Issue 44: Productivity Hacks + Atomic Habits
Simple life hacks to carve out more time in your day
Hi Friends!
We hope you all had an amazing Easter. Now that spring is upon us, we're in the mood to do some spring cleaning. And we're not just talking about cleaning up our homes; we're talking about cleaning up habits in the way James Clear suggested by pruning the rose bush to make way for healthy roses to bloom.
If you've been following us for a while, you know that we're nerds when it comes to self-improvement and staying as curious as we were when we were sprouts in elementary. So, in this special issue, we're bringing you productivity hacks that will keep you on track to where you want to go.
Because where we're going… we don't need roads.
Happy Spring Cleaning!
Marissa and Akina
On Atomic Habits: MasterClass with James Clear
James Clear is an influential author and speaker. He is known for his expertise in habit formation and productivity, which is rooted in his personal recovery journey. His work, particularly Atomic Habits, explores the profound impact of small, consistent actions in achieving success and resilience.
If there's one thing we love, it's a good analogy, and James Clear is clearly great at them.
In his bestselling book Atomic Habits, Clear starts with an analogy that sums up the book's core philosophy. He compares the transformative power of habits to the fundamental nature of atoms—that despite being incredibly small, atoms are the building blocks of the universe. They come together to form molecules, which form everything around us, from the air we breathe to the stars in the sky. In this way, atoms are a powerful force behind the scenes, much like habits in our lives.
This analogy beautifully leads into the title and premise of Atomic Habits.
Clear believes small changes, habits as tiny and powerful as atoms, can accumulate remarkable results over time. Just as atoms combine in various ways to create complex structures, small habits can compound and lead to significant personal and professional growth.
💭 Did you know that…
James Clear's journey to study habits' transformative power began after a life-changing accident. During a high school baseball game, he was hit in the face with a bat, which left him with a shattered jaw and posed a significant challenge to his physical and mental recovery. This led him to explore how small, consistent habits could help rebuild his life and enhance performance and productivity, culminating in his groundbreaking work, 'Atomic Habits.'
Simple Takeaways
Getting 1% Better Every Day
Greatness is Consistency = Consistency is Greatness
Habits matter because every result you get is a lagging measure of your habits.
While willpower is important, it’s best to optimize other factors so you have the least amount of willpower to follow through on your habits.
Goals vs. Systems
People are often too focused on results but not so much on how to get there.
Rather than focus on goals, focus on systems. Here, Clear uses the analogy of an iceberg. Your goals and desired outcomes are what you see on the surface, but the systems below form the iceberg's mass. Those systems are out of sight—a collection of daily habits.
To turn goals into a sustainable system, do the following:
Identify the goals you want to achieve
Break the goals into smaller habits
Repeat daily habits over time to create a system
Don't put pressure on yourself to be perfect. If you lose track, try to reclaim the habit, and don't make slipping up become the new habit.
As you evaluate your goals and develop your systems, ask yourself this question: can my current habits carry me through to my desired outcome?
In summary, small, consistent efforts and system-focused thinking are important over goal-obsessed strategies. For anyone looking to enhance productivity, Clear’s insights offer a practical and transformative roadmap to cultivating habits that lead to lasting change.
We love that MasterClass offers online courses taught by leading experts across various fields, providing unique insights and practical knowledge through high-quality video lessons. It’s a platform where learners like us can access the wisdom and techniques of the world’s best from anywhere. And no, we’re not sponsored by MasterClass.
Boost Your Efficiency: Insights from our Community's Change Makers
🌸 PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE Manami Iijima-Martin’s Tip
Catch your thoughts, and if you find yourself overthinking, acknowledge it, take a breath, and move on. Everything doesn't have to go perfectly.
When you're lost in your thoughts, you will spend your precious time and energy focusing on "what hasn't happened yet." Give yourself five minutes to gather your thoughts and let it go. If that doesn't work, tell yourself to get back to it once you’re done with your task. As a professional triathlete, sometimes it's hard to start a session because it can seem too hard, or I think I'm too tired. Most times, if I start the session, I can get the best out of myself. If it doesn't go as planned, I just move on to the next and not dwell on it.
🖋️ DEBUT AUTHOR Victor Cabinta’s Tip
Inspiration is important for getting in the mood to write. I'm an emotionally driven person, so I have to be in that state of mind to write.
Music transcends me in place where emotions thrive, an enhancer per say, to get me in the mood, so listening to an emotionally charged song helps me create scenes where I think the magic will pop out of the page. Watching scenes from a movie that strikes an emotional response from me does the same magic. (I won’t lie, I love watching “hope-core” videos and see faith in humanity restored)
In general, I move through the world around music, especially cinematic songs, examples would be "golden hour" by JVKE. But my anthem for everything is "My Tears Are Becoming A Sea" by M83. It's like the universe sings for me when I hear that song.
💻 ENTREPRENEUR and OWNER of ETHOS DATA ANALYTICS & BRANDING Joshua Miller
Social Media has become an integral part of all businesses of multiple sizes. It took over the old concepts of print but hasn’t taken over the power of word of mouth, but enhanced it.
I help businesses manage their social media accounts. Social media can take up a lot of time, and I found the key to streamlining social media management. The key process is to first understand the client’s needs, which led me to create a short starter kit for them.
A short starter kit provides a baseline for goals and themes. This will inevitably help save time with templates but will, most importantly, benefit you and the client by distinguishing clear goals and staying on the line amongst those goals.
Lifehacks That Take Less Than 5 Minutes
Choose your outfits for the next day.
Set a timer for five minutes and delete old photos/duplicate photos from your phone.
Pick out no spend days for the month to help monitor your finances.
Do several "one-minute or less" tasks throughout the day. These tasks take less than a minute and can be putting dishes away, making your bed, going through your pile of junk mail, etc.
Set timers for five-minute breaks throughout your day to step away from the computer. This is a reminder to drink some water, stretch, or even dive into a simple meditation.
Week to Weekend Goodies
Zen Habits on his most important productivity method
Supercharge your day by adopting these morning habits of top performing executives.
If you use Notion or Google Calendar, here's a video on some tips by one of our favorite productivity Youtubers (@julesacree).
The power of a power nap.
There's such a thing as good stress.
Cool opportunity: Are there any Fantasy Writers here? Register for Fantasy Writers' Week (April 22-26). FREE and replayable sessions led by award-winning writers on tons of genre topics.
👋 We’ll Catch You Next Week, Friends
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