New research shows we’re using cellphones for more than four hours a day. That ain’t good,
New year, new you?
You know I don’t buy that. The goal is never to be perfect. The goal is just to be a little better than before. So I thought this week I’d share three productivity tips I’ve recently started using in my life.
Phone it in
Do you have too many boring meetings in dusty rooms with boxes of stale Timbits in the middle of the table? “I’ll take the rock hard jelly one.”
Stop! Here’s my challenge. Move the recurring one-on-one you have with somebody you know really well (that boss or co-worker you like) and move the meeting to the phone. Permanently. This lets you pop in your headphones, zip on your coat and take the meeting outside.
The average person walks five kilometers an hour. That means if you can take even two meetings outside a day, then you’re getting an extra 10 kilometers of exercise. Never mind the fresh air and clarity of thought that comes from getting away from the screen.
And what do you say when someone asks if that’s an ambulance siren in the background of the budget review? Easy. “I do most of my meetings walking because it helps me think clearly and avoid screens and distractions.” Who’s going to argue with that?
Maintain momentum with Momentum
Have you heard of the Google Chrome extension Momentum? People had been telling me about it for years.
“Every time you open a new browser tab it hits you with your daily goal on top of beautiful images of nature” must have sounded too simple because I never bothered with it until recently.
And now I’m in love. A rotating chilled-out picture, a personal hello, the weather outside and my daily goal! It pushes the daily goal to the front of my head over and over throughout the day.
And it helps prevent falling into an internet rabbit hole — you know, where you somehow end up browsing mindlessly for 45 minutes until you’re reading the Wikipedia entry on 1970s-era baseball player Rance Mulliniks or the Boer War for no reason.
Get anti-social
We are all getting far too addicted to our cell phones. New research shows we’re using them for more than four hours a day. That ain’t good.
So, what do you do? Take a deep breath and follow my lead.
I deleted every single game and social media app off my phone. Yes, it was painful. But I didn’t delete my accounts. I just removed “instant access” to them from my pockets all day. No alerts, notifications, updates. Nothing.
Sure, I can still log in from my laptop and I can (and do) download the apps again when I’m on Wi-Fi and want to get in. But this means I do it once a week or so, spend meaningful time on there and then delete the app again. I write all my social content each week and use Buffer to plan and post it.
My goal is to avoid the “mindless skimming” effect that constantly tugs away at getting anything done. No need to be a Luddite. Just be smart.
So, those are three of my tips, but what are yours? If you’d like to submit an idea I should try (and possibly include in a future article) just drop me a line. I’m at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and would love to hear from you.
Source: This article was published thestar.com By NEIL PASRICHA
