11 Productivity Hacks To Succeed More In 2019 (Concluding Part)

PRODUCTIVITY HACK NUMBER SEVEN: Nine Ways to Overcome Procrastination

This is the concluding part of 3-part blog post on how to succeed and get more things done in 2019. Procrastination means delaying a task (or even several tasks) that should be a priority. The ability to overcome procrastination and tackle the important actions that have the biggest positive impact in your life is a hallmark of the most successful people out there.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

There are many reasons why we tend to procrastinate, including:

• No clear deadline
• Inadequate resources available (time, money, information, etc.)
• Don’t know where to begin
• Task feels overwhelming
• No passion for doing the work
• Fear of failure or success

Why do you procrastinate? Understanding your personal reasons will help you create a solution that will work for you. Your ability to select your most important task at any given moment, and then to start on that task and get it done both quickly and well, will probably have greatest impact on your success than any other quality or skill you can develop! If you nurture the habit of setting clear priorities and getting important tasks quickly finished, the majority of your time management issues will simply fade away.

Here are some ways to tackle procrastination, and get moving on those tough tasks.

• Delete it. What are the consequences of not doing the task at all? Maybe it doesn’t need to be done in the first place.
• Delegate. If the task is important, ask yourself if it’s really something that you are responsible for doing in the first place. Know your job description and ask if the task is part of your responsibilities. Can the task be given to someone else?
• Do it now. Postponing an important task that needs to be done only creates feelings of anxiety and stress. Do it as early in the day as you can.
• Ask for advice. Asking for help from a trusted mentor, supervisor, coach, or expert can give you some great insight on where to start and the steps for completing a project.
• Chop it up. Break large projects into milestones and then into actionable steps. As Bob Proctor says, “Break it down into the ridiculous.” Huge things don’t look as big when you break it down as small as you can.
• Obey the 15 minute rule. To reduce the temptation of procrastination, each actionable step on a project should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.
• Have clear deadlines. Assign yourself a deadline for projects and milestones and write it down in your day planner or calendar. Make your deadlines known to other people who will hold you accountable.
• Give yourself a reward. Celebrate the completion of project milestones and reward yourself for getting projects done on time. It will provide positive reinforcement and motivate you toward your goals.
• Remove distractions. You need to establish a positive working environment that is conducive to getting your work done. Remove any distractions.

 Eat That Frog!

"If the first thing you have to do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long!"

Your frog is the task that will have the greatest impact on achieving your goals, and the task that you are most likely to procrastinate starting.

Another version of this saying is, "If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first!"

This is another way of saying that if you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest, and most important task first. Discipline yourself to begin immediately and then to persist until the task is complete before you go on to something else. You must resist the temptation to start with the easier task. You must also continually remind yourself that one of the most important decisions you make each day is your choice of what you will do immediately and what you will do later, or postpone indefinitely. "If you have to eat a live frog, it does not pay to sit and look at it for a very long time!"

The key to reaching high levels of performance and productivity is for you to develop the lifelong habit of tackling your major task first thing each morning. Don’t spend excessive time planning what you will do. You must develop the routine of "eating your frog" before you do anything else and without taking too much time to think about it.

PRODUCTIVITY HACK NUMBER EIGHT: Creating Your Workspace

Enough of how to do your tasks. Let us talk about how your work environment will make your tasks more pleasant, and aid superlative performance. In order to be the most productive that you can be, you must create the appropriate environment. 

Set Up the Workspace Physical Layout rightly

One key aspect of an effective workspace is the physical layout. Keep these tips in mind:

• Make sure your chair provides sufficient support.
• If possible, position the desk so that it receives maximum natural light. Make sure that light doesn’t point at the monitor or in your face.
• Keep your desk as clear as possible. Store tools and papers where they belong. Make a habit of cleaning off your desk at the end of each day.
• Do a complete clean and reorganization of your workspace once or twice a year.
• Place the telephone within easy reach. Keep mugs and glasses away from electronics.
• Try to have an area for your computer and an empty workspace. L-shaped desks are ideal for this.
• Make your workspace a pleasant place to be. Bring in items that add colors to your life - family pictures, wall frames, plants (live or artificial) etc.
• Focus on the changes that you can make. Keep your eyes open for new ideas from others.

Ergonomics 101

Ergonomics is the study of how workers relate to their environment. It has been proven that particular factors can increase or decrease the risk of certain injuries and conditions, such as repetitive strain injuries (RSI’s), back problems, and eye problems. Here are some things that you can adjust to make your workspace more ergonomic.

• Keep your back straight.
• Your feet should be flat on the floor or on a footrest.
• Chair arm rests, back pads, and keyboard wrist rests can help to decrease muscle strain.
• Ensure your monitor is tilted at a comfortable viewing angle. (Some people prefer to place it directly on the desk, while others find that a monitor stand eases neck strain.)
• Use natural light when possible.
• Most importantly, pay attention to your body. If you develop aches and pains, it may be a sign that your workspace needs to be adjusted. You can also take a break for a breath of fresh air.

Using Your Computer Efficiently

In the last two topics, our focus had been on the physical workspace in your office, let us now discuss  your virtual workspace - the computer. To use the computer most efficiently, customize your working areas as much as you can. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Organize your Start menu so that you can easily find the applications you need.
• Keep your virtual desktop like your real desk – organized and clutter-free.
• Customize toolbars on your desktop and within applications to place frequently used commands at your fingertips.
• Make use of applications that automate tasks for you, particularly computer maintenance tasks.

PRODUCTIVITY HACK NUMBER NINE: Organizing Files and Folders

Some studies estimate that people spend up to an hour and a half each day looking for things! Being able to find a particular piece of information when you need it is essential to being productive. 

Organizing Paper Files

To retrieve materials quickly, you’ll need an effective filing system that includes three basic kinds of files:

1. Working files: Materials used frequently and needed close at hand.
2. Reference files: Information needed only occasionally.
3. Archival files: Materials seldom retrieved but that must be kept. For ease of retrieval, organize files in the simplest way possible. For example, you could label files with a one or two word tag and arrange the files alphabetically.

Organizing Electronic Files

Even with advanced search tools, it is important to organize your computer files (including your e-mail) in a way that makes sense to you and enables you to retrieve information quickly. One of the most common ways of organizing electronic files is to create a folder for each project or task and then create sub-folders as appropriate. (For e-mail, you may want to create folders for correspondence with particular people, projects or departments.)

Scheduling Archive and Clean-Up

In order to keep your files organized, you must clean up and archive your files regularly. Set a consistent date and put a reminder in your calendar. This could be at the end of each month, the end of each quarter, or at the beginning of each year – it depends on what works for you.

For paper files, go through your working and reference files and move any old items to archive files, being sure to label and store them consistently. Likewise, go through your archive files and see if you can throw anything out. (Be sure to shred, if there are sensitive documents.)

For electronic files, there are many applications to help you archive your data. Many e-mail applications offer an automatic archive feature. Likewise, you can move files to a CD, DVD, or external storage area. This is also a good time to perform a backup of your entire system.

PRODUCTIVITY HACK NUMBER TEN: Managing E-Mail

E-mail can be a great time-saver, but it can also be a great time waster, too. 

Using E-mail Time Wisely

Like other routine tasks (such as returning phone calls, handling paper mail, and checking voice mail), e-mail is best handled in batches at regularly scheduled times of the day. Try to set aside a period of time at the beginning of the day, right before or after lunch, and at the end of the day.

During that period, focus on getting your inbox cleaned out. If you can’t get it all done during your designated time frame, decide whether to extend the time frame, let it wait until your next e-mail session, or use the five-minute rule and work on it throughout the day.

If your business requires you to be more responsive, try setting your e-mail program to download e-mail every 30 to 60 minutes, rather than every minute.This will prevent you from being distracted and help you maintain a more continuous workflow.

Taking Action!

When you are reviewing your e-mail, try to take action right away to keep your inbox as clear as possible. You can:

• Read it, and then file or delete it
• Reply to it and then file it
• Delete it without taking any other action (appropriate for junk mail)
• Forward it and file it
• Mark it for follow-up (appropriate when you need to gather information before replying)

Making the Most of Your E-mail Program

You might not know it, but your e-mail program can probably take over some of your daily tasks. Most e-mail programs include tools to save you time and reduce the time you spend dealing with e-mail. You can try the following tips:

• Create Custom folders (much like the folders on your hard drive)
• Set Rules to move e-mails to folders, or perform other actions upon certain triggers
• Highlight important emails with Colored flags, including follow-up flags with reminders
• Search tools. Categories or keywords
• Junk mail filtering
• Auto-archive and e-mail cleanup
• Integrated task, calendar, and contact management systems

There you have it! 10 great productivity hacks to make you achieve more and get more things done in less time in 2019. In the event that you are still wondering where is the eleventh productivity hack, I have not forgotten. I want to make sure that you are ready for it. Are you?

PRODUCTIVITY HACK NUMBER ELEVEN: Get Digital Assistants

I hope you have read my blog post on Sophia. You can get it here: http://bit.ly/2ROiOVL  I wrote on the incredible strides in Artificial Intgelligence, and the production of humanoids, chatbots and echodots. Rather than be filled with trepidation, you can actually use amazing devices to improve your productivity, life and get amazing benefits, results and accomplishments in 2019.

Above are the generations and family line-up of Alexa Echo dots from Amazon. Amazon, Apple and Google are leading the Smart Speaker digital assistant market with various speaker products - Alexa from Amazon, Siri from Apple and Google Assistant. But if you are an iPhone or iPad user, you can get started without buying additional merchandise, yet gain the most powerful digital assistant to help you get more things done, get smarter, more knowledgeable and achieve more. But if you aren't one yet, you can simply buy a smart speaker from the many varieties that comes from Apple, Amazon or Google. But wait, I am sure that Google is also on its way to replicate the Google Assistant App on Android devices.

Apple Siri is available on iPhone 4S and above and iPad 2 generation and above. Most of the features described below are available on speaker types from the 3 major brands, so you might make your choice based on availability, price or any other personal preference you choose.

26 Ways Smart Speaker (.dot) simplify your life and help you achieve more

• Surf the web for you with just voice control - Ask Siri; or Ask Alexa.
• Create important reminder, and ask your device to remind you at the appoint time.
  
• Ask Siri to create an event or events for such and such time, and it is done straight away/
• Siri can set an alarm for you and remind you when it is due
• It call a contact on your phone for you, and you can ask Siri to put the call on speaker or mute.
• Siri can open Facetime for you for a video chat or call with any of your contacts.
• Siri can help you turn up a timer if you need to do a task with a definite time frame.
• Siri can find out time for you in part of the world, and tell you the difference between your own location.
• Siri can tell you what song is playing
• Siri can play your favorite songs for you either from your collection or from a radio when that song is not in your collection.
• Siri can make reservations for you at your favorite restaurant
• Siri can launch applications on your phone. Simply tell it to do it i.e. Siri, open Dropbox.
• You can ask Siri to open a specific email from your inbox, and have it read it out to you.
• You can ask Siri to perform a calculation for you.
  
• Siri can carry out conversion, say from miles to kilometers, meters to inches, litres to gallons etc.
• Siri can carry out calendar functions - you can even ask Siri to calculate how many days ago you were born!
• You can ask Siri to change the settings on your phone, i.e. turn WiFi or bluetooth On or Off.
• Siri can help change Apps settings on your device
• Siri can help you with mapping functions i.e. to direct you with voice from point A to B or inform you of the distance between two points.
• Siri can take notes. Dictate a note, Siri will store and sync it across all your devices.
• Siri can compose text messages for you, and send it to whoever you want, whenever you want.
• Assuming you are driving, Siri can read out your new text messages to you, and you can either dictate a reply for Siri to send or simply instruct Siri to call the sender and put it on speaker.
  
• You can ask Siri to monitor your favorite sports, teams, who they play, what they play, and standings of all teams.
• Ask Siri to search movies, and inform you when your favorite is playing and where.
• You can also ask Siri to address you with a nickname if you don't want your name flying around.
• If you are in doubt what else your Digital Assistant can do for you, Simply ask Siri to tell you what you can ask. And when you are finished, simply dismiss the Smart Assistant by saying 'Goodbye'. 

The best thing about having a smart speaker is that it frees up your hands, gets you away from your smartphone while getting more things done using Voice Control. You can ask Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri what the temperature is before you run out the door or ask if you need an umbrella. You can ask to check and read your email to you. You can set appointments, calendars, alarms, schedule calls, place calls, pick calls, surf the web and find information and many more, without touching your smartphone. Just simply ask Siri, or Alexa or Google Assistant, and get it done.

This concludes our 3-part blog post on productivity hacks and tools to get more done in less time in 2019. Comments and rejoinders and welcome. To your amazing year!