Make each day, a productive day!

This post got a little lengthier than I expected. Please have 20-30 minutes to read this. I apologize now only if at the end you find out that your 30 mins got wasted. 🙂 haha

I have been spending a lot of time lately reading news, articles on Linkedin, mindtools, and some subscribed newsletters. And many times I would jump from one topic to another then back to work and then again something comes up, I read another article or news, etc. 

So thought of sharing a topic where I can talk about a perfect day, how one should spend time, what should be minimum things one needs to achieve in a day, and more importantly, get some feedback so if this is not correct, I can learn something from your guys 🙂

Many experts talk about what should be done daily apart from your regular office work and how you should manage your day. Some people from their experience share their view on work-life balance, completing what you decide on a regular basis, etc. So I thought it will be really great to kind of put everything together and see if it makes sense. Or is it too ambitious to do all these things on a daily basis? Or you just have to take everything that comes on your way as a new experience and tackle it with your ability and your thinking during that time on that particular day.

So let’s get through each item one by one and see if it’s a good idea/can be done/even possible for all.

1. Start your day early.
   1. It’s not easy for everyone to do this. For example, if your work involves working late nights with clients somewhere in different time-zones than yours than you don’t have a choice.
   2. Or some people are more productive at night time (Yes, seriously :)) than in the afternoon or morning. 
   3. But in general, it said that, if you start your day early, you can get more work done. You are fresher. You get more confidence. 
2. Sleep on time.
   1. Decide a deadline for that. Make it a habit. On average you need at least 6-7 hours of sleep. So make sure you get that.
   2. Some people sleep only for 4-5 hours. But still, they are like super active….. !! Not sure how do they manage it. If you are reading this, man… please share how do you do it :P. [Reminds me of ‘How do they do it” program on discovery channel]
3. Physical exercise in the morning.
   1. I think this is necessary for everyone to find some time to do physical exercise.
   2. You can include running, stretching, yoga, etc whatever you can to loosen your body. Include some breathing exercises if you have some more time. 
4. Meditation or Pranayam.
   1. Do this 10 mins in the morning. 10 mins in the evening.
   2. To increase concentration, its necessary to understand why our mind gets distracted? Because of thoughts. 
   3. Meditation is one way by which you can increase your concentration and lessen your thoughts. You can’t avoid thoughts completely. Not possible. 🙂
5. A power nap of 15 mins in the afternoon.
   1. Somewhere I heard, not sure who told me but 15-20 min of sleep in the afternoon is like 4-5 hours of sleep at night.
   2. But I do believe that you become fresher if you get some time to take rest in the afternoon. The second half of your day can be as much productive as the first half of your day.
6. Reading a book regularly.
   1. Why? For Consistency. Regularity. 
   2. This is for consistency. You do one thing FOR SURE every day. What is it? You read a book. That shows one task if given to you, you do it regularly. 
   3. Take any good book you like and make sure you read it. Some people do this at night before going to bed or some people do this in the middle of the day.
   4. For example one of my colleagues used to go out of the office at 4 pm, he will smoke and read a book outside :P. Every single day. But yes, for all of you out there – DON’T SMOKE >:(
7. Task list in the morning
   1. Write it on your notepad that I shall complete these 4-5 items from my office work and these 2-3 items from my personal to-do list EVERY MORNING. 
   2. Keep track of your time and see it if you can do everything you have decided in the morning. Later at night, you can retrospect, on what all you did, you did not and WHY.
8. Your calendar for 2-3 months
   1. Have a google calendar view or another service, where you can see your next 2 months in general.
   2. Like do I have any holiday trip coming up, marriage to attend or office visit or game tournament or event coming up, etc.
   3. This will give you a general idea about your schedule. So that you don’t overbook yourself for multiple things.
9. Walk at night
   1. I have talked about doing retrospection at night before you go to bed, but you can do this while you walk at night (if alone).
   2. Otherwise, also it’s a good idea to just relax and walk at night with your friends/family members.
10. One new face every day.
    1. Write about this somewhere. I knew Mr./Mrs so and so today.
    2. This can be someone you met in person or read about him on internet for the first time TODAY. 
    3. But make sure you know one new person every day. More about this later. 
11. Talk to at least one person from your existing contact.
    1. This can be your friend, distant relative, teacher, professor, etc. Just talk to him/her. Just like that.
12. Blessing
    1. Pray to God, chant any shlokas, mantra according to your religion or pratha. 
    2. Remember your god, parents, take their blessings.
13. Good breakfast is compulsory.
    1. After 6-7 hours of FAST at night, when you BREAK it in the morning, have good food so that your body gets energy back after whatever it has burnt overnight. 
    2. After all, know this fact that you are always LIGHTER in the morning when you wake up (even before using the restroom) and HEAVIER at night. This is proven scientifically.

Special category for people working in front of computer 8 hours a day.

1. Install “say the time” on your computer.
   1. Such plugins make you aware of the time. Set it to every 30 mins or one hour. You also can have a better idea of how is your productivity.
2. After every 10-15 mins, try to do some light exercises.
   1. This will be very simple like rotating your eyes, head movement left-right, arms, hands. Find out more online.
3. After every 30-1 hour, stand up and do some physical movement for 10-15 secs.
4. Get less distracted.
   1. Close down your Gmail/ Facebook/ Whatsapp/ Skype messengers. 
   2. Don’t read the news in between your work. It breaks concentration. 
   3. Decide 2-3 hours fully that you dedicate fully on work and not getting distracted.

Phew….

Now, this is not a generic idea for everyone. It might have become little personal to what I have been experiencing but you can try to modify it according to your background/choice. Again it does not take care of any office work-related stuff like avoiding meetings a day per week or how to avoid a monkey on your back (I have interesting links and stories on this topic. Shall write it later. ) etc. Also, many of the above things might not be even possible for everyone.

Lastly, please don’t ask me, “So do you do all of the above things Kailash?” 🙂 🙂 … coz I don’t. But hey, I want to.

Thanks for reading. I shall edit things if something is not correct. Please comment/email about some other facts that you know or you do and are really helpful, let us know also.

Best.