9/16/20- Productivity -If you have seen my video on my Sustainable Summer (which I’m sure most of you have), you can easily notice I have been up to a lot during this pandemic and have taken time to be as useful as possible. And, the reality is that the video shows only a small fraction of what I have actually done in these six months. Click here to see a few more of my accomplishments. From learning how to skateboard and do backflips, studying new languages and interesting ideas, reading, doing service for others, and practicing three musical instruments, I have been very busy! [Note: This is not how most teenagers react when their life is taken away from them. Thanks ‘Rona (a.k.a. Corona)! But seriously, there is a lot I do to live more productively, intentionally, and ultimately an incredibly sustainable life.]
Today, I’m going to explain the strategies I follow to SUSTAIN a productive life and organize my time. This is going to be a long explanation so please stick with me.
AN OVERARCHING STRATEGY THAT WORKS….
The Rule of Three. I use “The Rule of Three” to choose habits I want to form or projects I want to work on. This comes from the 2010 publication Getting Results the Agile Way by J.D. Meier.
I typically set 3 daily goals (that MUST get done), 3 weekly goals (that MUST get done), and so on with months, years, decades, etc. (The “MUST” becomes less important as the time frame increases as it is impossible to predict where I’ll be by then.)
I remind myself of the saying, “What gets scheduled gets done.” I choose which of the three activities I want to do first. It is important to have one to get moving, and once the cycle starts, it doesn’t end there! Just like Newton's First Law, “An object in motion stays in motion. An object at rest stays at rest.” This explains why it is so hard to get going, but once you do, it’s simple.
STRATEGIES THAT TAKE JUST A FEW SECONDS...
The 20-Second Rule. This rule comes from Shawn Achor's book, The Happiness Advantage. For me, the 20-second rule comes before any actual effort goes into the task at hand. For example, preparing in advance removes any friction. So, the night before a new day, I set up my surroundings and my schedule (rearranging the order if necessary, or just because I feel like it), so that getting started with the day and moving from one task to another won’t take more than 20-seconds. (And, yes a productive nighttime routine is just as important for a productive day. Let me know if you would like details.)
After 7-8 hours of sleep, the first thing I do is “my morning routine” (another blog within itself!). This includes a meditation, light workout, some writing and reading, and a healthy breakfast. I believe it is important to have a balance of thinking and calming activities. The night before I place my book or notepad and pencil by my bed, make sure the floor is clean so I can do my exercise, or maybe my breakfast is pre-made. This rule has also helped me form the habit of playing the guitar because whenever I leave an instrument on the couch, it is easy to sit down and pick it right up.
STRATEGIES THAT TAKE JUST A FEW MINUTES…
The Two-Minute Rule. This comes from James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. I find this strategy very effective. It means that for any task you have to do, that will take less than two minutes, you should just do it!
Some people call this the two, five, 20, or 30-minute rule, and depending on your schedule you can say that too. It can be extremely helpful to knock off the tiny tasks planned for the day because doing so builds up momentum and gives you a rush of productivity. In fact. I will occasionally just put something on my to-do list like “go to the bathroom” or “drink water” so I can start my day by already feeling like I have accomplished multiple things. This is helpful for me because as a minimalist, less is more: Checking things off my list quickly means there is less on my to-do list. Therefore, I feel more capable and accomplished, and ready to move forward.
The Five-Minute Rule. This rule allows you to stop doing whatever work you are trying to do -- after attempting it for five minutes. I use this, at least as a partial mindset. I have a growth mindset, but this strategy is another great way to get started and know that if you aren’t accomplishing what needs to be done, you can set it aside and try again later.
This rule has helped me in many areas, improving my skateboarding techniques is one example. Even by only committing to five-minutes a day I can get in a lot of practice:
If I am trying to learn a trick that takes five-seconds, I can attempt it 60 times! And usually just getting started is enough to keep going for another half an hour.
If I say I’ll go for a five-minute ride, it is easy to lose track of time and have to spend another five minutes on the ride back home. Sometimes I think about the rule as if it was more like 30-seconds because it often is just those first small steps that get you into the groove. This really helps me with sustainable effort and having grit. I found about the five-minute rule on this blog.
STRATEGIES THAT TAKE JUST A FEW SHORT HOURS…
The Rule of Four. This rule explains the importance of sitting down, getting settled, and devoting four hours to the most important work you need to complete. You don’t have to do the exact same activity for four hours, it just means being engaged in productive activity that is related to the end goal, for the duration.
Personally, when I am really craving structure- like during this pandemic- I find it helpful to include two four-hour sections. One four-hour section is academic or school-related tasks, while the other four hours includes tasks for my personal business. I incorporate a one-hour break in between. This is a method Benjamin Franklin used. (Speaking of Ben Franklin, he also used the five-hour rule. This meant he spent one-hour a day learning, five-days a week, for a total of five hours. This is something I have been sure to practice while in quarantine as well. But typically I spend much more than one hour.)
When I have a set of important tasks, I will find myself asking, “What needs to get done by one?” (In other words, what needs to get done by 1:00 pm?) I find it important to sit in a room that is silent and allows me to focus for a long enough period of time. When I am doing this kind of work on a screen, or work that challenges me, I will use the Pomodoro method. This means I take five-minute breaks every 25-minutes. Another thing I do when using a computer is the 20/20/20 rule. This means every 20-minutes I stand 20-feet away from my computer for 20-seconds. This helps reduce eye strain.
STRATEGIES THAT TAKE JUST A FEW SHORT DAYS…
The Two-Day Rule. I bring this one up because it can be used as a buffer. I am not perfect and life happens. The two-day rule gives me a day to take a break-- The rule states you cannot skip a new habit for more than two days. Yes, I got this one from Matt D’Avella. (Go check him out!) He is a king, so I had to give him a shoutout.
This strategy simply means one-day off does not mean you have failed. In fact, it is important to take a day off every once in a while and we all need to live life. This is a lifestyle, not a list of life hacks or five-minute crafts. I try to make my days off intentional and not just wake up every other day thinking that I worked enough yesterday, so I don’t really need to work today. That is not the case. Usually, if I find myself really productive completing multiple days of work at once, I will take a break. However, I will definitely take a break for a day to spend time with friends and family. I need to embrace my social life as well. (Remember? I am a teen after all.) Having a variety of tasks and a range of ways to accomplish them, allows productive rest and productive procrastination. These include doing something productive that isn’t your main goal. This can help build your momentum, take things off your to-do list, or just have some fun.
STRATEGIES THAT TAKE JUST ABOUT ONE YEAR…
The One-Year Goal. I use this strategy to make sure the tasks I’m doing each day will benefit me in the future. In some ways, it is similar to the Rule of Three. The main difference is that this rule asks, “In one year, what will you regret not starting today?” I often ask myself this with ten years in mind, instead of one, because in ten years I will have just turned 25. And ten years of compound activities every day can really add up!
The one-year goal rule showed me that it was important to start my business and YouTube channel as soon as possible. What will I regret not starting today? I might regret not practicing guitar because in one year I could improve significantly. Similarly, a YouTube channel can take years to grow, so starting today is something I won’t regret.
Lastly, I think about priorities. First of all, I want to get out of the habit of saying “priorities” as it is impossible to have more than one priority. (But breaking bad habits is for another day!) The definition clearly states, “A thing that is regarded as more important than any other.” In fact, the word priority wasn’t used in its plural form until the 1900s. Earlier I stated that “what gets scheduled gets done.” I still find this to be true. I often write down the tiniest tasks as long as they are important to me. One thing important to me is the growth of this blog. I currently do not make revenue from this blog, but it is an opportunity for future income. That is why I keep in mind the importance of IPAs: income-producing activities. Money is not a main focus in my life, but if I want to live on my own one day AND do what I love to do, I need to set aside plenty of time for my IPA’s. We all have the same amount of time, it’s important to use it wisely to grow exponentially. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. You and me and Matt and Thomas Frank and Ali Abdall and Nathaniel Drew and Levi Hildebrand and Sean Cannel. We all have the same amount of time each day. This relates back to what I said earlier about productive procrastination and productive rest. These are important to incorporate as they mean you can be productive unintentionally. Yes, I said unintentionally. This is an example of where you can apply productive rest and productive procrastination. For me these include music, trampolining, and watching productivity prodigies on Youtube. Things I want to be part of my life, but that are not my main focus and do not relate to my IPAs. Productive rest means you can be productive while taking a break from an activity meaning drinking water or doing some push-ups while waiting for five minutes to pass -- while studying with the Pomodoro technique -- or literally resting, which in itself is very productive, and something our bodies need. While keeping your mind constantly active is necessary, so is quiet rest.
I do have a slight fear of not being able to keep all of this up as I start highschool. (Today is my first day and all.) But it is important to see what is a priority, live an essentialistic lifestyle, and say yes to only what I love. I know I love writing these blogs so I will see you all next week.
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