cft

9 Quirky Things I Do for Boosting Productivity Massively

#8 — Create a Very Stupid Long Term Goal


user

Anuj Narang

2 years ago | 3 min read

#1. Make My Own Bed

This is the first thing I do every morning. No matter whose bed I’m waking up on. The 30 seconds spent on this task are my first mini-win for the day. To ass to this, it also sets a positive tone for other tasks lying ahead in the day. Even if I’m not able to accomplish anything else for the rest of the day, I can always come back to a clean and made-up bed.
Idea Credits — US Navy Seal William Mcraven

#2. The 5-Minute Journal

Instead of straight-away jumping to my to-do list, I start with the monkey-mind journal. Basically, write for 5 minutes using a pen.

This helps clear the top compartment of my brain which is mostly filled with worries, anxieties and other junk. I can literally feel some space being freed in my brain which can now be used for other things I want to do.
Idea Credits — Tim Ferris

#3. My Top 3 Priorities

Next, I’d create list of 10 major things I want to accomplish in the entire day. I’d choose the top 3 out of the 10, and put a Giant Red Cross against the rest of the 7. Trying to do everything in a single day often leads to anxiety and nothing being accomplished at the end of the day. Putting more focus on top 3 or 4 things is way more effective.
Idea Credits — Warren Buffet

#4. Make a Not-To-Do List

When I construct my daily to-dos, I also create some Not-to-dos — like having arguments with mother or consuming too much caffeine.

This adds more direction to my day. I don’t have to make promises anymore that I do not want to keep. I also feel twice as productive at the end of the day since I am able to check both my to-do and not-to-do lists now. In short, I am able to accomplish more by doing less. Full Read — [4]

#5. The Clock Exercise

I cannot meditate like normal people. If I sit in a place for 30 sec with my eyes closed doing absolutely nothing, I feel like I’m falling upwards — into the sky. So I have to hack meditation. One of the ways is the not-much-heard-of Clock exercise — staring at the second hand of the clock for 2 complete revolutions — 120 seconds. That’s it. It helps me focus better. One can find their own unique way of meditating.

#6. ThinkWalks

There are many published studies over this — Walking helps us think better.
I generally do not carry my phone or watch during walkthinks. It’s absolutely fine if I can or cannot come up with new ideas or anything constructive. What I do know is that this helps flex my idea-muscle in unimaginable ways. I mostly go outside — a park or a forest. Exposing my body to natury has direct effects on my mind, body and soul.

#7. Effectiveness > Efficiency

It took me a lot of time to accept one of the harshest truths last year — I was doing way too much hard work but in the wrong manner. I was confusing being busy with being productive.

You can take 10 hours to bang a nail in the wall with your bare hands or you can do it in 10 seconds using a hammer. I was basically doing the former. Every single day. Simply embracing this fact helped me being more effective.

#8. Create a Very Stupid Goal in Parallel

I want to come up with my own toothpaste some day. Just thinking about having my name tagged with a toothpaste makes me chuckle. But in the same breath, it also gives me something to look forward to. When my day is falling apart and nothing is working, I do additional research on toothpastes. It lightens up my mood and helps me get back to business.

#9. Not Using an Alarm Clock

I’ve recently completely abandoned the Alarm completely. I now let my body decide when it wants to wake up instead. Doing this has massively reduced the amount of headaches I used to get in the entire day. The benefits even stretch to other aspects of life like mindfulness, more positivity as well as less anxiety.

Upvote


user
Created by

Anuj Narang


people
Post

Upvote

Downvote

Comment

Bookmark

Share


Related Articles