Because there's only 24 hours in a day, we know how important it is to maximize our productivity. And some people are able to get A LOT done in those 24 hours.
When it comes to productivity, usually we look for ways to try and squeeze more action into the same amount of time.
But what if we could find extra time we didn't even know was there? Sounds impossible right? Most people actually have significantly more time available to them than they realize.
It's just hiding.
Extra time is hiding in all the minutes lost with our faces in our phones.
A lot of us are addicted to technology. And most either don't want to admit it, or don't see it as a detriment.
But the reality is there are valuable minutes being swallowed by technology, probably more than you'd care to admit. Minutes that could be used gettin' stuff DONE.
Those minutes add up.
If you got even some of them back, imagine how much more you could get done.
So here's 4 ways to unplug (at least somewhat) and radically improve your productivity:
1. Remove email from your phone.
Yes, you read that right.
Remove email from your phone.
Do not conflate responding to email with being productive. I promise you, checking your email 10 times an hour is unnecessary.
It’s a soul- and productivity-sucking distraction from the things that actually do demand attention for progress.
You’ll still have the ability to login through your browser if absolutely necessary, but checking email only two or three designated times a day from your laptop will massively improve your ability to focus on more important tasks.
RELATED: 3 Productivity Tools That Are So Helpful, They Almost Put Hours Back in the Day
2. No phone in the bedroom.
Sleep quality and quantity matters, both for your health and your productivity. Having the phone on your nightstand impacts both, and not in a good way. In fact, the blue light your cell phone emits makes it difficult for your brain to understand it’s night.
Put your charger and phone in the hallway or a spare room at night, and set an old-fashioned alarm clock.
3. Delete Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
While you may need to use these for business purposes, most of us use a desktop for that…
Social media is like being an unwitting part of a Pavlovian experiment. It’s nearly impossible to resist that unhealthy addiction to all of the likes and comments on your various social media feeds.
That tiny hit of dopamine you feel every time a notification pops up also distracts you from whatever it was you were doing that mattered in real life. I found myself checking these sites in the middle of conversations with my wife or in important meetings — but why was I missing the opportunity to connect in person?
I didn’t have a good answer.
The solution is simple — delete social media apps from your phone. I can’t overstate the relief I felt after removing Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and email from my phone.
It’s also legit to ignore the siren song of technology altogether and simply be present to the beauty of the world around you for a few moments.
4. Literally block yourself from viewing certain webpages.
Let your smarter self outmaneuver your in-the-moment impulses. You can use a Chrome extension like Block site to prevent yourself from visiting sites that are good for very little beyond serious distractions.
You’ll be surprised at how quickly you forget about spending time on sites where you gain nothing but distract yourself from the more important task at hand and waste precious time in an incredibly short life.
You can read some more productivity life-hacks at Entrepreneur.
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