Productivity improvement diet – 8 steps to better productivity

productivity improvement diet
This diet is short-term one week productivity improvement diet, so that you get back in order and can taste the taste of productivity! It is not forbidden to continue diet next week as well..

First make a plan what you want to do during one week. How you are going to replace the saved time. If your New year’s resolution is to lose weight, use the saved time for mini exercises. Go out, walk around the block or do push ups in the living room.

If you want to have mini vacation, don’t plan anything. Use the saved time for doing nothing or reading a book, listening music or whatever you consider relaxing.

Productivity Improvement #1 – Stop reading news

You don’t need to spend any time on news during one week. The fact is that you cannot live in perfect vacuum. You will hear the news anyway. Don’t read news papers, don’t read news sites, forget TV news.

You wont do anything for the news anyway. You wont travel to earthquake areas and try to help people. You wont write your congressman to fix human rights or you are not trying to fix the economy. If you do, forgive me. You wont need productivity improvement diet. You are already doing something meaningful and important.

If you need more sweet talk, read my earlier post – stop reading news.

#2 – No Facebook

I gave up last week. I have Facebook account now. I am one of the hundreds of millions that have Facebook and so-called friends network.

Somehow it struck me how the first persons to contact me are the persons I have not met for years. There is something in us humans that wants to contact your old school mates, friends and relatives, but does not really want to meet them..

Anyway. If you are not social media marketer, forget Facebook for one week. It is really time eating machine, no matter if you think it is important or not.

#3 – Setup stayfocusd

I know. It is difficult to resist Facebook and news, but there is tool to help you.

If you don’t trust yourself and you will go to Facebook and news sites anyway, setup Stayfocusd.

#4 – Stop talking

Talking is the biggest time waster. Try one week with less talk. Try to talk as little as you can. ..and listen.

Someone will ask why you are so awfully quiet. Answer that you have started to listen. You can only learn when you listen.

Seriously, it does really good to listen what others have to say. Ask questions and listen more.

#5 – No TV

While Internet is gaining more of our free time, tv is not losing its own share. Passive watching of TV is not useful for anyone and it is easy way to release some time for other things.

Change from passive doing to active actions.

#6 – Limit your shopping

Shopping is the time killer. Sometimes you shop for fun, you have wish to buy new things and sometimes you shop for mandatory things. You can buy mandatory things later. It is not catastrophe if you don’t have fresh milk for one day or you don’t have fresh bread on the table. Most of the people, or at least people with family, have lots of unused food products in kitchen cabin.

Less you go to stores, shopping centers and malls, more time you have. You will save time from shopping, but you will also save time from logistics. You don’t need to spend time for handling your groceries or shopping. You don’t need to store them, you don’t need to throw them away, you don’t spend time for searching them.

You can ask five questions that will save time and money.

#7 – No email

Probably you cannot forget email completely, but check your email only once per day. Reserve time limit for it. Make sure that you don’t use your productive part of the day for email. If you feel productive in the morning, don’t check the email first. When you answer, answer shortly.

#8 – Be unreachable

For one week, be as unreachable as possible. Keep your instant messaging off. Don’t sync email to your phone. Don’t keep your phone always with you. When you work, try to go to some other room to get stuff done. Try to limit external interruptions as much as you can. Do not react immediately if you get questions.

Enjoy the results the results of productivity improvement diet. Your week will be different and you will have something to think after one week.

 

Photo credit o5com in flickr.

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