Mastering Productivity, Wellbeing & Generally Kicking Ass

Concept

Concept

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This post is a result of a couple of tweaks I've made to my environment and habits that have seen my productivity increase and an improvement in my mental wellbeing. I want to continue to explore this, which is where this thread comes in.

It is still early days, but I plan to document what I try, and my results in productivity and wellbeing.

The first thing I'm going to do is look at my environment and how it impacts me. Small changes to my environment, can cause big changes to my productivity. If 5 minutes of cleaning my desk at the end of the week means the quality of my work is higher throughout the day, then it is a good ROI.

Throughout this thread, I'm going to use the analogy of the rider, elephant, and the path. For those who don't know what I'm talking about here is a cheery little video:
(I recommend the book mentioned too)

For those that prefer to read than watch a video, Quora has a good explanation:
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-rider-and-the-elephant-metaphor

Actions Taken Already
Over the last week, I've taken a number of actions that have already seen results.

Completely removed coffee from my house.
This is a good example of creating a solid 'path' to make sure the new habit sticks. Instead of just trying to resist coffee, I just threw all coffee in the house out. I knew Concept at 2pm in the afternoon, probably cranky from no coffee would have little to no willpower to resist "just having a little to get through the afternoon". So bye bye coffee. After 3 days of withdrawals, I felt mentally better and didn't get sleepy around the 3pm mark. Just felt happier in general without relying on caffeine.

Started taking creatine again.
This was after seeing this video by Tim Ferris
I already took creatine when I was training for a Brazillian Jui Jitsu competitions, and would notice a spike in focus. Didn't put two and two together until this video. Over the last week, I've taken 5g each morning with CoQ10 (cheaper than ubiquinol mentioned in the video). Already seeing some improvement in my state of mind but will continue to monitor over the next couple of weeks. My performance at BJJ training has improved as well. Also, once I have a little more cash flow, I wouldn't mind trying some of the teas mentioned :smile:

Removed life clutter.
There were things around the house that I would either distract me or remind me of shit not done. This would clutter my mind, and it would take will power for me to either not get distracted or reminded of something that would dampen my mood. This was easy. I spent an hour or two on Saturday either removing these completely, cleaning, or just doing that simple thing I had been procrastinating over.

Website blocker.
This one is self-explanatory. Instead of trying to use willpower to stop myself from going onto sites that weren't immediately productive, I've just blocked them using Stayfocusd. I also noticed that sites I also blocked on my computer I was starting to access on my phone during work hours. As a result, I have also added a website blocker to my phone.

Actions moving forward.
Recording Performance
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be recording my performance. I have already set up email reminders that send me an email at 8am (when I started working) and 3pm (my biggest procrastination time) to check in. I will quickly reply to these emails with a quick check in with how I'm feeling, my productivity and what environmental factors have helped or hindered. Writing these emails should take less than a minute or two, however at the end of the week I look at small things I can change that will have a big impact.

Look at current mental models
I'm sure there is something unhelpful bouncing away in the background there. I will read Ryuzaki's thread https://www.buildersociety.com/threads/psychological-barriers-to-success.944/ and then create a list of actions to take to shift unproductive mental models.

Making changes
I have a number of things I plan to do to change my environment to further facilitate productive actions and mental wellbeing. Some are bigger than others (eg selling old car, and some old furniture stored near I work) so I will be creating a game plan to change those things over time. I will also update this thread as a way to keep me on track, impose some sort of mental accountability, record results, and hopefully provide you guys some value
 
Would be interesting to see how the creatine affects you mentally. (though it's hard to measure)
I actually still have a 500g bag laying in the corner that I only used 2 times. Reason being that I started to get cramps in my leg, which is because I didn't drink enough water.
Even though there has been done a lot of research around creatine supplementation, I'm still scared to take it due to going bald lol
 
Well I was drinking 3L but guess it wasn't enough. Besides that I'm aware that I could solve the cramps issue, I'm more concerned about going bald :D
 
This stuff is extremely down my alley. I've got mild adhd that wasn't diagnosed until very late so I learned a ton of little tricks to help myself focus. Its all about discipline. When I was a freshmen in college I never missed a class. This wasn't because I needed to go to every class or because I wanted to go to every class, I just knew how important habit is for me. My Jr. year I slipped up a bit and it became way harder and more tempting to skip. I'm huge on structure too and trying to make a plan for what I'm going to accomplish, because I constantly get absorbed into some small facet of something and miss out on the big picture / what I was actually supposed to do. I set reminder alarms and alerts that are sort of like focus checks to remind me to be on task. So yeah, good idea with the emails. Some people like me need even more reinforcement.

I make it through the day on stimulants, literally, so I've always tried to use caffeine wisely. For anyone interested, caffeine actually has more of an effect on your body when you're sleep deprived or really tired. Personally I like caffeine tablets, coffee is expensive. You get get tablets/pills for pennies. When I was an athlete I took around 500mg an hour before races.

Nicotine lozenges - these can really boost focus. If you're trying to stay away from any type of nootropic/drug then obviously stay away. Nicotine is also crazy addictive so be smart... it can really boost creativity and usually helps with focus.

Drinking lots of water is huge.

I had no idea that creatine might cause baldness, fuckkk. Well, looks like I'm going to go bald earlier than I had hoped because I take this stuff every day. I'm not always hydrated, (I usually am) but I've never had cramps which is interesting.

I would suggest tracking your sleep. If you want to get high-tech there are phone apps and fitbits etc. Timing your morning alarm with a complete sleep cycle does miracles for me. Getting 4.5 hours at night and then a 20 minute nap at 2 or 3 pm can save me lots of time and make me feel better than getting 8.

Not sure how interested you are in nootropics but there are lots and lots of options if you want to venture down that path.

The thing that I think is so cool about BuSo is how many people do public threads for accountability. I always find that I'm more focused and motivated if I've told someone I'm going to do something. I watched a great philosophy lecture where the guy was advocating people to make as much money as they could and donate 50% to charity instead of going into mission work. People are way too greedy and will often go back on their promise, so the 'program' had a catch -- you essentially tell everyone you know what you're doing, that way you'll get it done. There is a great episode of Nathan for You where he helps people lose weight by making them take a picture of something incredibly embarrassing or inappropriate of them and then seals and addresses it to someone they look up to in their life.
 
I"m cutting back on coffee to use it only for days when I"m actually low on sleep and need it.

My substitute is instead going to be matcha tea, which seems to do wonders. It has a decent amount of caffeine ( a lot more than green tea but less than coffee), and it gives you a nice clean focus (because the l-theanine balances out the caffeine).

Coffee is still great. I use it with l-theanine to smoothen it out. However, if you take it too late you'll mess up your sleep cycle, and it does mess up your vibe quite a bit. It's a tool I'll be using maybe 2 or 3 times a week at most. (for example let's say I go out late on a weekend and want to wake up with 6 hours of sleep instead of the usual 7.5 or 9.)

Also, flux is a major key to ensuring you get good sleep since it blocks out blue light from your laptop late at night.

Another important key to good sleep is eating a few hours before instead of eating right before bed. The former tends to result in better and less sleep. Eating right before bed leads to drowsiness in the morning.
 
Oh, one more easy thing I forgot to add. Cold showers in the morning (and at night if you take one then). After a week or two you'lll get used to them. So worth it. You'll me more alert and focused.
 
I love cold showers and heroic doses of caffeine, the biggest game-changer for me is always pomodoros. As long as I'm disciplined with them. They fall out of my routine again and again, but anytime I bring them back is always a huge boost.
 
From last week
Last week was overall a good week. I was focused and productive for the most part and my wellbeing whilst at work was on parr. However, there is still room for improvement.

On Creatine
@turtle I’ve been taking creatine on and off for competitive sports for years. In that time I have noticed it has impacted my performance not only physically, but also mentally. In this time the only side effects I’ve had have been when I first started using creatine. I miscalculated and had too much in the loading stage which resulted in about 30 minutes of feeling sick in the stomach and my mouth feeling dry for the rest of the morning. Once I reduced the amount of dosage to something more suitable, it was fine. I haven’t had any problems since and still have a good head of hair (no baldness here :wink: )

I’m currently taking 5g of creatine in the morning with one 150mg tablet of CoQ10. I haven’t had any problems with it. In regards to water, I carry a small water bottle with me at all items and just drink when I’m thirsty. No problems there.

In regards to my overall performance, the creatine & CoQ10 combo in the mornings with a multivitamin continues to make a difference. I didn’t take it yesterday as a “break day” and the effects were noticeable. I just wasn’t as “sharp”.

On Caffeine & Stimulants
@Nat I’m trying to stay away from stimulants at the moment. Using coffee as an example, I find that when I’m drinking coffee, my productivity comes in peaks and troughs depending on the amount of caffeine in my system. When I hit 3pm I feel burnt out and I’m usually falling asleep (which I’m finding is not the case atm)

At the moment I’m looking for a consistent and sustainable level of peak performance that doesn’t have huge drawbacks. When I'm regularly drinking coffee, then I don’t have one I find it will result in me being moody and unfocussed. I find that the creatine/CoQ10 combo with a healthy diet and a cup of tea in the morning has been working so far. There are also noticeable effects on my well-being outside of work too. More energy and focus at Jiu Jitsu training, generally happier, increased mojo etc. I’m still looking at how I can improve focus and energy without resorting to stimulants.

@Island I like the idea of smoothening out the hit from coffee. If I do decide to bring coffee back into it, I’ll look into l-theanine

Time Management
@Potatoe Yes, I've been using Pomodoro on and off since reading them in https://www.buildersociety.com/threads/day-22-organization-productivity.1342/. I find they are best when I need to sit down and write content.

Removing Life Clutter
This something I've been consistently changing throughout the week. I've put aside 30 minutes here and there and finished things that have been on my mind for ages (in some cases I've been meaning to clean a part of my workspace for 2 years - did it in 30 minutes and felt instantly better).

Recording Performance
This has probably been one of the best things I have done to increase performance and well-being this week. Each day at 8am and 3pm I'm getting an email which I have automated through ifttt.com that prompts me to write whats working, whats not working, my state of mind, and what prompted that. I just reply to that email (takes less than 30 seconds). I've also automated it so when I send a reply email it is automatically recorded in a Google Spreadsheet - again using ifttt.com. I then review this at the end of the week.

At the end of the week, I read through all my entries. I then tweak my environment, habits, and actions so that it I'm more effective next time around. Even the prompts themselves and getting present to where I'm at have helped me shift my focus in the moment.

I'm also finding the action of writing these things down gives me some sort control. It shifts the focus to what I have control over and can change, giving me a sense of power.In hindsight, feeling a sense of powerlessness has definitely been on my mind, particularly with where I'm out, feeling out of control is a common feeling. The act of recording, and taking action to change it gives me a sense of having at least some control over my life and circumstances :smile:

Actions Moving Forward
Morning Routine
I've got a solid morning routine, however, it can be improved. I've noticed that listening to music in the morning helps, so long as it is the right music. I'll be putting together a playlist today, and putting it on my phone, so I can play it in the morning and put me in a great mood. I've also updated my breakfast so it is healthy, tasty, but also doesn't take a long time to prepare.

For the morning routine geeks (I know you're out there :wink: ) curious to what my current routine is, it's:
  • 7am (6am if I have a big day ahead) Wake up and get dressed for the day (clothes are set out the night before). I'll chuck on my headphones with music at this stage.
  • 7:05: Big glass of water with creatine & CoQ10, and a multivitamin.
  • 7:06: Prepare Breakfast (I try to get at least 20g of protein, 30g of good carbs and some vegetables in there too)
  • 7:15: Eat breakfast
  • 7:20: Put water on the boil & meditate for 10 minutes.
  • 7:35: Prepare Tea
  • 7:40: Drink tea whilst sitting with my dogs (they always put me in a good mood) and writing down 3 things I'm grateful for, 1 thing that will make today great, and my 'why'.
  • 7:50: Prep for the day - turn on computer, review todos etc
  • 8am get started
Continue With Removing "Life Clutter"
I've got a list of things that I'm slowly chipping away at. A lot of these are little things that are making a huge difference. Some are mountains that I've let slip. I'm slowly chipping away at these, some of which I've already nailed. :smile:

Money
Money is tight at the moment. I'm currently on a program set up by the Australian government that supports people starting up their own business. Aussies on here can check out NEIS here. It essentially pays minimum wage to cover basic costs for 9 months while you set up your business. It has allowed me to quit my job so I can focus on this full time. I'm incredibly grateful for it.

It covers the bills, but only just. I was looking at finances over the weekend (rent is due tomorrow), and instantly I felt like shit (queue negative thought spiral). Ultimately, I can be more responsible for my finances. I haven't been tracking it, and so was quite anxious when sorting through it all.

This week I'll talk to my wife and look at our spending habits and how we can change it. Taking responsibility and knowing exactly what's going on with our finances will make far more difference than sweeping it under the carpet. It will also greatly reduce the amount of anxiety and stress I feel around this area of my life.

Other random shit I will look into
 
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From Last Week
Morning Routine
The main things this week that have made the biggest difference in this are have been:
  • Preparing all my meals on the weekend so all I have to do is just wake up and put them in the micowave (saves me heaps of time and effort)
  • Listening to good music in the morning. Puts me in a great mood, and seems to drown out the grumpy ramblings in my head that seem to occur first thing in the morning.
Will definitely keep doing this.

One things that is not working very well for my morning routine is my affirmation meditation. It worked when I first started doing it, however I think it has lost its effectiveness. Meditation has always been a great help to me. I think in this case, its just a matter of changing it up. I'll talk more about this below.

Continue With Removing "Life Clutter"
Going well. My wife has gotten on board with this as well, and has seen a great sense of wellbeing as a result. :smile:

Money
Wow, this is something I realised I have avoided this week. Hmmm...I'm putting reminders in my phone and I'll send my wife a message now to let her know that I want to sit down and plan this over the week. (already done)

Actions Moving Forward
Transcendental Meditation
Has anyone tried this? If not, here is a video I found that explains it thoroughly.

In short, it is a meditation where you just sit and repeat a mantra in your head for a fix period of time. The mantra is a made up word, it has no meaning. This focus on the meaningless word settles your mind.

I've heard about it randomly throughout the web, and on podcasts I occasionally listen to. I've heard good things by some big names in the entrepreneurial realm so I thought I'd give it ago.

I'm going twice a day for 20 minutes. Once in the morning, once in the evening straight after I've finished working for the day.

I already did it this morning. It was different than other meditation I've done. But one thing I noticed is I didn't fall asleep/feel tired as I sometimes do when meditating. I did get a little fidgetty, but not that much and made it through the 20 minutes with relative ease.

I'll keep tracking and keep you guys updated.

Other goals:
  • Reformat/Clean up Laptop (High priority)
  • Get a teammate on board (set up weekly check-in calls) - had a couple of peeps interested. Will follow up this week.
 
On the subject of creatine, just thought I'd mention this. I wouldn't quite freak out about the anecdotes and claims about it's effects on hair loss. IIRC, I think it was just ONE study that showed an increase in DHT, which can lead to hair loss and some other bodily effects in some people. This is out of I think over 2,000 studies on creatine, starting I believe as far back as the 80's. So there is no significant scientific evidence that absolutely demonstrates there is an issue. Also, just because it may cause a moderate increase in DHT levels, doesn't actually mean that every person will experience hair loss. It's largely dependent on individual genetics. Some people take stuff or have diets that cause elevated DHT levels, and never have any significant hair loss. I would just keep it in mind, and if you start to notice your hair thinning out, or a few more hairs than normal coming out, then scale back or stop using it.

Also, one trick I learned about taking creatine, dealing with stomach issues, etc. is first choosing a good quality one. Try to look for one made from Creapure, which is one of the purest brands many other brands source from. Also, and more importantly, try mixing it in room temperature or even mildly warm water. Most just throw it in cold water from the fridge or fountain, but it usually doesn't mix as well, the colder the water is.
 
Myprotein makes great creatine and BCAAs, check them out: http://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/creapure-creatine-monohydrate/10529740.html

10529740-1794394641925673.jpg
 
On Creatine
I definitely agree, a quality creatine is the way to go. In regards to sick stomach, I find having the creatine with some orange juice helps. Whenever I have it in water (warm or cold), it does make me feel queezy. That, and I can't stand the chalky taste of the no-flavoured stuff.


From Last Week
Morning Routine
Transcendental Meditation is good. I'm not noticing a significant change from doing my normal meditation, however including a meditation session at the end of the day really helps. I'll try the Transcendental Meditation for another week to see if I can see anything different. If not, I'll go back to a meditation that I know makes a difference. I will definitely keep up the evening sessions as well. They really allow me to clear my head at the end of the day and switch off 'work mode'.

One of the biggest differences has preparing a healthy breakfast. I just grab a container from the fridge and microwave it. Tired 'morning me' appreciates this, and it gives me an extra 10 minutes in the morning before I start working.

Get a teammate on board
I'm really excited about this. So I've sorted some weekly calls with a good friend of mine to keep each other accountable and on track with things. She's actually been a coach for personal and professional growth, training and development company and can quickly cut through the bullshit. She's a powerhouse. I've helped her out with a number of projects she has done in the past, so she was more than happy to return the favour. This will launch me forward bigtime.

Money
Wow, I really have been avoid looking at my current circumstances around money. I had completely forgotten this and somehow the phone notifications were completely ignored. I've told my friend I will deal with this before our call this Tuesday. I will sit down and go through this tonight.

Continue With Removing "Life Clutter"
This has been great. Made $200 from selling our old fridge and clearing up a bunch of room. Still a lot more to go. I've also emailed our landlord to get things moving around some issues with the house. I'll be doing my tax this week (which will hopefully bring in some more money) and also start looking at where I can improve my health side of things. I've got some old sport injuries that have recently been playing up, and I have been putting off going to the doctor. I'll start making plans and appointments this week.

Actions Moving Forward
As mentioned previously:
  • Get tax sorted this week
  • Book doctors appointment for sports injuries
  • Assess money and come up with budget/plan
  • Continue with morning routine.
 
This week has been full of fuck-yeah moments, and the death throws of bad habits that don't want to quit.

It seems when you play a bigger game, where there is no place for old habits and mindsets, the bigger the fight they put up.

Let's start with the Fuck-Yeah moments

The Week Of 'Fuck-Yeah': Beginning To Kick Ass
So to start off with, I had a number of small wins this week, all from getting in Action around areas I had been avoiding.
  • Did my tax return - getting a nice amount of money returned to me
  • Got my sports injury checked out - not as bad as I thought I would be (huge relief), and I'm now on the mend. Hopefully, I will be back kicking ass next week (pending what the physio says this afternoon).
  • Finished some big ticket items around the house that I'd been meaning to do for ages. - felt lighter after completing them
However, one of the biggest wins, however, came as a result of a number of conversations.

Building a community
One thing I've always wanted to do since moving to Armidale is create an entrepreneurial community and a hub which new members can come in, get support, and have their business flourish. However, there have always been a number of excuses like
  • I don't have time to run something like this
  • I don't have the funds to support something like this
  • Hell, I'm not even making a huge amount of money at the moment doing my own thing, who am I to do something like this.
All legitimate and all full of shit.

Instead of just seeing these circumstances as just circumstances that I would need to work with, I used them as excuses not to do anything.

So when I sat down and asked how instead of if, things started to shift. I looked at how I could have this community happen, and still have integrity around building my business.

I realised I could spare around 2 hours a week on this. That two hours was spent fucking around anyway on random things that didn't make a difference (tv, facebook etc), so why not use it for something that lit me up and put a fire in my belly?

So now that I realised, that I had only 2 hours a week to put towards this, how can I get the most out of my time. Speaking to my teammate who I mentioned in previous posts, I could see that I had it that in order have this happen, I had it in my mind that I would have to take a specific role. This role would be the person that was doing all the organising, event planning, and stuff like that. Well, taking that role would not work with only 2 hours a week I had to dedicate it.

So I began to speculate what I would have to do differently...

To give you a quick backstory, Armidale is a typical rural city where many of the business owners are 'old-school' and are resistant to change. There are, however, thought leaders, and progressive thinkers in the local business community, who are also out there making a difference. I realised, that there are guys already out there trying to make a difference but are doing it alone. Many of them either don't know the others exist or for some reason don't see that they can help one another.

I started to see how I can facilitate building a local community. Instead of becoming another leader of the community working on my own thing, I can actually build a community of leaders, whose then combined efforts will seep out into the rest of the community. It's like getting Iron Man, Captian America, The Hulk, Thor and all the others and creating the Avengers. These guys are already out there kicking ass and making a difference on their own. They each separately forces to be reconned with, but together they are unstoppable. My role would be of Nick Fury. A bad ass mutha fucker who brings them all together and has them working effectively together towards a common goal.

f38d8ddde751b734217a16e45ec81ca9.gif

​
I've already made a number of calls and met up with one guy over the weekend. A fellow digital marketer, he runs with his business partner 4-5 offices in Sydney and other regional towns. He loves the idea. As a result, I've got the contact details of some head honchos in Council, Department Directors at the local university, and about 20 other contact details of progressive thinkers in town. I'll be making a number of calls/emails this week. I've also got a conference call with the local student entrepreneurs club up at the university.

My goal is to have at least 3-4 leaders on the team to start off with. Each leader will have their own project they are working on, and a team to help them. Everything will be moving towards building a community. Whilst I'm not sure exactly what it will look like, my role at the moment is to find those leaders and get them on board and working together in one form or another. It's like connecting the dots.

And an added bonus from reaching out to these thought leaders, is I've already had offers for work on some of their digital marketing endeavours. Whether I take them or not, is an entirely separate question. At this moment I'm sticking to my own business, however, it is good to know I have something to fall back on if things fall through.


Bye Bye Bad Habits
In comparison with all the cool stuff that has happened this week my shortfalls and creeping of bad habits have been not too big a deal. However it does have an impact, and if I let it sink its teeth in it will start to cause havoc down the road.

Emails
I've noticed I've developed a habit of reading emails first thing in the morning. Whilst this in itself isn't a bad habit, I find it distracts me, and I waste 30 minutes or so doing "busy work". It also means my focus is scattered when I start the high priority tasks in the morning, taking me an extra 20 minutes or so to get into the flow of things.

I've decided to block my email programs till about 10am. I start work at 8am which gives me a solid 2 hours of productivity before I can even access the emails. Remove the need for willpower, and just create it so I have no choice but to focus on high priority tasks.

Posture
One thing I've realised is good posture is important to being productive. I find sitting in my chair in the office at home all day means I have a sore neck and shoulders, and occasional headaches at the end of the day as a result. Using the extra money I got from my tax back, I will buy a better chair that is ergonomically better. I will also invest in a better pillow that gives me better neck support. Too often I have woken up with a neck and headache from a bad position while sleeping. This will make a huge long-term impact.

Preparing Meals
This has been a huge benefit and gives me extra time in the morning to do an extra 10 minute of meditation or whatever I want to get me in the mood. I realised how much it helped when I failed to prep my premade breakfasts last week. I would cook breaky in the morning, which required effort which could be used towards work and took 10 minutes out of my morning routine. It may seem like a small thing, but it had large a flow on effect during the day.
 
From Last Week
  • Not reading emails has helped with getting focused first thing in the morning
  • Posture is something I will continue to work on. I'm getting my tax return in the next week or two. I will be using it to get a better chair and pillow. I'm currently at my parents place in Sydney, and used their chiropractic pillow (my mums a nurse and uses these to help with her cronic back and neck pain). The difference in sleep quality has been huge. I'll definitely get one of these.
  • Preparing meals makes a huge difference. Saves time and thinking "what to eat".
This week
I'm already anticipating that my productivity will not be as high due to being in Sydney for a variety of reasons. Either way here is what I'm taking on.
  • Solid 8 hours sleep a night - I haven't been doing this recently, and the drop in productivity has been significant.
  • Continue to build a community of Entrepreneurs. This fires me up, I feel energised every time I've spoken to other local business people, and the way I'm structuring it, it is not taking a huge amount of time. This week I will email 5 business owners to meet up with them next week.
  • Set time limits for specific tasks. I notice that I can let things draw out if I don't set a time limit to have them completed by. I will break down tasks and assign a time limit to have them done by. This is to decrease procrastination and "busy work".
Not a huge week this week. I'll just keep up with what is working and tweak what can be better.
 
Reading some of this thread makes me cringe lol. My body for whatever reason is just hypersensitive to anything that goes in it. My mother can put away 3/4 of a pot of coffee and be cooler than the other side of the pillow. I drink one "small/tall" coffee from starbucks and my ex was ready to break up with me. I get soooo talkative and jittery.

I've rid myself of coffee and alcohol completely (except for a glass of jack daniels at night on a saturday). I don't know the science behind it but the caffeine in tea just seems to be a much more conservative energy option for me. maybe it's a smaller concentration, maybe it's a slower release. similar to a previous user, I was also diagnosed with adhd in adulthood. I noticed after a cup of coffee in certain environments I could all but kiss my productivity goodbye because i couldn't "reel my thoughts in" to the task at hand.

i used to take creatine a lot in my late teens/early 20's but that's because i was a insufferable bro looking for "bench gainz" may want to revisit it.
 
Magnus said:
I used to take creatine a lot in my late teens/early 20's but that's because i was a insufferable bro looking for "bench gainz" may want to revisit it.
Click to expand...
This had me lol'ing. Yeah, pretty much the same scenario with me to begin with. I revisited it when I started doing competitive Brazilian Jui Jitsu. Creatine helps with muscle endurance, and made a big difference on the mat.

Last Week
As expected last week was a ride off. With travelling down to Sydney and half a dozen appointments my routine was thrown way out so my productivity plummeted.

Either way, I kept to my plan
  • 8 hours sleep - made a massive difference for both myself and my wife.
  • Continue to build a community of entrepreneurs - didn't meet up with anyone this week. Due to being in Sydney, however, the council has asked for me to submit some ideas. Pretty cool.
  • Time Limits on specific tasks - on and off. What I did realise is, not only do I have to set time limits for tasks, I need to set times to do these specific tasks. Sometimes if I have to choose which task to do at 3pm when my energy levels drop, I end up choosing none and procrastinating for an hour. I need to take the choice out of it.

Next Week
A couple of tweaks to my routine this week.
  • Plan day before bed. Taking a page out of @Magnus's book, I will plan the following day before I head to bed. I use to do this but for some reason stopped. It helps a lot. I'll include all the tasks I plan to do, the time allotted to do each, and the specific times I will do them.
  • Call 5 local innovators. This won't take long, but it's a passion project that keeps me motivated in my other projects. I find after I get off a 10-20 minute call, I'm full of energy and smash shit out.
  • Regular exercise. I tore my meniscus (cartilage in the knee) a couple of weeks ago which has kept me inactive. This has been driving me crazy and I find I've been fidgety when working, impacting my focus. Whilst I can't go to training, I will head to the gym to keep my fitness up. I will do 1 hour 3 times a week this week.
  • Digital Detox. I've been catching myself looking at gmail etc during the weekends. I'm going camping with friends this Friday and Saturday night. I'll be leaving the phone and laptop at home.
 
Last Weeks Goals
Plan before bed: This has been excellent and has cut my morning procrastination significantly. I've also been setting time limits, and times to do specific tasks. This means I'm not doing easy low priority tasks in my 'high-productivity' times - I'm doing quality work that pushes the business forward.

Call 5 Local Innovators: Done. This has been amazing and has seemed to ripple out. I've had a couple of job offers for freelance work as a result, which is fantastic. I may call upon those later if my websites aren't making enough to support me when my government funding runs out at the end of the year. At the end of each of these calls, I'm pumped and energised.

Regular Exercise: Stuck to the routine. After a month of no exercise I felt it (still sore), however, I felt great afterwards and I have been more focused and relaxed when working.

Digital Detox: Didn't happen. We were supposed to go camping this week, but it rained, so that didn't happen. Caught myself checking analytics and gmail etc. Hmmm, not a fan of this bad habit.

This Week
  • Local Innovators: I've got 3 meetings this week with 3 local business people. Excited and looking forward to it. One thing I've been strict about is having these meetings after 3pm. At the moment, these conversations aren't a high priority in terms of making money. They are a passion project. I've made sure that these meetings are during times when I'm usually not productive anyway.
  • Digital Detox: Short term, I'm going to hand my phone and laptop to my wife next weekend so the temptation isn't there. However, this is just a band-aid solution to a bad habit. I'll look into how I can create good weekend habits to rest, relax and remove myself from 'work'.
  • Continue with good habits: Planning before bed, morning routine, regular exercise, eating healthy, limit coffee intake.
Questions
What do you guys do to completely remove yourself from work, and remove yourself from checking email etc during your weekends/downtime? What good weekend habits do you have to rest, relax and remove yourself from 'work'?
 
Concept said:
This means I'm not doing easy low priority tasks in my 'high-productivity' times - I'm doing quality work that pushes the business forward.
Click to expand...

FlwKYyr.gif


While I'm trying to bust my ass at the weekends at the moment I make sure I get a long run/hike in, a date with my wife and see friends.
 
Cheers @Lloops
Lloops said:
While I'm trying to bust my ass at the weekends at the moment I make sure I get a long run/hike in, a date with my wife and see friends.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of bushwalking as well, however my knee is shot atm (meniscus tear) so walking long distances is out. I have a bike, so I'll see if there is any good bike runs around the area (likely). It'll be good for my knee and get me out of the house as well.
 
Last Week Goals
  • Local Innovators: This was definitely enjoyable. This is starting to get momentum and definitely fuels me. I won't be doing much this week - I'm in Sydney for the week. But I'm meeting up with more people next week. I also have some plans moving forward, which will see this really take off as a potential business opportunity.
  • Digital Detox: This failed. What I realised is I don't have anything organised in my spare time so I gravitate towards checking emails, rankings, stastics etc.
  • Continue with good habits: Yes, except eating healthy. My eating habits have gone downhill in the last two weeks and I'm starting to feel the difference - lack of concentration and less energy.
Yerba Mate
So I ordered a Yerba Mate kit a couple of weeks ago and it arrived last Monday. I've been having fun with it all week. So how does it impact productivity?
  • More energy - I've been drinking it the traditional way. It definitely gives you a good energy kick. I find it doesn't give me the jitters as coffee. It feels more like drinking a lot of green tea - a clearner more relaxed energy and focus. I smashed the majority of a pillar post in one morning - usually it takes 2.
  • Taste - the first couple of sips are bitter as fuck. Just like a really strong tea if you were to leave the bag in 2cm of hot water. (thats 1 inch for you 'mericans :wink: ). I find a dollop of honey with the first pour takes the bitterness off. I find that drinking it over time is quite pleasant. I prefer it over the taste of a long black.
  • Drinking over time - I find the action of pour and sip a lot better than slamming a coffee down in one hit or sipping on a long black over time. I tend to 'graze' eat when I work, so having the equivalent in the form of tea that you sip helps me relax and focus.
  • Caffeine Dependance - I drank Yerba mate every day during the week in the morning to compliment my 'high productivity time'. On the weekend, I noticed it took a while for me to get into the day and i was somewhat grumpy - a usual side effect if I'm use to having caffeine in the morning. Not as bad as coffee, but noticable.
I'll be playing with this over the next couple of weeks. I'll likely use this when I need some extra energy to smash out something specific.

This Week
This week I'm back down in Sydney for second round of doctors appiontments for my wife. I also have two weddings, one on Friday afternoon, so that will eat into my work hours. The general impact of this is I will have less control over my enironment and food options.

Effective Use Of Free Time
One reason the digital detox failed is I didn't plan my spare time. I would finish work and then be 'ok, what will I do now?'. Most of the time my brain is fried so i don't have the energy or will power to actively figure out what to do. As a result I gravitate towards emails, analytics or digital dopamine hits (eg facebook). Not a productive use of my 'recharge time'.

The impact is my focus dwindles during work hours, and I can feel burnout coming if I don't change this bad habit. I will come up with something to change that this week. Maybe I'll take up bike riding in the evenings :wink:

No Sugar
Last week was shit in terms of diet and it shows - Low energy, lack of focus and somewhat moody. This is largely due to crappy eating habits. This week I have little choice over my food choices, but with little choice I do have I will stay away from sugar, milk products and alcohol. The only exception is the two weddings, however I won't drink at those either.

Continue with good habits
Planning the next day at the end of the day is awesome. Specific actions at specific times for a specific period really helps with focus. Will continue with exercise.
 
Garbage in. Garbage out.
This week has been a great example of the impact diet and exercise can have on productivity and wellbeing.

Before I was exercising 4 times a week, and eating little to no 'unhealthy' foods. This week has been the opposite and the results have been significantly noticeable.

My shit diet combined with little exercise had greatly reduced my concentration and productivity. I notice I'm more moody and prone to procrastination. As they say...

Garbage in. Garbage out.

So, if you want to improve your productivity, look at your diet and lifestyle. Sipping on coke and eating chips as you read this? That might be the main reason you have no energy. I'll be changing this up big time this week. Enough is enough.

This week I will:
  • Eliminate distracting substances. I've noticed sugary foods that have crept into the cupboard that weren't there before. I will be throwing all junk food out tonight and getting healthy food replacements
  • Regular exercise. Gym 3 times a week this week. Even if my knee is playing up, at least do some upper body exercises.
  • Bottle of water with me at all times.
  • Get a team on board. Enroll my wife get back on the health train with me. I'm sure she will be up for it. Find others who want to join me at the gym.
Other things to keep on top of
  • Plan free time. This is to stop me from going to the default "check facebook" or other non-helpful distractions. Plan things that actually get me out of work mode and relax and refresh me.
  • Keep to scheduling the day before, with specific time chunks for specific tasks. The only change I will make is to not do this before be. I will do this before 'signing off' for the day.
 
Removal Of Creatine & CO2Q10 = Massive drop in focus.
I had been using a combo of Creatine and CO2Q10 in the mornings with breakfast. When I first started taking these supplements about a month ago I noticed an increase in focus. This week I decided to not take it for the week and see if there were any noticeable changes. There was...

Firstly, my energy levels were fine. I was eating well all week, I slept well and kept well hydrated. The only subtle difference was I didn't exercise on Wednesday and Friday due to my injury playing up. However, without the creatine/co2q10 combo, I noticed my focus over time dropped noticeably. Usually, I can power on consistently from 8am to 3pm with only an hour break for lunch - occasionally my focus starting to fade around 2pm. However, without the combo, I noticed I could power from 8am till about 12pm. After lunch I found I was easily distracted or easily frustrated and would often catch myself procrastinating. Friday was a ride off.

Needless to say, I'm back on the supplements. :smile: I'll report to see if there are any differences once again.

Work life balance.
I'm still finding that without BJJ I'm finding it hard to get out of work mode and out of the house. I will speak to my accountability buddy and come up with something new that I can do to get me out of the house and out of my head. Exercise helps do this, however without people to do it with, I'm finding it boring and takes willpower to get me to the gym (which, often at the end of the day, comes in short supply). This will be a big priority this week.

One last note.
Something awesome that happen as a result of reaching out to local innovators is I have been asked to come to a morning meeting with local tech leaders and 12 Cisco technicians. The breakfast will aim to share knowledge and experience of the challenges of building a regional digital economy and look for opportunities for future partnership and collaboration. Looking forward to this :smile:
 
So these last couple of weeks are a great example of another giant red flag @Ryuzaki mentioned in his
Psychological Barriers to Success thread.

Probably when I needed to reflect and plan my habits the most, I decided I didn't need to anymore. The result, a plummet in productivity and burnout. Funny that...

Anyways, I'm back and promise to update this thread weekly once again as a form of reflection and accountability.

Health
A mix of Christmas, burnout and injuries has meant my health is probably the worst it has been in years. I plan to do what I can to get this back on track.

Eat healthy
This is a great example of garbage in, garbage out. I've been eating crap and my energy, productivity and mental wellbeing is impacted. I get 2 hours into a work day and I can't concentrate...usually I can last triple that.

I'm going to go back onto my old competition eating routine. This is an incredibly clean way of eating, but it will definitely kick start my body back into action. I will do this for the rest of the month. The only exception will be next week when I am back in Sydney for my dads bday and see my brother off at the airport (he will be in South America for a year)/

Get Moving
I got an MRI to check the progress of my right knee. The meniscus has fully healed (Incredibly good news). But 3-4 months of little movement, means that I have to build up my knees strength, mobility and stability. I will be seeing my physio next week and come up with a routine to build this up.

In the meantime, I've started a morning yoga routine. This helps get the blood pumping, my body moving, flexiblity, strenght and stability. It's a light workout, but it is helping to loosen everything up again. It also double as a meditive and breathing exercise.

At the end of the month i will do a couple of private lessons with my Jui Jitsu coaching to 'test' my knee (pending physio approval). This light and controlled training environment will be a good start to ease myself back in. But that will be next months focus.

Cut the caffeine
I'm back on the coffees. I'll cut these out totally. This week will be a morning Yerba Mate only. Next week I will cut out all caffeine (including tea) completely.

Recreate my environment
I have a unique opportunity over the next couple of weeks. My wife is overseas studying for the month, and my housemate is also overseas with his family. This means I have the house to myself.

I'm going to use this opportunity to test some big changes in the house to see how it impacts general wellbeing and the environment of the house. There are some things that whilst are bearable I've been wanting to change for a while. This will be the perfect opportunity.

I'll be making a lot of these changes as I go this week.
 
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