How to be more Productive at work and in Life
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I have begun to explore the world of self development, and especially the topic of productivity. And although this post may seem like it is unrelated to fitness, I think there are some themes that are transferable. One such example is illustrated below…
Lets say you have two workers, Worker A and Worker B. Worker A has a good work ethic and is more productive than Worker B, but lacks the natural talent that Worker B possess. Worker B is not as productive compared to Worker A, but still gets the job done. Who comes out on top?
Similarly, this scenario can be seen in sports where you have Player A (Worker A) who is not as talented, but has the work ethic to succeed, and Player B (Worker B) who is naturally talented but has a lousy work ethic. Player A (Worker A) has the potential to be just as good if not better than Player B (Worker B) based on his or her productivity and/or work ethic.
I think this is so fascinating because this is where you can separate yourself in the workplace and/or sports. With a competitive workforce, where there is very little security, the worker who has the most skills and works the most efficient seems to be what the employer wants.
Furthermore, as the workplace becomes more technologically advanced; Technology is advancing at an exponentially fast rate, and according to Moore’s Law, computing power doubles every 2 years. Employers need tech savvy employees, who are smart and educated. Many employers are looking across seas for students with more STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) because students in America are not educated enough. This is a something that is detrimental to our society and makes me want to learn even more than I already do! I already have enough books I have not started to read, so I am trying to hold off on buying more. With all these developments occurring I have asked myself many questions. How do I increase my efficiency? What makes people more productive than others? What methods and tactics do they use in their everyday tasks? What kinds of habits do they have? What do they do on a daily basis that I don’t? Everyone has the same amount of time on this earth, however, it’s what you do with that time that determines your legacy.
One such book I have come across is called LifeHacker and attempts to give you Life hacks that help you work “Smarter, Faster, and Better.” There are 2 “hacks” that I want to share with you that I hope will help you get things done faster and more efficient.
1) Get an old fashioned egg timer to set on your desk. If you need to time computer tasks you can get an app timer, such as Tea Timer. I have both, and find that Tea Timer works well, but sometimes you want the quick and easy egg timer to keep you on task. Another one, “desktop task timer”, which I have not tried, gives insight as to which tasks you spend the most time on. This is great for people who are on their computers more. If you only have 30 minutes for a workout, and can’t make it to the gym, use the timer to get up and do some squats, push ups, or jumping jacks at your house. Make the action steps small enough, so instead of 30 minutes do 8 minutes. Links for Tea Timer are Below…
2) Buy a big calendar and “chain your habits.” We all know it takes 20-30 days to create a habit, but how do you really make that happen? (I think it actually takes longer to fully ingrain a newly formed habit into your life) Anyway, I picked this up from Jerry Seinfeld…yea we are friends. He noticed that he needed to write jokes everyday in order to get better, so he bought a big yearly calendar and put it up on his wall. Everyday he wrote jokes, he would put a big red “X” on that day. After a while he would have a chain of them, which is supposed to motivate you to NOT break the chain. The goal is to keep the chain going as long as possible. If your habit is you need to workout more, put all your focus towards it and use the calendar to keep you motivated and accountable.
Try them out and see how they work with your fitness/nutrition related habits, or just in general!