Want to Be More Productive? Take Advantage of This Natural Process

Posted on by kennethburke74
Be More Productive Take Advantage Natural Process

You want to do more in less time and feel better while doing it. That’s what this Monday morning productivity hacks series is all about! A couple weeks ago, we covered the very first thing you should do every morning to get the most out of your day. After that, this is the second thing you should do.

We have to make an assumption here. For this productivity hack to work, we have to assume that you generally get up around the same time everyday. If you get up at 9am one day, 7am the next, and 12pm the day after, this probably isn’t going to work for you. But if you, say, get up within 15 minutes of 6:30am more often than not, this will work for you.

As you develop a routine, particularly a defined sleep schedule, your body begins to prepare itself. For example, if you got bed at the same time every night, you’ll notice that you also begin to get sleepy around the same time every night, probably 30 minutes to an hour before you hit the lights. This is your body preparing itself for sleep. Something similar happens when you wake up.

If you get up around the same time every morning, your body begins to prepare itself for that transition from total unconsciousness to starting your day. Part of this preparation involves an increased heart rate to kickstart your body and its functions. Even if you wake up groggy, you probably have an increased heart rate. What this means is that you’re primed for physical activity.

I won’t tell you to go workout. As for your routine, the best time to workout is whenever you’ll do it. Scientifically, the best time to workout is 3-4 hours before you go to bed. Get a full workout in the morning if that’s the best time for you, but if nothing else, at least go for a walk.

Your heart rate increases as you wake up to prepare your body to start moving again. This lasts only for about 30 minutes. After that, you’re back to your normal resting heart rate (if you haven’t done anything active). That means if you get up and out the door to do something physically active before your heart rate drops again, you’ll be able to ride your body’s natural process to give you a lasting boost.

Wake up, do something active (walk, run, pushups, kayak, ping pong), get the dopamine and serotonin and everything else flowing well, and you’ll create a productivity boost that lasts throughout the day (at least until the middle-of-the-afternoon-crash comes for you). By taking advantage of this natural process, you’ll be able to do more in less time throughout the day, and feel better while doing it.

Getting Work Done When Everything Is Going On

Posted on by kennethburke74
Getting Work Done When Everything Is Going On

You’ve got work. You’ve got family commitments. You’ve got travel. Events. Hobbies. Friends to see. Other commitments of varying kinds. You’re really busy.

At some point or another, we all relate to this. But it doesn’t matter that you’re busy. Commitments and obligations don’t disappear when you’ve got more going on than normal. They don’t care what else is happening, they just expect you to attend to them. It brings up the age old question: How do you get everything done?

Sometimes two things are going to be going on at the same time. You can’t possibly do one thing when you’re doing another. In these situations, you’re out of luck, except to pick the one that’s most important. But. If when you’ve got to do something is flexible, and the important part is simply that you get it done, this can help you.

Tell me you don’t have enough time to do something, and I probably won’t believe you. For a quick yet thorough reason why I won’t believe you, click here. Getting work done when everything is going on takes discipline, awareness, quality time management, and the ability to say “no.” It sounds like a lot. Here’s the easiest action that combines all of these attributes, and helps you get stuff done.

Tell the one(s) you spend the most time with what’s on your plate. Pretty simple, right? Too often we hide how many things are on our to-do list so that we don’t seem stressed, or so that we don’t feel as if we’re imposing on the other person. It’s interesting, because sharing this will nearly always work out in your favor.

If you have to travel out of town for a family emergency, they’ll probably understand that the rest of your responsibilities don’t cease to exist merely for your trip. If you’ve got a social commitment, or even a volunteer/church event, they will all understand if you say, “Hey, I’m glad to be here, but I’m slammed with [work] right now, and I need to head out by [this time] to get it done.”

When you share what you’ve got to do, people understand. We’ve all been there! We’ll all be there again, too, and sooner than we’d like. Once those around you understand what’s going on, it’s easy for them to help you. It’s also easy to slip away and crank out a task or two. The encouragement and understanding they’ll show will also be a surprisingly large motivational boost for your work. But if you don’t let people know what’s going on, you’re just going to suffer!

You’re either going to be halfway involved in the moment, because you’re thinking about everything you need to do, or you can be fully involved in the moment, and intentionally make time for everything else as you go. The minutes are there to use, you just have to choose the right ones.

When you’re incredibly busy, you probably still have time to do everything on your plate. It simply takes a bit more intentional structure for when you do XYZ. You’ve got plenty of time if you choose to use it properly. You can’t always be in two places at once. But by sharing what you’ve got to get done with those around you, you’ll create an environment that will propel you to finish everything you’ve got to get done.

Want to Be More Productive? Take Coffee Like This

Posted on by kennethburke74
Be More Productive Take Coffee Like This

Everyone has their favorite kind of coffee and preferred way of taking it. For me it’s a light roast through a French press. Others, a macchiato, extra hot. There’s always someone who has to have an extra-whip, low-fat, caramel latte with an extra shot of espresso.

Whatever your preference, and whichever brand is your favorite, I’m glad you’re able to sit back, enjoy your favorite cup of bean juice, and relax. But if you want to be more productive, here’s how you should take your coffee.

Black coffee has no fewer than a dozen biomedical advantages. By foregoing cream and sugar, every part of your body will function and feel better, thus enabling you to be more productive. If you want to be more productive, take your coffee black. But there’s a more time-sensitive reason for drinking black coffee, too.

I prefer making my own coffee. It saves time and money. But not everyone stays in the same place all day. Most people end up visiting a coffee shop on occasion (daily). Whenever you do this, you’ve got to avoid the drive-thru. Unless you’re the only person in line (doubtful), you can save anywhere from 5-15 minutes per trip by simply parking and going inside. Once you’re inside, order a black coffee. If you absolutely must, you can manually add cream and sugar later.

When you just order a black coffee – from anywhere I’ve been – the cashier swipes your card, and hands you your cup of life before moving on to the next person. If you order any kind of mixed/specialty/crafted drink, your order goes to the back of the line. Then you sit and wait.

My average time for parking, ordering, and getting back in my car is about two minutes. Average time for my friends getting mixed/specialty drinks: 8-10 minutes. If you go once a day (not uncommon at all), you waste about an hour of your week waiting on a sugary, chemical filled drink that will literally kill you.

If you want to be more productive – and you have to stop somewhere – walk in and order your coffee black.

Want to Be More Productive? Start Every Morning Like This

Posted on by kennethburke74
Be More Productive Start Every Morning Like This

It’s no secret that your morning routine sets a precedent for the rest of your day, everyday. If you start your day lethargic, you’ll struggle with lethargy the rest of that day. If you start your day excelling, you’ll likely excel the rest of that day as well.

Some people will wake up and hit the gym. Some will mainline coffee. Some will sit and watch the sunrise. These are all great! But before any of that, here’s how you should start every morning. It’s so simple!

Drink a tall glass (16oz) of cool water every morning, as soon as you wake up. You just spent 7-8 hours in a dutch oven of blankets. You’re dehydrated, and every cell in your body needs help ramping up for the day ahead. A simple glass of water – first thing in the morning – is what you need to kickstart your day, and your productivity.

From here, you’ve got a few options to further boost your morning routine. You can add fresh lemon juice to your water. Lemons are full of antioxidants to help your body function at a higher level. One of my coworkers drinks a mug of water with two full lemons every morning, and swears by it.

I, on the other hand, find lemon water disgusting, so I get my antioxidants from a different, more popular source. Black coffee has the highest concentration of antioxidants of anything you consume on a daily basis. My best days happen when I drink a glass of water, and follow it up with one cup (standard coffee mug) of that delicious nectar.

Obviously, there’s other options for antioxidants – fruits, vegetables, powders, smoothies. These are good for you, but they’re probably too much. Once your body reaches a saturation point with nutrients (which, if you’re moderately healthy, isn’t that high), it flushes out all the extra. If you have a smoothie, let’s say, packed full with 2000% of your daily recommended values of XYZ, what you’re really getting is expensive urine.

Exercising, morning walks, reading, prayer, studying, writing, meditation – these are all great activities to add to your morning routine that will increase productivity throughout your day. But before any of that, kickstart your day and your body by drinking a tall glass of cool water as soon as you wake up.

Want to Be More Productive? Exercise at This Time

Posted on by kennethburke74
Want to Be More Productive Exercise This Time

A college professor of mine would always say “the best time to workout is whenever you’ll do it.” He’s not wrong! Real benefits from exercise come with repetition. You gain the most when exercising becomes a habit.

I love the thought process here. It’s basically saying this: You know you need to workout, but when would you actually do it? During your lunch break? Great choice. First thing when you wake up? That’s awesome! After you get home from work? Perfect. Exercise is an important part of living your best life. Whenever you can make time for it is when you should do it.

This is a really helpful mindset for a lot of people. However, scientific research gives us a more precise recommendation.

There’s two clusters of cells located behind your eyes. These are called the suprachiasmatic nuclei, more commonly known as your “biological clock.” This is what controls when you feel tired, awake, etc. These clusters are directly connected to your pupils, so when you view bright light (like first thing in the morning when you reach for your phone), your biological clock gets a wake up call.

Exercising helps you feel and function better. Bright light alerts your system. So when you exercise under bright lights (like florescent lights or midday sunshine), there’s an exponential or synergistic effect. Your body gains and keeps more energy because it has a boost from both the bright light and from the exercise, keeping you more productive for longer.

On top of this exponential benefit, if you exercise in bright light 3-4 hours before going to bed, you’ll get more of what the psychologists call “slow-wave sleep.” This is the good stuff. This is the sleep you need to rest well, and be more productive day-to-day.

Simply put, when you workout 3-4 hours before going to bed, you sleep better. Exercise at any time helps you fall asleep just by tiring you out. But exercising in this particular window allows you to recoup most efficiently, which makes a positive impact on your next day. If you play your cards right, you can land yourself in a fantastically beautiful cycle of increased productivity.

This doesn’t mean you should exercise right before sleeping. If you exercise within 3 hours of going to bed, you’ll probably still feel like you slept well, but you’ll actually be hurting yourself in the long run. Exercising too close to sleeping keeps your heart rate higher while you sleep. This doesn’t necessarily make a difference in the moment, but it can lead to cardiovascular issues down the road.

Also, exercising too close before bed doesn’t allow you the same amount of restorative sleep that you need. You might sleep straight through the night, but you won’t feel as rested.

All of this is important to understand because working out – and life in general – is not a one-day thing. What you do today effects your tomorrow. What you did yesterday effects today. It’s a never-ending cycle.

If you’re able to sleep better, every part of your tomorrow is going to be and feel better. You’ll be more positive. You’ll be more productive. You’ll be able to do more and feel so much better about it. You’ll be able to get in a better workout tomorrow. You’ll be able to sleep better tomorrow. It’s a cycle of improvement.

Exercising 3-4 hours before going to sleep is the best time to exercise because of how much better it will allow to do everything moving forward. Maybe this means you need to hit the gym at 6pm and go to bed at 10pm. Is that odd for your schedule? Try it and see what you can do.

 

 

Debunking the Myth of Too Little Time

Posted on by kennethburke74
Debunking the Myth of Too Little Time

“I don’t have enough time” might be one of the most frustrating lines to hear. You know it’s a lie. It should be translated “I don’t value this enough to make time for it.”

We hear it all the time from others. We may even say it ourselves! “I’d join a gym, but I really don’t have the time.” “I’d meet with you, but I’m too busy.” “I used to love writing, but who has the time these days?” “I’d love to do this thing or that, but I’m far too busy.” What a load of crap.

What do you value? People naturally make time for the things they value. That’s why you see so-and-so getting up at way-too-early AM to fit in a workout. That’s why owhatshername burns the midnight oil on a that passion project. It’s why that guy over there takes time out from work at the same time every week to grab coffee with a mentor.

If you care about something, you make time for it. If you’re honest with yourself, you always have time. You might not have the desire, but you’ve got time. Let’s break it down.

There’s 168 hours in a week. Let’s say you’re super busy and work overtime, 45 hours a week. The average American gets about 7 hours of sleep per night, but let’s say you’re on top of your health and get 8 hours of sleep a night, 56 hours a week. So far you’ve spent 101 hours. Work and sleep admittedly take up most of your time, but you still have 67 hours left. That’s more than your overtime work week. How do you spend them?

Well, the average American spends 25 minutes on their commute, one way. There-and-back again, five days a week – we’ll give you some leeway and say that takes up 5 hours. 62 hours left. Take an extra hour for lunch everyday at work? We’re down to 57.

Take another hour for eating, 7 days a week (this would be average). 50 left. Let’s say you spend an hour getting ready everyday. 43. Let’s even give you a couple hours of leisure time everyday to read, watch TV, go for a walk, whatever you want to do. Say 15 hours in a week. Now we’re down to 28 hours. And let’s say you’re really, super busy, and have two other commitments every week that each take up an additional two hours. We end up with 24 hours leftover from the week.

Notice that in every situation, “you” are very liberal with your time. The person in this case study does everything above average, and still has a part-time job’s worth of extra time.

What in the world are you doing with all that time? Who are you to say “I’m too busy,” when that’s clearly not the case? Each and everyone of us makes time for the things we value. I make time to write everyday. I’ve got extra time to do it! My wife makes time to clean everyday. It’s what she cares about!

We spend intentional time with each other. Others make time for their children, or community service, or even to travel. But what are you doing? What goal or dream or passion are you letting go unfulfilled, simply because you’re not take taking advantage of the one thing you have the most control over?

You have dozens of hours leftover each week. How do you spend them? Are you wasting them binge-watching the latest Netflix hit? Are you endlessly scrolling through Facebook or Reddit? Or are you being intentional in how you use that time?

I don’t ever want to hear someone say “I don’t have enough time.” It’s not true! You can make time for anything. What is it that you value? What can you do with your extra hours to remove the excuses and create something to be proud of?

Too often the excuse is made that there’s not enough time. The mathematical truth is that there is enough time! You’re just not disciplined enough to use it. Don’t be like that. You know there’s something you want to do, that you’d feel better as a human being for doing. Make it happen! You’ve got time.

Want to Be More Productive? Procrastinate Like This

Posted on by kennethburke74
Be More Productive Procrastinate

It’s Monday. You probably feel a little rough. Over the weekend you did something different than what you spend the other five days of the week doing. You had a break in your routine, and this causes a hiccup for for everyone. Unfortunately, that hiccup comes on Monday morning.

Maximizing Monday morning is pivotal. These few hours set the tone for your entire week! So let’s make them the most productive yet.

Last week I covered increasing your productivity simply by checking your email at a certain time. This week’s tip is a bit more fun. This is how you can increase your productivity by procrastinating.

No person can blast full speed ahead at 100% forever. Few can do it for more than hour at a time! What do you do when you can’t focus completely? You get distracted. You do something that makes you feel like you’re working. But you’re not actually working. You’re procrastinating while that nagging angel on your shoulder tells you to get back to work. But you can’t work, because your mind isn’t in the right place.

Sound familiar? The thing is, procrastinating could be used as a tool to improve everything else you do. Here’s how to make that happen.

For every 45 minutes you work, take 15 minutes to goof off. Were you just in the zone for an hour-and-a-half? Awesome! Go throw the football for 30 minutes. Or sketch a coworker. Run go grab coffee. Actually run.

Do something, and make sure it’s different than what you world normally do. Follow this simple principle, and all the time you do spend working will be more valuable than if you spent that time trying and failing to get stuff done. Here’s why.

The brain becomes stifled very easily. If you stare at a wall long enough (like 2 minutes), you’ll start to go insane! Why? Because your brain needs something to process. It needs change. It needs activity. And it needs all of this to come in many different forms.

For that same reason, your brain also burns out easily. If you’re trying to work on the same thing – even just staring at a computer – for too long, your brain becomes worn out. It needs something else to process. It needs activity to keep it functioning at its peak. It needs a change of scenery, so to speak.

This Monday morning, I want you to procrastinate. For every 45 minutes you spend focused and working hard on a task, I want you to spend 15 minutes doing whatever the heck sounds good at the moment.

I want you to use the time you spend working to be the most productive you can be. I want you to feel better about your day, and go to sleep at night feeling accomplished. By intentionally taking time to procrastinate, you’ll be able to do more higher quality work in a shorter amount of time. Who doesn’t want that?

3 Tips to Never Run Out of Creative Ideas

Posted on by kennethburke74
Tips to Never Run Out of Creative Ideas

There’s a few things I really love at this point in my life. There’s my wife, of course. Then there’s entrepreneurship and human behavior. I’m fascinated by these concepts. So that’s what I write about most. As others will relate to, it’s not always easy to come up with ideas, to figure out what to create or work on next. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Most of what I write about – most of what I create in hopes of providing value for others – directly relates to whatever I’m going through at that particular moment. That’s tip #1 for always coming up with ideas. Write about or create whatever it is that you’re trying to understand.

Often, I’m trying to discern how to best use my time. Therefore, I write about productivity. I also work in a high stress environment (tech startup). For balance, I write about keeping a positive mindset and accomplishing dreams. I create to help myself process what’s going on in my world.

Because I have yet to stop living and having experiences (knock on wood), I always have ideas and situations to work with. For instance, I’m writing about not running out ideas, because I wasn’t sure what to write about next. See? Works well.

But maybe you’re struggling with a giant stone wall of a creative block. Tip #2 will help you, especially for brainstorming. It’s a little writing exercise I use regularly for ad copy, headlines, or even starting a new piece, but it transfers well to anything because it simply gets your cognitive gears turning.

Take a word, a topic, anything. Write that word or short phase out. Yes, physically write it by hand. Now think of variations of that word or phrase, then other similar sounding words or phrases. Write those out. Then start creating sentences, titles, or fully constructed ideas out of them. Here’s an example.

Ant. Ants. Aunt. Aunty. Anti-acid. Antisemitism. Antisemitism in early 20th century Europe. Antisemitism’s role in American immigration. Downcast Jewish family relocates from Black Forest to Brooklyn.

Right there you have an idea that could be used in most any creative medium. There’s a story for any journalist. There’s great photographs to be make, paintings to create, novels to write, sculptures to mold, songs to sing. There’s so many options!

It’s a simple exercise that works every time, or has for me, at least. And yes, I did actually use the exercise to come up with this example. It was not previously articulated. I do believe you can come up with better ideas.

Tip 3# is one that a lot of people won’t want to do, but it’s something that, in my personal opinion, is necessary. That is this. You’ve got to consume in order to create. Here’s why.

The most interesting person you know (besides yourself) is probably the most interesting person you know because they know the most. Interesting people – and successful creatives – always have a reference for anything, and can offer input on whatever subject comes up. That’s because they’ve done really well at consuming.

I’m not a big fan of John Locke, but his bit on the human mind as a blank slate comes in handy here. Without consumption, your mind has nothing. Without reading, learning, experiencing, doing, watching, listening, you have nothing to pull from. If you have nothing to pull from, you have nothing with which to create. What we want is the opposite of that. So do this.

Read the best books you can get your hands on. Listen to the best music on the market. Watch the best movies you can find. Hang out with the most capable people you can get introduced to. Continually surround yourself and indulge in what creative firepower is available all around you. Do this, and you’ll always have a new idea bursting forth.

To make sure you never run out of creative ideas, do these three things. #1, write about or create what it is you’re trying to figure out for yourself. Use that work to help you understand whatever concept that is, and use the finished product to share with or add value to others.

#2, Work through a simple brainstorming exercise. Activate your brain and utilize the connections your mind is already making to create something awesome. And #3, consume the best you can find so that you always have a pool of ideas stockpiled for use at any moment.

Want to Be More Productive? Check Email at This Time

Posted on by kennethburke74
Be More Productive Check Email This Time

This is the first piece in a new “Want to be more productive?” series I’m starting. Each Monday I’ll share one of my productivity “hacks” with you, which you can use any day of the week. (Sidebar: this would be a great time to subscribe, so you don’t miss out on any of these tips.)

Mondays, in general, are my most productive day of the week. If they’re not the same for you, these quick productivity tips will help you a lot! If Mondays already are your most productive day, then you can count how many of these tips you’re already doing as we go.

We all want to be more productive. Why wouldn’t we? Being able to do more with less is part of the dream. If you could get as much done in six hours as you normally would in a full day, why work eight or more? That’s what this series is here to help you accomplish.

There are dozens of things we take for granted everyday. They may seem insignificant, but they all come together to make up your day as you know it. In this series I’ll be unpacking what these little details of each day are, and how they can be used to maximize productivity. This, of course, will have all sorts of benefits for both your career and your home life.

Today’s productivity tip involves your email account(s). Too many people check their email far too often. Many keep it open as a tab on their browser so they can check it a thousand times a day, or notice the flashing “new mail” tab as soon as a new message comes in. Others have push notifications on their smart phones so as to be instantly notified wherever they are.

People do this because they think it’s helping them be more productive. They’re wrong. If you’re always paying attention to your email, you’re wrong.

Every time a person becomes distracted, it could take them as much as 25 minutes or more to regain focus. Every time you check a “new mail” notification, you lose about twenty minutes of productivity.

How many times are you distracted by your email everyday? How many times do you check your email to make yourself feel productive, even though you’re doing nothing productive with it at all?

If this happens to you just three times a day, you could be losing an hour of productive focus each and every day. That’s insane!

That means you have to work 40 hours a week to do what you could be doing in only 35. That’s wasteful. And if we’re being completely honest with ourselves, we’re probably distracted by email much more than three times a day.

Here’s what you should do about it. Only check your email once or twice a day. Don’t let it be the first thing you do in the morning. If it is, you set a precedent for your whole day to be reactive and about responding to others. (You should really start your day by proactively doing things for your own benefit.)

The best time to check your email is probably during your lunch. It’s beneficial for you to have an active lunch anyway. Checking your email, in the majority of cases, takes very little brain power. You can jump through all the notifications and spam quickly. You can mark your to-do list with whatever people are asking of you.

If there’s something important to immediately attend to, you can. You’re on your lunch break, which means you’ve made an intentional stop on other tasks. In this situation you’re being productive, not distracted.

The average person receives 90 emails on any given work day. If you actually stop to check each email that comes in, you’ll run yourself and your work into the ground. The average response time for an email, depending on the industry, context, etc., is anywhere from 47 minutes to 48+ hours. Most commonly it’s around the 6+ hour mark.

This means that in most cases, an immediate response is neither necessary nor expected. If you wait the morning before responding to others’ demands, they’re understanding. You’re busy, you’re not glued to every message that comes in. If you are paying attention to every single message, it means you’re not working on other important tasks.

Worst case scenario, if you’re worried about upsetting people, you have two options. You can check your email after 5pm as well – after a good, productive afternoon. You could also tell anyone you communicate with regularly that you’re switching to only checking your email once or twice a day, at lunch and maybe after 5pm, so as to use your time to provide more value for everyone. They’ll respect you for that.

Do This One Thing to be Constructive Everyday

Posted on by kennethburke74
Do This One Thing to be Constructive Everyday

One area I tend to spend a significant amount of time focusing is productivity. I pay such close attention to time management, it’s almost a fault!

Productivity “hacks,” as you might call them, really interest me. They’re fascinating! I’m always looking for a way to cut down on wasted time – to chop out anything unnecessary, inefficient, or redundant.

As such, I tend to write quite a bit on things people can do to increase their productivity little by little. I believe everyone’s capable of doing tremendous things with their life. But each person has to make the choice to go down that path. You can’t simply wish for greatness to come to you. You have to go get it. Learning to finagle this path has become an obsession of mine.

I often get questions about, or hear someone generally wondering, how to get the most done in XYZ situation. Sure, there’s a lot of specific productivity tips to share, but they’re all case specific. There is, however, one thing that everyone can do. Something simple and general enough that anyone can pick it up at anytime.

You need to write down what it is you want to accomplish each day. You want to be constructive. You want to do more with your day. That’s why you’re reading this article! When you get up every morning, write down one thing that would be really good for you to do that day. Something for you to accomplish. Try to make it something extra. If you’re going to work for eight hours where you should be expected to put out anyway, don’t include any of that.

Make your one constructive thing something you might not usually do, but that would be beneficial for your sanity or long-term goals. Maybe your one thing actually is to do something extra at the office everyday to work towards a promotion or something. Write that down. Maybe your one thing is to weed the garden. Write that down. “Today I am going to weed to the garden when I get home instead of sitting on the couch watching Netflix. I will weed the garden, and only after I finish that will I allow myself time to be lazy.”

Maybe your one thing is to practice an instrument for an hour. Maybe it’s to write 500 words towards your book. Maybe it’s to grab coffee with a friend, or to exercise before work.

When you put this into writing, you do several things. Through the physical act of writing, you’re storing that information – that goal – into your long-term memory. Writing slows down your thought process so that this idea will stick. This makes it far less likely for you to forget about your one thing.

When you write down your goal for the day, you’re also creating a visual. This helps your memory again, and gives you something physical to recall and keep on the front of your mind all day – or to carry around with you. Writing down your one thing also creates accountability. Even though you might not share this with another person, you’ve said this is what you’re going to do. You’ve made a commitment to yourself and to this piece of paper. That has a powerful effect!

I spend a lot of time talking about productivity and being constructive in some way or another. I have yet to come across a single person who’s intentionally used their extra or spare time constructively and not been happy about it. If you’d like to get into doing the same, follow this one simple guideline. Write down the one thing extra you want to do today that will make a constructive use of your time.