10 Things the Ultra - Successfull people do.
1 Only check your email twice per day.
The biggest productivity mistake that a human can make is starting his or her day by checking the email inbox. By doing that you would put yourself in the position of reacting to other people's agenda instead of following yours.
You would have to use precious amounts of energy typing, deleting, etc while more messages keep entering ... the fastest way to suffer decision fatigue.
2 Meditate for at least 20 minutes per day, preferably in the morning.
As New Age and boring as it can sounds most of successful people in the world practice daily a sort of meditation, awareness or contemplative practice that gives them space, perspective and mental hygiene.
If it works for Richard Brandson, Tonny Robbins or Arnold "Governator", why not us??? Find out which one is more suited for you and start working on it.
3 Exercise at least 15 minutes per day.
Do I have to explain this one??? Seriously? Ok, I won't get into fat loss and stuff like that but I will say that just 15 minutes of exercise have been proved to effectively boost mood and enhance cognitive performance. It literally makes you smarter and happier.
4 Write a "To Do" checklist each night before you go to bed for the next day.
This helps you start your day with purpose and commitment. No more morning wasted trying to figure out what to do today... use the momentum to take down your resistance and get things done.
5 Write at least 3 thank you notes or emails every day showing others your gratitude towards them.
Two positive things happen here. First, you rewire your brain strengthening your gratitude neuro pathways helping you to see life with a much different perspective, proving that gratitude is one of the true sources of joy and peace of mind. Second, you create stronger bounds with people, networking and expanding professional oportunities.
6 Focus on one task. When you work on a task, don't switch to another task until it's complete.
Multitasking may sound cool but it is literally driving us crazy and very very unhappy ( plus very ineffective)
JUST DO THE ONE THING AND KILL IT !!! Then move on into the next task.
7 Learn to say "NO". Only commit to things that are going to help improve your life.
To be succesful in life you have to decide what you are going to ignore. FOMO (Fear or Missing Out) is one of the main sources of unhappiness and misery in the moder world. When you have multiple options it may seem like a positive thing because abundance gives us joy... right??? Not so fast buddy. NO IT DOESN'T !!!
Abundance covers our biological need and provides us with great pleasures but it also pushes us to use huge amounts of energy choosing what to take in the moment making us suffer from “Paralisis from analysis”
Keep things simple and follow the “FUCK YEAH” phylosophy, if something is “good” then ignore it, it's not good enough, only commit to those things that make your life much greater or make you say “fuck yeah”.
8 Get up at the same time every morning.
Consistency is key. A Habit is “something that requires more energy not to do it than doing it”. If you develop the good habit of waking up early you will find that those first hours are not only incredibly productive but they are for YOURSELF since nobody else will be bothering you. Get sh*t done doring those first hours, take than momentum and get after it.
9 Never sit longer than 1 hour straight.
“Sitting is the new smoking” They say. Sitting not only degenerated your hips, shoulders, neck and so on but literally makes you stupid. Yes. You brain activity shuts down. Learn the “Pomodoro” technique and stand up every 20 minutes for 5 minutes, you will be suprise of how much more productive and happy you get.
10 Read at least 20 minutes per day. Because to be successful everyone need mentors and the best mentors in the world have written down their knowledge on fantastic documents called “books”. For a few bucks you can be personally mentored by Napoleon Hill, Carl Sagan, Beltran Russell , etc etc many successfull people claim that they got where they are now thanks reading a lot. Elon Husk said once that when he was a child he used to read two books per day.
If you still find reading too much for you then you should try “audiobooks” in your way to work. There are thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcast that could literally change your life.
And remember “You don't choose your destiny, you choose your habits and they choose your destiny”
Keep it up
Sergio