We tend to think and plan for the big things, the things that we think are going to need a lot of time or that are going to be really important, and some times becasue of that we miss plan the simple ones, the ones that even when aren’t that important will make you smile, will make you happy.
I like my car clean (I don’t do it myself) but I have learn that I should have a reminder every couple of months to schedule and take my car to be clean. Make me smile until the kids make a mess the next time they jump in the car.
Are you planing the simple things? or are you only planning important ones?
Category: English
TIP #265: Aways carry your reading material
I mentioned this tip in my book 25 Tips for Productivity and it is something that I had always surprise me when I am waiting somewhere I you see people looking to really old magazines – or even better playing angry brids or something like that. Most of us had so much to read, that if we are more diligent we can always carry something to read.
If you like electronic Reading you can use applications like Instapaper or print the material or tear appart the Magazine that you want to read.
I like Instapaper, been using it for a long while now and allow me to access the documents from my iPhone or iPad and read, store, and even share interesting information that I collect in the web.
Are you reading old magazines? Catching up with the birds? Should you be reading better stuff?
iOS8 Issues – Please excuse my rant in advance, but sometimes I don't get it…
Please excuse my rant in advance, but sometimes I don’t get it…
While I updated my iPad to iOS8 I was working on the Mac, I was writing some text into Pages and when the iPad was done, I simply trust that iCloud was going to do its job. I upgrade my iPad, upgrade to iCloud Drive but the document wasn’t showing… I went back to the Mac thinking that I shut down too fast, but as I open Pages I found this message…
Seems like if I want to use iCloud Drive in the Mac I need to use Yosemite… that will be fine, except that it is in Beta…
I am #iPadOnly, I email me the file and forgot about it, but I question what happen with the people who had come to count on iCloud and use their Mac as main machine… It feels that they will go to 1990’s carrying a Pen Drive, or move back to DropBox until Apple gets its ducks in a row…
End of the rant… we can continue working – unless you don’t have Yosemite and are waiting for that iCloud Document to sync.
Reconsider that all nighter.
Forget about that all nighter you are considering right now.
Even better, forget that it is a great idea.
Even better, forget about how much are you going to be able to catch up, and go to sleep.
I use to play the all nighter card, multiple times a week in the past, I don’t know it was the fact that I was younger or that I required less horse power the day after, but I was convinced that I was not only able to do that, but to be productive the next day.
With age, not only I am not productive the next day, sometimes take me days of recovery for a night of poor performance. There is nothing wrong with the days of recovery if you have an amazing performance, the problems comes when the performance is mediocre at best. We convince ourselves about how much we will be able to accomplish, and sometimes we actually do, but most times we just waste time, procrastinate and just loose our sleep.
I wish to say that even today it is an automatic behavior, it is not. I have been waking up at 4:00AM for a long time, even wrote a book about it (Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble) and had learn that those hours in the morning are maybe my most productive of the whole day, but in days that the level of satisfaction is low, I try to negociate with myself about staying up, one more hour.
I sometimes considered, even many times stay a little more late than what I should, but under really defined conditions. If I begin to browse, I go to bed. If I begin thinking on reading or watching TV, I go to bed. If I start daydreaming -as a form of procrastination-, I go to bed.
The cost of staying all night is way to high, I pay for it in the next days for sure. It is not that you stay later, it is that you understand those things you do that are not productive. Reading a chapter of a book to find inspiration to write, it is not OK, I sent myself to bed and rest.
Make sure that if you are going to make an investment in time -you will be sacrificing the next couple of days of productivity most likely and that it is a big investment- you get out of it the most value, otherwise, you do better going to sleep and waking up an hour earlier.
Loosing Momentum
One of the biggest problems when we lost momentum is get it back, because even when we know it is not going to be the same, we insist on recover it. We want to recover the momentum that we lost and many times, as we discover is impossible, so we stop doing that thing.
Write daily on a blog is hard, write daily on a book is even harder. Write a blog and a book at the same time it is a complex work.
Sometimes the best thing we can do with those projects we love, is giving them space, discover if it is just a habit – even a bad one- or if that love we feel is in a certain way real.
That is in a certainly the story of this blog, it was necessary for me to let it go, even that I was hoping that it will came back and hoping to have again the opportunity to sit in here daily also. I knew that some will never read this message, but also knew it was important that those discover if they stop here because of a habit or something more.
This is not an apology, is simply a moment of reflection that you can even bring to your own life, it took me six months to understand that write this blog is something more than a habit. Took me six months to change from the habit to the need. Took me six months of missing it daily because I knew the momentum and the motivation was lost, but I also knew that I wasn’t looking to recover them, if I was going to return, I want it to return for something differnet…
The risk of lose momentum isn’t only try to recover it, even more dangerous is not try to find something new, something that with a little luck it is going to be more powerful.
Morning rituals: Why part-time online entrepreneurs should take advantage of them
This is a Guest Post from my Friend Timo Kiander. Today November 19, 2013 his book: “Online Business Productivity – How to Start a Productive Online Business and Get Sh*t Done – Even When You Are Working from 9-5!” is launched into the Market. Congrats Timo!
Please note: This post was written two weeks before I was let go from my job (at the end of June 2013). However, the advice is still valid for anyone building their online businesses part-time.
As an online business builder with a family, morning time is a luxury for me: I get to work without distractions and I can move ahead with projects that I’m passionate about.
However, working during the mornings doesn’t automatically make me a productive person. To achieve this, I need to have the right type of structure in place and this very structure helps me to maximize my time.
With this particular structure, I’m able to do many of the most important tasks of the day before going to work. This achievement makes me feel good about myself: I know that I have made progress on things that really matter.
The elements of a good morning ritual
When someone mentioned to me about the rituals, I was a bit scared.
In my mind, a ritual meant something related to a religious cult, and I didn’t want to have anything to do with that kind of thing. However, as soon as I really understood what rituals were about, I became their biggest supporter.
When the mornings are concerned, a ritual is nothing but pre-defined steps that you take when you wake up. And as soon as you repeat this particular ritual enough, you form new good habits out of it.
With a morning ritual, you can have several benefits:
- You can have time for yourself
- You can make progress towards your goals
- It’s an easy way to start your day
- It’s fulfilling on many levels (for instance by doing some physical exercise or by meditating)
When you consider creating a morning ritual for yourself, you should also remember these important points:
* It starts in the evening. To be honest, talking about a morning ritual is a bit misleading, since its successful execution depends on what you do the night before.
In my case, I make sure that I go to bed early enough (so I don’t feel tired when I wake up).
I also make sure that certain things (like my computer or my sports gear) are already in place, so it’s easier for me to start my day when I wake up.
* You can do it without rushing. Whatever is in your morning ritual, you want to make your schedule flexible enough. Also, you should make sure you don’t have too many steps in it.
* It prioritizes your actions. When you build your ritual, you want to prioritize your steps in a way that the most important parts are executed first.
For instance, right after doing a short meditation exercise (5 minutes) and drinking some water, I start working on my projects, for instance writing my book.
I also make sure that I dedicate as much time as possible to the most important step (or steps) in my routine.
* Continuous improvement. When you have created your ritual, you have to keep on optimizing it.
Sometimes you’ll realize that it makes sense to switch certain steps, so that the ritual becomes even more effortless. The only way you find out the right way of doing things is to keep testing and experimenting with it.
For instance, I used to exercise right after waking up. Now that I’m also building my online business on the side, I decided to focus on the online business building first, and after that spend time on exercising.
When your priorities change, your ritual should change accordingly.
In addition there are other components that can make your mornings even more effective than before:
* Becoming an early riser. One obvious change that made my morning ritual possible in the first place was to become an early riser. Clearly, this has been one of the best decisions in my life and I highly recommend that you become one if you aren’t already.
You can decide your target time when you are going to wake up and then make the change from your current situation – either gradually (waking up earlier week after week, until you have reached the target time) or all at once like I did.
* Getting to bed earlier. Becoming an early riser is one thing but getting to bed earlier makes your early rising experience much nicer.
In fact, when you start waking up early, your body starts sending you signals in the evening when you should go to bed. Just listen to those signals; that way you can avoid fatigue from sleeping too little.
Nothing is more ineffective than waking up early and not being able to keep your eyes open because you didn’t sleep enough.
* Having a task list. What really helps in my situation is that I have a task list in place which I can then follow when I wake up. This makes sure that I can focus on the correct tasks right from the get-go.
I have planned my list the night before and I try to describe individual tasks on a very concrete level. The description contains a goal, which I then try to accomplish. For instance, I could write: “Write one guest post (title).”
This way I know exactly what to do and what mini-goal I have reached after finishing a task.
An example of my morning ritual
We have now covered various characteristics of a morning ritual which makes it a balanced and enjoyable experience. Next, I’m going to share with you my morning ritual and how I start my day.
The night before:
- I make sure that everything is ready for the next morning (my sports gear, my laptop), so that I can start working or exercising as easily as possible
- I go to bed around 10.00 pm – 11.00 pm
- I make sure that I have already done some preparation related to my work. For instance, if I’m writing a blog post, I have created an outline for the post in advance
- I know what clothes to put on, so that it’s very easy to get dressed
The actual morning ritual:
- Wakingup: 05:15
- Glass of water: 05:20
- Small meditation: 05:20 – 05:25
- Working on my projects: 05:25 – 06:45
- Morning exercise: 06:50 – 08:00 (riding a bike, running or going to the gym)
- Taking a shower: 08:10
- Eating breakfast: 08:20 – 08.40
- Going to work: 08:45 – 08:50 (I have only a 5 minute bike ride to the office)
Yours free: Online Business Productivity
Rituals play a very important part in our lives, especially if you are building your online business part-time. Rituals are a great way to maximize the available time you have for your business.
But what if I told you that you can download a free book about online business productivity and it’s being co-authored by big names in online business – people like Pat Flynn, Corbett Barr and David Risley?
All you have to do is to go to the book’s web site, enter your name and e-mail address, and I’ll give you instant access to my book (197 pages): “Online Business Productivity: How to Start a Productive Online Business and Get Sh*t Done – Even When You Are Working from 9-5!”
And of course, you can always buy the print or Amazon Kindle version too. It makes the reading much more convenient, rather than reading it from your computer screen.
BIO BOX:
Timo Kiander, a.k.a. Productive Superdad, helps entrepreneurs improve their online business productivity. With 18 co-authors (like Pat Flynn and Corbett Barr), he wrote a book about how to build an online business and get stuff done – even when working from 9-5 (available as a free download or through Amazon).
I try. I failed.
Failure it is part of life. Failure in a certain way it is even good, at least it is good if you can learn from it and move on. When we had our kid early this year I was sure that with enough methodology and organization I was going to be able to maintain the business, write more books and be as productive as I was back then. I tried. I really did. I failed. A massive failure.
As much as I love to have my son and daughter around, I miss some working time, quiet time, loud music time. I miss be able to work for longer than an hour without interruptions. I miss have mental space. It is because of that that I choose to send my son to a small daycare at the same time that my daughter is at school so I can give me some space to work and accomplish the stuff I am working on, that it is simply getting behind by the hour.
Sometimes we forget that we are humans. That there is only so much we can do. That Focus time is so important. It is not a matter of more hours working, it is a matter of work the right amount of them with the ability to focus and concentration.
Even that I failed, I am glad I try it, I am glad I discover once more, that I have limits, because it is this kind of information what allow me to be even more productive.
Be a Writer is easy
At least that what some people who had never tried to write a book think. Ernest Hemingway use to say:
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
Seems like an easy job, you sit for long hours looking at nothing, drinking coffee and listen to music. (at least I do)
It is perfect. Until you begin the writing process and even when you are dying to bleed and the story to come nothing happen, the words don’t flow, there is no idea creation and the only thing that there is around you is an empty cup of coffee and a page in blank.
Write is easy, being a writer is easy. Many times I have said that I don’t believe that there are many writers by choice but by need.. It is hard to pick a profession in which you fight against your fears daily, alone in a room while society thinks that you do nothing all day and that they will be able to create in less time and less effort more than you… the interesting part is that they have not done it… and probably never will
Going to the HomeScreen on #OmniFocus 2 on iPhone in One Click.
If you have played with the new OmniFocus2 for iPhone, I am sure you have found some stuff that works great, and some that you may or may not be convinced yet. If you use a lot of multilayered contexts, or even folder and subprojects you can find yourself deep into in OmniFocus and to return to the HomeScreen you are required to click many times… Unless you use this little trick.
When you are on any screen if instead of click on the back arrow to get to the previous screen you simply click and hold the click you will end up automatically in the HomeScreen.
Simple, and somehow magical.
Creating sentences that you will never use… (why they told us that we shouldn´t be writers)
Who want to be a person that sit in a room for hours talking to imaginary voices that think that you are terrible at what you do.
Who want to be a person that spend months working on words that doesn’t ever feel really good.
Who want to be a person that may spend months working on a piece that maybe no one will ever read, even if published.
Most likely no one… but for many writers that doesn’t matter, because in general we think more on the following option:
Who want to be the person that spend many months working to change 1 person life.
I am not aware of many parents that tell their kids not to try to be a Doctor, Engineer, Lawer or a Business Mayor. Somehow doesn’t matter if you pick one of those “safe” careeers you will be ok. Even if you will be terrible at them, you will be OK.
Insterestingly enough, I know plenty of writers that got the opposite advise. “Don’t waste your time writing”, “You are not a writer”, “Pick a safe path” and many more things. My parents did it, as well as the parent of so many of my writers friends (and the parents of many that simply stop writing becasue of that)
I don’t think you pick to be a writer, in the same way that you don’t pick to be a doctor or a lawyer or a salesman. You are and you can train yourself to be better, much better.
Who want to be a person that sit in a room for hours talking to imaginary voices that think that you are terrible at what you do. Who want to be a person that spend months working on words that doesn’t ever feel really good. Who want to be a person that may spend months working on a piece that maybe no one will ever read, even if published.
Sales people make calls that never get anywhere, doctors had patients that die even when they do everything in their hand to help, business people invest months on projects that never accomplish anything… but somehow those are better bets… at least according to some parents.
If you ever dreamed to be a writer, then you need to write, spend the time, learn the craft, and discover that after many hours you will get a perfect sentence that you will never use…