I want to be productive

If you're reading this website, chances are you're already searching for the path to be more productive.  While there isn't a magic pill or a single secret trick that will instantly give you the motivation and energy to be the most productive person you can be, there are certainly tricks that can help you reach a higher level of productivity.

No, it's not about putting post-its all over your body.  It's about 1) reducing stress and 2) achieving the feeling of accomplishment.  But how can we achieve those 2 goals?  If you think about some of your most accomplished days, those days are typically days when you've crossed off the most number of items off your to-do list.  Notice I said the most number of items.  That doesn't mean you've done the most important things (though you certainly do not want to have completely pointless items on your daily to-do lists).

The psychological trick is that you will feel most productive and less stressed out when you finish a large quantity of tasks.  This has a bad flip-side, namely, you will be extremely stressed out when you have done very few items and you still have a large to-do list (again, even if those items are unimportant).  But the good news is that you can trick yourself into being more productive by putting down a lot of minor tasks on your to-do list and cross them off as you finish them.  For example, as insignificant as it maybe, you can put down 'call back Ron' on your to-do list if you've been meaning to catch up with a friend.  Or maybe you can add 'check phone bill' on your list of things to do.  These might be small, nagging items that you have been meaning to do for a while, but you didn't think they were worth putting down on your to-do list.  Now you know better, as finishing those tasks can often give you the jump-start you need to get your day going!

Now some of you nay sayers will say that one should not put insignificant items on your to do list, as they can just be time wasters or a method to procrastinate.  But for the sake of getting momentum to do work, to get motivation to do bigger tasks, and for feeling like you can take on the day-- well, then those minor tasks you crossed off on your to-do list have a good purpose.  This is the same reason why you will read a lot of productivity gurus talking about reaching for the low-hanging fruit on your list first-- the more you can cross off, the better you feel about your day.

Try this trick out and let us know how it works for you in the comments.

A quick and healthy lunch that's cheap.

Here's a great video on how to make a quick and healthy lunch.  It's a sardine sandwich!

• It takes only a few minutes to make
• It's packed with omega-3, lycopene, and vitamins
• You can get cans of sardines in tomato sauce for 70 cents or less

It's not as fishy tasting as you might expect (it actually tastes less fishy than canned tuna, believe it or not).  If you're on a low budget, but you still want to eat healthy, give this recipe a try and let us know what you think!

Travel with just your carry-on.

I came across a great website that follows the same philosophies we talk about in this blog-- minimizing waste and maximizing your enjoyment of life.

I urge you to check out this website, http://www.carryononly.com/. Their SlimPacker tool and the building community look like a great asset in the recent days of travel.

A lof of their themes such as being ecologically aware, minimalist, and resourceful, all look like great philosophies to follow. If you know of any other similar websites, let us know!

Television and a DVR

For some of you, countless hours in front of the television may be your idea of a great way to relax. Let's look at television in terms of the 4 basic factors:

Health: Sitting on the couch is not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. The fact is, when you're watching television, you're typically not very active. TV gets a low rating of Health.

Cost: TV can be costly in terms of having to buy a television and buying a cable subscription (yes, you can get television for free via other methods, but that is not often the case). Even if your television subscription is $25 a month (that's on the very low end if you're in a metropolitan area), you're looking at $300 a year that could be spent elsewhere.

Education: Well, this one is where television can offer SOME benefit. If you happen to be watching the Discovery Channel or the History Channel, for instance, the multimedia presentation in front of your very eyes with little to no effort makes TV great in terms of educational value (a high education value). If you're watching mindless television (no need to mention specific shows, celebrity gossip summary shows are pretty high up there), the education value drops to low. Let's give TV an education value of medium to be fair.

Time: Television is time consuming and time inefficient. From watching commercials to just the general value of getting information, television gets a low rating of Time.

So TV isn't great for your health, costs money, can possibly educate you, but is time inefficient. What do you think I'd propose about television?

GET RID OF IT.

There are so many better things to do with your time that are cheaper, take up less time, and are more fulfilling. Examples of what to do instead are coming up, but you can see why television is just not worthwhile if you want to streamline your life.

If you must have television in your life, the only way you should go about it is to have a Digital Video Recorder to go about skipping commercials and allowing you to watch television when you want. I'd highly recommend TIVO which has the slickest interface of all DVRs I've used, although the cost of a monthly subscription may outweigh the benefits of having the DVR. As you'll see in future posts, the time factor can be quite an expensive factor, and often the cost to maximize your time may be prohibitive depending on your financial situation. Interestingly, your financial situation largely hinges on your education. Interesting how this all ties together, isn't it :)

How to Streamline Your Life

What is life about? What is the meaning of life? How can I make sense of it? I may not be able to fully answer those questions, but I can lead you in the right direction. I believe everything in life can be narrowed down to the following attributes:

1. Health


2. Cost


3. Education


4. Time

If you can break down your everyday life into those 4 fields and you can streamline those factors, everything else of happiness will follow.

Interestingly, these 4 factors are often in conflict with each other. Let's take the example of food.

Fast food is cheap (low cost), quick to buy/eat (low time), but the health effects are also obvious (low health). You can buy healthy food (high health) at a deli or via pre-made meals (low time), but they are usually expensive (high cost). You could also make healthy food at home (high health), often saving money at the grocery store (low cost) and you learn how to make a meal (high education). But the amount of time you spend to make the food and for cleanup/shopping may make you think of alternatives (high time). Does everything have to be this way?

The short answer is no.

There are ways to maximize the value on each of the 4 items I mention above. And that is what this weblog is all about.

I'll be discussing the best methods to go about maximizing those 4 attributes for your daily life, letting you achive more of what you want and less of what you don't want.

Some of you may ask: what about other aspects? How about the social factor, for instance? How about the energy factor? How about the fun factor? I believe those factors are actually sub-factors. If you can streamline the above 4, you will undoubtedly maximize the value of any other sub-factors, including socialability (e.g., having friends), having energy to do things, and enjoying what you ARE spending your time doing (rather than wasting your time on things that are not fulfilling).

Stay tuned...

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