#1: EAT THAT FROG: WORST THINGS FIRST
“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” - Mark Twain
A
“Frog” is that thing that ugly, disgusting, thing on your to-do list
that you want to put off until later more than anything else. It’s something that needs to get done, but you have absolutely zero motivation to do it. A frog could also be an energy-demanding and very important task.
Why should you do the worst things first?
- Early willpower. Your willpower is at it’s strongest in the mornings, that’s when it’s perfect for you to take on the things you don’t want to do.
- It’s a small win. Crossing off the hardest thing on your todo list first feels great. It gives you a sense of accomplishment. In fact. Daily “small-wins” can actually boost your willpower. Studies show that it increases our focus, perseverance and ability rot resist temptation.
- It gives you more time do to the work you enjoy. Doing productive work is one of the keys to happiness. When we talk about hating our jobs, what we’re really talking about are the frogs! We’re talking about those things that we have no motivation to get done. When you eat the frog first thing in the morning, you get to spend the rest of the day doing the work you enjoy.
To
get started, schedule your daily tasks from hardest to easiest. Get
your most important, energy-demanding, tough, anxiety-inducing tasks
(aka your frog) done while your energy levels are high.
This will boost the quality of your work and give you a feeling of control and accomplishment.
#2: TIMEBOXING
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, - Ephesians 5, 15–16.
We all got 24 hours. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Success is all about making the most out of those daily 24 hours.
To stay focused over time, you need a time-management technique.
Personally, I love a technique called “Timeboxing”.
By the way, Mr. Elon Musk agrees with me.
Timeboxing is simply fixing a time period to work on a specific task. Instead of working on a task until it’s done, you commit to working on it for a specific amount of time.
BTW: Want to learn more about this technique?
“Time management is not a peripheral activity or skill. It is the core skill upon which everything else in life depends. “ — Brian Tracy
#3: SCREW DISTRACTIONS
Instead of resisting distractions, eliminate them. Don’t work where you play.
Studies show that generally, it takes a person 20 minutes to get back to work after being interrupted.
INSANE!
We MUST deal with distractions to stay productive.
Here are some tips to do this:
- Turn off unnecessary mobile notifications (e.g. Instagram like per photo).
- Turn on “flight mode” or “do not disturb” during the time you need to be productive.
- Buy a set of noise-canceling headphones. This will help you remove noise distractions from your environment.
- Schedule times during the day when you check your social media, messages, notifications, etc. No need to do this every 5 minutes.
- Turn your phone “screen down” when you are working.
#4: REST EFFICIENTLY WITH NETFLIX
Netflix
and productivity are often considered as opposites. Netflix is
something that destroys your productivity. In too many cases, this is
pretty spot on. Why? Because Netflix often leads to something we call
“binge watching”. This phenomenon is pretty universal, and it’s actually
in the dictionary.
Binge-watching
is NEVER good. It’s truly pointless. It can lead to stress, depression,
loneliness, procrastination, obesity, etc. Be careful.
BUT. I believe Netflix can be used as a PRODUCTIVITY TOOL.
You can use Netflix as a tool with the purpose of disconnecting from the world and creating efficient breaks.
How?
Do this.
- Start watching the same tv-series again and again!
When
you are watching something you earlier have watched you know what's
going to happen, and its easier to stop watching and start working
again.
I know what you are thinking. Will it
not be boring to watch the same series over and over again? That’s why I
have created another rule.
Rule of thumb: Any series you haven’t watched for a year is REWATCHABLE
The
surprising thing is, you will actually enjoy watching a tv-series
again! Why? The nostalgia factor comes in.
2. Watch tv-series that doesn’t contain to many cliffhangers
Try
prioritizing tv-series that don’t make you go crazy if you can’t watch
the next episode. E.g. Game of Thrones, Prison Break, 24, etc.
Want some inspiration? This is my Productive Netflix Cycle.
#5: TODO LIST
Lastly, but not least, the todo list. Wasn’t expecting this one eyy?
There is a reason every productivity guru talks about this list.
It’s fricking amazing.
It keeps your thoughts organized, moves ideas and tasks from your head to a list and gives you a feeling of control.
Follow these steps to set effective to-do lists.
- At the end of each day. Write down the things you want to accomplish tomorrow.
- Order your tasks by importance.
- The next day, concentrate only on the first task. Don’t move on to the second before you are finished with the first one.
- When the day is over, move unfinished items to tomorrows list. Plan the upcoming day.
- Eat, sleep, repeat.
TIP:
On Sundays create a note for each day in the upcoming week. Whenever
you get a task that can be performed better later in the week, write it
down on e.g. TODO Friday.
It’s a wrap. Now it’s time to take action. Don’t let these by another one of those posts you just read. JUST DO IT!