Written by: Christian Roach, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
It’s 2024 and now, more than ever – we are looking for ways to achieve more in less time and get results. Even if you are not particularly target-driven, technology and AI are helping us to hack into our productivity and output on an unprecedented level.
That being the case, there are still several things we can physically do to make our lives more efficient, so we have more time for ourselves. This article will explore five key things you can start doing today, to have a more fulfilled 2024.
1. Start the day with a set of small and easy tasks
Keep it simple. This will give you momentum and help you to kickstart your day. Something small can be as easy as preparing your breakfast instead of eating on the go or making your bed instead of leaving it as it was, taking your supplements and having a large glass of water to set yourself up for the day. Whatever it is, it needs to set you on the right foot which needs to be your best foot forward.
The analogy that I like to use is that of having a messy room. The question is then – “where’s the best place to start?”
My answer would be with something small and easy like a sock and once you’ve done the socks, move onto something a bit bigger until eventually you reach the biggest thing. This builds momentum, energy and confidence - which is key to getting through the day productively because doing the hardest thing first can often be too overwhelming and hard to do without the series of smaller wins first.
Generating a series of smaller wins is a great way to get your mind in the zone for finding solutions because you’ll put yourself in action mode and be a lot more in tune with what you need to do.
Can you imagine tackling that huge Monday morning board room presentation or meeting without any wins in the bank?
Neither can I. That’s why starting small is necessary when it comes to generating the success pathways in our brains. After all, success is a large series of small wins and repeated actions over time, not a singular act.
Start small and conquer your day, one small step at a time.
2. Instead of focusing on what you don’t want, focus on what you want to maximize productivity
The importance of this is often overlooked by most. The language we use when we set goals for our life is extremely influential in determining our outcomes. The key is to wire our brain to focus on desired outcomes.
This can be something simple such as “I don’t want to have fat around my arms” being changed to “I want to have firm and toned arms”.
These may sound the same on the surface, but they aren’t. One uses what we call move away thinking and one is what we call move towards thinking. Move away thinking focuses on what you don’t want but doesn’t provide means for a solution, it reinforces the problem. Move toward thinking primes your brain to focus on what you want and to find solutions to help you get there.
A great example of this is when a skier in a race doesn’t focus on the trees in front of them but the gaps in between the trees. Inevitably, if you were to focus on the trees, you would almost certainly hit a tree but if you focus on the gaps, you will find them quicker. This is down to your Reticular Activation System (RAS) which is responsible for attention and focus.
Our RAS can work wonders when it comes to concentration. Another great example of this is a Where’s Wally? Or Where’s Waldo? puzzle book. If you are familiar, you will know that once your brain is trained to see Wally/Waldo, it will find him quicker on the next few puzzles. Unfortunately, this is a double-edged sword when it comes down to our focus as if we focus on the negative, we will end up finding more and more instances and references to support our negative view which will hinder our progress and wellbeing.
The key to take away is to get your RAS on side. “Don’t focus on what you don’t want, always focus on what you want” so your brain can find solutions to your problems.
3. If it can be done, do it now
A do it now mentality has a lot going for itself. In contrast, a lot of people will take the line of “if it’s a tomorrow thing, let’s do it tomorrow.” Whilst this is valid in some contexts, there’s a strong argument for if it can be done now and there’s no downside, then do it now.
I remember one instance, a few years ago whilst working as a Gym Manager where my Assistant Manager wouldn’t take empty cardboard boxes to the skip because she was going to get the cleaners to do it. The reality was that the gym was quiet, and the cleaners weren’t in for a few hours so they should have just been taken out there and then, which I ended up doing. The reason being was because I could and it made sense to, there was no need to wait.
This example may seem trivial but it’s also the perfect example because the knock-on effect on leaving out for several hours is that they may not get put away if something comes up and it creates unnecessary mess. It also doesn’t look great from a customer perspective, and it doesn’t look great from a management perspective.
If that example doesn’t resonate with you, I’ll give you another. If you own or work in a business, a do it now mentality is an excellent way to reduce the number of plates you have to spin at one time. If something is done as soon as someone asks you to do something, then it’s done and off your plate. It gives you more mental capacity to focus on the areas that need more focus and attention. This could be that instead of writing something down to come back to later e.g., emailing someone, just do it there and then so it’s done.
This way it’s done and when the person responds, your brain will be primed for continuing to act and it reduces your mental bandwidth whilst the conversation is further along. In the same way some people may say they operate well by having numerous internet tabs open at once, but I have yet to see or experience the evidence to support this. I have also yet to see or experience evidence to suggest that people are largely capable of coming back to tasks that they said they would come back to.
If you get a text, email or task that can be actioned straight away, sometimes it just makes sense to do it so that when you do get home or wherever you’re going, you can focus on yourself instead of having to come back to it when your mind isn’t in the right headspace which will often, lead to you forgetting completely so it’s best to make sure you remember by taking action now.
“If you can do it now, get it done.”
4. Outsource everything that’s cheaper than your hourly rate
If you’re reading this, chances are that you are a busy person. Busy people are always looking for ways to streamline their busyness, assuming it’s the right kind of busy. For me, this means that if my hourly rate is £50 an hour for arguments sake, my decision making when it comes to things will be influenced by this number.
If it costs me £20 an hour to hire a cleaner in the UK and my hourly rate is £50 an hour then it makes complete sense to outsource this and just pay it. This isn’t about a lack of wanting to do it myself or capability, it’s about efficiency. The £20 I spent could be used to make more money in the time that I freed up because of it.
Another example is the dry cleaners. Even though, I can iron my clothes relatively well and it would be free, it’s not a great use of time and the dry cleaners have more skill, experience, better equipment and minimise the risk of damage. This is where risk management also comes in because if I do it myself, the risk of damage multiplies because I am not an expert and this in the long run may cost me more time, money and energy.
I’ll leave you with one final example which is public transport. Sometimes, it makes more sense to get a Taxi/Uber equivalent especially if you are going to a business meeting. Public transport may be cheaper, but it also comes with the unpredictability of breakdowns, lateness and other people causing problems. It can also be less than ideal if it becomes overcrowded and uncomfortable which puts you in a negative headspace.
Another word for outsource is delegation and as you would delegate a lot of things in business, you need to do the same thing for your life in general. Delegating allows you to lean on other people which allows you to focus on the things you need to focus on when driving your business.
5. Be ruthless with your voicemail
This one is a little left field and unorthodox however it’s also proven itself to be highly effective for myself and other people I’ve given this hack to.
Voicemails can be annoying and often a waste of time and for a busy person, this can distract from the important conversation. Therefore, it’s extremely important for us to set boundaries and provide clear communication and action points for those we work with.
A few years ago, I changed my voicemail to:
“Hi. This is Christian. I’m unable to take your call right now and only check my voicemails once a week, on Friday mornings.
If your message is urgent, please send me a text otherwise please leave the following information: your name, number, what you need from me and some specific times and dates I can call you back. You can also reach me on email at christianroach@email.com providing the same information. To ensure our both of our time is used effectively, I will only respond to those who leave ALL of the information asked for.”
What this did was stop excessive calls and it minimised the need to listen to voicemails that weren’t helpful or informative so that when I did listen to them, most of the time – the sender would be crystal clear in communication. It also provided a clear boundary by stating that if you don’t respect my time, you will not get a response. This filtered out low value calls and told people what to do if there was an emergency.
Conclusion
In summary, there are many daily hacks one can introduce into their routine however these hacks are actionable for everyone due to their simplicity and effectiveness. Daily hacks are not there to be substitute a lack of good habits but are there to enhance an already effective routine. Making these hacks last involves making them a habit and habits are generally formed between 21-90 days depending on the frequency and intensity of the habit. I highly recommend giving these hacks a go if you’re looking for those 1% marginal gains to add up over time so you can get ahead of the competition.
Christian Roach, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Christian Roach is the Director of Redefining Fitness – a multi award winning, UK based education and consultancy company. He is the Author of Becoming Superhuman: 99 Ways to Become Your Own Superhero and a highly sought after Fitness Educator and High Performance Coach.
Christian has worked in the fitness industry, internationally since 2009 and ha helped hundreds of clients to improve their health, wellbeing and mindset whilst helping over 2000 aspiring and existing personal trainers to achieve their qualifications.
He is known for transforming the quality of fitness education through defying the norm and creating a learning experience which helps students to become the most inquisitive, confident and successful version of themselves.
