Productivity Hacks
Last year, Cal Newport’s Deep Work was one of the 11 books I read. I loved it. But I never got around to putting it into practice. I read The Now Habit and Atomic Habits by Neil Fiore and James Clear respectively in April. These were also insightful reads. These three books complement each other. So, I decided based on past experience, to take notes and refine them, making it easier to get the best out of all (self-help books) that I read.
There are a lot of gems in them but I’ll squeeze them into a brief read, 10 pointers.
1. Deep work, that is professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. To learn hard things quickly requires intense concentration — deliberate practice mostly in long, uninterrupted stretches. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Focus on the wildly important. The more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish.
2. The goal of productive meditation is to take a period in which you’re occupied physically but not mentally — walking, jogging, driving, showering — and focus your attention on a single well-defined professional problem.
3. We’re not wired to quickly internalize abstract information. We are, however, really good at remembering scenes.
4. The Four Laws of Behaviour Change. Make it OBVIOUS, ATTRACTIVE, EASY, and SATISFYING.
5. Make a rough plan for the next day. Schedule Every Minute of Your Day. Fix the firm goal of not working past a certain time, then work backward to find productivity strategies that allow you to satisfy this declaration. Don’t use busyness as a proxy for productivity. Deploy smart routines and rituals — a set time (and duration) and a quiet location used for your deep tasks — you’d require much less willpower to start and keep going. When you create structures for the chaos in your life, you free up your time and emotional energy for the good stuff.
The disciplined spend less time in tempting situations.
6. Create functional, observable goals. “I will lose ten pounds by December 31 by exercising thirty minutes a day and removing 300 calories a day from my meals.” Divide your goal into action-oriented, clearly observable sub-goals. For example, “I will make fifteen calls by 1:00 P.M. Wednesday.”
I will [BEHAVIOUR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]. After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]. After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED]. After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT].
7. The goal is to become. The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader. The more you repeat a behaviour, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behaviour. Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery.
8. When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do. “Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one page”. Surround yourself with people who have the habits you want to have yourself — your desired behaviour is the normal behaviour and you already have something in common with the group.
9. If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection. Habits form based on frequency, not time. Try to keep your habit streak alive. Never miss twice. Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run.
You don’t “have” to. You “get” to. You get to wake up early for work. It takes work to procrastinate and it takes work to face your fear of finishing. Keep on starting, and finishing will take care of itself. Aim at starting for just thirty minutes of quality work. Start small. In order to finish, all you have to do is to just keep starting!
10. Keep a “decision journal”. Also, review your decisions regularly.
Annual Review:
· What went well this year?
· What didn’t go so well this year?
· What did I learn?
Integrity Report/Quarterly Review:
· What are the core values that drive my life and work?
· How am I living and working with integrity right now?
· How can I set a higher standard in the future?
If you liked this, please find time to put them or some into practice. That’s the only way to get the most out of self-help books. PRACTICE. And don’t forget to reread this regularly to keep them fresh in your mind.
