Life-Hacking 101: Increasing Productivity

FINALLY!

You've been planning this trip to the beach with your spouse for months and tomorrow you'll be basking in the sun with a cold Corona in your hand and your feet in the sand for an entire week!

(Shaking yourself out of your daydream)

"Ok, I've got to get this stuff done before I leave... Time to get started!"

Do you ever wonder how a week's worth of work gets done in a single work day, or less?

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the key isn't to schedule a vacation every other week...

I realized this phenomenon through listening to Brian Tracy and later discovered that it was called Parkinson's Law in The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.

"Parkinson's Law dictates that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. It is the magic of the imminent deadline." 4HWW.

By managing your workload and creating a clear and aggressive deadline, you'll find this vacation productivity is attainable through habitual implementation.

Here are the three things I do to make the most of my day: (This is an ongoing challenge for me to stick to)

1. Maintain an Active To-Do list

2. 2-Minute Smash It

3. Check Out

BREAKDOWN

1. Go Download Evernote on your Mobile Devices and your Computer. Now...

Learn how to make "Notebooks" and get a general idea for how to use the software.

As you can see from the picture below, I've created a To-Do list for each area of my life.

In the book Getting Things Done by David Allen, he gives you a technique that I believe is essential to remove mental interruptions.

• Write it down... (Ever heard that one before?)

None of us can remember everything, but we find ourselves creating "Mental Post-Its" throughout the day.

Think of how many times you've reminded yourself of a responsibility you have to get done today while you were in the middle of doing something totally unrelated.

These interruptions are destructive to your productivity.

Imagine a colleague/boss/friend/spouse coming to you every hour and asking you, "Did you do ________ yet?" (I'm about to have an anxiety attack just thinking about it...)

As soon as a To-Do pops up in my head, I put it into it's Evernote Notebook and get back to work on the task at hand. You'll LOVE the results by doing so.

*You can sub-categorize these To-Do's by importance, but remember Parkinson's Law and minimize the deadlines!

2. If it takes less than 2-Minutes to complete... Don't write it down, just get it done.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT do these as soon as they pop up! DO NOT let these interrupt something else you're doing!

I simply put them into a pile or folder and as soon as I'm done with what I was doing, I Smash em'. (I try to let a few of them stack up before addressing them)

3. Screen your calls, master your email, and eliminate your 'Conscious Chatter'.

SCREEN YOUR CALLS

I downloaded YouMail on my Android and Who Are You.

• YouMail: Addresses my caller by the name I have saved in my phone and tells them to leave a message. "Hi John, Taylor can't come to the phone right now, please leave a message." Simple, sweet, and kinda neat.
  • I can quickly open the App, click on a specific voicemail, listen to it, and delete it.
• Who Are You: If I don't have the caller saved in my phone then it will tell me who is calling or where they are from. This allows me to determine the importance of the call.

MASTER YOUR EMAIL

If you find yourself reading emails as soon as they pop up... Stop it. If it's of vital importance they will call you... and can leave a message =)

I downloaded a Free Timer (for PC) on my computer that turns on at 12:00pm and 4:00pm. These are the times I read my email and categorize them into my Outlook Folders as seen below.

After reading 4HWW my News folder started building up quite a bit ha

(Note: I don't generally address myself in Third Person....)

ELIMINATE CONSCIOUS CHATTER

Conscious Chatter = Talking to yourself.

• "What do I FEEL like doing next?"
• "I think I heard Sharon saying it was going to rain tomorrow, I should check how much."
• "I wonder if anybody new 'Liked' the selfie I posted last night!?"

All of those things are non-sense... minutia, time fillers, and destructive to productivity.

I have my list of things to get done so there is no reason for me to wonder what to do next. In addition, what I FEEL like doing is meaningless since everything NEEDs to be done. Doing what I feel only delays the inevitable.

If it doesn't involve me getting up from my desk or talking on the phone then I've got two earbuds in and I'm listening to music (no vocals) to help replace my conversations with myself with FuNKy BeATs.

(Please tell me there is somebody out there that talks to themselves as much as I do...)

Download Spotify(Free): Then Click Here to find my profile and check out my play lists.

REFLECTION

In no way is this the secret to increasing daily production by 500%, but if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed at work or don't feel like you're making any progress in your business then I recommend you try what I'm doing.

It's been instrumental in managing my time, relieving stress, and helping me take 'daily steps' toward an inevitably successful future. (God willing!)

UPCOMING

Next blog post I'll chat about how I break loose of mental doubt and create a sense of daily accomplishment.

Please feel free to leave comments below or tell about what techniques you use to be productive!

Thanks for reading.