Personal Productivity Hacks Your Can Use Today
When you embrace the cracks of the day, you’ll become enormously more productive. Here are 3 strategies for utilizing the wonderful nooks and crannies of your day.
Hop in, the Water’s Fine
Nothing gets done on the hour or even the half hour. Start actions at random times. For example, I started my meditation at 7:06am today. I enjoy meditating but I also want to get into it and be done with it. I use a meditation app and once I sit in my cozy chair, I want to hit that start button as soon as possible. The sooner I hit the start button, the sooner I’m finished. Imagine hopping on to a ski lift. Getting onto the chair is the toughest part and then you’re coasting - you don’t need motivation anymore. And the sooner you hop on, the sooner you hop off. The same goes for exercise or gulping down that first tall glass of water in the morning.
Refer to Your Week-at-a-Glance (WAG) Sheet
You should be forever scribbling actions and reminders on your active WAG - for next week. When you have the prompts and reminders near you, it’s a cinch to complete those actions when time opens up. Your WAG sheet will be made up of 3 parts: daily, weekly, and projects. The daily page lists the habits you’re working to implement and has space to list your priority for each day. Your weekly sheet is an index of to-do items and has space for your top priorities for the week. The project page will list your current projects and which of the 7 stages each is currently in. Another huge benefit to having a WAG sheet is that you will constantly revisit and hover over the most important metrics of your life. Download your Week-at-a-Glance document.
Tap In To the Power of Tiny Steps Done Every Day
I adore backgammon. In fact, my kids are sick of playing against me. Once I bet my son in 1:1 basketball. If he won he got $5 but if I won he had to play me in backgammon. He played like he was in the NBA finals! I need some backgammon friends. Now I get immense joy going through a backgammon course by world champion Tim Holland. He gives you games to play in a step-wise progression. I do a few moves each day. It takes 3 minutes and I’m learning a whole new level of the game. Start timing actions you take. I’ve been trying to get into a habit of doing push-ups and sit-ups in the morning and then at night. I timed myself and realized it only took me 16 seconds to do 10 push-ups. That I can do! If I can watch a 3-hour football game on tv, I can certainly get down and do 16 seconds of exercise.
Use these 3 time management strategies to increase your personal productivity and you’ll enjoy more fulfillment and put your priorities first!