10 Productivity Hacks to Boost Your Life

Train yourself to be results-oriented

Are you ready to take charge of your life more efficiently? Have you been constantly looking for ways to revamp your current processes in order to attain results? If so, you’re on the right track! That means you’re an avid learner and observer on the path of determination for simplifying your life and applying smart ways to reach your goals and be more productive without comprising the quality.

As we go on with life, we tend to be a sponge of diverse processes and methods, absorbing various traditions and practices which we don’t know how to fully optimize. From this, we’ve to make sure that we can see through patterns, do some analysis, make tweakings, and subsequently apply these tweaks in order to get the most out of life. The “hacks” I figured apply throughout life’s different facets, whether it be work, relationships, hobbies, etc. They coexist with one another, so make sure you integrate them so attuned to your daily lifestyle. I guarantee that you’ll start noticing gradual results. So trust the process and start hacking your life!

Hack #1

• Let's start with something silly. Hone a skill while taking a dump. You can actually make it worthwhile. Here’s my favorite: Shoot, at a relatively far distance, every crumpled tissue paper onto the trash bin. Make sure it’s a bullseye every time! Practice makes perfect.

Hack #2

• Find ways to get synergies in your day (but not multitasking). These can be working while on your commute, listening to podcast while driving, or proactively jotting down your thoughts and ideas onto an “idea pad” which you can review later on. You don’t have to rely on your memory. Always keep a note tool of some sort handy.

Hack #3

• Exercise your brain first thing when you wake up. I use these brain training apps: Lumosity, Elevate, and Peak. Spend roughly 20 minutes accomplishing all individual games required by each. Having your mind energized and cognition exercised as you wake up will dramatically help you deal with the rest of your day’s tasks more alertly. These apps let you track your progress — that’s added motivation!

Hack #4

• If you want to focus on the process and maximize results while working out, never look at yourself in the mirror while doing a fitness activity (e.g. barbell curl, push-up, treadmill run). The psychology behind is that you tend to abate the focus toward intensity on the activity when you see yourself on the process. Moreover, it can also demotivate you if you aren’t seeing the results you’re aiming for. So just focus on the activity and witness your small but noticeable gains every rep!

Hack #5:

• Stay away from mainstream hobbies and lifestyles. These include, but not limited to: watching television (ok, sometimes it’s fine to have some luxury and entertainment in your life), checking your social media and email often, subscribing to useless newsletters, engaging in nonsensical talks, and looking at bad news that drain your energy. I’m sure you know more of these, so just gather them.

Hack #6:

• Have and spend a me-time every day exclusive for meditation. Meditation lets you be in tune with your self and raises your consciousness levels; in some cases, lets you alter your subconscious. It helps you create energy vibrations that help you cope with all kinds of problems and stresses, while positioning your psyche in the right condition. I highly suggest enrolling in free courses offered by the pioneer academy for modern meditation, MindValley.

Hack #7:

• When talking to someone, always visualize yourself from the second-person or the person you’re talking to. You’re more likely interact better and be more aware from that perspective, saving you from possible verbal and gestural mistakes that can be detrimental to your productivity.

Hack #8:

• Choose your life song. It’s your inspiration/motivation music that keeps you energetic and pumped up or reconditions you to be at your best self when you’re not. It’s supposed to be multipurpose. Whether you’re at the gym, studying, walking, or even during times of grief, sadness, and tiredness, make sure you can always rely on this song, because it keeps your mind, heart and soul active and sane.

Hack #9:

• Master the art of shifting personas. By default, you act according to auto-pilot mode, or simply a perfunctory means of doing an activity without focusing on it or thinking about it. However, if you want to maximize effectivity of an activity, know what combination of attitude and train of thoughts (and sometimes even personality) are required to fully accomplish 100%.

Hack #10:

• Leverage the power of information aggregator apps. Rely on a note-clipping tool for articles and other informational resources worth absorbing. The digital landscape is a convoluted and agglomerating space of information, and we don’t always have the luxury of time for reading. If you happen to stumble upon an interesting read at the middle of a task, don’t read it, but note it down and save it for later. I personally use Pocket for this. You can even categorize your saved resources (e.g. business, strategy, social media, fitness, etc.). In addition, I use Feedly to keep updated with the top and quality informational websites I follow. With this, I don’t have to subscribe and receive a lot of newsletters that just continually pile up! It’s a centralized RSS feed that aggregates new posts from your favorite websites. This will save up a lot of time from browsing websites individually or even relying on shared posts and fresh content from wherever they pop.

About The Author: Josh L. Doman discovered his devotion to writing after serving as a journalist then managing editor for his college’s official school paper and publications. His father, an investor, engineer, and scholar who authored a book in theology and spirituality; inspired his writings to delve on the moralistic, ethical, and inspirational implications of living in the present times. Publications are reflection of anecdotal encounters in entrepreneurship, fitness, and the military; and accrued readings about behavioral economics, self-help, and spirituality.