I woke up at 6 a.m. today (On a Sunday? Are you nuts? Yes I am). It can be difficult sometimes to keep your mind focused on your goals whether it’s working out, studying, writing your book, dancing etc. In this 21st century, we are bombarded with so many distractions. For instance, your cell phone, Netflix and anime cliffhangers, WhatsApp notifications and I hate to say it but sometimes your beloved friends can interfere during your productive hours. I will provide 7 productivity tips to live your life to the fullest potential. Imagine how many goals you can achieve by applying these tips.
- The Pomodoro method (Forest App).
We’ve all tried it during our study sessions to stay focused for 1 or 2 hours. Most of the time it doesn’t work out because your brain needs short breaks of 5 minutes. It’s better to study for 30 minutes than 2 hours to improve your productivity (quality above quantity). You should try the app Forest which I personally love and strongly recommend everyone who wants to stay on top of his or her game! This app makes you grow your garden with magnificent trees of your choice during your study session. You can even invite your friends and compete with them to keep your friend and yourself motivated for long periods. You can find more information about Forest by clicking on this link https://www.forestapp.cc/ - Turn your phone on silent mode while studying.
People can be quite distracting when you hear your notifications going off. So turn your phone on silent mode easy as that! - Make sure you sleep enough.
When you go to bed, you need to get rid of distractions again turn off all the lights, even small blue lights. Put your phone in the kitchen instead of sleeping next to it so you can sleep peacefully. - Buy a wake-up light as an alarm clock.
The sunlight will wake you up automatically because the light is gradually getting sharper, which causes you to wake up more energetic. The truth is that seasons change and you can trick your brain by buying a wake-up light. When your alarm goes off the alarm will lit up gradually just like the sun. I use the PHILIPS Wake-up light, and I prefer to wake up by the FM radio because it will feel that every day is different. - Wake up early in the morning.
If you wake up early in the morning, it can be beneficial for you. In the morning none of your friends will send you WhatsApp messages on your phone. You can do a lot of work in the morning and when the afternoon hits you can hang out with your friends without having to stress about how much work you still have to do. I don’t preach this method because if you wake up early, you have to sleep early if you like to party (or your friends). This strategy will be hard to implement. - Yoga and meditation.
Meditation stimulates your brain in many positive ways by doing it you are feeding your prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain which is in the front). It’s responsible for your decision making and rational thinking. Also, your hippocampus gets stimulated by meditation which improves your focus and concentration. Are you curious about the effects of meditation on the brain? I highly recommend the book The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal. It’s a good self-development book. I also suggest you to check out the YouTube channel Yoga with Adriene for practising Yoga at home. https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene - Time Complexity
I was taking a course online about Computer Science and this theory is actually very practical. Time Complexity is a measure of how long it takes an algorithm to run. Think about it. The less time you take the more efficient you are, for example, have a home gym or make use of a personal trainer (if you can afford it). You don’t have to travel to the gym and travel back, no waiting for others to finish with the dumbells you need etc. It saves so much time. In other words, always take the shortest path. Apply Time Complexity to your life.
And that’s it! I hope these tips will help you to boost your productivity. Peace out!