Top 10 Productivity Hacks

We all need a productivity boost now and then — sometimes throughout the day. We each want to be productive for very personal reasons — to accomplish more, to make more money, to get done earlier to make more time for our personal lives, to accomplish our goals. But whatever the reason, these Productivity Hacks will do the trick.

Here they are, in reverse order

#10: Take care of your Most Important Things first. Your Most Important Things (MIT) for the day — the things you most need to accomplish that day — should take priority over everything else. However, we all know that fires come up throughout the day, interruptions through phone calls and email and people dropping by, new demands that will push the best-laid plans aside. If you put off your MITs until later in the day, you will end up not doing them much of the time.

Try to get all three of your MITs done before moving on to anything else. If you can do that, the rest of the day is gravy!

# 9: Wake up early. Decide what you’d like to accomplish each morning, and build your morning routine around that. Like to exercise? Put that in there. Healthy breakfast? Go for it. Check email? Fine. The mornings are a fresh start, peaceful and free of ringing phones and constant email notifications. If you get your Most Important Things done in the morning, the rest of the day is just gravy. 

# 8: Simplify information streams, crank through blogs & email. Think about all the information you receive (email, blogs, newsletters, mailing lists, magazines, newspapers and more) and edit brutally. You will drastically reduce the time you spend reading. For everything else that begins to come in after your editing process, ask yourself if you really need to be getting that information regularly. Most of the time the answer is no. Now, after this process, you should be left with less to read. Here’s the next step: crank through it all, really only reading the really interesting ones.

Editing and cranking through the information you receive can free up a lot of time for more important things — like achieving your goals.

# 7: De-clutter your work-space; work on one thing at a time. The de-cluttering your work space part of it is simply to remove all extra distractions, on your desk and on your computer. If you’ve got a clean, simplified work-space, you can better focus on the task at hand. 

Now, with distractions minimized, focus on the task at hand. Don’t check email, don’t work on five projects at once, don’t check the stats on your blog, don’t go to your feed reader. Work on that one task, and work on it with concentrated focus until you are done. Then celebrate your achievement!

# 6: Get to work early; work fewer hours. My best days come when I get into work early, and begin my work day in the quiet morning hours, before the phones start ringing and the din of the office begins it crescendo to chaos. It is so peaceful, and I can work without interruption or losing focus. I often find that I get my MITs done before anyone comes in, and then the rest of the day is dealing with whatever comes up (or even better: getting ahead for the next day).

# 5: Avoid meetings; when you must meet, make it effective. I find it best to say no to meetings up front. I just say, “Sorry, I can’t make it. I’m tied up with a project right now.” And that’s always true. I’ve always got projects I’m working on that are more important than a meeting.

# 4: Avoid unnecessary work. If we just do any work that comes our way, we can be cranking out the tasks, but not be productive at all. You’re only productive if you are doing work that moves you towards a goal. Eliminate non-essential tasks from your to-do lists, and start to say no to new requests that are non-essential.

If you do not take these steps and speak up, and say no, then you will be overloaded with work that you simply do not need to do. Cut out the non-essential tasks, and focus on those that really matter.

# 3: Do the tough tasks first. You know what those tasks are. What have you been putting off that you know you need to do? Sometimes when you put things off, they end up being things you don’t really need to do. But sometimes they are things you just have to do. Those are your tough tasks.

Do them first thing in the day.

# 2: Work off-line as much as possible. To increase your productivity, disconnect your Internet connection. Have scheduled times when you’re going to check your email, and only let yourself check your blogs or surf the web when you’ve gotten a certain amount done. When you do go online, do it on a timer. When the timer goes off, unplug again until the next scheduled time.

You’ll be amazed at how much work you’ll get done.

# 1: Do something you’re passionate about. This might not seem like the normal productivity tip, but give it a thought: if you really want to do something, you’ll work like hell to get it done. You’ll work extra hard, you’ll put in even more hours, and you’re less likely to procrastinate. It’s for work that you don’t really care about that you procrastinate.

This article was originally written by Leo Babauta -Zen Habits

Do you have any hacks to add? Please add them in the comments below. Don't forget to SHARE this post if you loved it. 

8 Experiments in Motivation

I was talking to a 19-year-old recently and he has been struggling with motivation.

His problem goes like this: he gets excited about starting a project or plan, and is very motivated at the start … but after a few days, that feeling dies down, and he starts procrastinating. He really does want to do the project or follow through on the plan, but the motivation inevitably drops away.

I told him this is something he should devote some effort to figuring out, because very few problems are as important to solve as this one.

I suggested experiments in motivation. Every person is motivated differently (and in fact, that can shift), so finding methods that motivate you personally is a matter of experimenting.

I’m writing this post for him, and anyone else who might want to try these experiments.

How does it work? You try each experiment for a week, and note the results. After a couple months of doing this, you know more about your personal motivation style than ever before.

Here are eight motivation methods you could try:

1. Un-ignorable Consequences. Set a deadline for the task(s) you want to complete, and a consequence you won’t be able to ignore. It’s best to share this deadline and consequence with an accountability partner or publicly. 

Example: I post on Facebook I’m going to write 1,000 words in my book every day this week, or I can’t watch TV for a week. (That only works if you really care about the consequence.)  

Another example: if I don’t write my first chapter by Saturday at midnight, I have to donate $200 to Donald Trump (or whichever candidate you don’t like) and post about it publicly. The idea is that the consequence should be embarrassing and something you can’t just ignore.

2. Completion Compulsion. Many people, myself included, have a strong desire to complete a list. For example, if you’ve watched 15 out of 20 episodes of a show, you might really want to finish watching the show. This is “completion compulsion,” and I think everyone experiences it sometime — especially if finishing the list seems doable.

So the method is this: make a list of 10 small actions (10 minutes or less to complete) that you want to finish this week on a certain project, or 5 small actions you want to finish each day, and make it your goal to finish the list. You could combine this with the un-ignorable consequences method (if I don’t finish my list each day, I can’t have wine).

  

3. A Powerful “Why”. Understand the deeper reasons you want to complete this goal or accomplish this task. It should be a reason that really resonates with you, that you deeply want to achieve. Now write your “Why” in a phrase (like, “compassion for myself” or “to help others in pain”), and post it somewhere visible, so you won’t forget it.

4. Get Excited Daily. It’s easy to be excited about a project or goal when you first start, but that dies out. So renew it! Each day, start by setting a goal for the day that you can accomplish and that you care about. Find inspiration, visualize your accomplishment, find some music that motivates you, find an inspirational quote or video … anything to get you excited to accomplish your goal for the day!

5. Focus on Being True to Your Word. One of the most important things in life is to be trusted, to have people believe that when you say you’re going to do something, you’ll do it. If people don’t trust in that, you won’t have good relationships, romantically, with friends, or at work. Imagine hiring someone and not knowing if they’re going to show up, or do the work if they do show up.

So you should make it one of your priorities in life to live the motto, “Be True to Your Word.” That starts with small things: tell someone you’re going to do a small task that will only take 10-30 minutes. Then do it. Repeat this several times a day, building other people’s trust in you and your own trust in yourself. Post the motto somewhere you won’t forget it.

6. Find a Group. Humans are social animals, and you can use that to your advantage. Create an accountability group of friends or colleagues who want to achieve a goal or finish a project. Agree to set daily or weekly targets, and check in with each other daily or weekly (form a Facebook group or subreddit, perhaps).

Set rewards and/or embarrassing consequences for hitting or missing the targets. Have weekly “winners” for those who did the best at their targets. Encourage each other and help each other when someone is faltering.

  

7. Focus on a Sense of Achievement. With every task you complete, pause at the end of it to savor your feeling of accomplishment. This is a great feeling! Share your victory with others. Savor the feeling of building trust in yourself. As you start a task, think about how good you’ll feel when you accomplish it.

8. Small Starts, Quick Rewards. Create a system where you have to do short tasks (just 10 minutes) and you get a small reward at the end of it. For example, I just need to write for 10 minutes, then I get to have my first coffee of the day. Or I clear my email inbox for 10 minutes, and then I get to check my favorite sites for 5 minutes.

Don’t let yourself have the reward unless you do the task! The smaller the task, the better, so you won’t delay starting.

  

OK, these are eight experiments, but you might think of others, like the Seinfeld Method or the Pomodoro Technique. All that matters is that you try the experiments, and note the results. At the end of each weekly experiment, write a brief review of how it went. Rate your productivity on a scale of 10. Then try another experiment.

At the end of these, you’ll have tried a bunch of great methods, and figured out what helps you most. You might combine methods, or use different ones at different times. And maybe after all of this, you’ll have a trust in yourself that’s so strong, you don’t need any methods!

This article was originally written by Leo Babauta, Zen Habits - https://zenhabits.net

What would you add as the #9 Experiment in Motivation? Let me know in the comments below! 

4 Steps to Manifesting Everything

There are four fundamental phases that you have to go through when you want to experience the reality that you prefer. Although there may be comparatively smaller steps that you can act upon, the four main phases are the foundation of all reality. The four phases are:

1. Clarifying your vision

2. Identifying your beliefs and definitions

3. Taking inspired action, and

4. Allowing manifestation

 Clarifying your vision

 Everyone knows what excites them more than anything else. Knowing what gives you the ultimate excitement is the cornerstone of creating the reality that you prefer. Your vision is how you see yourself in the future, living the life that you prefer and doing the things that excite you the most. Your vision guides your life and gives you the direction necessary to chart your way through life. A good vision is a fundamental necessity to attaining a meaningful and fulfilling life. Without a clearly defined vision, there is no direction. A good vision will help you to stay excited and focused. It will help you to keep your priorities right so you won’t be side tracked.

Identifying your beliefs and definitions

Once you have clarified your vision, the next step is to identify your core beliefs that might hinder you from creating the reality that you want. Your beliefs form a filter of expectations that determine how you perceive your reality. Beliefs are thereby an integral element of the creation and design of your reality. Your beliefs continuously influence your perception of the world and your perception of the world is an act of interpreting your reality.

The reality that you experience is the product of your beliefs. It is a reflection of what you expect to perceive in accordance with your beliefs. There is no universal reality then, only what you define it to be through your beliefs. Consequently, by changing your beliefs, you change your reality. By “changing” you reassign the energy that influences the beliefs you are currently utilizing.

Your beliefs must not contradict your vision. Your vision cannot be that you want to become wealthy while on the other you have a deep-seated belief that money is the root of all evil.

Taking inspired action

Having a clear vision and eliminating the beliefs that do not serve you is not enough. You need to perform some form of action in order to attain your preferred reality. Not all actions will move you towards your vision, but inspired action will. Inspired action is acting on the things that excite you the most.

Allowing manifestation

 Finally, once you have started taking inspired action, paradoxically, you need to allow for manifestation. Allowing for change is sitting back and watching your vision unfold right in front of your eyes.

Creating the Preferred YOU

What Truly Excites You the Most

To answer this question, allow your mind to furnish you with whatever comes up without any judgement or analysis. Close your eyes and allow your imagination to answer the question in whatever form it comes. Just note what comes up for you. Allow yourself to breathe and provide any symbol or impression that comes up.

Some people answer the question by saying they do not know what excites them the most. When you say that you do not know what excites you most, you withhold your ability to access what you already know.

If you haven't or couldn’t find the answer or you can't imagine anything that excites you, the reason could be:

a) The judgement of that thing by your society - You are buying into the judgement - about the exciting thing - that society seems to frown upon. The society’s judgement cannot have an effect on you until you match or create your version of their judgment in the form of self-judgement. Common judgements include:

• Artists don’t make enough money. Only a few make it
• Only a university degree will guarantee you a job then a happy life
• Following your passion is risky and often leads to failure
• And so forth

b) Fear that you can't achieve what excites you - The fact that it excites you, is an indication of your prerequisite ability to do that thing. Your excitement tells you that you have the ability to succeed in doing this thing. Though it may not be obvious at the moment how this thing can come about, your excitement tells you it absolutely can! The idea that you will not be able to handle the power that comes with the achievement or fulfillment of this thing that excites you the most. 

Remember, there is nothing that you can ever create and not be able to handle it. Everything that exists has been created and it belongs.

The message that your excitement delivers:

1. It tells you that you CAN do that thing
2. It tells you that when doing that thing you will have more than enough power to continue to do that thing and that that power can never overcome you.

How to Define a Personal Vision

Your personal vision is a picture of your true self in the future. This, as is usual, includes all the important components of your life and career; who you want to be, what you want to do, how you want to feel, what you want to own, and with whom you want to associate. Basically, your personal vision is a snapshot of the things that excite you the most. Your vision guides your life and provides the direction necessary to chart the course of your days and the choices you make about your life.

A vision is like a compass that guides and directs you towards your reality. Many people go through life without a definite vision and often wonder why their reality is not as they want it to be. When clarifying your vision, you begin to determine the reality that you prefer. Your current reality didn’t happen by default. It is through your conscious or unconscious mind that you created your reality. In that event, how do you create a reality that you prefer?

Creating your own reality according to preference involves a slight shift in perception. You already create your own reality unconsciously and now all you need to do is take responsibility for creating your reality according to your preference. In the past, you have been creating your reality in auto-pilot mode, being unaware of your thoughts and feelings. From this point forward, you must base the creation of your reality on the things that excite you the most.

Remember, your excitement is who you choose to be in this life. This applies to the ultimate exciting thing that you feel you may ever do and it also applies to available things at any given moment using that vibration. That excitement is there to determine what is representative of you so that you can act upon that option with integrity. Acting with integrity means acting as though you are integrated with all things.

Understand that although you perceive yourself as physical matter, you are energy. You are consciousness itself. You are a frequency of energy. When you establish your clear vision, you confirm that the frequency of your reality is aligned to the frequency of your desire. This is not just a mental exercise to clarify and establish your clear intention, it is the first step that sets up the energy template that your reality grows upon. This is a foundational statement of conscious creatorhood*.

*- Creatorhood means learning that you create your success and failure with perfection. Creatorhood is the complete power to shape your life and your world. It is a state of being where you realise that you shape your reality moment-to-moment through your thoughts and feelings.

5 Things to do in the morning

1.       Take 3 deep breaths. When we sleep, our lungs rest and only take about 60% of air that we breathe in. That is why we intermittently take deep breaths, like sighing, when we are sleeping, so that we can oxygenate. Taking deep breaths in will open and expand our lungs and prepare us for the day. This helps to clean your body by removing the carbon dioxide that accumulated throughout the night and replaces it with fresh oxygen.

2.       Drink a glass of fresh water. Drinking water first thing in the morning will kick start your metabolism and help you get out slumber mode. When you are sleeping, your body relaxes and goes into a mini hibernation. This allows your body to get a proper rest. So when you wake up, you need to drink water to fire up your metabolism. You also sweat and lose a lot of moisture from breathing, do drinking water rehydrates your body and makes you feel energetic in the morning.

3.       Visualize your upcoming day. If you want to have a perfect day, start by visualizing a perfect day first thing in the morning. Worrying and stressing about the upcoming day will only attract that experience in your day. Visualize everything you want as if you already have it. By visualizing, you can also map out your day and think of your goals and everything you plan to do. Visualization and positive thinking can help improve your mood and outlook on your work load for the day.

4.       Say thank you. Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. Being grateful for what you have and also for what you anticipate is a good way of starting your day. This ensures that you are ready to manifest the good things that you are expecting for the day and also shows the universe your appreciation for what you already have. Gratitude also reduces feelings of envy, makes our memories happier, lets us experience good feelings, and helps us bounce back from stress. Gratitude is strongly correlated with optimism. Optimism in turn makes us happier and improves our health. You will start your day in a good mood every day.

 5.       Stretch your neck and body. When you are sleeping, your heart rate is at rest and so blood circulation is at a slower rate. Upon waking up, you must stretch your neck to increase blood flow to your brain and do some light stretches to ‘wake’ your body and oxygenate it in preparation for the day. Adequate blood flow increases concentration and sharpens senses. Stretching helps slightly raise the body’s core temperature, loosening up muscles and preparing them for activity. A stretching routine is a positive way to infuse fitness into busy mornings, and it can be a welcome mental respite to help get your day off on the right foot.