There are few things I enjoy more than reading something and testing it. Through this process, I have built up an arsenal of techniques, tactics and strategies that I routinely use to make things easier.
There are plenty of other techniques that I have found that are highly effective – most of them become tedious or present so much effort that I fail to do them consistently. These ones, however, are so easy that I am able to keep them consistently without much thought.
Below is a collection of “Rapid Fire Hacks”. These are really easy to test and highly effective. Combining several of them will compound to even greater benefits.
Pick and choose from the list below, and I’m sure you’ll find something useful.
Working: Aim for Deep Work.
Deep Work, the term most associated with Cal Newport’s best-seller of the same name, is one of the best hacks that I have found to increase my output when working. I easily find a 10x output across both quality and quantity with this compared to when I am operating doing “Shallow Work” – times when I am distracted, have something on in the background, multitasking, etc.
Here are a few techniques that I use to achieve Deep Work with more ease, and improve my working in general:
- Listen to the same song on Loop. I got this one from Ryan Holiday, and it honestly works a charm. It’s like a short-cut to achieving the Flow state that is so valuable. All you need is a song and a pair of headphones and you’re off to the races.
I use this with two variations: when learning / reading, I use a song without lyrics. When writing / journaling, I use a song with lyrics.
I tend to work in pomodoro sessions – of either 25 minutes, or 50 minutes. You eventually forget that the song is on and it helps establish a rhythm, but I still like to switch to a new song at the end of each session.
- Use XYZ as a placeholder. I cannot tell you how much this has saved me in my own personal writing and my University work. Every time I hit a snag, be it forgetting an exact term, not knowing a source, or just not liking the way something is written I use this technique.
Often it’s as simple as this, (XYZ – Don’t like the way this is written, clean it up.), but it helps me keep momentum and makes my editing ten times easier because the first thing I start with is to search the document for XYZ and methodically work through and clean it all up.
- Write from a skeleton. Another writing hack since that’s most of what I do at University, but you should write from a topic skeleton – just a collection of headings, with relevant sources, passages, lines and ideas beneath them.
Not only does it improve the structure and coherence of your writing, but it’s a quick fix for writer’s block and needless procrastination. You always know what’s directly ahead and have your material prepared for you.
- Put your phone out of sight. Common sense advice but such a major difference. It’s not enough to put your phone on Do Not Disturb (although, you should do that too) but by putting it out of sight you remove all the habitual temptations to check it.
Keep it in another room or in a drawer, and watch your productivity skyrocket.
- Keep a Distraction Sheet. We are more often than not our worst enemies when it comes to distractions – we remember a task we need to do, a message we need to send or a topic we need to google.
Don’t break your concentration – instead keep a sheet of paper on your desk and record every distraction that occurs. Write it all down and check it once your pomodoro session is over or your task is complete.
(As a side note, a pocket notebook comes in handy here because you can just record them in there and forget about it.)
Productivity: How to be effective and efficient.
I have tested entire systems of personal productivity – but they end up either being too tedious or difficult to maintain. Instead, here are some simple tips to boost your productivity noticeably overnight:
- Nightly Notecard System. I have written about this before in both my newsletter and as part of my Killing it with Kagan series. Honestly – it’s such a simple and powerful life hack.
Keep the list small – with a max of five tasks. I like to have One major, two other important ones and two other lighter tasks. This system ensures that I make each day as productive as possible and stop stressing over when I am going to do things.
However, this system only works well if you keep to a simple rule: Whatever you put onto the notecard, MUST get done that day. No excuses.
It can seem a bit intense / fixed, but it helps you ensure that you remove the stress of the tasks and that you only record the things that you must get done / deeply desire to get done.
- Use simple questions. I am a big fan of finding questions that can improve my life just as much as answers.
Two that I am really using a lot at the moment are:
- If this was the only thing that I got done today, would I be satisfied?
This question comes from Tim Ferriss. I use this one to constantly reflect before listing my major task the night before. If it’s a yes, I make sure that I put that on my list of to-dos.
- Am I being productive or just active?
I liked this question, from the 4-Hour Work Week, so much that I actually set it as a reminder – so now, on the hour mark of every hour, my phone and laptop buzz with that simple question.
It makes it far easier for me to stay on task.
- Get an Accountability Buddy. This is another ridiculously simple trick that I have found very helpful. I use the site Committo3.com to list my three important tasks every day and check them off.
I find this works best when you do it with someone you respect. For example, I do it with my friend Elijah whose opinion I value greatly and who will follow up if I leave anything incompleted.
Overall Life Improvement:
- Journal Daily. Journaling is still – even with the amount of people recommending it – one of the most underrated habits that you can do. Putting pen to paper for 10 minutes is worth 10 hours of just thinking on a problem.
Try it for thirty days – every morning to clear your mind and every time you find yourself overthinking or struggling with a problem. Trust me, you won’t want to give it up.
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The final Rapid Fire Hack that I have is Test things.
Pick one or a few of the hacks above and test them for yourself. Some might not work, but others will. You won’t be able to radically improve your life until you make a habit out of testing these different ideas.
Zachariah Lewis 