearly everyone in the Western world is aware of the 'monsters under your bed'.</li><li>The film was humorous and heartwarming. </li></ul>

John Lewis, ‘Moz the Monster’, 2017 

John Lewis created a film about a girl who wish for a trampoline for Christmas. Her dog ends up enjoying the gift after witnessing nocturnal animals playing on it the night before. Why it worked:It was simple, funny, and executed perfectly.

John Lewis, ‘Buster the Boxer’, 2016

This animated campaign put a different take on Christmas. It combined three tools in marketing - a compelling story, a great track, and a dog. Why it worked:<ul><li>Apple nailed the intrigue and emotional aspect of a great story.</li><li>Within a month of its release, it was viewed over 9 million times.</li></ul>

Apple, ‘Share your Gifts’, 2018

This short film tells the story of Santa crashing in the Australian outback. The community rebuilt his sleigh and got him ready to deliver presents for Christmas. Why it worked:<ul><li>The ad is lighthearted and easy to grasp but is still meaningful and resonates with people.</li><li>The short Aldi film had a massive response from the industry and trade press and has been compared to John Lewis for the quality of its Christmas commercials.</li></ul>

Aldi, ‘Santa Crashes Christmas’, 2018 

Every year new Christmas ads are released to inspire us, make us laugh and make us cry.

From the poignant to the laugh out loud funny, here are some of the world's best Christmas ad campaigns.

Some of the best Christmas campaigns past and present

Freelancers may find it a struggle to consistently find online freelance work. Many people may believe that clients will come to you, but jobs are seldom handed to you on a silver platter. You have to buckle down and work hard to regularly find work in the freelancing world. However, some strategies can make that work a bit easier.

Finding freelance work

<ul><li>Join a freelancing site. The key to winning is to find a fairly new freelancing site with low competition, showcase your skill set, and provide your clients with a killer proposal.</li><li>Check the careers sections. When visiting websites, most websites may have a footer that says "We're hiring"/"Careers" or "Work with us." Visit websites related to your industry and see if they're hiring.</li><li>Write for a blog. There are hundreds of blogs that pay people to write for their blogs.</li><li>Search Job Forums, like SimplyHired, Indeed, Creative Planet.</li></ul>

Well-known avenues

<ul><li>Behance and Dribbble Jobs are the biggest platforms for creative professionals, but you can also find jobs through these platforms.</li><li>LinkedIn Jobs. Select your country from the list and type in the job position you're looking for. You could also look up recruiters from different companies and ask if there is work available.</li><li>Niche Job Boards. Many small websites have their own job boards, such as Remote.com, Smashing Jobs, We Work Remotely.</li></ul>

Creative professionals

<ul><li>Use a paid service, such as Vollna to instantly find a list of jobs for you.</li><li>Twitter advanced search. For example, in the keywords section, type "designer" "wanted" or hiring". Add hashtags like #gig #freelancer #job.</li><li>Use Craigslist. Choose a country and city (or remote) then check the Jobs or Temp Jobs sections. Type in a keyword and "wanted" or "hiring".</li><li>Facebook groups.</li><li>Ask a fellow freelancer. Find an established freelancer in your industry and ask them in a nice message to hook you up with a job.</li></ul>

Other ways to find freelance jobs

Struggling to find freelance work online? Looking to make a quick buck? Here are a few quick ways you can find a freelance job online.

14+ Quick Ways To Find Freelance Jobs Right Now

When we say the word assertive the first word that pops up in our head is "confrontational" and for whatever reason it just feels like "rudeness" in a way should we ever try to make ourselves assertive. However, assertiveness in the workplace only means that you're able to speak up for yourself in a respectful and appropriate manner for the workplace. It's being confident in your communicating skills and abilities without being brash.

Assertiveness In The Workplace

Pleasanteeism is a new word for the behavior of putting on a people-pleasing facade in the workplace. It usually happens because one feels pressured to present as the most positive, least demanding version of yourself.

Pleasanteeism

Being assertive doesn't mean that you're looking for a fight but rather you'll be negotiating your stance for the benefit of everyone.
You can be assertive while still being polite and humble as long as you focus on the value of which you want to bring to the company.

Reframe Assertiveness

How you deliver your sentence matters. When we communicate in a positive and constructive way, we are showing that we are helpful and empathetic of the situation.
We should be wary of our body language like our eye contact, not to strong to seem like you're challenging the others but also not to soft where you'll seem like you're pleading.
Remember to speak clearly and calmly, and that your words should be articulated so that there is no misunderstanding.

Work on your communication

Who is your role model? 
Have you ever thought of who inspires you do become a better version of yourself? 
If you want to be more assertive, find someone you admire who's assertive. Try to strike up a conversation with them and ask them how they do it. 
By doing so, you'll be able to find a way to be assertive that works best for you in an authentic way that's befitting to your personality.

Find a role model

If you're a people-pleaser, it will affect several areas of our lives and we'll always put the needs of others instead of our own.
With being assertive, our aim is to be supportive and helpful while also being realistic of how much we can put on our plate. By understanding our capabilities and capacity, we are able to bring the maximum value to the team and to the organization.

Find the right balance

A work-life balance is important and to achieve that is to be assertive that you can do this much of work until that work is done, they shouldn't unload more projects on your plate more than you can carry.
When we talk to our supervisors about our priorities and the goals that we want to achieve it shows them that we are a team player and that we would like to contribute to the company a more valuable employee.

Talk through your priorities

Being a people-pleaser can be bad news for you and your colleagues. Here's how to change that.

The 'Pleasanteeism' Trap: 5 Ways To Be More Assertive At Work

We don’t really value time as much as we value money, even though money one lost can be earned again, but lost time can never come back.
Many of us waste a lot of time on social media and other platforms consuming content of varying quality. If we really valued time, we would be aware of the time wasted on overthinking or being stuck in the past, or simply being miserable.

The Value Of Time

Time Management

The Human mind falls in the following states when thinking about time:<ol><li>Past: Remembering the good old days or wishing things happened differently in the life gone by.</li><li>Present: Wanting enjoyment in the present, or always being on the lookout for instant gratification.</li><li>Future: Getting good grades, not drinking or smoking, eating healthy food, saving and investing.</li></ol>

The Three Time Perspectives

We cannot be stuck in the past, present or future time perspectives all the time, and have to be aware of how our mind works. To strike a balance, we have to be:<ol><li>1 percent focused on the past, like spending 10 minutes writing a journal.</li><li>9 percent focused on the future, making sure to be fit and eat nutritious food.</li><li>90 percent present-focused, ensuring that we read, eat, travel, cook, write, sleep and exercise.</li></ol>

The 1/9/90 Principle Of Time Perspective

<ul><li>Balancing how we use our time needs flexibility. If the focus is single-mindedly on a particular time perspective, one cannot lead a happy, well-lived life.</li><li>Being in the future when one has to be in the present creates misery and conflict.</li><li>We can live every moment to the maximum by dialling the right time perspective(past, present or future).</li><li>The wealthiest people in the world who are running out of time know its value, and many of us waste(or kill) time as if it is unlimited.</li></ul>

The Time Paradox

<ul><li>Embrace The Past.</li><li>Think About The Future.</li><li>Remember: The Time To Live Is Right Now.</li><li>Yesterday Is Gone.</li><li>Tomorrow Isn’t Here Yet.</li><li>Make Today Count.</li></ul>

The Time Formula

Awareness of time perspectives helps you to live better because you will make better use of your time when you’re more aware.

Past, Present, and Future

The phrase "work-life balance" seems to imply that work and life are in balance.
If one imagines an old-fashioned scale, that would mean work is on the one side, and everything else about yourself on the other side - your friends, hobbies, family, relationships, beliefs, sports, etc. It hardly seems like a balance and really points out our obsession with work.

Our culture is obsessed with work

Our culture glorifies work. Social media show people working long hours and then turn to their side hustle after hours. It's easy to feel you should find your meaning in life at work and that you should constantly work harder.
But we don't have to chase work. We can put work in its proper place and use our free time for something else. While work can be personally meaningful to you, it can also just be a thing you sometimes do. It's not about balance - it's about keeping things in perspective.

Work and life aren't opposites

Work and life don't have to be balanced | Zapier

According to traditional thinking, procrastinators have a time-management problem. They are unable to understand how long a task will take and need to learn how to schedule their time better.However, psychologists increasingly realize that procrastination is an issue with managing our emotions, not our time.

Procrastinating and emotions

Studies show low mood only increases procrastination if enjoyable activities are available as a distraction. In other words, we're drawn to other activities to avoid the discomfort of applying ourselves.

Short-term mood lifters

Procrastination leads to two primary consequences.<ol><li>It's stressful to keep putting off important tasks and failing to meet your goals.</li><li>Procrastination often involves delaying important health behaviors, such as taking up exercise or visiting a doctor.</li></ol>

Adverse consequences

The next time you're tempted to procrastinate, focus on this question: "What is the next action I would take on this task if I were to get started on it now?"Doing this will take your mind off your feelings and onto an easily achievable action.

Overcoming procrastination

Like many writers, I'm a supreme expert at procrastination. When I ought to be working on an assignment, with the clock ticking towards my deadline, I'll sit there watching pointless political interviews or boxing highlights on YouTube (cat videos aren't my thing).

Why procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

There is no "one size fits all schedule" for maximum productivity.Because we all have particular strengths and weaknesses when it comes to time management and productivity, what works for one person could be a total disaster for another.

There is no perfect method for everyone

It involves planning out your day in advance and dedicating specific hours to accomplish specific tasks. It’s important to block out both proactive blocks (when you focus on important tasks) and reactive blocks (when you allow time for requests and interruptions).

The Time Blocking Method

Instead of writing a big to-do list and trying to get it all done, determine the 1-3 tasks that are absolutely essential and then focus on those tasks during the day. You don’t do anything else until you’ve completed the three essential tasks.

The Most Important Task Method (MIT)

It's about working in short, productive, focused bursts, and then giving yourself a brief break. It only requires is a timer:<ul><li>Choose a task</li><li>Set your timer for 25 minutes</li><li>Work on the task until the timer ends</li><li>Take a short break (around 5 minutes)</li><li>Every 4 Pomodoro sessions, take a longer break (15-30 minutes).</li></ul>

The Pomodoro Technique

Take full advantage of the energy peaks and troughs that occur throughout your day and correlate your maximum energy levels with your task list, which then gives your productivity a major boost: Work 90 minutes and then rest for 20-30 minutes. The human body operates on cycles called "ultradian rhythms." During each of these cycles, there is a peak when we are most energized and a trough when we are exhausted.

90-Minute Focus Sessions

Most people want to know the single best way to schedule their day for maximum productivity, and there are numerous articles and books that claim to know the "perfect schedule." But the reality i, there is no perfect method for everyone. Because we all have particular strengths and weaknesses when...

Master Your Time: 5 Daily Scheduling Methods to Bring More Focus to Your Day

Use the <a href="https://www.themuse.com/advice/a-better-todo-list-the-135-rule">1-3-5 rule</a> when putting together her daily to-do list.On any given day, set nine goals for yourself:  <ul><li>one big-ticket project to tackle</li><li>three medium tasks</li><li>five small things. </li></ul>Narrow down your to-do list to just those things. This keeps you from feeling overwhelmed by an endless list, and also helps keep you focused on just those items.

Tailor your to-do lists

The “two-minute rule”  has two parts. First, if something takes less than two minutes, do it now. Next, start building new habits for two minutes at a time. The rule for this is: When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do. The idea is to make your habits as easy to start as possible. Think of these “two-minute habits” as gateway habits that will lead to your overarching goal.

Build good habits in two minutes

It takes time to get into a rhythm to work on a task. Instead of constantly starting and stopping that process, it’s better to keep your rhythm going by bundling similar tasks together.By doing this, you avoid interruptions and prevents himself from procrastinating.

Complete tasks in batches

“If you don’t want to do something, make a deal with yourself to do at least five minutes of it,” says Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom. “After five minutes, you’ll end up doing the whole thing.” Getting started on something, even for just a few minutes, helps us break down big goals into baby steps.

Set a short timeframe

Instead of just randomly quitting a task, make sure you leave off at a place that will inspire you to get going next time you’re ready to pick it up. <ul><li>Before you finish work for the day, capture any open questions that you’re currently working on. Ask yourself: if you were to continue working, what would be the very next thing you’d do?</li><li>Write those questions and the next thing you would do on a piece of paper.</li><li>Determine what you’ll do first when you sit down to work again. This gives you an immediate starting point for the next day.</li></ul>

End with the beginning in mind

It creates artificial pressure that trains you to deal with real pressure during your career. Procrastinators have to learn to prioritize. Because you’re doing everything at the last minute, there’s no time to forget anything or re-study anything. Your knowledge is fresh and the pressure is on, so you’ll complete the task faster than you would have if you had done it earlier.


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Embrace procrastination

8 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Humans have a tendency to procrastinate because our minds naturally like to be in a relaxed state. Sometimes it's hard to get going, or we have trouble focusing and find ourselves putting off an unpleasant or difficult task for as long as possible.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Ryder U.
@ryderu

A neuroscientist debunks the biggest productivity myths | BBC Science Focus Magazine

The Main Focus Points When Analyzing a Balance Sheet

Some of the best Christmas campaigns past and present

14+ Quick Ways To Find Freelance Jobs Right Now

The 'Pleasanteeism' Trap: 5 Ways To Be More Assertive At Work

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Ryder U.@ryderu

A neuroscientist debunks the biggest productivity myths | BBC Science Focus Magazine

The Main Focus Points When Analyzing a Balance Sheet

Some of the best Christmas campaigns past and present

14+ Quick Ways To Find Freelance Jobs Right Now

The 'Pleasanteeism' Trap: 5 Ways To Be More Assertive At Work

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Ryder U.
@ryderu