5 Productivity Tips for Maximizing the COVID-19 Lockdown

5 Productivity Tips for Maximizing the COVID-19 Lockdown

5 Productivity Tips for Maximizing the COVID-19 Lockdown

05

APRIL, 2020

Samuel Osho

It’s Spring, but our roads are eerily quiet. Deserted streets flanked by closed shops. As we attempt to flatten a curve cresting beyond our control, we are told to self-isolate and stay at home. Social animals detest isolation, it’s like cutting water supplies to a city amid a desert.

A house bursting at its seams with panic is the last place to find logical thinking. Panic and fear are siblings, but different in their operations — the crippling effect of the former makes it a deadlier assassin. It shuts everything down. Yes, it’s like turning off the power grid that feeds the White House. It’s scary, I know. But that’s how many people feel right now.
 
But how can we turn this crisis on its head? How can we make the best use of this time?

 

5 Productivity Tips

1. Revive your relationships

Life moves so fast. You work diligently to pay the bills at the price of missing out on the warmth of relationships. This is the time to revive your vertical and horizontal relationships. Connect with friends and family.

Parents have ample opportunity to revamp weakened connections with their children.

As a couple, it’s a chance to find the romantic spark again. Your inner circle is your support system, invest more time to strengthen your bonds.

2. Redeem Lost Time

Time is a nonrenewable resource. Time cannot be created, but it can be redeemed.
This is catch-up time to complete a list of unfinished business around the house. Those abandoned house projects deserve closure. Plunge into these projects and use this extra time productively.
 
If you have a side business, take advantage of the compulsory holiday to finish outstanding tasks. Use this period to prepare for the overflowing demand that might occur after the quarantine.
Smart people replenish their knowledge bank regularly. When you are up against a busy schedule, it’s hard to keep up with books and professional courses. It’s time to finish those books and complete the online courses. Find ways of adding value to yourself with the extra time in your hands — check out study guides for professional certifications that can advance your career pursuits.

 

“Nothing can disturb your peace of mind unless you allow it to.” – Roy T. Bennett.

3. Reassure your employer

There is no better time to show your employer that you are made of gold. As you work remotely, go above and beyond. Show grit and diligence in your daily duties.

Amplify your productivity, let your employer know that working from home is not an excuse to slack. During the lock-down, gain the confidence of your boss in a way that remote work becomes a viable option for you after the pandemic.

Document your productivity metrics during the quarantine. This will come in handy when you start a conversation about working from home on one or two weekdays after the lock-down.

4. Reflect on your life

Block out time on your calendar for meetings with yourself. You need time alone. A quiet moment of meditation. Before the busy life kicks again, reflect on your life. Review your core values, beliefs, principles – do they still drive your critical decisions? Take stock of your life and highlight areas for improvement. Find your true north and stay on track with your life goals.

5. Relax your nerves

For many, this is a down-time. What do you do during downtimes? You refuel, you recharge and breathe.

Your mental health is vital at this time, more than anything. Watch after yourself, remember to eat healthily and get loads of rest. Don’t be too hard on yourself, you can binge on movies and treat yourself to bouts of refreshing sleep.

Conclusion

In a crisis, many things are out of your control, but you must remember that the way to survive is to focus on the things you can control – your attitude, your thoughts and your life.
If you have some other tips that you think will be of great help to anyone during the lockdown, kindly drop them in the comment section below. Gracias!

Beta Life Series – What’s Your Definition of Success?

Beta Life Series – What’s Your Definition of Success?

Beta Life Series

What’s Your Definition of Success?

Samuel Osho

“We fail the minute we let someone else define success for us.” – Brene Brown

It’s a bad omen when all your drives are externally motivated. You squeeze yourself into boxes made for you by others. You wear over-sized garments so you can fit into a particular clique. The summary of your life is living to prove a point to others – parents, friends, rude bosses and petty neighbours. That’s no life at all. It’s a disservice to your being. 

Without your definition of success, success will appear elusive. In split seconds, the accomplishments of others will pull you in a million directions. That’s how distractions morph into confusion. A confused person lacks clarity to achieve goals. In fact, you switch your goals and aspirations every other day. Today, you are heading to Honolulu because Heidi is hitting it big there. Tomorrow, you are running to Rabat because Rasaq secured a job with a Moroccan firm. You have to be frank: what’s your definition of success?

Your definition of success must come from within. It must reflect who you are, what you want, what gives you peace, and what brings you joy. Your interpretation of success is derived from a merger of your beliefs, principles, and values. No one can define it for you. It’s your responsibility — an escape ticket from the chaotic cycle of exhaustion and resentment. No need for it to be glamorous or aesthetic. It’s for you, and it’s your true north. Your life revolves around it. What an excellent opportunity to celebrate your uniqueness and authenticity.

 

To remain unperturbed in a noisy world, your inner energy must outweigh external forces. That’s how to insulate yourself from drifting. Let everyone rant all they want, staying on track with your success goals is all that matters the most to you.

Congrats! You just read the shortest brief on how to live a life of legacy. 

5 Things That Happen When You Take Action – Just Do It

5 Things That Happen When You Take Action – Just Do It

5 Things That Happen When You Take Action – Just Do It!

06

FEBRUARY 2019

Samuel Osho
Nike’s iconic slogan – “Just do it” is a powerful tag line that creates an atmosphere of urgency needed for taking action. It has morphed from a famous motto to an axiom that embodies the criterion for success in life. Life naturally rewards those who take action. Yes, the doers and not necessarily the over-thinkers.

 

No one cares how much you know about writing until you begin to write. It may be hard for people to believe that you are a superb chef until you start cooking meals. In a nutshell, excellent knowledge about a subject matter is insufficient in the school of success, you must take action in the right direction with what you know.

 

When you are on the verge of executing a project, have you noticed how easy it is to be bogged down in the strategy room with volumes of data? You love to stay in the spheres of planning and analyzing because it gives you a false belief that you are making progress.

Often, a movement is confused with progress. When you are moving in circles, you are engaged in an activity because of your mobility, but progress is halted. The hardest part of any project is the launch because it brings you face to face with your fears and doubts. How then do you get results or measure impact when you do everything else but take action?

Unfortunately, the world only celebrates those who get results. I believe that getting results is pivotal to your overall success in life. Results amplify your impact, and it’s a testament to the quality of the knowledge you have amassed.

What are you waiting for? It’s time for you to take action – join a speaking club, enroll in the course, start the business, write the book, do the assignment, call the coach, or start the music lessons.

To be honest, it’s time to take a break from “analysis paralysis” and learn the art of getting things done. High achievers master the art of ruthless execution.

Taking action triggers a chain of reactions that will lead you to your success. These are some of the things that will happen when you begin to take action despite your fears.

5 Things That Happen When You Take Action

1. People take you seriously

Imagine you have always introduced yourself to your community as a writer but no one has seen any of your literary works. You call yourself a writer, but you do everything else except writing.

People won’t take you seriously until they see you do things that resonate with your professed identity. That’s the way it works. If you want people to start paying attention to you and the things you care about, you have to take action – step out today.

2. You attract people with similar goals

What happens when you take the plunge and start your business as a Master of Ceremony for Corporate events? You draw the attention of all the key players on that turf – both the newcomers and the experts.

Taking action means taking your foot off the brake pedal and joining the race to the peak of flawless performance. In this new venture birthed by taking action, you will produce results which will attract others to you. Some of the people you draw will support and encourage you.

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln, Sixteenth president of the United States

3. You learn from experience

Nothing holds people back like fears, doubts, and uncertainties. You are probably afraid that you don’t have enough knowledge required as a baseline for starters. You will be surprised that folks out there with massive influence don’t even know as much as you know. The difference between both parties is execution – they take action.

Former British prime minister, William Gladstone once said, “No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes.” What’s the worst that can happen when you step out? Let’s assume you make a mistake, you fail, and everything crumbles. Well, that’s not the end, you have to learn from your “great mistakes” and keep moving. Brace up and keep learning from your unique experience. There are many things you will learn when you decide to take action and face your fears.

4. You begin to get feedback

As a writer, when you start a blog or publish a book, it’s more like putting yourself out there. Criticisms will come tumbling down – both destructive and constructive. You begin to get feedback about your work from your readers.
In their book, The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson said, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” When you take action, you open yourself to feedback which will stimulate your growth.

 

5. You gain clarity

No one has it all figured out, clarity comes when you immerse yourself in the journey of becoming. How do you know the prospect of a business idea you have not executed? How do you know if a book will sell when you have not published it? How do you know you will be a superb public speaker when you are yet to give your first speech? Taking action is all you need to sift the tares from the wheat. You will be equipped with insight to know what works and what does not work for you.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you have nothing to lose when you take action. Execution propels you on the paths of excellence and clothes you in the regalia of success.

 

What are the five things that will make you happy and drive you towards your overall goals if you can get them done before the week runs out?
Go for them!
Just do it!

Do you have an idea that you would like to share with me?

How to Ace Your Daily Goals Like a Pro: 7 Tips That Work

How to Ace Your Daily Goals Like a Pro: 7 Tips That Work

How to Ace Your Daily Goals Like a Pro: 7 Tips That Work

28

JANUARY, 2019

Samuel Osho

It’s the last week of the first month of the year and you may be lost in mixed feelings. Do you deserve a sharp reprimand for missing your goals or a pat on the back for a job well done? In this self-reflection class, you have to own up and be true to yourself. As 2019 strolls by, are you making every day count? A fabulous year can end in an ordinary way if you lack the energy and enthusiasm to ace your daily goals. 

To be honest, I know how it feels when you have a list of daily goals with unchecked boxes staring at you. If you pride yourself as one, who is a pro in getting things done, missing your goals could be worrisome. To make matters worse, the pace at which your days disappear, you silently wish that you can have more than 24 hours in a day. 

Time is one of the equally distributed resources – everyone has access to the same 24 hours in a day. Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and you all have the same 24 hours but how come they seem to be getting more out of their day. Perhaps there is something they do, but you ignore. 

If 2019 will be different for you regarding results, then you have to be intentional about how to excel at your daily goals. Here are some tips that work:

 

7 Tips That Work

1. Create a list of your daily goals

The rule is if anything is important to you, then you have to write it down. Writing your goals gives you an opportunity to think things through and put these tasks in the front burner of your brain.

A list of daily goals serves as a reminder when you are lost in the pool of daily activities. In fact, research has shown that people who write down their goals on a regular basis are more likely to achieve them when compared to those who just have it in their heads.

I have a friend who has a daily ritual of writing his life goals in a journal every day. He described this habit as a powerful motivator and a superb drive for amplifying his productivity. 

What do you want to accomplish today? Do you have it on a list?

2. Do one thing at a time

The power of focus cannot be underestimated when it comes to productivity and execution. I have found doing one thing at a time extremely powerful and magical.

When you don’t narrow down on a single task at a time, you spread yourself too thin and become less effective. You can’t boil an ocean but can boil a jug of water – focus on one thing at a time, finish it and move to the next task. The Focusbooster app can be of great assistance in this regard. 

In the next thirty minutes, which task are you going to give undivided attention? Just focus and get it done. 

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein

3. Start with the big tasks

It usually happens that when you have a long list of daily goals, you unconsciously start with the easy ones first and end up not doing the hard ones. Often, you are unable to finish the difficult tasks when you follow this sequence because you are usually exhausted even before you start them.

Start your day with the execution of significant and challenging tasks. Expend your fresh energy on the tough assignments and finish them before moving to the easy and simple ones. Interestingly, when you muster the strength to complete an arduous task, you get the motivation to keep moving.

On your list of goals for today, which one is the hardest? Let it be the first task you have to face. Go for it! 

4. Reward yourself

When you get the job done, learn to celebrate your small victories and reward yourself. You deserve some accolades for a job well done.

The Pomodoro technique developed by Francesco Cirillo works based on the principle of rewarding yourself with a five minutes break after twenty-five minutes of uninterrupted work.

Surprisingly, this system works like magic. For example, you can say that you are only qualified to watch your favorite TV show if you score well above 90% in the execution of your daily goals. Watching the TV show is a reward for acing your goals.

The anticipation of relishing a pleasure you derive from your leisure time can be a driving force to complete your daily tasks on time.

After an hour of steady focus on completing a task, don’t you think you deserve a 10-minute break? 

5. Learn to say No

We are naturally wired to say yes to almost every offer. But to stay productive and effective, you must learn to say No. You just can’t accept every invitation to be of help to others.

If it clashes with your schedule, learn to say No or reschedule to what suits your priorities. If you say Yes to people and you don’t have the time to attend to their needs, they will eventually feel terrible when you let them down.

So, why don’t you just say No if it does not work for you rather than trying to please everyone?

Take a critical look at your commitments this week, maybe you need to say No to some of them to increase your productivity. 

6. Starve your distractions

In these days, you have more enemies of progress than you thought. In fact, your most prized gadget – your sleek smartphone can be an obstacle between you and achieving your goals.

Staying on your phone all day can rob you of the precious time that could have been invested in pursuing your goals. When you are set to get a lot of productive work done, you can put your phone in a “do not disturb” mode.

Another way of curbing distractions from social media is to have specific times of the day that you visit these apps on your phone.

Be sincere, do you really need to visit Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn every 20 minutes? Install these apps to block your access to social media accounts for a specific period of time – Freedom and Cold Turkey.

7. Get an accountability partner

If you know someone that believes in you and is passionately interested in your success. You can ask if they are willing to be your accountability partner.

Having someone to share the list of your daily goals with is priceless. At the end of the day, a five-minute chat can be used to evaluate how you fared and right there you will see the room for continuous improvement.

Draft a mail and send to two friends asking if they will be willing to be your accountability partners. You can stick to a daily or weekly review, whichever works for you is fine. 

Conclusion

Success does not come suddenly, but it builds up one day at a time when we imbibe the art of investing heavily in every passing moment. See each day as an avenue to bake a brick needed for building a monument of greatness.
I have listed only seven tips here and this is far from being exhaustive, please feel free to add more tips that can increase daily productivity in the comment box below. Thanks.

How to Crush Procrastination: 10 Tips That Work

How to Crush Procrastination: 10 Tips That Work

How to Crush Procrastination: 10 Tips That Work
05
MARCH, 2018
Samuel Osho
Time is running out, we don’t have control over it and we don’t even know how much we have left on earth. Time is so expensive; no one can afford to buy a second when death knocks or keep a minute in a vault to be used later. In our lazy shrines, we sacrifice time on the altar of excuses and find ways to convince ourselves that the best time to complete a task is tomorrow. Sadly, we never get it done until six weeks later.
According to psychologists, there are two classes of procrastinators: chronic procrastinators and situational procrastinators. For the chronic procrastinators, procrastination is a daily habit that has made them artists in the gallery of incomplete projects. They can hardly finish a task without either getting distracted or finding an excuse. Procrastination pops up occasionally in the schedule of situational procrastinators because of various reasons – tough projects, ambiguous tasks, unrealistic deadlines and many more.
Procrastination is a popular enemy of highly creative people especially writers and artists. Before the famous French poet and novelist Victor Hugo could craft epic novels like Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he devised a plan: instructed his servant to strip him naked in his study and not return his clothes until an agreed time. It was reported that American author Herman Melville asked his wife to chain him to his desk while procrastinating the completion of his remarkable novel, Moby-Dick.

 

Unfortunately, Leonardo da Vinci did not tow the path of Hugo and Melvile, he failed to fight his procrastination. The legendary artist of Italian origin, Leonardo da Vinci, despite his amazing talents, he had a string of unfinished projects because of procrastination. It took him 16 years to complete his most celebrated work, the Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda).
Procrastination steals more than your time, it kills your productivity and litters your desk with a catalog of unfinished projects.  It’s that time of the year when timely completion of your projects is pivotal to your success.
Here are 10 possible ways that can be employed in tackling procrastination:
The Top 10 Tips That Work

1. Create a Plan

Don’t leave your projects hanging on the to-do list without a detailed plan. For the successful completion of each project, you need a plan which highlights the timeline of the project from start to finish. Projects without concrete plans are often pushed off to a later date that never shows up.

2. Break it down

Have you noticed that tasks with ambiguous titles are often pushed to the bottom of your to-do list? If you have a task like writing a book, it’s advisable to break it down into bits that can be processed easily. For instance, writing a book can have the following sub-tasks: Outline creation, creation of chapters, write the book with one chapter at a time, decide on a topic, editing, gathering of blurbs, choose a cover design and publishing.

3. Be realistic

When setting deadlines for your tasks, avoid unrealistic timelines. Set your deadlines based on the volume of work at hand and your capacity. For example, if you are giving a client the delivery date for the completion of a website design project, you need to consider the size of the website and the number of ongoing projects you currently have on your list.

4. Establish your priorities

Getting your priorities right is a catalyst that accelerates the completion of your projects. Having a list of priorities serves as a guide in choosing what next to do when you feel overwhelmed with numerous tasks.

5. Manage your time

Crushing procrastination boils down to how well you manage your time. Are you using your time productively? Not all “busy” people are productive. Do you have a detailed plan that shows how you want to spend your day based on an hourly schedule? A schedule will ensure you do the right task at the right time. Improper management of your time will lead to a backlog of incomplete tasks and hence procrastination.
“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.” – Benjamin Franklin

6. Minimize distractions

Wasting of time usually emanates from our inability to starve our distractions. In this age where we treat our phones like babies in need of food and attention. Every ping from notifications controls more than the motion of your fingers but also the direction of your head. There is an increase in the demand for your attention and the ongoing competition for your focus never seems to wane. To crush procrastination, you must deal with your distractions before they deal with you.

7. Harness the power of positive thinking

Have you set out time to think about how fulfilled you will be when you eventually complete your unfinished projects? Make out time and write all the positive things that will happen to you when you stop procrastinating. Make a list of all the things that will be in perfect shape when you act instead of staying idle. To set you on your feet, you can check the flip side of the coin – look at the negative things that may happen if you don’t stop procrastinating today. You will be amazed.

8. Avoid perfectionism

A huge chunk of perfectionists are victims of procrastination. A lot of books are still sitting on dusty shelves because the writers felt they are not fit to grace the glare of the public. Even though they have spent hundreds of hours editing and reviewing the book, the perfectionist syndrome will not allow them to publish it. Give your best when executing a project and do quality work but don’t be entrapped by perfectionism.

9. Get an accountability partner

In today’s world where freedom is often misinterpreted, getting an accountability partner may sound odd. I quite understand the craze for self-sufficiency but having an accountability partner on very key projects in your life can be very helpful. Projects like writing a book, creating a podcast, writing an essay, running a blog and many more. An accountability partner will be someone that can check on you at any time to ask about your progress. You must be open and very comfortable with this person; it works like magic.

10. Reward yourself

Whenever you complete a task, you can reward yourself with an activity for relaxation or a break. A Pomodoro Timer works based on this principle: get a break of five minutes after working for 25 minutes. In a broader sense, you can say, “I won’t go to the movies to watch Black Panther until I am done with writing the term paper for BIO 112.” In other words, watching the movie is the reward for finishing your term paper on time.
In conclusion, I hope this helps you to crush procrastination and say goodbye to writing essays when it’s two days to submission day. I equally struggled with procrastination and have tried all the methods mentioned above on different occasions, they really worked.
If you have any other tips for crushing procrastination that I omitted in my article, please feel free to drop them in the comments section.

 

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