FIVE-MINUTE PRODUCTIVITY HACKS

My10 favorite productivity hacks. May your day be productive,

healthy, and happy!

1. Control the Noise Level in Your Work Environment

If you generally work in a noisy environment, you may not be aware how
much of your mental capacity is used to filter out this noise.

Remove yourself from the noise or block the noise through good earmuffs,
earplugs, or noise canceling headphones.

This hack alone has improved my productivity by 50%.

Research has shown that a wide variety of cognitive tasks are hugely
negatively affected by noise. This includes serial memory, mental arithmetic,
reading comprehension, writing accuracy and so on.

Basically all but the most menial office and studying tasks are affected.

The worst performance hogs are human speech and recurring sudden noises,
but depending on the task, many people perform a lot worse when they have
to endure any kind of varying state noise, including paced music without
vocals.

I also get stressed out over time by low-pitched noise, such as humming,
even when it is constant, so I try to get rid of that too.

To learn more about what you can do to block noise when you can’t get
away from it, read my post How to Block out Noise before It Kills Your
Work and Study Performance.

RememberEverything.org -1- © 2018 by Helmut Sachs

2. Work in Fixed Time Intervals, Interspersed with Short
Breaks
Not being able to see the end of a task breeds procrastination. When I don’t
set a fixed target for my next work or learning task, I seem to take all the
time in the world, even when I don’t have it. I also lose focus a lot easier.

To increase your attention span and concentration, I suggest that you work in
fixed time intervals, so-called time boxes of 30 to 40 minutes.

If you can’t do 30 minutes, start with a shorter interval. If 30 minutes are too
short, make it 40, or even 50 minutes. But do set a target!

1. Before you start with a new task, estimate (roughly) how many time
boxes you will need to completion.
2. After each time box, take a short break. Get up from your desk and get
moving. Long periods of physical inactivity are unhealthy, even when
you do regular exercise.
The Pomodoro Technique, a popular time management system by Francesco
Cirillo, suggests time boxes of 25 minutes.

I tire a lot less when working in time boxes, so I have more energy left at the
end of a working day.

To implement time boxing, a simple countdown timer and a sheet of paper

on which you write your tasks and time estimates would suffice.

To learn more about time boxing, some cool variations, and recommended
apps, read my post Use Time boxing to Stop Procrastinating and Get Things
Done.

3. Experiment with White Noise, Ocean Waves, and

Instrumental Music
For some tasks, including writing, I find instrumental music and white noise
(sounds like waterfalls or water streams) very stimulating and activating.

During a typical day, I vary between wearing noise-blocking earmuffs and

listening to instrumental music or white noise via headphones.

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For brainstorming, freewriting, and idea generation, I typically want no
noise.

You have to experiment to find your own mix, but here is what works for me:

 For writing and design work, instrumental music is great.

 When I am low on energy or feel I am working too slowly, I use fast-
paced instrumental music (search YouTube for fast-paced study music
to get some ideas) or white noise.
 When I want to calm my mind, I listen to slower jazz-guitar music,
such as Earl Klugh.
White noise has been found to lead to more activation, and improved
concentration and memory in some people, in particular people who suffer
from ADHD.

Besides, you can use white noise to mask environmental noise and drown
out annoying chatter.

My post Is White Noise Good for Studying and Work has more practical tips,
the science on white noise, and my favorite apps.

4. Separate Decision Making and Action Taking

When you work on a project, that is, basically any endeavor that takes more
than one action step to completion, think first which steps you need to take
next to move your project forward. No need to outline the whole project, just
jot down 3 or 4 steps.

List them on a sheet of paper and then work through your action steps one
by one.

This way, you separate deciding what needs to be done from doing it. You
may find that at certain times, it is quite easy to plan what needs to be done
to move your project forward, while at others your mind just isn’t as fluid.

Use the good times to define what needs to be done. Then, work through
your action steps one by one. Unless something has materially changed, you

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won’t have to constantly go back to laying things out and making decisions.
Of course, if a new action pops up, put in on your list.

A hat tip goes to Steve Pavlina for reminding me of this important concept
in one of his videos.

David Allen’s famed Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity management

system is a great system that employs this approach. You don’t have to wait
until you have learned GTD though before you start separating decision
making and action taking.

The post Natural Project Planning to the Rescue introduces a simple 5-step
procedure to planning projects that leads you all the way from a goal to
specific actions.

5. When You Need to Solve a Problem, Empty Your

Mind Through Freewriting Before You Hit Google.
For example, let’s say you find yourself procrastinating again. You are
getting frustrated and want to change that.

Maybe your first instinct is to hit Google and find an article to help you. You
might type “How to stop procrastinating.” I implore you to pause for a
moment!

Engage in a few minutes of freewriting. First write down your question or

describe your problem in one or two sentences. Then answer the question
yourself by writing complete sentences for a few minutes.

Don’t worry about grammar and style. Just write. You will likely come up
with at least a partial solution and more questions.

You might come up with something no one else has thought of; the spark for
that solution could only have come from your personal situation, your
subconscious mind.

Now, if you need, hit Google.

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On this topic, I recommend my post Unlock Your Problem Solving Powers
and Squash Your Worries through Writing.

6. Vary Your Work Environment to Improve Your

Ability to Think and Your Memory
Our environment automatically becomes associated with things we have
learned or experienced in it.

For example, if you have just had a stressful phone call with your boss while
staring at your coffee mug, that mug retains some association with your
unpleasant call.

Of course, unless you reinforce it, this association is only temporary, but at
this moment it may hamper your ability to brainstorm ideas for a new project.

In a different environment, you see different things, smell different smells,

and hear different sounds. These will trigger very different associations
compared to your desk, and allow you to come up with different ideas for
your project.

Why not work for the next hour in an outdoor café or in the cafeteria?

Students who are tested in the same room in which they have learned their
material tend to perform better than if tested in a different room. The
environment reminds them of what they have learned in it.

In general, however, you want to immunize important memories from

contextual cues.

A pilot might memorize a checklist at home, but he will have to go through

it on an airplane. He should study and review his list in various
environments.

Check my post How Varying Your Work Environment Spurs Creativity for
more information.

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7. Bounce Ideas with Others and Get Feedback, but Solo
Brainstorm First
Whether your aim is to come up with novel solutions to a problem or write a
book, brainstorm alone first.

Then iterate between sharing your ideas with others and getting feedback,
and doing more solo brainstorming.

In terms of number of ideas generated, solo brainstorming is often more

effective than group brainstorming.

On the other hand, for really good solutions, we often need the input of
others. After all, most work products are for others.

Brainwriting is a modern approach to increase the efficiency of group idea

generation. It is great for alternating between group and solo brainstorming.

8. Take a Short Nap of 15 to 20 Minutes in the Early

Afternoon
Power naps have been shown to improve cognitive performance and mood,
increase focus, decrease reaction time, and improve working speed.

Best of all, a short nap can make you happier!

I have done quite a bit of reading and experimentation to find my ideal nap
length. When I nap, I aim for 10 to 15 minutes of sleep time.

If I feel sleepy, I need about 5 minutes to get into light sleep. So for me,
that’s 15 to 20 minutes in bed or in a reclining chair with an eye mask on,
listening to white noise.

You don’t need to get into deep sleep to reap most napping benefits.

And you don’t want to be woken up from deep sleep to avoid sleep inertia, a
feeling of grogginess and impaired alertness lasting for 30 minutes or even
an hour.

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To learn more about power naps and longer memory naps, read How to Take
the Perfect Nap for Performance, Mood and Memory.

9. Learn a Mental Filing System to Take Notes When

You Can’t Write Anything Down
Ideas and valuable insight, but also important things I need to attend to often
come to me when I am in a shower.

Recovering valuable thoughts and ideas not caught when they first occurred
is a huge waste of time and often in vain.

Spend 5 minutes and learn a simple mnemonic filing system such as the
number rhymes or the number shapes (point 9) and peg your sudden insights
to the hooks these systems provide.

10. Meditate for a Few Minutes Every Day

This is the final hack in my list of productivity hacks, but it clearly belongs
to the top three.

Meditation is a retreat of the mind. With a little bit of practice, you will be
able to put space between your thoughts and worries, and yourself.

If you have never meditated, start by closing your eyes and observing your
breathing for 10 minutes at the belly button. If you don’t like this, try the
nose. Alternatively, just observe the sensations that arise in your body.

If thoughts arise, acknowledge them and return to observing your breathing.

Some of my best ideas come to me during meditation. If the mind doesn’t

want to be still, it is best not to force it. Instead, I often harvest these ideas.

RememberEverything.org -7- © 2018 by Helmut Sachs