10 Ways to Kill the Distractions and Supercharge Your Productivity

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PRODUCTIVITY

10 Ways to Kill the Distractions and

Supercharge Your Productivity
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10 Ways to Kill the Distractions and Supercharge Your Productivity

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Image credit: Michael Coghlan | Flickr

FIRAS KITTANEH
CONTRIBUTOR

Entrepreneur CEO at Amerisleep Sleep Evangelist



  +

AUGUST 24, 2015

Technology isboth a blessing and a curse. While we all occasionally find

ourselves obsessing over our Facebook feeds, technology also helps us
perform better at our jobs.
A 2014 survey by Pew Research Center reported that technology has had a
positive and lasting impact on worker efficiency. Forty-sixpercent of
employed online adults say the Internet has made them more productive at
work, while just 7 percent believe it has made them less productive.
Although technology can be a distraction, it enables us to work smarter,
not harder. For the disciplined, apps, programs and tools aid in minimizing
the amount of time it takes to complete certain responsibilities. That way,
we spend fewer hours focused on menial tasks and can allocate additional
effort to completing bigger, more meaningful projects. When we decide not

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25/08/2015

10 Ways to Kill the Distractions and Supercharge Your Productivity

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to be workaholics, we can budget the time we save for sleeping, socializing

or relaxing.
If you use technology responsibly, there are countless ways to
supercharge your productivity. To start, here are nine tips.

1. Keep email in check.

Most of our technology woes come from a perpetually flooded inbox. To
avoid drowning in email, try tools like Sanebox. Self-help guru Tim Ferriss
also recommends checking email twice a day to limit how much it would
otherwise interrupt your work schedule.
Related:How to Finesse the 4 Biggest Workplace Distractions

2. Curate your to-do list.

Whenever possible, avoid generic to-do lists. They often turn into neverending laundry lists filled with trivial items and feel impossible to complete.
Instead, break up big projects into smaller, easy-to-tackle parts. Services
like Asana or Trello allow you to arrange, categorize and weigh the
importance of specific tasks to enable you to better manage your priorities.

3. Read faster.
Average adults read approximately 300 words per minute. Thats also the
rate at which we can comprehend and process most texts. That said, there
are plenty of opportunities where you might want to quickly read (or skim)
documents. Sites like Eyercize or Spreeder allow you to copy-and-paste
text to power through longer articles or books.

4. Invest in email tools.

Whenever you communicate with customers, sales prospects or vendors,
you are guaranteed to run into a scenario where you will need to follow up
with them en masse. To avoid the headache of doing it manually, take
advantage of powerful email marketing services like Customer.io, Klaviyo
or Vero.

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25/08/2015

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5. Put social media on a schedule.

As much as you might like tohang out on Twitter all day, you dont have to
to engage your followers. Apps like Buffer, Foster.fm and Tailwind allow
individuals and brands to schedule social posts to Facebook, LinkedIn,
Pinterestand Google+ days or weeks in advance so you can consistently
feed your followers content they will love, even when you are away from
your desk or are on an island vacation.
Related:Eliminate These 8 Distractions That Are Killing Your
Productivity

6. Take keyboard shortcuts.

Coding Horror author Jeff Atwood believes, One of the quickest ways to
increase your productivity on the computer is to go commando: stop using
the mouse. Most people couldnt imagine doing a thing without their
mouse but a few simple keyboard strokes can often accomplish the same
goals and cut your reaction time in half. And if you spend a lot of time using
Excel, be sure to practice these keyboard shortcuts too.

7 Track your time.

Your time is valuable. It can sometimes be frightening to see how much
time youve spent on various activities. Quantifying thehours you spend on
Facebook each day, orwatchingHulu and Netflix on the weekends,
develops your self-awareness about computer usage habits that diminish
your productivity. To regain control of your time, use tools such as Due,
RescueTime or Wrike.

8. Use templates.
We mostly don't realize the absurd amount of time we waste repeating the
same actions over and over again. Whats nice about technology is that we
can always eliminate redundancies. Typing the same copy into an email
may seem easy enough, but having various templates for the different
kinds of emails you plan to send can save you hours each month. Business

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documents do not necessarily need to be made from scratch each time

either. If you or somebody on your team has already invested the time in
building something, make an effort to recycle it. Doing so helps create
brand consistency and saves you a ton of time.

9. Work in the cloud.

These days, lots of workers spend a majority of their time on-the-road or
telecommuting. So, while you are on a plane, train or bus, are waiting in
line for something, or staying home to work in your pajamas, you should be
able to get real work done.
To access all your files anywhere where in the world, you will need to
upload everything to the cloud. Services like Box, Dropbox and Google
Drive make it easy for consumers and businesses to securely save and
store documents, spreadsheets and presentations theyll need to stay
productive wherever they are.

10. Ban it from the bedroom.

Finally, one of the easiest ways to be more productive is simply by
restricting use of technology in the bedroom. By keeping your phone and
laptop out of your sleeping quarters, you get a better nights rest and wont
be tempted to work the graveyard shift.
Technology is powerful and can enhance both your personal and
professional lives. That said, dont let it become a distraction.
Related:How to Get a Better Night's Sleep (Infographic)

PRODUCTIVITY

The 3 Conditions You Need to Get

'In the Zone'
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249686

25/08/2015

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Image credit: Andrew Adams | Flickr

JEFF BOSS
CONTRIBUTOR

Adaptability Coach, Writer, Speaker

AUGUST 21, 2015

Its easy to get "in the zone" when youre doing something you enjoy.
Whether its a hobby or work task, when youre in flow -- the mental state of
optimal performance -- you tend not to see anything else, but notice
everything.Yes, its weird.
I remember being in this state of alertnessthe first time I got shot (yup, the
first time): actions and perceptions slowed andawareness increased.
Surrounding teammates seemed to move quickly while I moved slowly -come to think of it, maybe thats why I was the only one shot (thats a joke).
The state of flow is indicative of a growth mindset, and if companies want
to reach levels of optimal performance, they need to build a culture where
flow overflows,where employees are pulled into work because they want
to work rather than pushed because they feel they have to.

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25/08/2015

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Related:All About Wellness: 5 Steps That Will Make Your Company

More Productive
Sound impossible? It isnt.
In fact, there are specific criteria that determine flow and, to my surprise,
they dont include alcohol (thats another joke). Here are three
characteristics of flow to consider before approaching your next task:

1.Clear goals
With clarity comes certainty in knowing what success looks like. When you
have a clear picture of the ideal end state, its easier to make course
corrections along the way when you get off track. Clarity forces your
attention to be laser-like.
The famous Gorilla experiment is a perfect example. Participants were
asked to watch a video clip of four people and count how many times a ball
was passed between them. At the end of the clip they were asked if they
noticed anything out of the ordinary -- such as, say, a gorilla? Surprisingly,
nobody noticed a large furry animal completely out of his habitat because
they were so focused on the goal of counting.
The takeaway here is this: When your mind has a clear goal, your focus
becomes so acute to the extent that nothing else matters, and all youre
left with is the present.
Related:6 Life Hacks Learned in Prison That Will Maximize Your
Productivity

2. Immediate feedback
The advantage of receiving feedback in the now is that it keeps your
attention in the now, thus allowing you to stay focused on your task without
letting it wander. With feedback being immediate, you can make course
corrections more easily and rapidly.

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25/08/2015

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3. A balance of challenge to skill

When you watch an entertaining movie, your attention is queued because
you dont know whats going to happen next. Youre in the moment, your
eyes are as large as saucersand your heart rate is elevated because
theres a degree of uncertainty in the moment. That uncertainty keeps your
attention because you know that resolution is right around the corner.
Conversely, when you already know whats coming next, how much
attention do you pay to the present? Not much. Thats the power of a
balanced challenge to skill ratio.
Stephen Kotler, in his book The Rise of Superman, cites how if a task is too
challenging for your skill level then you can feel overwhelmed, stressed
and just give up. But if there's not enough complexity, you get bored. The
secret is in balance -- much like anything in life.
Finding flow isnt easy -- its what separates ordinary performance from
extra-ordinary. What will challenge you today?
Related:5 Ways to Make Your Employees Happier and More Productive

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249686

25/08/2015