Productivity Tips:
Shut out the shallow (postpone the easier/ less important tasks)
Call it a day (be strict with stopping your working day)
Find your top level goal (life’s purpose)
Make your breaks smarter
Cal Newport’s shutdown ritual:
Look through your unfinished work
Write a short plan of how to tackle it tomorrow
Say something out loud to signal the end of work (“shutdown complete”)
Have some fun
Warren Buffett’s technique for getting people to focus:
Write down in order the top 20 things that you want to do in life
Draw a line under number 5
Until you have done the first 5, forget everything else
A pyramid of goals by Angela Duckworth
Define your life’s purpose
Define your mid-level goals (these should feed into the top-level goals)
The Pomodoro technique:
25 minutes of intense concentration followed by 5 minutes of rest
Tackling a big task with focus chunks of work with regular breaks gives the brain time to recover
Maintains higher levels of productivity.
5 minute-walk breaks =
Improve mood
Reduce tiredness and hunger
Vocabulary definitions:
A tip = a piece of advise
shallow = not deep
For example: shallow water, shallow work, a shallow pool
Deep water – the water in the ocean
Deep work = having the time for focused work which is free from distractions
Getting things done = completing your work and tasks
to hack into = to break into a digital system and steal something
A hack = to quickly access or quickly do something / a trick / the fast track / a fast way of doing something / smart techniques
A life hack = techniques that allow something quickly or better
100 miles per hour = to go fast / at a fast speed
To counter = to go against
counter-intuitive = To go against your instinct
A sweet spot = the area where you each high productivity or performance / optimised performance
To block out = to block out noise or light / to not allow to enter your space or disturb you
To cut out = to remove
I want to cut out sugar from my diet
Remote = remote working / to work outside the office
Where is the remote control?
Remote = location / far away from anywhere / disconnected
To shut away = to exclude / to be private
To call it a day = to finish working / to finish an activity
Let’s call it a day
To be strict = to have discipline with a task
To shutdown = to switch off or to disconnect
To tackle = to take control and manage
Out loud = in an audible voice
To feed into = to supply with information
To get rid of = to remove / to throw out
I need to get rid of some old cloths
The bay = a natural cove at the sea
To keep at bay = to maintain at a manageable level
A guru = someone that is an expert at something
In order to = to introduce a condition or obligation
In order to reach the target this month we need to increase sales
A chuck = a piece but an unmeasured amount
Chunky = with small pieces or thick in texture
To stare = to focus on something and not look away
Mood = your current feeling
A caregiver = someone who takes care of someone / something
It turns out = to introduce the solution to a story
It turns out that my manager was stealing from the company