be productive anywhere
[WHAT]
- ] by Dmitry Dragilev @zapier.com - Dragilev explores 8 methods to help increase your remote work productivity
[WHY]
- ]
[WHERE]
- ] READ THE FULL ARTICLE
- ] https://zapier.com/blog/productive-remote-work/
[WHEN]
- ] 2016-10-28
[EXAMPLE]
After years of working from coffee shops and couches, there's one thing I'm certain of: working remotely is hard. Incredibly hard.
On paper, it sounds all rainbows and unicorns—you get to choose your own hours, you don't need to deal with a boss looming over your shoulder, and you can even work in your pajamas.
But working from home can just as easily be defined by poor productivity, low energy, and the slippery slope of procrastination. You spend half your time battling distractions, and the other half fighting off the guilt that comes from giving in to those distractions.
- Start Your Day Right
- ] Besides the usual—like exercise, diet, and meditation—there are four habits I've developed that help me start my days right. ] start as early as possilbe, ] make your bed - first thing, ] drink a glass of water, ] prep for success the night before - ex plan your todos, clear desk of distractions, prep meals
- Change Your Work Environment Regularly
- ] I spend most of my days working from my home office. But sometimes, I head over to a coffee shop or local co-working space to change my work environment. Contrary to popular belief, a bit of ambient noise—the soft chatter inside a coffee shop, for example—can actually increase productivity.
- ] famous Hawthorne Effect, where people improve their behavior when they are being observed. one reason why people working from co-working places report a 6-7 point improvement in productivity.
- Understand Your Willpower—and Make Better Use of It
- ] Research shows that willpower, like energy, is a finite resource. You start every day with a limited quantity of "willpower points". As you move through the day—making (and putting off) decisions—you spend those points. Once you're depleted, you're prone to temptations and distractions.The key to productivity is to manage these "willpower points" so you have more energy for making hard decisions (and ignoring distractions). See example techniques below
- ] "choosing the path of least resistance". Instead of fighting off temptations, you remove them from your surroundings altogether. No temptations, no willpower wasted. EX dieters dont keep ice cream in your freezer, EX wasting time on SM, dont keep tab open
- ]"Design your environment to prevent failure" - When I walk into my office every morning, I have three things already setup for me: ] laptop, ] to do list, ] primary work tools - all up & ready to start - By designing my work environment this way, I hit the ground running instead of fighting off distractions. This conserves willpower and ensures I don't lose momentum.
- + REF Learn how to strengthen your willpower with our guide to building perseverance and avoiding distractions.
- Keep Your Work and Personal Spaces Separate
- ] When you're working from home, it's easy to curl up in bed with a laptop and pretend that you're "working". I should know—I did that for years. I had my biggest productivity gains when I started treating my work and personal areas as separate spaces. I used my bedroom just for sleeping, the living room for entertaining friends, and built a separate home office just for work. This helps set the frame for improved productivity.
- Make Better Use of Productivity Tools
- ] Every productive person I know has their own “recipe” of productivity tools. Some of them keep it sparse, using a couple of tools at most. Others use complicated combos to keep track of everything. These may include ... ] bg music, ] to do list, ] industry specific, ] kanban boards ex trello, ] mobile automation ex tasker, ] distraction blockers
- ] + REF - app roundup and reviews - https://zapier.com/zapbook/reviews/
- A/B Test Different Productivity Methods
- ] The pages of the web's most popular blogs are packed with "game-changing" productivity techniques. ex ] Pomodoro ] GTD, ] ABC & Pareto Principle
- ] the problem: These techniques rarely work for everyone
- ] Instead of forcing one method to fit your work style, try A/B testing different time management techniques on yourself. That way, you're not flying blind, and you can zero in on your perfect system for personal productivity.
- ] try out technique A on Day 1 and technique B on Day 2. Track your mood and productivity over a couple of weeks and you’ll get a fair idea of which technique works better for you.
- ] + REF https://zapier.com/blog/task-management-strategies/
- Track and Gamify Your Productivity
- ] There's a simple maxim in management science: what can be measured, can be improved. This applies to productivity as well.
- ] If you track how many hours you’ve worked, your mood, and your number of tasks completed, you can spot weaknesses and improve your performance.
- ] Once you have data, you can even up the ante by gamifying productivity—say, rewarding yourself with a favorite treat if you exceed 8 hours of work for 5 days in a row.
- Build Habits with X-Cards, aka the Seinfeld Technique
- ] Most of these tactics require making a new habit—the holy grail of productivity. So, how long will that take? published study concluded it takes 2 months on average before a new behavior becomes automatic—66 days to be precise.
- ] One way to measure your progress is by using the X-card technique. (Some people call this the “Seinfeld Technique”, named after comedian Jerry Seinfeld who wrote one joke a day—every day—to hone his craft.)
- ] The technique is simple enough: start by creating an “X-Card”, an index card divided into a 7x7 grid of 49 boxes. Or, you could use a dedicated app like 7 weeks. On top of each card, write the habit you want to stick with. Every time you stick to that habit, you mark it with a big X in one of the boxes.
- ] But here's the catch: you need to keep the streak alive. Building a habit means taking the same action every single day. Whenever you need a little extra motivation, remind yourself that missing an X means your streak is busted, and you'll need to start from square one.
[HOW-TO]
- ]
[REFERENCE]
- ] SRC = best-of-hacker-news-2016-09-10,(151)/comments(48)
- ] https://zapier.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-remote-working/