5 productivity tips we can learn from cavemen

Laurence Chandler
Drum
Published in
4 min readMar 29, 2017

In the modern day, we are constantly being surrounded by an overwhelming number of tools, whether it be hardware or software.Tools that are supposedly designed to make us more productive.These tools make our days become increasingly congested and in the long run, less productive. Increasingly, simple fundamental aspects such as planning are now taking a back seat or even dismissed during the working day.

How do we go about becoming more productive? Who better to look towards than our ancestors, cavemen, to better understand how we can be more effective. After all, cavemen couldn’t go to a supermarket to pick up their weekly shop and nor could they simply pick up a smart phone to join a web meeting. They didn’t have time for activities which were not going to directly impact their life and benefit their living. That is why learning from their habits could prove to be significant in increasing your overall productivity.

One of the main tips we could learn from cavemen is their ability to do things in an effective and timely manner. Speed played a crucial role as they did not have the luxury of wasting time. Each second directly correlated with their survival. Therefore, being fast but effective was the key aspect of their daily lives. Forwarding it back to 2017, we all know that being fast and effective is important but many fail to understand this efficiency comes with having the right tools. It is important to find a specific combination of tools that actually help you stay productive in your everyday life. The time it takes to switch between different tools actually ends up making you less productive. It is thus important to stop going back and forth between different tools, and instead take the time to prioritise tools that are appropriate and valuable when it comes to saving your time.

The next tip that we can thank our ancestors for, and should be implemented into your life, is preparation. Just like the cavemen prepared before their hunt by making sure they have everything they. Whilst having a clear hunting strategy in mind which they then carry out on at their hunt. You could similarly use the planning stage as your basis to successfully starting anything. First and foremost, planning allows you to build a strong foundation to your project. You would be surprised to hear that the principle of preparation is often considered too basic to be seriously considered and implemented into the stages of a project. Therefore it ends up being forgotten or overlooked. However, to this day, preparation is critical to success. As a rule, the most vital decisions that end up dictating your success are determined during the initial planning stage. It really is make or break. Implement the fundamental ideals of the mighty cavemen into your daily routine.

Do you sometimes find yourself completely exhausted after a long day but feel like you could have accomplished more? Well then do not underestimate the power of taking breaks. Cavemen understood that in order to regain their strength they needed to sometimes take a break. Resting is therefore an aspect of their daily routine that insured they will unprecedentedly have the necessary strength to survive another day. Today, our lives have become strongly sedentary. However, being sedentary doesn’t help our creativity. Thus, while being in a modern world mainly comes with an assurance that you will not need fight for survival in the same way that the cavemen have. Whether that means standing up and walking around your desk every now and then, don’t forget that resting is a vital part of human nature. You need it to increase your work productivity.

Simplicity is often regarded as boring and unremarkable. Yet, traditionally, cavemen would implement tactics that were very simple in their nature. Simplicity made everything straightforward and surprisingly, more effective. Simplicity equated to a clear plan that others could understand too. The common error that continually comes up today is over complicating and over analysing to an extent becoming counterproductive. Having a clear plan guarantees a focused direction of your projects and simultaneously eliminates stress and confusion that might come with your tasks. Remember, the secret of productivity lies in simplicity. Simplicity always seems to be the winner when it comes to productivity. The more we complicate things the harder it becomes to stay productive.

Just as important to increasing productivity is having a healthy body, leading to a healthy mind. Being physically healthy and strong during the cavemen era directly had a direct correlation to being effective. That is why looking after your physical self is so significant today. Drinking water and eating healthier could improve your overall strength and productivity.

Cavemen did not have the benefits which you and I have today. They couldn’t afford to make minor mistakes or complete tasks which were not aiding their overall survival. Things remained simple, which allowed them to develop tools and techniques to make them more productive. As such, you need to also be more controlling over what makes you productive. The basics from cavemen should be your foundations that you can apply to modern technologies.

Your meetings are becoming an increasingly important aspect of your daily role . Meeting clients within the same city or meetings clients on a different continent, you need to be able to work together (You could also look at our effective meeting tips). Take into consideration everything we have just spoken about. The simplistic and easiest way of meeting is through the web, with no downloads or barriers to meeting. Drum , the browser-based meeting solution ensuring you meeting instantly and without the hassle.

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Laurence Chandler
Drum
Editor for

Telling the story of a start up that went from 0 to lightning speed. Life of a start up and sharing insights on making the most from your web meetings.