Combat Productivity in 5 Ways

Here's a great post I just read over at GearFire. It's a simple list of
5 Easy ways to Combat Feeling Unproductive. Go give it a read, and you'll get a nice productivity boost.

This Too Shall Pass

There's a great article I found via Lifehacker. It discusses how to stay calm during an argument.

The basic principle is quite simple: remember that it's temporary.

The article is clear and to the point, so I'll leave it at that. Just be sure to give this one a good read.

Be Mindful and Enjoy the Moment

We are always encouraged to multi-task in today's world. Computers are made for it. Our bosses expect it. Our lives demand. But we're human!

Use your mind

One important key to having a better life is to use your own mind. But you have to use your mind correctly. As humans, we're not built for multi-tasking.

So if we don't multi-task, what should we do instead?

Do one thing at a time

This is the important key to mindfulness. Stop multi-tasking and do only one thing:

The idea of one-mindfully is to do one thing at a time.

• If you are going to eat, eat. Don't read or watch TV at the same time.
• When you are working, work. Don't try to work and worry about something at home at the same time.
• When you are talking with a friend, talk with your friend. Don't try to be on the computer at the same time.

Enjoy that thing

When you do only one thing, you can more fully participate in that activity. By really participating in that thing, you can enjoy it.

Here's a simple example: grocery shopping. I went to buy groceries the other day, and I really just focused on buying food. I tried to pick out good produce, I looked for sales on items I needed, and I actually had fun. The key was that I focused on only one thing.

Your thoughts?

Have you experienced any good examples of mindfulness? Post a comment or track it back to your own blog!

Distractions Can Help Focus

One of the hardest things to do sometimes is to focus. It's difficult to block out things and do what we need to do.

Ironically, distractions can sometimes help us focus.

For instance, doing something a bit different from the work at hand might help stimulate the brain. Try a short little walk or some other type of exercise. Maybe even just a walk down the hall to the restroom.

A classic distraction is to watch a little television. While this can be helpful sometimes, it can also be more of a distraction at times, like right now. It's incredibly hard to write and watch television.

I guess I should choose a better distraction to help me focus. Maybe I should go for a walk.

A Quiet Super Bowl Sunday

Over the past couple of years, I've almost become oblivious to the Super Bowl. In fact, I usually don't even know when it is.

This year has been interestingly different. Because I'm blogging, I'm a bit more connected to the world. OK, I'm really connected to the world. Thus, I knew the Super Bowl was today, and I even knew what teams were playing (to my wife's surprise).

However, blogging leads me to make a new and different observation today. The blogosphere has been really quiet. Yeah, it's a Sunday. Bloggers usually slow down on the weekends in general. But this is much more pronounced than a normal weekend blogging hiatus.

Weirdly, my quiet feed reader today reminds me of this last Christmas. In fact, I think there was more activity on Christmas day than this Super Bowl Sunday. I don't know of an empirical way to measure that, but it would be fascinating.

I don't quite know what this says. Maybe more bloggers are football fans than Christians. Who knows.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Get a Magnetic Board for Easy Notes

I don't know about you, but I can't stand putting holes in my paper and notes with push pins. Thus, I use magnets to hang notes.

This works especially well at home, with my current desk setup. My desk is actually hung on the wall with metal brackets called "standards." Thus, I have metal bars to which I can stick magnets. Also, I have a metal filing cabinet right beside my desk for extra magnet space.

Just what kind of things do I put up there? Usually a receipt or bill that can't get lost will get hung up with a magnet. Right now I have a paper that I really need affixed to my desk with a magnet.

If you're looking for a good note-holding method, try magnets. I love them.

Do We Need Phones?

Seriously, shouldn't we ask ourselves that question? What do we really need phones for?

I guess they're handy for communicating with each other. They help us connect quickly and efficiently.

But don't email and IM do the same thing? Why call someone when you can just IM him? Or you can even do a voice chat over the internet.

Maybe the problem is that we don't always have access to the internet. But we usually do, don't we. Maybe we're just too connected with people. Do we really need to be able to call people at any time of the day? Who knows?