Top 3 Myths to bury off before you start your journey with productivity
Over the years, I have realised there are a few myths we live by trying to have a productive day or week. These myths often haul our progress in a way that we might not even be aware of in the first place. So I thought of addressing them and list them down in case you feel the same about them:
Myth #1: Calendar Time Chunks - Lets start at 4:00 PM rather than at 3:42 PM now
If you have ever said this in your mind before, you know what I mean. Our brains like to plan out things and always find it pleasing when done in time chunks. Like you might say i want to practice a Guitar song but I will do that from 4:00 PM to 4:15 PM. But hey? Why waste that time and not fit in the task right away. You can start off right now even if its 3:42 PM or any other odd-even time of the day and finish off your task. Most things that you delay don’t have a proper deadline which is why we spent a lot of time pre-planning them. Instead, just start off instead of blocking off some later time and give your future-self some relief.
Myth #2: Application Paradox: I think I would need that app someday…
After reading Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism, I was very intrigued by the idea of Digital Declutter however taking a 30 Day break from important technologies or apps on your phone might not be feasible for all. So why not try the after-math of it.
Cal suggests that after a break, you spend some time asking yourself if you really need every app on your phone. Not all apps give us the same value and one should not use in a way that they keep spending more time on the app unnecessarily and since most apps have a binary value — either they are useful or not used at all, you could try eliminating them if you don’t use them that often. This will help you get rid of distractions that you might have occasionally or might develop in the future with that app you haven’t explored much. Try asking yourself, when, why and how often you would use that particular app on your smartphone before you make a decision. If more than two answers to those questions sound illogical, its time to uninstall.
Myth #3: Infinity-Distraction Loop: I will get back to my work after this 5 minute break
Infinity-Distraction loops are kind of crazy. They start in the morning when you check your phone for notifications that might have dropped in while you were asleep and one thing leads to another and you are stuck in a loop — checking your feed on 5–6 different apps every morning. This gets crazier when you try to do it during daytime while you are working and need to focus. Instead of relying on your brain to make a decision whether to jump in the infinity loop, I suggest you use the Distraction Journal technique to keep a track of all your distractions throughout the day or week and then get back to them once you have enough time. There is something about tracking your metrics that makes you more accountable to yourself ( and maybe others).
These were the top three myths we often fall for. Make sure you keep them in mind before heading down the path of productivity and spend endless time pre-planning, cluttering our workstation and getting distracted.
~Aditya Darekar
Other useful reads:
2. Productophile Experiment #1: Let’s get your phone to sleep for a day
