How One Simple Doc Can Boost Team Productivity by 25% - Team Communication Protocols
Tired of missed messages, too many meetings, or not knowing if your Slack ping is urgent? A communication protocol might be the fix your team needs. In this post, inspired by my interview with team effectiveness coach Theresa M. Ward, I break down what a communication protocol is, why it matters, and exactly how to create one that cuts confusion, boosts productivity, and keeps your team in sync—without adding more red tape.
I didn’t always think my team needed a “communication protocol.”
Last week I found myself reflecting on a past project that went off the rails due to miscommunication. Back then, our team was scattered across time zones, drowning in email chains and chat pings. It was chaotic—and frankly, frustrating.
I remembered scrambling between Slack messages and emails, wondering which one my boss checked first. I recalled late-night text messages that really weren’t urgent and could have waited.
This concept is pretty simple yet powerful, and it’s come up twice again for me recently, in conversations with Theresa M. Ward & Maura Thomas.
I decided to take a deep dive and create a resource for it, so I hope this is helpful! There’s a better way to communicate, and it starts with some clear guidelines.
Also, if you want to dive deeper, after reading this blog post and checking out the Template, I recommend listening to Theresa M. Ward and I discuss it.
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What’s a communication protocol?
It’s basically a shared guide for how your team communicates. Think of it as a set of team agreements on when to email, Slack, call, or meet. Remember this is an internal document for internal use.
Formally, a communication protocol is a set of rules or guidelines that govern how team members interact— which channels to use, how quickly to respond, and how to escalate urgent issues. In my interview, Theresa described it as “a shared document” with “a set of agreements… somewhat democratically determined, that guides how you initiate communication, how you respond… and how you escalate communication.” In other words, it’s a playbook defining the who/what/when of team communication so everyone’s on the same page.
It’s a guide, not a gag order.
The word “protocol” might sound strict, but the point isn’t to police everyone’s every word. You can think of it, and treat it, as a “situational communication guide” to keep the tone soft and collaborative. The goal is not to create a rigid policy with punishments for breaking it – it’s to give your team clarity. No one’s getting fired for texting when they should have emailed, but having agreed-upon norms removes guesswork. Think of it as guardrails that keep communication flowing smoothly without stifling anyone’s personality.
Why Having a Protocol Matters?
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Clarity beats chaos.
Without clear communication guidelines, teams often swim in confusion. We’ve all heard (or made) complaints like “I never got a response to my email” or “I didn’t know you needed that ASAP.” A protocol pre-empts that by spelling out expectations. When everyone knows, for example, that project questions go in the team chat (not long email threads) and that emails can sit for 24 hours before reply, work gets less stressful. It’s not just touchy-feely: 41% of employees say poor communication directly decreases their productivity. Conversely, teams that communicate effectively can boost productivity by up to 25%. Clarity means people spend less time wondering “Should I text or email?” and more time actually working.
Less frustration, more flow.
A good protocol reduces the little annoyances that can sour a workday. Ever felt your blood pressure rise because a coworker ghosted your message? Or gotten pinged in five places about the same thing? Clear norms help here, too. When everyone agrees on the right channel for each situation and the expected response times, you’ll see fewer crossed wires. There’s evidence that unclear communication isn’t just a minor issue – 30% of workers report being frustrated by unclear direction from their managers. Over time, those frustrations erode morale. Setting some communication ground rules can nip many misunderstandings in the bud and keep team relationships smoother.
Efficiency and focus.
By deciding which communications warrant a meeting versus a message, a protocol also protects everyone’s time. It helps differentiate between synchronous communication (real-time calls or meetings) and asynchronous communication (emails, chat messages people can reply to later). That means fewer unnecessary meetings and interruptions. As one Forbes report noted, effective communication practices can improve efficiency significantly, even yielding hard results like 25% higher productivity. The bottom line: when your team isn’t constantly distracted by mixed signals or waiting on replies, they can focus and get more done.
How to Create a Communication Protocol (Step-by-Step)
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Ready to get started? The good news is you don’t need to be a manager to draft a protocol – anyone on the team can take initiative. Here’s a straightforward process to build one:
Gather your team’s input and list your channels.
Start by taking stock of how your team currently communicates. Make a list of all the communication channels and tools you use (email, Slack/Teams, phone, text, Zoom, etc.). Talk to your teammates about their communication preferences and pain points. Theresa emphasized the importance of self-awareness here: “I have a strong preference for typed asynchronous communication. I’m realizing that that has places where it’s most effective and places where it’s not.” In other words, get everyone to share what works for them and where miscommunications happen.Define the purpose of each channel (and expected response times).
For each tool on your list, agree on when and how to use it. For example: “Use the team chat for quick questions or updates that need a same-day response. Use email for longer discussions or anything that can wait 24 hours.” Be as specific as possible. Along with usage, nail down expected response times: e.g. Slack messages should be answered within a few hours during work hours, emails within one business day. This clarity sets expectations: if I Slack you at 10am, I know whether I should expect an answer by lunch or if tomorrow is perfectly fine.Establish urgency levels and escalation paths.
One of the biggest sources of stress is not knowing what’s truly “urgent.” This came up twice on the show, once in the discussion with Maura Thomas, and again with Theresa, so I think of this as doubly important. As you create your protocol, define what counts as urgent and how to escalate. Decide as a team what an “emergency” looks like in your context (e.g. a system outage, a client crisis, a same-day deadline issue). Then outline the steps to escalate communication if something urgent arises or if someone doesn’t respond in the normal timeframe. Rather than slapping an “emergency” label on everything, think in terms of escalation levels. “Maybe it’s Slack first, and if you don’t get a response in X hours, then escalate to a phone call.”Document it in a simple, shareable format.
Now take all these decisions and write them down in a clean, easy-to-use document. A simple start would be a basic two-column table: the first column lists the communication channel (e.g. “Email” or “Team Chat – #general channel” or “Phone call”), and the second column describes how we use it. Include a note about response expectations for each channel if relevant. At the top of the doc, you might add a short intro explaining this guide is for your team’s communications and was created with everyone’s input. At the bottom, it’s wise to acknowledge that exceptions exist – no protocol covers every scenario.Get agreement and finalize it together.
Once you have a draft, share it with the whole team for feedback. This step is crucial for buy-in. Adjust the guidelines if needed so they’re actually workable for all. In the end, everyone should nod and say, “Yes, we agree to do our best to follow this.” Finally, put the document in an easy-to-find place (like your shared drive or wiki) and communicate it out. Congratulations, you’ve now got a team communication protocol!
Template You Can Use To Get Your Started.
Making the Most of Your Communication Protocol
Photo from Unsplash
Lead by example and keep it visible.
If you’re a team lead (or even just an enthusiastic team member), model the behaviors in the protocol. Refer to it when deciding how to contact someone: “I chose to email this request because our protocol suggests Slack is just for quick questions.” Make the document easily accessible for yourself. Consider a brief refresher in team meetings. Add it to new-hire onboarding materials. Be a “chief reminding officer” — gently repeating expectations until they become second nature. In the beginning you’ll be changing the culture. Patience is key.
Encourage team adoption (and handle outliers privately).
Change can be hard, especially if people have been set in their ways. Encourage everyone to give the new protocol a try for a few weeks. Discuss how it’s going, and invite feedback. Positive reinforcement helps. If someone consistently goes rogue, handle it with empathy. A friendly nudge is often all that’s needed.
Be flexible for remote and hybrid teams.
In remote or distributed teams, a communication protocol is even more critical. Remote teams should pay special attention to time zones and asynchronous communication. Encourage use of statuses so colleagues know when not to expect an immediate reply. Little additions, like “Assume positive intent in messages,” can go a long way for remote team harmony.
Extend it beyond your team when needed.
A communication protocol isn’t just an internal tool; you can adapt its principles for working with other groups, clients, or vendors. When starting a cross-department project, consider having a mini communication protocol for the project team. If you work with clients or outside partners, you can set expectations upfront. I’ve found that many clients appreciate being told, “For anything urgent, call my cell; otherwise email me and I’ll reply within one business day.” Clear communication about communication can set the right expectations from the start.
The takeaway:
Don’t leave team communication to chance. A little upfront effort creating a communication protocol can pay off in a big way. It’s about reducing friction and misunderstandings so that work (and life) gets easier. When your team has clear norms, you spend less time putting out fires or feeling frustrated and more time in the productive “flow” state. Even better, you make space for the human side of work – trust, respect, and empathy grow when people aren’t constantly annoyed at each other’s communication habits. Whether you’re leading a distributed team or just trying to make your day less hectic, consider giving a communication protocol a try.
It might just be the simple win that propels your team’s productivity – and sanity – to the next level.
References:
LaunchNotes – “Team Communication Protocol” (definition of team communication protocol)
Sociabble – “15 Workplace Communication Statistics You Need to Know”, 2023. (Effective communication boosts productivity by 25%)
Pumble – “Workplace Communication Statistics (2025)”, 2025. (Poor communication reduces productivity for 41% of employees)
Harvard Business Review – Tsipursky, G. “Poor Communication May Be Slowing Down Your Team”, Oct 2023. (30% of workers frustrated by unclear communication from bosses)
Productivity Gladiator® – “Your Communication Protocol Can Make or Break Your Team’s Productivity” . (Guidance on creating and adopting team communication protocols)
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that my life was going to be 10-20 years shorter than everyone else. As a kid I took time for granted, but now as an adult, time is the most precious thing that I have. After spending a career hands-on in the trenches as a leader at all levels, I now train Productivity Gladiators to level up their careers. Graduates wield superpowers in time management, practical leadership, communication, & productivity. If what you’ve seen here intrigues you, reach out, let’s chat!
“Time is the currency of your life, spend it wisely.”
Who Has Time For Laundry?
I haven’t done my own laundry since 2014. Not because I can’t do my own laundry though.
If you experiment with my time value calculator you can see a starting estimate of what your personal time is worth. For me, when thinking about opportunities like this around the house, I value my time at $35 per hour…
I started trying other wash-and-fold services. My perception was that the cost of sending the laundry through a separate service was going to be too high. This isn’t necessarily true though.
I haven’t done my own laundry since 2014. Not because I can’t do my own laundry though.
Me, in 6th Grade.
Growing up my mom actually had me doing my own laundry in the 6th grade. Back then I had a habit of leaving things in the pockets of my pants, especially little gum wrappers. My mom used to do the laundry for the household, and this would drive her crazy. She would find the things in my clothes or in the washer afterward and I’d hear her from across the house, “Briaannnn!”.
Photo from Pexels
Sometimes it would ruin my clothes and we’d have to replace them. One day at the beginning of my 6th grade year she’d had enough, “Brian, if you leave something in your pockets one more time, you're going to be doing your own laundry. This is your final warning!” I think you see where this is going. Within a few weeks, it happened again. She calmly walked up to me and said, “Come with me. **walks me to dryer in basement** You see this? **points to balled up gum wrapper in dryer** that’s the last time!” That day she showed me how to use the washer and dryer, and that was it. I started doing all of my own laundry at the age of 11. Have been ever since.
Decades later, as I started my work with Productivity Gladiator, and created my calculator to determine what my time was worth, I realized outsourcing my laundry might be worth it.
Using a service or a person to do my laundry for me might free up valuable time to do some things that were more important to me?
I noticed it took about one and a half hours to do one load of laundry from sorting it beforehand to folding and putting it away afterward. I found that every ten days or so I would be doing two to three loads of laundry. Doing more loads at once saved some time, but you still have to do one after the other if you’re doing it from home. Overall I found, regardless of whether it was in a washer and dryer in my home, or a laundry room, overall it was about 3 hours of my time for 3 loads of laundry.
Photo from Unsplash
If you experiment with my time value calculator you can see a starting estimate of what your personal time is worth. For me, when thinking about opportunities like this around the house, I value my personal time at $35 per hour. That means in my mind I spend $105 of my time on laundry every 10 days. I started to wonder, “Could I find someone or some service who could do it for less? If I did, could I afford to keep that up and make it a regular part of my life? Would they do a good enough job that I would want to keep working with them?” If I’m being honest, while I’m very good at doing laundry, I don't really love to do it. I don’t enjoy it. It's one of those things that I feel like I “have to do” but I don't really “want to do”.
This has been an adventure and a journey.
In 2014, I started experimenting with outsourcing my laundry. At the time, I was using the home cleaning service called Handy. One of the add-on services was for Handy to do your laundry while they worked. I started to experiment with this. I definitely learned that you had to provide some instruction. Here's a template copy of the instruction sheet that I used to provide the cleaning person which included the instructions they were to follow for the laundry. For about 5 years, I used their services. It worked pretty well. The cleaning people would come and go, and whoever did my cleaning was able to follow the instructions and did a good enough job with the laundry. At some point, I felt the quality of the job they did was no longer up to par for me. I’d find the clothes wrinkled, or some of it left undone. These results weren’t “good enough” to continue the service.
Photo from Unsplash
It was during this time that I started trying other wash-and-fold services. Prior to this, my perception was that the cost of sending the laundry through a separate service was going to be too high. I found this isn’t necessarily true. I remember in college many years ago I used the wash-and-fold service at a local laundromat near campus. They were on the way from one of the jobs I worked, and they offered it for $.50/pound. They always did a good job of folding my clothes, things were never wrinkled, and the quality of the work they did was good. I started wondering if there was something like that around me now-a-days. I used Google Maps and Yelp, checked their websites, called different laundromats that were nearby, and I found a few options that could work. The going rate seemed to be $1 per pound these days. During that research, I also looked into services that included delivery and I came across SudShare. SudShare is also $1 per pound, includes free delivery and pickup, and is a one-day turnaround time. This is very comparable to the service I would get at a laundromat, so I decided to give it a try.
(May 2023 Update: Sudshare has been renamed/rebranded to Poplin.)
So how much? How many pounds is it?
For my household, I’ve found it’s about 20 pounds per adult every 10 days. This includes workout clothes, sheets, and towels every 2 weeks, all of it. Right now, it’s about $40 every 10 days and ends up being about $130-$140 in total per month. I tip the people though that’s not required of course.
Photo from Pexels
Wash/Dry Preferences?
In my experience, cold wash with like colors, low temperature dry is best and easiest. It has resulted in excellent longevity for my clothes, even through the hundreds of people that have washed them.
How is the current service?
It’s been six months with SudShare now, and the results have been wonderful! I have been impressed with the quality of the service and especially the folding. I equate Sudshare to the Uber of wash-and-fold service. There are a whole bunch of people out there willing to do laundry which they call “Sudsters”. When you request a service they post the opportunity to see which Sudster wants it. They come and pick it up, wash-and-fold it, and drop it back off the next day. The quality of the folding has been just as good as I remember from the wash-and-fold services I used before, nothing comes back wrinkled. It's comforting to me to use this “Uber-like” model as well. With many different people being available to come and do laundry, this means if someone is on vacation, or too busy, or stops working for SudShare, there are others who will be able to fill in, and I don’t have to coordinate any of that.
Since I've started I've had about ten different Sudsters do my laundry. Of those, only one of them did not complete my laundry in the guaranteed time frame of one day and took 2 days, causing me to not request that Sudster again. The rest of the Sudsters I’ve used have been great and I would use them again. The app allows for this too, you can always keep requesting your favorite Sudsters, and if they’re not available another one can take care of it.
Ultimately, I'm writing this post for two reasons:
I wanted to share the thought that if you're feeling overwhelmed or looking for opportunities to get some of your time back, you could look into wash and fold service for your laundry. You could give a gift card to a parent or friend who is feeling this way too. Do you feel like you don’t get quality time with your partner or family? Do you ever go out to eat on weekends? Perhaps you can try using that money on this service one weekend on a Sunday afternoon, and instead of doing laundry, go on a $0 date instead. You can make some sandwiches and go picnic in the park, go see friends, play games, or do something together. Using a service doesn’t necessarily mean spending more money each month, just changing how you spend it in relation to your time.
Right now I’m happy with the quality of the work I'm getting with SudShare, but I'm also comfortable with the fact that just like many services there might come a day where I might be looking for a new one. I’ve used many over the years. For the 3 hours of my time that I get back every 10 days or so, it is absolutely worth it for me to continue to look for these kinds of solutions. That time allows me to do more of the things that are important to me, and feel more balanced in my life. I do have a limit on how much I would pay for this type of service. This is not something I would always choose to use if it didn’t make sense, but right now, with the price and experience I’m getting, I'm extremely happy with this decision and the solution that I have. If you’ve never considered this, I hope you’ll look into it!
Other hot tips from others I’ve heard since writing this:
Never, ever, take anything wet for wash-and-fold service! -Kim C-
Note: I looked into this, good tip to pay attention too! SudShare weighs your laundry after it’s all been dried and folded, each service is different!
2 Bits of Helpful Info About SudShare Specifically:
To check if SudShare services your area, you can type in your zipcode here.
$10 Credit - I have no affiliation or relationship to SudShare, and ultimately write this to inform you. However, they have a referral program, so if you would like to give them a try you can use this link and earn a $10 credit towards your first laundry service.
https://referral.sudshare.com/px1d
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that my life was going to be 10-20 years shorter than everyone else. Time is precious. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck only chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, I hope you’ll subscribe, and if you’re so inclined, send me a note. It brings me joy sharing Productivity Gladiator with you.
Dictating Is 3x Faster Than Typing. Start Talking!
I’ve been pushing myself to try a new habit. Anytime I need to type one sentence or more, I talk to my computer or device instead of typing. It is so hard to break this habit after so many years of typing!
“You mean you’re talking to your devices? All the time?”
Yep! I talk to my phone, even out in public. I talk to my computer at home. I talk to my computer at work. I do it as much as possible. So. Freaking. Cool! It must be hilarious to be around me while I am working. I’m just taaaaaalking away with no one around.
“Alright, but HOW MUCH faster is it? Why isn’t everyone doing it?”
I’ve been pushing myself to try a new habit. Anytime I need to type one sentence or more, I talk to my computer or device instead of typing. It is so hard to break this habit after so many years of typing. I usually start typing without thinking, catch myself, then switch to speaking. I'm doing pretty well with it, catching myself most of the time now, and wow, it's definitely faster!
“You mean you’re talking to your devices? All the time?”
Yep! I talk to my phone, even out in public. I talk to my computer at home. I talk to my computer at work. I do it as much as possible. So. Freaking. Cool. For me, the difference has been huge! I’ve also retrained myself to talk significantly faster to my devices, since I found I had a habit of speaking slowly which I thought the computer would need. The devices all process speech-to-text faster than I can even bring the words to mind! It must be hilarious to be around me while I am working. I’m just taaaaaalking away with no one around.
“Alright, but HOW MUCH faster is it?”
Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels
Sure, let’s break it down.
A Stanford study found that speaking is three times faster than typing on phones with on-screen keyboards. On a computer with a full keyboard, it actually works out the same. The average typing speed is 40ish Words Per Minute (WPM), while the average speaking rate is 120-150 WPM. The software you have access to for free on all your devices goes much faster. Want to see for yourself? Right now, use the “microphone” or “dictate” option on your keyboard/device and say this classic tongue twister as fast as you possibly can: “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” Did your device get it correct? Pretty cool, right? The built-in software you have access to on your devices can keep up with even the quickest auctioneers at 250+ words per minute!
For me, I tested myself. If you want to, you can too, go to typingtest.com. I wanted to see how my skills stacked up. I use all my fingers and don’t look at the keys. Turns out on the desktop keyboard I’m at 39 Words Per Minute, and on my phone I’m at 30 WPM. I also found this site which lets you read a segment of text out loud and calculates speaking speed. Mine was 179 WPM.
Using the averages from the reserach, here’s the amount of time you can be spending and saving inputting text:
So why is everyone still typing? HABIT.
Only since around 2014 has this technology and use of AI for improved speech-to-text started becoming freely available in all of the devices that we use, AND good enough to get it right the majority of the time. Think about it; we’ve spent a lifetime pressing keys to respond to computers and devices. To start speaking to your devices requires changing a lifetime of habits.
In case you’ve never tried it, here are the instructions on how to dictate (sometimes called speech-to-text) on:
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
But what if it doesn’t get it right? Do I have to reread what it typed?
I mean, of course, you can and should. Otherwise, funny typos can be interesting. I used to type the email or text I was working on, then reread it to make sure it was correct and came across how I wanted. Instead, I activate the dictate button and speak the email or text I’m working on, then reread it before sending it or moving on. I type quickly, but now that I’ve started teaching myself to talk faster to my computer, this feels about 3x quicker than it was before.
I’ve even taken the rereading a step further by using editing software, such as Grammarly. This eases the editing phase post-dictation. I didn’t want to pay for Grammarly, though, so I’ve also been fond of ProWritingAid, which is a Chrome browser extension I’ve been using that’s like a free version of Grammarly. It underlines the issues that it identifies and makes edits quicker. Microsoft Office also does this with its spelling and grammar check. I leverage those, too, to help make edits faster.
A Few Other Observations
Visual Learners - Sometimes, I’m a bit of a visual person, so seeing the text appear as I type is helpful for my thinking process. When I talk to people in real life, I don't see the words appearing as I'm talking. I wonder if that visual is part of the habit I used to have with typing? Now that I've gotten used to just speaking to my computer with no one in the room with me, I’ve gotten over it reasonably quickly. To be honest, I don’t look at the screen. I look around and then come back to see what it says.
Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels
Mental and Physical Strain - Dictation often eases the psychological and physical stress your body takes on while typing, and reduces pain in common areas such as your back, wrists, elbows, and hips. Carpal tunnel and arthritis symptoms can lessen. Have you ever tried to type an entire 4-page college paper with a wrist brace or a cast? The time it takes to type it out is often more painful than the injury itself.
Multitasking - I’ve found I can dictate while doing mindless physical activities--exercising, walking between meetings, relaxing at home, or playing with a stress ball. I wrote this post almost entirely with dictation while I was washing dishes. Take that, housework!
Brain Dump - It is also much easier to brain dump a list of things you need to do instead of writing it out. Sometimes you can forget what you are thinking about while writing the first few things down. You get distracted by spelling, grammar over the topic, or writing so fast to keep up with your rapid thoughts that you can’t read what you wrote.
What are you waiting for? Stop typing, start talking!
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email automatically so you don’t have to go looking for them!
Main Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that my life was going to be 10-20 years shorter than everyone else. Time is precious. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck only chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, I hope you’ll subscribe, and if you’re so inclined, send me a note. It brings me joy sharing Productivity Gladiator with you.
Tweak Your Morning Routine To Turn Off Your Brain, Remember Everything, and Start Your Day Right!
Do you forget things in the morning sometimes? Forget to shave? Forget mascara or another piece of your makeup routine? Leave that important paper you needed? Forget your computer? Forget to take your pills? Ever stood at the front door racking your brain before you leave thinking, “What am I forgetting?”
After all of that, do you find you’re starting your day already feeling a little mentally drained?
I decided to implement in my morning routines some of the visual management tactics I use at work in LEAN Six Sigma, and combine them with the concept of a checklist, inspired by a book that was a productivity game changer for me, Checklist Manifesto.
So what changed?
I used to do this frequently. I used to be mentally tired even as I started my day. I thought it was lack of sleep, but it turns out, a simple adjustment changed all that.
Do you forget things in the morning sometimes? Forget to shave? Forget mascara or another piece of your makeup routine? Leave that important paper you needed? Forget your computer? Forget to take your pills? Ever stood at the front door racking your brain before you leave thinking, “What am I forgetting?”
After all of that, do you find you’re starting your day already feeling a little mentally drained?
I used to do this frequently. I used to be mentally tired even as I started my day. I thought it was lack of sleep, but it turns out, a simple adjustment changed all that. I remember distinctly the morning I was inspired to make these changes, I was almost to work and realized I’d forgotten my work laptop at home. I had to go all the way back for it. It cost me an extra hour in travel time, and I was stressed, anxious, and mentally drained. I decided “This needs to stop. What do I need to do to make my mornings seamless, and never let this happen again.”
I decided to implement some of the visual management tactics I use at work in LEAN Six Sigma, and combine them with the concept of a checklist, inspired by a book that was a productivity game changer for me, Checklist Manifesto.
So what changed?
The Concept: Set up your morning so you don’t really need to turn on your brain until your day starts.
1) Set everything out the night before.
You may have heard this before, but do you do it? I hadn’t been. What will I wear? The shoes, accessories, all of it. What do I need to remember to bring tomorrow? Do I need to pack a lunch? Gym stuff? I now don’t go to bed without looking at tomorrow’s calendar, packing my bag, and prepping for my day completely, so I don’t have to think about it in the morning.
2) Reorganize everything in your shower, in the order you use It.
The book Checklist Manifesto emphasizes that you can’t count on your brain to remember everything every time. “We can do better, using the simplest of methods: the checklist.” I implemented this idea in my bathroom, visually in my shower. I lined it all up, in the order I need it, so that when I’m in the shower, I just go down the line: soap, tooth brush, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, all of it! I don’t think in the shower anymore, it’s almost a meditative time. It’s so much more refreshing.
Doing this also meant I needed to get duplicates of a couple of products so now I never need to bring things in and out of the shower, it’s all always there, ready to go.
For you, if space in the shower is tight, you may need to coordinate this with the person you share the shower with. They may try it with you?!
3) Reorganize everything in your bathroom cabinet/Counter so it’s all in the order you use it.
Same thing I did in the shower, I did it with the rest of your bathroom. Yep, all of it, deodorant, face stuff, everything. Ladies, I’m definitely envisioning this working great with your make-up too (though I don’t know anything about that lol). For me there’s two main times I do stuff in the bathroom, morning and evening, I call each of these groups of products my morning routine, and my evening routine. Now I don’t have to think about it, I can just go right down the line.
Also, the products in my evening routine are different from my morning routine, and they’re in a different order, so I keep them separate. There’s a couple of products that apply to both routines, so I bought 2 of those products (or in one case separated it into 2 containers), and keep one with each routine. I have to remember to grab anything else outside these routines.
I’ve also found for this to be most effective, it’s needs to be lined up, without any other products there too. This means I had to move other products that aren’t used daily, and store them somewhere else. I didn’t want to have to think about where to stop, the whole purpose of this is to do it without thinking, letting my mind be able to freely wander while doing these routines.
4) Other Checklists: Lunch, Kid’s Stuff, Day Of the Week Checklist Next To The Door?
Is there more for you to remember? Write it all down. Keep these checklists wherever you’ll check them regularly every time you need them. For some people that may be electronic on their phone, but for most people it may be better to mount it on the door you leave from. You can print a google doc, use a white board, piece of paper and a pencil, whatever is good, just put it up right where you’ll see it. You can always add to it later as things come to you, because these lists will likely change over time. When you leave, run down the list!
Lunch - Did you pack it? What are you going to eat that’s healthy? Will you get it from somewhere? Thinking ahead paves the way for the preparation of healthier food. Thus, a more vigorous you. If you don’t think ahead, you’ll end up grabbing something and the odds are it may not be quite as nourishing.
Kids stuff - I’ve heard from parents there are a lot of things to remember for the kids in the morning too. Write it down for them, and do this with them when you leave. Lunches? Money? Stuff for practice after school? Go through it with your kids before you both leave.
Day of the week stuff - Does the trash go out on a certain morning? Recycling? Carpool on certain days? Write it all down on the door too. It’s your last check before you leave. Now you won’t have to remember it because it’s all right there.
By preparing the night before, using the visual organization tricks in the bathroom, and the other checklists before I leave, I’ve gotten to enjoy getting lost in thought with my mornings, and I’ve ended up more relaxed throughout the day. Plus, it cut down the decision-making for the day. Thus, less decision fatigue, now I start my day fresh!
Will you give this a shot? Let me know if/how it works for you?
Interested in a good rabbit hole on decision fatigue?
As I made these changes in my routines and really felt the difference, I started looking into the concept of decision fatigue. I’d heard of it, and I was curious if much research had been done on this topic. I found they often reference a study about judges being less likely to grant parole after mental/decision fatigue sets in. John Tierney talked about it in a New York Times Magazine article – Do You Suffer from Decision Fatigue. Also, according to a Business Insider article, even the past president of the United States, Barack Obama, prevents decision fatigue by wearing the same things every day – grey or blue suits.
If it’s not on your screen, keep decision fatigue in mind! I’ll keep you posted if I find out even more ways it can affect your mornings!
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email automatically so you don’t have to go looking for them!
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that my life was going to be 10-20 years shorter than everyone else. Time is precious. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck only chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, I hope you’ll subscribe, and if you’re so inclined, send me a note. It brings me joy sharing Productivity Gladiator with you.
Going Paperless for Free
Going paperless, might sound daunting, but it’s not as bad as you might think. It’s easily within your grasp, and you can even do it for free. I’ve been paperless for years, and have found some tactics that really work. I’ve had friends try this approach successfully too, so I wanted to share it with you in case you’re interested.
What’s the benefit to going paperless?
Here’s a few…
Okay, how can you go paperless for free?
Going paperless, might sound daunting, but it’s not as bad as you might think. It’s easily within your grasp, and you can even do it for free. I’ve been paperless for years, and have found some tactics that really work. I’ve had friends try this approach successfully too, so I wanted to share it with you in case you’re interested. Two quick clarifications:
1) I didn’t get paid for this. Nothing shady here. I have not had contact with any of the apps or products I discuss below. These are my own opinions and experiences.
2) There are MANY ways to go paperless. This is just one approach that’s worked for me.
Productivity Gladiator is about solutions you can act on right now, so here’s one if you want to give it a try! To get started, it’s free, so no excuses!
Why Paperless?
For me, I’ve moved a lot! 27 times in my life. Each time I moved, I had to pack up all the papers, folders, and file cabinets. I used to HATE packing up the desk area. They were always the heaviest boxes! Why was I dragging all this around? Why did I need all these paper copies, particularly in our digital world? One afternoon in 2013, I started watching YouTube videos on people’s approaches to going paperless. One of the videos described a guy’s approach that used Evernote, and I was immediately struck by how simple it seemed. I decided to try it. As I started my journey, I found it worked for me. I kept going, and by doing one or two folders per day, within a year I was paper-free. Moving addresses after that was much simpler. I’ve never looked back or felt more unburdened.
Also for me, I’m very aware of my time’s value, and with this digital approach, it’s faster and easier than ever for me to find any record I’m looking for. It’s saved me hundreds of hours and headaches over the years tracking down files and information, even while I’m on the go, and I hope you find all of these benefits as you start on your journey.
Before the “how”, a quick tip about the “what” you should be keeping.
Going paperless will be a much longer and more involved process if you’re the type of person who just keeps everything. This sound familiar? If you haven’t heard of, or read Marie Kondo’s book, the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I recommend it. She mentions going through your things and “Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy. Thank them for their service – then let them go.” This is great advice with the paper documents you have to. In addition, I would also ask “Have I used any of these papers in the last 2 years?” and “Will getting rid of this paper cost me money in the future if I don’t have it?”. If it passes those checks, consider getting rid of it. Keep what you need, and set yourself free from the weight of all that extra paper you’ve been carrying around all these years.
What’s the benefit to going paperless?
Here’s a few:
You can access your documents anytime, even from your phone.
Find a document in seconds by searching for keywords, instead of flipping through folders
You can quickly share documents or even whole sets of files with someone if they need a copy.
Never again have someone ask you for something while you’re out somewhere and have to say “oh I don’t have that with me, I’m gonna have to send that to you later when I get home.”
So much physical space! No more file drawers and file cabinets.
Okay, how can you go paperless for free?
EVERNOTE
This is the software to keep and organize it all. Evernote saves all kinds of documents, images, thoughts, etc. not just your papers. I’ve had friends who scanned their old photo albums into Evernote as well! For this discussion, I’ll focus on how great it is organizing your paper files. The free “tier” account does everything you need to get started. Go create an account. I recommend using an email and password to log in, since there are other apps and services like Scannable below, that connect to your Evernote. When you’re connecting accounts to each other you must use your name and password, the google sign-in doesn’t always work.
Scannable by Evernote (for APPLE)
Download Scannable on your smartphone. At the moment, Scannable is only available on the Apple App Store. Hold your device’s camera over each page one at a time and it will automatically sense the document and take a picture as a PDF. It only takes a second or two per page so it works pretty quickly. You can save multiple pages as one file. It can save as an image file or a PDF, so on the screen, select the option for “PDF”, hit “Save”, and select “Evernote”. Done! You can also use this app to email the PDFs which has come in handy for more than just being paperless. Great app.
Scanning For Android
For android users, Evernote now scans pages from within the Evernote App itself on android. You can read about it here and give it a try.
Organizing In Evernote
Each file is saved as an attachment to a “Note” in Evernote. You’ll give your Note a Title, generally a few words on what the document is. Notes can then be organized with “Notebooks” and “Tags” to further organize. To explain, let’s compare it to your old file system at home. The Note is the document. The Notebook is the physical folder you filed the document in. Each Note can only be placed in one Notebook. Tags, however, can be applied to any note, and you can add as many tags as you like to a note. It’s another way to organize and view your notes. You can view your notes by Tag, Notebook, and/or search notes by keyword.
Let’s take an example, let’s say you’re scanning a file of papers you have for “Tax Returns” that has multiple years worth of returns in it. You could create a general Notebook in Evernote called “Financials”. You’ll title each document for what part of the tax return it is, and you could place each Note (document) in that “Financials” Notebook. You can then add Tags to each document for the year it refers to such as “2021 Taxes” or “2022 Taxes”.
Another example, you might have a Notebook for “college”, then a Tag for each semester (“Spring 2021, Fall 2022) and another Tag for the major/degree it pertains to such as “Business”, “Undergrad”, and/or “Law School”. This way you can easily drill down to the documents you’re looking for by semester or major/degree. You can also put a Tag for the calendar year, such as “2022” and view all the Notes in that Tag, which will show you all the documents across all of your Notebooks.
Evernote is flexible to how you organize and process, which is why it has worked for so many people.
There are a few limits on the free account, such as number of devices that can access your account and the number of MegaBytes (MB) you can create/upload per month. At my last check it was 60MB per month you can upload, which I’ve heard from people trying this equates to about 150 documents (some with multiple pages) you can upload per month. While this may be frustrating, I actually see this as a good thing for two reasons: 1) Going paperless won’t happen in one afternoon, and it will force you to pace yourself. 2) It will really consider whether you NEED to keep and scan each document, because limits aren’t a bad thing (remember Marie Kondo above!) You can see the breakdown of what’s included in the free and pay plans here.
Tips from my experience:
You can use as many tags as you like, but applying Tags does take time because you have to apply them to each note. I’ve found over time that keeping it simple and only placing the Note in a Notebook and using 1 or maybe 2 Tags.
The search feature in Evernote can search Tags, Notebooks, and the Titles you give each of the Notes. You’ll likely find that you search for documents more often than just browsing through Notebooks and Tags.
Create an “!Inbox” Notebook and make it your default Notebook which you can send all new Notes into when you scan your documents and create new notes. I put the “!” in front so it will always show up at the top of the alphabetic list of notebooks. Don’t keep any notes in “!Inbox”. Just hold the new notes you create there until you have the chance to (for me it’s monthly) go through and rename/Tag the Notes and move them into the right Notebooks. You’ll know you’re up to date once that the “!Inbox” Notebook is cleared out.
For security, I recommend whiting out your Social Security Number and any other confidential information you’re concerned about when scanning, that way it’s not out there on the “Cloud”. I don’t have a reason to doubt the security of Evernote, but I also think that step is a “better safe than sorry” step, kind of like locking your front door.
For a further look into Notebooks vs Tags here is a great article.
Shred the paper once you’ve scanned it in, and recycle it all! Then enjoy not having to lug around all of that extra weight in your life.
That’s it! Its simple, go give it a try!
Level-Ups - How do you take it to another level?
Beyond the above, I’ve taken a few extra steps in my journey that I’ve found useful, even though they aren’t “free”. Sharing those too in case they’re helpful.
Evernote “Personal”
I pay for Evernote “Personal”. `With this tier plan, there’s 2 main advantages I get:
The upload limit is higher each month, so I COULD upload more each month. Once I scanned everything in though, I don’t need to upload much each month
I get Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on my uploads. This means Evernote reads and recognizes the text in the PDF’s I upload. This way when I search in Evernote, not only does it search the notebooks, tags, and titles I give the notes, it also finds the search term inside all the PDF documents as well. For instance, if I scanned a receipt for the towels I bought at Walmart, I might have put it in my “Receipts” Notebook in Evernote and named the note “Walmart”, but not added any text to the note title about “towels”, that was just printed on the receipt I scanned. Using Evernote Personal with the OCR ability I can search with the keywords “towel” and OCR will find that receipt for me with my search.
Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanners
If you’re like me, you still get paper through the mail and from various places, and while I can use my phone to scan, I was looking for a way to easily and quickly scan documents into Evernote. I’ve personally found these scanners to be good to use for this, and the reviews online were positive when I got mine as well. They’re quick and efficient, and you can set up the software to automatically create a Note in Evernote with your scanned PDF, just load your document in the scanner and press the button. My scanner has survived monthly scanning of all of my mail and receipts for years now. The automatic Note creation in Evernote is what keeps me coming back.
That’s it! There have been a few pieces of paper I keep, such as car insurance/registration. Unless there’s a legal reason that I need to keep that piece of paper though, I throw away and scan every piece of paper from my life each month! Sending you all the positive vibes for your journey to a paperless life too!
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that I was going to have a harder life that was likely 10-20 years shorter than normal. I’ve lived my best life every day since then, because you only get one chance to live it. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, better manager your time, and live your best life right now not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, send me a note. It brings me joy to share this passion with you.
Password Saving Apps - More Security, While Saving Your Time and Mental Bandwidth
So many usernames and passwords to remember! Research by Digital Guardian found the average person in the US has more than 130 account with logins. For you and I, it might be significantly more than that. I just checked, and for me I have over 500. If you’re not already doing so, use a password manager app to save your mental bandwidth - it manages all of your account passwords and other confidential information. Also, you’ll be saving time with every login because the app can automatically fill in your username and password, no matter which device you’re on.
So many usernames and passwords to remember! Research by Digital Guardian found the average person in the US has more than 130 accounts with logins. For you and me, it might be significantly more than that. I just checked, and for me, I have over 500. If you’re not already doing so, use a password manager app to save your mental bandwidth - it manages all of your account passwords and other confidential information. Also, you’ll be saving time with every login because the app can automatically fill in your username and password, no matter which device you’re on.
Jamie, a school administrator, always forgets all of her passwords. She uses the "Forgot Password" option to log in to her accounts at least once a day. Forgetting and resetting passwords is annoying and is such a waste of time. That 3-4 minutes per day it takes to reset passwords adds up to around 20 hours per year!
Using a password saving app will not only help Jamie keep track of all of her passwords, but it will save her a lot of time. She no longer has to keep resetting her passwords, and she gets instant access to her accounts with just one click.
Freelance creative, Joe, has had the same 2-3 passwords on all sites. He just received a letter from a big brand company he uses online, letting him know their server was compromised and all the usernames and passwords were leaked, including his. The company recommends he change the username and password on all of the sites where it is used. For Joe, that's probably over 100 of the 300 or so online accounts he has. To make matters worse, he doesn’t really know which sites either, it really could be any of the 300 accounts he has. See for Joe, when he logs in to a website, he just tries the different passwords he normally uses until he finds the one that works. There’s only 2-3 it could be after all. Joe doesn’t want to spend the time to change them all! His thought, “Maybe I’ll just change a couple of the important ones and risk it?!”
For Joe, there’s very little security in this at all. Using a password saving app will be a game-changer for him. He will no longer use the same passwords. He will have unique and complicated passwords for each site. When this happens again, he will change that one password for that one site and move on with his life! Being secure now is an absolute breeze. No sweat Joe!
Adam, a lawyer, is well-established in his career. All the information he accesses is confidential in nature. For someone like Adam, information security is even more important. Adam’s heard about these password saving apps, but he’s worried, what if someone gets his one master password? As a result, he’s stayed away from a password manager app.
For Adam, a password manager app will change the game. His information will be saved behind bank-level encryption, and the password manager app Adam uses will have two-factor authentication in order to log in. This means even if someone were to get his master password, they would still need the code which is only sent to Adam’s phone when a login is attempted. The software will send Adam an email to let him know if there’s ever an attempt to log in, and he can immediately change the password if it is an unauthorized attempt!
So, where do you start?
LastPass
Just getting started? Start with LastPass. It’s free to start, and has all the “bells and whistles”! LastPass protects your accounts with just one super-secure master password. It’s the “Last-Pass-Word” you’ll need to remember. Once set up, LastPass allows you to import all of your saved login credentials from various browsers. It is compatible with all major operating systems, is user-friendly, and automatically syncs across all your devices. It works for experts and newbies alike. If you have a lot of accounts online and like accessing them on different devices, you should check out LastPass. They also have Family and Enterprise programs as well so if you want to share your passwords, you have that ability to scale as well. For Jamie and Joe, this is a great option.
1PASSWORD
One of the other market leaders I’ve heard about with password managers is 1Password. It touts itself as one of the most secure apps, though these are often based on opinions more so than objective comparisons. For someone like Adam, this may be a great option.
These are not the only two options, there are so many others as well! There’s a bunch more here. Don’t wait to get started!
Let’s talk tips! To better enjoy its features and strengthen your overall online security, here are some valuable ideas to keep in mind.
I’d recommend staying away from a brand or platform-specific program such as Apple’s iCloud Keychain or Google’s password manager. They often don’t cross-platforms so they may not work across all of your current, or future, devices.
On all websites, avoid signing in with your Google or Facebook ID, I recommend always creating a username and password if given the option. This way if your password for Google or Facebook were to be compromised, other websites won’t be compromised as well. Also, there are times when you may be able to connect one app or website through to another. These cross-connections almost never support Google or Facebook ID, so you’re better off using a regular username and password from the beginning.
Don’t reuse your passwords…ever. It’s also helpful to update your passwords once in a while, especially your email address; as most of the password reset confirmations are sent to your email.
With security in mind, consider passwords that you can easily remember with one glance (e.g. "1LOVELYlittlep@ssword" instead of "JdjU6%&jJS3#$iJFK"). For me, it happens on occasion that I need to type a password into a new device manually. It’s way easier when the password is one you can remember for a few seconds after one glance.
Make sure that your master password is secure and is not easy to guess.
Using a password saving app has been a great change in my life. Take control of your time spent on login information and secure your accounts starting today!
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email automatically so you don’t have to go looking for them!
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that I was going to have a harder life that was likely 10-20 years shorter than normal. I’ve lived my best life every day since then, because you only get one chance to live it. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, send me a note. It brings me joy to share this passion with you.
Keeping Lists! Which Ones and Why Bother?
Lists can be your savior! Let’s talk about how. Ever been in these situations?
Your partner looks at you and says “Where shall we go out to eat tonight?” You look back at them, drawing a blank, just shrug your shoulders, “I don’t know, where do you want to go?”
You find out school is cancelled for the day, the kids run to you saying “Yay, no school today! What are we gonna do?!”
These lists are not actions-to-take as much as they’re ideas-to-remember.
Here’s a bunch of lists people have found helpful.
Lists can be your savior! Let’s talk about how. Ever been in these situations?
Your partner looks at you and says “Where shall we go out to eat tonight?” You look back at them, drawing a blank, just shrug your shoulders, “I don’t know, where do you want to go?”
You find out school is cancelled for the day, the kids run to you saying “Yay, no school today! What are we gonna do?!” You suddenly can’t come up with any ideas…?
It’s your parent’s birthday party next week. You need to get them something. You can’t come up with anything? Darn it dad, why is it so difficult to think of gifts for you!?
Your boss emails, “we need to submit our upcoming training and travel budgets, can you fill in what you need by Monday?” You spend hours coming up with something.
“The biggest lie I tell myself is ‘I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it.’”
-cover of a notebook on Amazon-
If you keep a list, thoughts become easy to remember and no longer cloud your mind. Keeping lists will help you live your life in a more organized manner. It enables you to divide and even reorganize your thoughts into smaller chunks for better prioritization and execution. In addition, if the lists are actions or activities, it can provide motivation and give you a sense of fulfillment as you check them off.
As humans, we all have the tendency to forget things. According to Elizabeth Loftus, a well-known contemporary psychologist and memory researcher, in her study about why people forget, people tend to lose information because of ‘encoding failures’, preventing bits of thoughts from entering long-term memory. If you write down important stuff the moment it crosses your mind, you won’t have to juggle it in your head with everything else.
“We spend our time forgetting what we ought to be doing, and what we’ve already done. Lists provide support, backing up these things we’ve been unable to memorize”, says psychoanalyst François Leguil.
We should clarify the lists we’re going to talk about here. These lists are different from a “to-do list” which contains actions you need to take. These are not actions-to-take as much as they’re ideas-to-remember. They are collections of thoughts, many of which people may be “put on the spot” to recall.
Here’s a bunch of ideas of lists that people have found helpful. People update these lists regularly, whenever something comes to mind, they’re “living, breathing” lists:
Packing List - There may be several of these in one place.
General overnight trip packing list,
bike trip packing list,
backpacking adventure packing list,
work trip list,
band/performance packing list,
and more….
I’ve found it helpful to keep a section at the top of these lists for the few extra things I need to remember for the upcoming trips, just write them down as they come to mind in the weeks before the trip, “That’s right, I need to remember to bring ____.” With these lists, now I never forget to pack anything and I avoid having that moment where I’m standing there before I leave, racking my brain, “What am I forgetting?” If you do forget anything, add it to the list, and you’ll never forget it again.
Books To Read - You get recommendations from friends, podcasts, courses, etc. I often draw a blank on what they were when I’m actually shopping for books. Not anymore!
Movies To See - Same reasons as Books To Read above! Also, because significant others and/or your family will love it that you wrote it down and remembered that movie you were talking about watching from before when you were discussing it.
Shopping List - What do you need from the store? For you it may make sense to separate this one into categories or even specific stores. Personally, I separate groceries, clothing, and household supplies on mine. I recently started keeping this list on Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home, so now I can just tell the device to “add _____ to my shopping list.” I can also pull it up on my phone or computer from anywhere, any time. It’s so convenient!
Take The Kids - A running list of what to do with the kids if they have a day off. May be a good idea to separate ideas into indoor and outdoor activities so this list is useful in all weather situations.
Gift List - What do you want for your birthday? For the holidays? What do your family members want? Keep this running list and update it whenever something comes to mind!
Bucket List - The life experiences you’ve always wanted. Places to travel to, vacation spots, things to do, post pandemic ideas, etc. I keep 2 sections of this list, one for local items, and one for items which would require travel.
Restaurants - I recommend 2 sections to this one. One for the restaurants people tell me about that I want to try, and the other is for the “go-to” restaurants that I love. The go-to restaurants section has been great for special occasions, or if a friend comes to town and asks for recommendations, I’m always ready with all my favorite ideas!
Date Ideas - They say no matter what stage of your relationship you’re in, you should never stop dating. Write down all the ideas you hear about, then when you’re looking for ideas, you’re ready.
Party/Event Prep - Gonna have people over? Or do you help host parties often? The supplies are often similar each time, so write this down, it’s like a checklist, so you know you’ll have everything, every time.
Change Mailing Address List - This has come up most often with college kids and young professionals that have moved frequently. There’s 2 sections to this list. The top section is the list of all the addresses you’ve had and the dates. The bottom section is a checklist of all the places that have your mailing address. This way when you move, you have a list of all the places/people to contact or the websites you need to go to and change your address in your profile on their website. You may not use this list often, but when you need it, it’s a lifesaver to have!
Go-To/Easy Meals To Cook - That moment when you realize you’re hungry. And you walk into the kitchen, maybe open the fridge and look inside, and wonder what to eat. These should be the go-to easy meals to cook which you enjoy and you feel good about!
Recipes to Try - This list may go along with or be a part of the above, but when friends share recipes, keep these thoughts together in one place so you can easily get back to them and try them. Also, if there’s any recipes that are real winners, have a place for those too! I’ve found Pinterest to be my favorite place for these, I have separate boards for types of dish and for the winning recipes I’ve tried and would make again!
Relationship Stuff - This list will evolve throughout your life.
When you’re single - It can be so helpful to have written down what you’re looking for in a significant other, why you weren’t compatible with past partners, and what did you learn from them for future relationships.
When you’re in a relationship - Keep a list of all the reasons the things you love about that person. Also, this is a good place to write down an idea if there’s something bothering you about your partner so you can get it out of your head, refer back to it if needed, and write out what you need to say to your partner if it keeps bothering you. This way you won’t blow up at them. It’s also good to review all the reasons you love them above while you’re writing out what’s bothering you. People lose sight of these reasons when they’re angry sometimes, so it’s good to refer back to them and remind yourself.
Home Improvement Projects - This is for all those home improvements you want to do. Write them down, so you have them when you’re ready.
Goals - What are the certain things you’re working toward? The best goals which are most likely to be hit are the ones you’ve written down.
Daily Reminders - Anything you need to remember daily?
Fitness - This may include the goals you’re working toward, or exercises and workouts you like, or more. Get them out of your head.
Trainings to take - At work, what are the courses you’d like to take?
Business Ideas - If you’re one of those entrepreneur types, sometimes you have ideas. Write them down as they come to you. This website was one of mine.
Hey Boss (for the next time you see them) - Inevitably, there are things you need to talk to your boss about, but it’s not always right to send an email about it, it would be better to discuss next time you see them or meet with them. Don’t forget!
Big Life Goals - Some people have a vision board which works for this, but if you’re not one of those people, definitely have a "Big Life Goals” list. It helps to review it every couple of months to see if you’re on the right track. Having it all written down helps to keep on track.
Icebreakers/Conversation-Starter - Works great for work functions, dating, parties and events, zoom calls, and more.
You might have others come to mind! If you want to share them I’d love to hear them, leave a comment or send me a note! These are only some of the examples. The lists themselves may be different for you, but the concept of writing all of them down is important to implement. Try it. You may find yourself a little more relaxed, now that you’re not spending energy or stressing trying to remember everything!
Where should you keep all these lists? It’s up to you. Wherever it is, you just need to know right where it is, so you can go straight to it. I often suggest solutions which are “in the cloud” so you can pull them up on any of your devices and any computer anywhere. That said, notebooks and marker boards may work for you too. For me, I mentioned above how my shopping list now lives on Alexa, and my recipes have moved to Pinterest. For most of the others, since I’m a gmail user, I use Google Drive/Docs. I also recommend Trello, Evernote, and the Notes app on Apple. All of these are free to use. Find the one(s) that work best for you and start writing it all down!
“There is something so powerful about getting your thoughts on to paper. Write it all down, and feel the stress fade away.”
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email automatically so you don’t have to go looking for them!
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that I was going to have a harder life that was likely 10-20 years shorter than normal. I’ve lived my best life every day since then, because you only get one chance to live it. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, better manager your time, and live your best life right now not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, send me a note. It brings me joy to share this passion with you.
What Will You Have Accomplished During This Corona Virus Break?
This pandemic has caused the closure of businesses and events, resulting in people being forced to stop working or do it from home. Are you one of those affected? With all this time on your hands, what are you doing with it?
Looking back on this Corona Virus break, will you be proud of what you accomplished?
Did you just sit around? Watch a lot of shows? Or did you accomplish something you can be proud of? Don’t let this time be a waste! You have so many opportunities right now! It’s still your time, and you still get to choose how you spend it!
Here’s some free ideas. You can start right now…
This pandemic has caused the closure of businesses and events, resulting in people being forced to stop working or do it from home. Are you one of those affected? With all this time on your hands, what are you doing with it?
Looking back on this Corona Virus break, will you be proud of what you did?
Did you just sit around? Watch a lot of shows? Mindlessly play video games? Or did you accomplish something you can be proud of? It’s still YOUR time, and YOU still get to choose how you spend it. Don’t let this time be a waste. You have so many opportunities right now!
Here’s some free ideas. You can start right now…
Find a new hobby. Since we’re all on home quarantine, this might be a good chance for you to try new indoor hobbies.
Read a book. Or, read lifehack blogs for productivity and self-development.
Exercise and do your meditation. According to a New York Times article, “Yoga is for everyone”. Here’s a guide for Yoga beginners. Or try a virtual workout.
Learn a new recipe.
Finally educate yourself on healthy eating.
Enroll yourself for music or dance lessons. Or maybe just learn some new dance steps from watching Youtube Videos.
Check out e-books and audiobooks virtually from your public library, university library, or organization using the Libby app. Apple Books has hundreds of e-books that you can read for free, so does Google Play, the Kindle App, Comixology, and many others. .
Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
Gain deeper knowledge about certain topics or truly master a new skill. There are short courses that you can take online:
Add a new certification to your resume.
This Social Media Marketing program through Coursera
This Business Blogging course by Hubspot Academy if you’re into business.
Better your communication skills with Alison’s course on Communication Skills: Persuasion and Motivation,
Conquer your fear of public speaking as you take Udemy’s online course about it.
What if your next career could start right now?
If you’re interested in working, you can start your side career right now. Amazon, Walmart, and others are hiring by the thousands. Plus, there are many virtual jobs that could match your skills, like working as a Virtual Assistant, Graphic Designer, Content Writer, Project Manager and more. The internet is filled with websites where you can register and search in their pool of freelance jobs. Some of these websites include Upwork, Fiverr, Guru, Mechanical Turk, and the list goes on. What are you waiting for? Start building up that portfolio and try something new!
NOTE: Don’t get sucked into social media.
I’ve written in the past about hacks to avoid social media, and apps to keep off of it. Please don’t spend this time falling into this bad habit!
be proud of what you do with this time.
The universe may have given you this gift of some extra time or a break from your routine. Take advantage of it. Try something new. Learn something new. Spend more time with your loved ones even if it’s virtual. Don't let your memories from this quarantine period be just boredom, isolation, playing video games or just watching shows!
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email automatically so you don’t have to go looking for them!
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that I was going to have a harder life that was likely 10-20 years shorter than normal. I’ve lived my best life every day since then, because you only get one chance to live it. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, send me a note. It brings me joy to share this passion with you.
Ideas To Improve Your Commute
Commuting! It’s one of the most common examples people mention as something they “waste time” doing. The longer the commute, the higher the likelihood:
1) you won’t exercise as often or as intensely as you should,
2) you’ll grab quicker/unhealthier food instead of preparing something healthy or making smart choices, and
3) you won’t sleep as much as you should or need.
Eliminating your commute isn’t an option. How could you improve it? Make it more productive? Here are a bunch of ideas for you to consider:
Commuting! It’s one of the most common examples people mention as something they “waste time” doing. You’re also often not compensated for that time, so it’s your “free time” you’re spending. Do you feel like you spend it wisely?
According to Lifehack, researchers found that each minute spent on commuting is identified with a 0.0257-minute exercise time reduction, a 0.0387-minute food preparation time reduction, and a 0.2205-minute sleep time reduction. In simple terms it means the longer the commute, the higher the likelihood:
1) you won’t exercise as often or as intensely as you should,
2) you’ll grab quicker/unhealthier food instead of preparing something healthy or making smart choices, and
3) you won’t sleep as much as you should or need.
Also, your time spent commuting has value. It’s your free time, your “personal time”. If you’ve lost track of exactly what the value of your personal time is worth, jump back and read my blog post, Your Time Has a Specific ‘$/hr’ value. Plug your personal numbers into the calculators for an estimate the actual value of your time. How much is your commute “costing” you in time?
Eliminating your commute isn’t an option. How could you improve it? Make it more productive? Here are a bunch of ideas for you to consider:
Commuters that walked, cycled, or took Commuter Rail had slightly higher satisfaction scores about their commute in this article at citylab.com. Could you vary your method of commute?
Could you work from home? Avoid the commute some of the time?
If you can work from home, even 1 day per week, you’ll get that free time back for that day. How would you use that extra time?
Consistency is more important than amount of time according to that same article above. These are the situations often where riding trains causes more satisfaction than driving. If you know it will consistently take 45 minutes door to door every commute with a 5 min variation, survey participants were much more satisfied with that, and experienced less frustration and stress than a different commuting option that might only take 35 minutes on a good day, but could go up to an hour with no consistency (a 25 minute variation). It’s unpredictability that frustrates people the most.
Include a stop along the way. Stop to work out. Grab some coffee. Go for a walk in the park to decompress before you get home. Doesn’t have to be a long stop, something quick that you feel makes you a better person.
Change your clothes. Or even just your shoes. Are you one of those people who doesn’t really feel home or relaxed until you get out of those work clothes? Why don’t you go ahead and get comfortable? It may relax you, and put you in a better mood.
Options where you don’t have to drive. Trains, busses, rideshare services like uber/lyft, and carpooling are often a way for you to be productive while you're on the way to/from work. In addition to lessening your carbon footprint and saving gas money, these options may also opens up time to actually do activities which may help you feel the time is more productive or bring you joy. Ideas like:
Read a book. There’s a bunch of reading you’ve been meaning to do. Do some of that!
Listen to audiobooks & podcasts.
Hot tip: listen at 2x-3x speed, as fast as is comfortable for you. Your brain can handle 3x speed, try working up to it!Catch up on the news.
Reply to emails.
Learn a language. (through language podcasts, or an app like Duolingo on your phone),
Catch up with friends. You could even try commuting with one.
Discover different music you’ll love. Popular apps which are free/ad-supported like Pandora and Spotify have playlists to help you find new songs you’ll potentially love.
Keep a journal.
Write down daily appreciations. Every commute, write down 5 things you’re grateful for or appreciate. Help change your mindset to a positive one.
Unless you can eliminate your commute, take some steps to make it better. It’s your time you’re spending after all. Improve the way you choose to spend it!
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email automatically so you don’t have to go looking for them!
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that I was going to have a harder life that was likely 10-20 years shorter than normal. I’ve lived my best life every day since then, because you only get one chance to live it. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. It brings me joy to share this passion with you.
Stop The Back-and-Forth to Set Meetings!
Is this type of back and forth familiar to you?
“Hey can you meet next week?”
“Sure what time works good for you?”
“How about Wednesday afternoon?”
“No I’m busy then, what about Thursday?”
“No, I’ve got multiple events going on that day. Any other times work for you?”
And on and on….
This is such a waste of both party’s time sending all this back and forth, and waiting for the replies. Technology and software have eliminated the need for this, so now start using them and changing these habits to get your time back!
Is this type of back and forth familiar to you?
“Hey can you meet next week?”
“Sure what time works good for you?”
“How about Wednesday afternoon?”
“No I’m busy then, what about Thursday?”
“No, I’ve got multiple events going on that day. Any other times work for you?”
And on and on….
Photo taken from Calendly.com
This is such a waste of both party’s time sending all this back and forth, and waiting for the replies. Technology and software have eliminated the need for this, so now start using them and changing these habits to get your time back! Here are several tactics that work with all online calendar types, they’ve been tested specifically with google and outlook calendars. If your work system is locked down, it may require some permissions you don’t have, in order to set it up, but TRY IT!
1) If it’s an internal meeting, through your same organization/work, use “scheduling assistant” features within google, outlook, etc.
When you create the calendar invites, use the option to see when someone is busy or available. In Outlook, they call it Scheduling Assistant and Google Calendar calls it their “Find a time” feature. With Google’s feature, even if you aren’t a member of that person’s organization, but let’s say these are your best friends that you schedule stuff with all the time, it’s possible to update their access so they can see what you’re up to, even if it’s just whether you’re already busy or free.
It’s important for you to make sure you mark things in your calendar, and in a calendar event you create, you can specify whether you show as “busy” or “free” in the event options. This way, if you have an all-day event that says “mom’s birthday” it won’t show you as unavailable that whole day. If you have 4 of 5 days of vacation though, and that event is marked as “busy”, then people will know you’re not available.
In their video I linked to above, google mentions
people spend an hour per week just trying to schedule meetings.
This is a time waster that can be avoided!
2) Use Calendly, YouCanBook.Me, etc. to share certain parts of your time that’s free, without sharing your full calendar.
Calendly is an automated scheduling software that allows your invitee to pick a slot from your calendar that works for you both. Simply send them your link. This also works for group meetings. Once connected to your Google Calendar, it will be easier for people to schedule an appointment with you without worrying about multiple bookings. You can still take full control of your schedule by setting a daily limit that allows you to cap the number of meetings allowed to be booked per day. Also, it notifies you for every booking added, sends you reminder emails, and can even ask you to confirm whether you’re available or not for the booking. Visit their website to check more of its features here.
Well, it’s simple but it works. Youcanbook.me sends your invitee or customer’s bookings straight to your calendar. Simplify scheduling by connecting this tool to your calendar. Then, simply send your personalized youcanbook.me link to anyone who wishes to schedule an appointment with you, which they can also open anytime the need arises. They’ll pick a slot that also fits their schedule and voila! Meetings are set without spending too much time. Plus, get to avoid multiple bookings. Find out more of its uses and features here.
Photo taken from Doodle.com
3) What if it’s a whole group of people, not just one or two you’re trying to schedule?
“Make meetings happen”, Doodle says as it makes scheduling quick and easy for us all. Doodle works like a scheduling poll in three ways. First, it allows you to customize your event request by suggesting open schedules. Then, you can send a link to the participants of the event that will allow them to indicate their availability. Lastly, it collects the participants’ availabilities on one page and enables you to pick the best time that works for you and your invited participants. To avoid the back and forth, you can connect Doodle to your Google Calendar. Click here for more information on how to create a doodle poll.
This is great for groups of friends, maybe trying to find a weekend to go on vacation together? People from different organizations who don’t use the same calendar system or don’t have access to each other’s availability? So many situations where this is a great tool!
4) For all others, limit the back and forth as much as possible. Or simply reply with the calendar invite. be aware of this rabbit hole and don’t get sucked into endless back and forth.
Setting appointments can be daunting sometimes. Now that you’re aware of it, don’t get sucked in! You’re Better Than That!
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email automatically so you don’t have to go looking for them!
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that I was going to have a harder life that was likely 10-20 years shorter than normal. I’ve lived my best life every day since then, because you only get one chance to live it. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. It brings me joy to share this passion with you.
Turbocharge Your Focus & Productivity Through Music
Ever been behind, and wish you could get “in the zone” to really crank up your productivity? With the right kind of music, you may see a huge difference!
With a work day requiring so much from us, it’s frustrating how often we get distracted. Even with the knowledge that we have a lot to accomplish, or the pressure of a deadline, the distractions continuously pull you away, keeping you from accomplishing what you want to during the day…
Ever been behind, and wish you could get “in the zone” to really crank up your productivity? With the right kind of music, you may see a huge difference!
With a work day requiring so much from us, it’s frustrating how often we get distracted. Even with the knowledge that we have a lot to accomplish, or the pressure of a deadline, the distractions continuously pull you away, keeping you from accomplishing what you want to during the day.
Some people, myself included, have discovered listening to music perks them up, keeps their brain working, and helps them focus on the task at hand, thus, helping them to be more productive.
What does the research say?
A research study by Nature Neuroscience, says “Music, an abstract stimulus, can arouse feelings of euphoria and craving, similar to tangible rewards that involve dopaminergic system.” In short, listening to music leads to dopamine release in our system, a reward of sorts.
A study about the effects of music in our concentration was done and published by Tram Nguyen, a scientist on the Cambridge Brain Sciences team. It’s called “Mind your music: The effects of music-induced mood and arousal across different memory tasks”. The study was done by letting participants work on memory tasks while listening to music of different types. It found that a person’s memory performance is at its best while listening to low arousal, negative music - one with a slow tempo.
In addition to that, there are other studies that also show proof that music’s effect to our focus may vary according to our taste in music. Our personal preference contributes a lot to music’s ability to perk us up and enhance our efficiency. For some, it may be the calming sounds of nature or classical music, or it could be music of any genre as long as it’s handpicked by them. While for others, it could be music scientifically arranged to decrease distraction and spark creativity.
Photo taken from Focus@Will’s twitter post.
What Kind Of Music?
For me, I’ve noticed that music is generally effective at putting me in a good mood. To take it one step further, it’s music without words or lyrics that really enhances my ability to concentrate. For a while, I’ve had a “smooth jazz” playlist, that upbeat “Kenny G” saxophone jazz which worked fairly well. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with a playlist/app/service called ‘Focus@Will’ which provides thousands of hours of exactly this kind of music, and the improvements in my focus and productivity have been so profound that I needed to share it with you. I’m listening to it right now as I write this, and I feel like I’m in the zone, cranking through this post! Focus@Will is a music service producing playlists based on human neuroscience. The company claims that with Focus@Will, people will be in their most focused state longer than usual, and helps them stay there. This audio technology works by balancing ‘distraction’ and ‘habituation’ in your mind, keeping you focused.
Here’s what they say, and what I’ve experienced:
Music has been used across cultures for millennia to put people’s minds in specific states: only recently have neuroscientists discovered that this effect is due to the broad impact of sound on neural circuitry across the brain – not just in the auditory cortex, but in all areas of the brain, including areas that are important for memory, analysis, and creativity. Focus@will uses the brain-shaping features of sound to keep your mind from avoiding two undesirable states: distraction and habituation.
You already know about distraction – it’s what happens when you have a video on in the background, or your kid is crying, or you turn on the radio while you’re working. Part of your brain is focused on the distractor, and you can’t concentrate on your work. But what about habituation? Habituation is the other extreme – your mind gets bored with your surroundings (environmental habituation) as well as whatever you’re working on (goal habituation). Because your mind seeks novelty, habituation leads to checking your social media, opening your email, or calling a friend rather than making continuous progress on the screenplay or code you’re writing.
Keeping your mind from being distracted away from your work while simultaneously keeping you from habituating to your work is the key to focus@will’s audio technology. Without sharing our “secret sauce,” we can tell you that we do this by making sure that each piece of music is related to the previous piece in a way that keeps you from being distracted by the changes, but that each piece of music is different enough from the previous piece so that you don’t habituate to the music or your goal. In this way, we balance your mind between the two poles of distraction and habituation, keeping you focused on your work.
Give It A Try!
Don’t take my word for it, try it out! Here’s the Spotify playlist I found which has been a game changer, called Focus And Flow - high intensity.
Also, another one I use frequently which has heavier beats (slight techno vibe) called House Focus by Spotify.
Here’s a couple of youtube samples as well in case you’re not a Spotify user.
Another one I use frequently which is uptempo instrumental hip hop beats called Focus Flow by Spotify.
Below I’ve embedded a free Youtube video below to try as well.
Here’s the link to a service that produces and offers it’s own version of this music:
https://www.focusatwill.com
Next time you’re feeling out of focus and unmotivated, try one of these playlists and see how far you’ll go from zero to finished tasks.
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email so you don’t have to go looking for them!
I’m Brian. I created Productivity Gladiator after I saw what a difference it made to share very small and very specific actions you can take right now, right away. They make a difference in your life, little by little, and the impact grows and grows. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, I’d love to talk with you or your organization about it, send me a note. Thanks for letting my share my Productivity Gladiator passion with you.
Addiction To Social Media: Fix It With Apps and Tech Hacks
The good news is, technology and apps are being developed to help you keep social media under control.
Here are some of the apps and tech hacks you can use to help rein it in.
Social Media Addiction Series: Part 3
Updated 10/5/21: Removed app “Feedless” since the app is no longer on the ios app store, replaced with #Blockit which does the same thing even better
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we started discussing this issue, now we continue with more solutions!
The good news is, technology and apps are being developed to help you keep social media under control.
Here are some of the apps and tech hacks you can use to help rein it in. If you haven’t already, before we dive in here, we recommend you take just a few minutes to read or refresh your memory on our last posts
1. #blockit, iOS app (alternatives available for other systems), Free
If you didn’t try the first hack in our other post, do it now, delete the social apps from your phone and try this free app. #blockit is a content blocker for iOS that removes the entire feed, stories, and other things from facebook when viewing it in your mobile safari browser. At the time of this writing, it did not work for the Chrome browser on iPhone, only the Safari browser, so I just am in the habit of using Safari whenever I check anything social media. This app allows people to still access Facebook’s core features like checking notifications and logging in to websites with your Facebook account while removing the newsfeed completely from the screen so you’re never sucked in to checking it! I love this hack, as it allows me to still check my notifications, but once that’s done, there’s nothing else distracting to see, so I just naturally move on to more important things. I find I’m only on facebook about once a day thanks to this app! This app works for Instagram, youtube, Twitter, and more, it works on one for free or you get them all for a one time $5 charge.
Before #blockit
After #blockit
2. Chrome Desktop Extensions, Free
A Chrome extension that eradicates the newsfeed and replacing it with inspiring quotes instead. There are other eradicator apps like this one, such as Distraction Free Youtube which eliminates the recommended videos on the right side of youtube. If you look, you’ll find many more of these for many of the other big sites many people get sucked into.
Another helpful Chrome extension is StayFocusd, it’s a productivity extension that allows you to place your own time limits for how long each day you can spend on time-wasting websites. After your time is up, it makes the site inaccessible for the rest of the day and your screen will simply say something along the lines of “Shouldn’t You Be Working?” in big text across the screen.
Newsfeed Eradicator Screen (left) & StayFocusd Screen (right)
3. Freedom App - Set Limits on all Devices
This is one of the all encompassing options. They describe it: ”Stop being distracted by your computer. Freedom is the app and website blocker for Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS, used by over 750,000 people to reclaim focus and productivity. Experience the freedom to do what matters most.”
For those who just can’t help themselves, and need a more all-encompassing solution that covers all their devices, Freedom is the next step.
4. Scheduling Your Social Media Posting
Buffer Screen
If you’re using social media for business, fresh content and keeping people engaged is important. With apps like the below which allow you to schedule your posts, you can log on only once or twice a week or even once a month depending on your content. Simply schedule all your posts, and then go back to more important things with the rest of your time.
For Facebook, try Facebook’s post scheduling feature. This enables you to save draft posts and schedule them for the future.
Note: Facebook changed it’s API in 2018 to reduce the utility of other services like the one’s below, so I recommend doing your facebook scheduling in facebook itself.
For other social media sources, like Instragram, Twitter, Linkedin, etc, you have Buffer and Hootsuite. These platforms allow you to schedule posts and even monitor conversations and analyze the performance of your social media account as well. Batch your time spent on social media through the use of these apps, to get back to other more important things, like your work, and your life!
Discipline yourself and take control of what you do with your smartphones and computers. Escape from social media entanglement. I’m leaving you with this quote from Alan Lakein, on personal time management, “Time equals life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.” Time is an investment, spend it with discernment.”
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 1 - How Many Hours Do You Spend On Social Media?
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 2 - Free Hacks To Fix It
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 3 - Fix It With Apps And Tech Hacks
(*You’re Reading This One)
Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email so you don’t have to go looking for them!
I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that my life was going to be 10-20 years shorter than everyone else. Time is precious. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck only chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, I hope you’ll subscribe, and if you’re so inclined, send me a note. It brings me joy sharing Productivity Gladiator with you.
Addiction to Social Media & Free Hacks To Fix It
“Wait, I just spent 45 minutes on Facebook? Instragram?”
For many, social media has become a habit, and the longer they stick with that habit, the harder it is to break. For some, it becomes an unhealthy addiction or an unfortunate obsession. Are you a constant social media checker? In your leisure time at home? At work? On school breaks? While in line at the grocery store? While eating? While in the bathroom?
So what can you do? Here’s life hacks to get you started!
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 2
“Wait, I just spent 45 minutes on Facebook? Instragram?”
In Part 1 of this series, we talked about just about smart phones, now in this Part 2 and Part 3, let’s look at the issue overall across all your devices.
For many, social media has become a habit, and the longer they stick with that habit, the harder it is to break. For some, it becomes an unhealthy addiction or an unfortunate obsession. Are you a constant social media checker? In your leisure time at home? At work? On school breaks? While in line at the grocery store? While eating? While in the bathroom?
Found at Digital Information World
Statistics from GWI in a report by the Digital Information World show that internet users are now spending an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes daily on messaging platforms and social networking applications. In a year, that’s a total of 863 hours!
Expand over a decade and that means the average person spent 8,630 hours on it during that time. If there’s 8,760 hours in a year, that means…
That’s one FULL YEAR spent on social media out of your last 10 years?!
Let’s assign some value to that time. Did you use the calculator in our earlier post and calculate how much your personal time is worth? If it’s $10/hr that means you spent $86,630 worth of your personal time on social media?
If you value your personal time at $25/hr, that’s $215,750 worth of your time you spend on social media over the last 10 years?!
That doesn’t even count the “opportunity cost” of the life experiences you missed out on during those hours. The best memories of the last decade likely haven’t involved the times you were on social media! How many real conversations could you have had with this time? How many games could you have played with your kids? How many dates could you have been on? How many romantic moments could you have had? Happy hours? Family movie nights? How much money could you have made if you picked up a side hustle instead?
Now this isn’t saying you should quit social media all together, though I support and admire those who do, and they often seem happier not to be on it! I’ve heard so many people in my workshops talk about how much they need it. “But I have to use it.” I hear you! For some it’s work. For others it’s family. For some it’s for a specific project. Social media is helpful and advantageous in many ways, but the time you consume for it is the problem, and it’s not too late to find solutions to that.
So what can you do? Here’s life hacks to get you started!
Productivity Gladiator is all about action. Here’s specific actions you can take right now to help get it under control. Start with one of these, then do another, then another, find the solutions that work for you, where you feel like you’re back in control. I recommend trying all of these below. Start at the top and try that one for a week, then try the next one. Once you’ve tried them all, you should have a combination of one or more that gets you to a better place where you feel in control. These are behavioral hacks you can change now, now costs or apps needed. In the next post we’ll share other apps and software to add another layer to your management of this time suck.
Turn off all of the notifications on all your devices.
Yep, your phone, your computer, your watch, your tablet, ALL OF THEM. This loosens social media’s constant nagging, “check me!” Now you’re back in control, it’s up to you when you check it, and won’t bother you when you don’t.Uninstall the social media apps from your phone.
This way you must use the browser to access social media. The experience isn’t as good on the mobile browser, so it’s not as easy to lose track of time, it helps make you slightly more aware of the time you’re spending.Sign out of your account every time you’re done,
Now you always have to sign in to access the social media sites. It’s the extra moment which makes you think about what you’re going to do.Use an “incognito” or “private” browser window, on both your phone and on your desktop. Most people aren’t good at remembering to log out each time, and this way the computer won’t remember you’re logged in, and you’ll have to go through the act of logging in each time, which will make you pause and think about what you’re doing.
Change your password to something AWFUL.
This way each time you’re logging on, you’ll have to think and type that phrase, such as “IMworthlessONsocials” or “1kittenisdyingbecauseofme!” or “IMbetterTHANthisUGH” or much worse! BE AGGRESSIVE! BE MEAN! YOU NEED TO THE REMINDER!Use an actual alarm clock instead of your phone.
In the morning, laying in bed. That’s the biggest time many of us fall into social media without meaning too. Avoid that completely. Get an alarm clock, maybe even one of the ones with a light that slowly gets brighter! I haven’t tried it, but something like this one could be an option?
Most importantly, if you find you’re unable to take any of the above steps, or it’s not making any difference, it may be time to talk to someone about this, a professional or therapist. There are real problems of addiction and depression that can come from social media. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America delves deeper into this. Please read, be self-aware, and seek help. It’s important! This is about the life you’re actually living, and you only get one of those, so prioritize that over social media!
Don’t stop here!
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 1 - How Many Hours Do You Spend On Social Media?
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 2 - Free Hacks To Fix It
(*You’re Reading This One)
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 3 - Fix It With Apps And Tech Hacks
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I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that my life was going to be 10-20 years shorter than everyone else. Time is precious. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck only chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, I hope you’ll subscribe, and if you’re so inclined, send me a note. It brings me joy sharing Productivity Gladiator with you.