#1. Make My Own Bed
This is the first thing I do every morning. No matter whose bed I’m waking up on. The 30 seconds spent on this task are my first mini-win for the day. To ass to this, it also sets a positive tone for other tasks lying ahead in the day. Even if I’m not able to accomplish anything else for the rest of the day, I can always come back to a clean and made-up bed.
Idea Credits — US Navy Seal William Mcraven
#2. The 5-Minute Journal
Instead of straight-away jumping to my to-do list, I start with the monkey-mind journal. Basically, write for 5 minutes using a pen. This helps clear the top compartment of my brain which is mostly filled with worries, anxieties and other junk. I can literally feel some space being freed in my brain which can now be used for other things I want to do.
Idea Credits — Tim Ferris
#3. My Top 3 Priorities
Next, I’d create list of 10 major things I want to accomplish in the entire day. I’d choose the top 3 out of the 10, and put a Giant Red Cross against the rest of the 7. Trying to do everything in a single day often leads to anxiety and nothing being accomplished at the end of the day. Putting more focus on top 3 or 4 things is way more effective.
Idea Credits — Warren Buffet
#4. Make a Not-To-Do List
When I construct my daily to-dos, I also create some Not-to-dos — like having arguments with mother or consuming too much caffeine. This adds more direction to my day. I don’t have to make promises anymore that I do not want to keep. I also feel twice as productive at the end of the day since I am able to check both my to-do and not-to-do lists now. In short, I am able to accomplish more by doing less. Full Read — [4]
#5. The Clock Exercise
I cannot meditate like normal people. If I sit in a place for 30 sec with my eyes closed doing absolutely nothing, I feel like I’m falling upwards — into the sky. So I have to hack meditation. One of the ways is the not-much-heard-of Clock exercise — staring at the second hand of the clock for 2 complete revolutions — 120 seconds. That’s it. It helps me focus better. One can find their own unique way of meditating.
#6. ThinkWalks
There are many published studies over this — Walking helps us think better.
I generally do not carry my phone or watch during walkthinks. It’s absolutely fine if I can or cannot come up with new ideas or anything constructive. What I do know is that this helps flex my idea-muscle in unimaginable ways. I mostly go outside — a park or a forest. Exposing my body to natury has direct effects on my mind, body and soul.
#7. Effectiveness > Efficiency
It took me a lot of time to accept one of the harshest truths last year — I was doing way too much hard work but in the wrong manner. I was confusing being busy with being productive. You can take 10 hours to bang a nail in the wall with your bare hands or you can do it in 10 seconds using a hammer. I was basically doing the former. Every single day. Simply embracing this fact helped me being more effective.
#8. Create a Very Stupid Goal in Parallel
I want to come up with my own toothpaste some day. Just thinking about having my name tagged with a toothpaste makes me chuckle. But in the same breath, it also gives me something to look forward to. When my day is falling apart and nothing is working, I do additional research on toothpastes. It lightens up my mood and helps me get back to business.
#9. Not Using an Alarm Clock
I’ve recently completely abandoned the Alarm completely. I now let my body decide when it wants to wake up instead. Doing this has massively reduced the amount of headaches I used to get in the entire day. The benefits even stretch to other aspects of life like mindfulness, more positivity as well as less anxiety.
