I have written quite a bit about productivity, and done more than a few podcasts on the subject of getting things done. Today, I am taking a departure from the normal recommendations about being productive-including my own.
On today's show, I will share five surprising productivity "hacks"- shortcuts that make you more productive. But shortcuts you may be shocked to hear coming from me.
This week's tip I actually picked up from my good friend Pat Flynn. Recently, I was listening to Pat's Smart Passive Income Podcast, and heard him talk about two apps that intrigued me. I've been using them now for a couple of weeks, and found them to be remarkably helpful.
Calm. This app is a "meditation app". Yes, I know what you are thinking. Do we need an app for meditating? I think the answer is yes. Having tried a number of such apps, this is the only one that consistently helps me guide my brain into a calmer, less fragmented, and more anxiety-free state. Calm supplies you with a series of "environments", or soundscapes, that in and of themselves have a calming effect. Some of the choices include gentle rain, wind on a mountain meadow, the ocean, etc. But the app is more than a white noise generator. It also supplies a series of guided meditations that help still your mind and assist you in focusing on the here and now. This is an app that actually helps you with the practice of mindfulness. And for my Christian brothers and sisters who worry about what they may perceive to be "Eastern religious" practices, I can assure you that the guided meditations I have worked through so far have nothing to do with religion of any kind. These meditations are more about being present in this moment, and not getting caught up in thinking about things that are not happening right here, right now (the source of most of our anxiety and depression). I upgraded to the premium version, and considerate money well invested.
SleepCycle. This app monitors the depth of your sleep by using the accelerometer in your iPhone. The theory is, the app detects how much you are moving in your bed at night. If you're moving a lot, you are either awake or in "light sleep". If you are in deep, sound sleep, you won't be moving at all. Sleep cycle takes your target wake-up time, and watches you carefully to see when you are in light sleep, and only then will it give a soft gentle alarm to wake you. Waking when you are in light sleep leaves you feeling refreshed, alert, and energetic. This hass been very helpful to me, and using the app has increased my overall sleep time to an average of almost 6 1/2 hours.
What does it mean to repent? I submit it's not what you think.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…"
Romans 12:2
And now we come to the five surprising productivity hacks. Today I present some counterintuitive, but highly effective, productivity hacks. You may be surprised to hear these coming from me, but I have been experimenting with different practices of late, and found that each of these recommendations have helped me be more productive in real terms: in other words, getting useful stuff done that I want to accomplish.
What about you? What are your unconventional or surprising productivity hacks that go against the grain of the modern school of productivity? I'd love to see you share those below.
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