George Halachev

The Power of Doing the Same Thing Every Day

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Imagine. You wake up every day at exactly the same time. You eat the same breakfast, do the same workout exercises, take the same route to work. Have lunch at the same place every day. Use the same apps every day. You practice the same skills.

Sounds boring, doesn’t it?

I thought so too until I discovered how many advantages there are to consistency and a well-planned routine.

The Advantages of Routinizing Your Life

If I maintain the same morning routine, I never feel groggy when I wake up. I never forget my wallet or my phone. I never forget my car keys or where I parked my car.

If I maintain my food routine, I never have headaches or stomach aches. I never feel hungry or drained. I never have a meal that I don’t like.

If I maintain my same exercise routine, I never get injured or have sore muscles. I never lack the energy to exercise. I never have to wait my turn for a machine at the gym.

When you look at the list above it looks very unrealistic, almost like fiction. But that’s really how it works. If you figure out what keeps you at peak performance and you never deviate, you will never have to deal with those problems again.

Eat the Same Food Every Day

I started experimenting with food when I was first trying to get in shape. So after doing some research, I figured out what my body needs and wrote down a few example meals to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Naturally, it wasn’t perfect at first. Sometimes I felt hungry or I didn’t like the meal. But after a month or so of tweaking, I was to the point where I was really happy. I loved all my meals, they gave me the energy I needed and kept my body in shape.

My 3 meals + snacks were quite diverse and included all the necessary nutrients that I needed, so I didn’t have to diversify from day to day.

After doing that for a month or so, I started noticing the advantages really quickly.

Results Are Predictable and Controllable

Predictability sounds boring, but when it comes to goals, it’s really useful.

When we’re setting goals, we try to predict the action steps that will get us there. But that’s just a guesstimate. If you’ve never worked on that goal before, there’s no way to know with certainty if it’s going to get you the result that you want.

However, if you do the same thing for a few weeks, you start to notice the trends really quickly.

For example, if you eat the same meals every day for a month and lose 2-3 pounds, you can safely predict that you’ll lose 2-3 more pounds next month with the same routine.

This is much more reliable than setting a random goal and trying to reach it by constantly modifying your diet. Instead of guessing the results, this method relies on previous performance to predict the outcome.

You Don’t Need Willpower

Since you’re doing the same thing every day, it becomes a habit pretty quickly. After that, you don’t really need much effort or discipline to maintain the same routine.

You don’t have to make the decision to stay away from sugar every day. You skip the temptation altogether.

After doing that for long enough, you even stop looking at other foods as available options. Your mind learns that you eat only certain type of foods. You don’t even get the impulse to eat the chocolate when you see it lying around somewhere.

Optimization and Saving Time

If you do the same routine every day, it becomes really easy to notice where the inconsistencies and time wasters are. You can save yourself huge amounts of time and effort that way.

For example, I was following the slow carb diet and ate a cup of lentils every day. Which takes about 30 minutes to prepare, cook and clean up. So instead I cooked a huge pot of lentils in the weekend and had it ready for every day. Boom, 30 minutes saved every day.

Another big optimization is the shopping. Since you need the same ingredients for foods you can buy in bulk and figure out where the easiest and cheapest place to buy foods is.

Since I know exactly what I need I only have to go to the supermarket twice a week. And I never have to throw away food because I know exactly how much I need.

Same Wake-Up and Bedtime

This one is even better since our bodies work better with a consistent sleep schedule. The more consistent you are the better your sleep will be. You’ll also wake up refreshed and ready to go instead of feeling groggy.

No More Sleepless Nights

When you do the same bedtime routine you take all the randomness out of it. You’ll be able to figure out all the things that disturb your sleep. You’ll figure out what it takes to have a calm and restful night.

Every Day Will Be Productive

You know those days when you wake up and before you know it it’s 1 pm and you’ve done nothing significant? All of those are gone too.

If you do the same morning routine over and over again, it’s like you’re building a highway for your mind and body. You don’t have to carve a new path through the woods every morning.

You no longer procrastinate on the internet because you’re used to starting with your most important task first. You don’t have to use willpower since it’s already a habit.

But I Love Variety

Variety is an important part of life, and I don’t want to discredit it. But when it comes to achieving your goals, I think it’s overrated. You can make progress much faster if you are following a consistent routine.

We’re already creatures of habit. We’re already doing mostly the same things every day.

For example, try to think of the regular meals that you’ve had in the past 2 months. I’m not talking about when you go to a restaurant and order something fancy, just the meals that you typically have every day.

I bet that most people can’t name more than 10 meals.

So since we’re already doing the same things every day, why not design that routine consciously? Why not pick the 3-4 of the best meals and have them every day?

Of course, life is very unpredictable. Shit happens. You won’t be able to make it every day perfectly, but that’s OK. That’s why we have…

Exceptions

Having a few exceptions here and there is not a problem, quite the opposite in fact. The occasional variety will feel even more exciting and enjoyable.

It will feel like a celebration, and you won’t have to worry getting fat because you know you’ll be back in your healthy routine tomorrow.

The more organized and in control of your life you are, the more you can afford to be spontaneous and crazy. Since your life feels so stable and secure, having one crazy day and going completely off track won’t be a problem at all.

Pitfalls That Come With Routine

If you do the same thing every day, there’s a tendency to get tunnel vision. You can optimize the routine and make it very efficient, but you can start losing context of the big stuff.

A great example for me was when I created a daily routine to collect all my coaching and website stats to see how my business was doing.

Coach.me didn’t have an easy way to show long term stats. You could only see those for each individual day.

So I started entering the data manually every day in a spreadsheet. In the beginning, it took about 5 minutes to check everything and write it down. In a month I had optimized the routine so much that it took me just 2 minutes a day.

I optimized it to a maximum, but only within that very limited box of entering the numbers manually. And I was stuck with that routine for months, thinking there is no further way to improve and optimize it.

But after a while, I figured out that I could spend a few hours working on it and automate the whole process. I did that (using iMacros) and the whole routine became obsolete. From 2 minutes a day, I got it down to 0.

So to avoid getting blindsided, it’s a good idea to review your routines every month or so. But don’t think about how to optimize it using incremental changes. Think out of the box. Instead of getting 10-15% better, how can you make it 150-300% better?

But I’m Not a Mindless Robot!

I understand that’s how it might feel at first. After all, if you routinize your life and do the same thing every day, what’s the point of living?

But that’s not the point at all. You don’t routinize your whole life. Only the boring stuff. Only the chores and mindless responsibilities.

That way, you can get through those much faster and do whatever the hell you want for the rest of your day, knowing your life will still be stable.

Fall In Love with Procrastination

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Most books and courses on procrastination focus on tips and techniques about how to get over it. But we rarely ask what procrastination actually is and why it happens in the first place.

The key purpose of procrastination is short-term mood regulation. Meaning when we’re feeling bad about what we’re working on, we find ways to delay the work and switch to something that makes us feel better.

Whether it’s about being overwhelmed with too much work or you have to do a task that you hate, procrastination is a short-term solution to improve your mood.

Using Procrastination as an Indicator

Most tips focus on how to improve your mood or how to manage your feelings in order to stop procrastinating. But I’d like to go one step deeper and ask, “Why am I procrastinating in the first place?”

Instead of trying to push through the procrastination, I like to use it as an indicator that something is wrong with the process. I don’t automatically assume that I’m lazy and need to get more disciplined. I assume that either the goal I’m working on or the process itself isn’t quite right.

For example, it might mean that I don’t really care about the goal and it’s not really a priority. Or it might mean that it’s too challenging for me right now, and my current time would be much better spent on something else.

If procrastination is an indicator of something, why would you ignore it and try to push through as if it didn’t exist?

If the low fuel indicator in your car was on, would you ignore it and try to push through?

3 Wasted Years Working on Somebody Else’s Goal

For years I was trying to get a college degree that I didn’t really care about. It was a goal of mine just because “it’s what you do”, not because I really wanted it. As a result, I constantly procrastinated with my exams. Next month became, next semester. Next semester became next year. And 3 years later, I still hadn’t done much progress on getting that degree.

Eventually, I figured out that it wasn’t just because I was horribly lazy. I just didn’t care about that goal. With procrastination, my subconscious mind was telling me that what I’m working on is pointless. There were better ways to spend my time.

Fast forward to today, almost 10 years later, I’ve never needed that degree. It wasn’t something that would have been useful in my life anyway.

I still have the option to go and get it if I want to. And every time I tell that story, I hear the same feedback, “You have to get it. Sooner or later you just have to.”

Exactly the same reason why I had that goal in the first place. But it wasn’t mine, it was just social pressure. Deep down, I knew I could make it without that degree.

So unless I really have a solid reason to get that degree, there is no way I’m going to start working on that goal again. I’m just going to be procrastinating again anyway.

What is procrastination trying to tell you?

So if we accept that procrastination is an indicator, how do we know what exactly is wrong?

If we know the reason, it would be much easier to reframe the goal or the process. Instead of pushing through, we can change the part that isn’t working until the system runs smoothly and you’re naturally motivated.

Here are some of the most common reasons why we procrastinate.

The Goal Doesn’t Matter

As in my example above, we often pick up goals not because we really care about them, but because we’re influenced by society.

  • Do you really care about getting that degree?
  • Do you really care about losing those last 10 pounds?
  • Do you really want to get your driving license?
  • Do you really want to learn a new language?
  • Do you really want to get rid of your accent?

There’s nothing wrong with any of these goals if you truly want to. But it might be possible that you’re procrastinating because you don’t really care about getting those results.  You’re doing it because of social pressure.

It’s Too Difficult

Sometimes the thing we’re working on is just too hard for us. It feels daunting, either because of the amount of work or because we don’t have enough expertise.

Is there a way to get somebody to help? A friend, a colleague, a professional in the field? Why would you try to do it yourself if you can find help from somebody more experienced?

It’s Not the Right Timing

Even if the goal is truly yours and you want it, it’s possible that it’s just not the right time. You might be procrastinating because you haven’t picked up enough skills to make it happen. Or it’s not the right season. Is there a time where doing this goal will be easier for you?

I procrastinated on starting my own blog for years. It has been a very serious goal of mine that I definitely knew I want to achieve. However, every time I thought about starting it I got that procrastination impulse.

And I knew it wasn’t just because I was lazy. Other goals that I was working on were going great. After a while, I just figured that it wasn’t the right time for the blog yet. I didn’t feel ready and I needed more experience.

So instead of beating myself up about it, I worked happily on other goals and kept the blog goal on the backburner.

Finally, last year I felt ready. I had no problem starting it right away. It took me a week to buy hosting, create a simple design and start posting every week consistently. It was all a matter of right timing.

Hell, I even procrastinated writing this article for 3 days because the idea wasn’t formulated in my head yet, but no need to beat myself up about it. 🙂

The Goal Isn’t Realistic

If I had a penny for every time I’ve heard, “I’m quitting smoking tomorrow. No really, this is my last one.”

This is very often an issue for people who are new to goal setting and building habits. Most of the set goals are very unrealistic and difficult to accomplish, like quitting smoking cold turkey.

To change a habit, especially a deeply ingrained habit, you have to make a lot of changes in your life:

  • Get people to support your new habit.
  • Eliminate the triggers from your environment.
  • Create a support structure for when the going gets hard.
  • Find a substitute habit to fill the need that the bad habit was filling.
  • Use an anchor to start your new habit.

These are just some of the critical elements to be successful with a new habit. Without these, you have a very little chance of making it long term. So no matter how motivated and disciplined you are, if the goal is unrealistically difficult, you will procrastinate.

If you are new to this and you want to save yourself a few years of trial and error hire an experienced coach to help you with the transition and set a more realistic goal.

The Opposite of Procrastination

Very often, the solution to a problem isn’t to work on solving the problem directly, but to find the opposite.

For example, you’re always broke and trying to save money. But you can only go so far with savings and budgeting. Working on increasing your income, on the other hand, has no limit. You can always find more ways to earn money.

So what if we don’t focus on overcoming procrastination? What would be the opposite of procrastination that would improve your results?

For me, it’s the feeling of flow, also known as being in the zone. That state where you’re completely engulfed by your work and time flies by. You don’t feel like stopping for food or sleep because what you’re doing feels so good and you’re crushing it.

So instead of trying to stop procrastination, how about looking for more things that get you in that flow state? What are some of the projects that get you so excited that you can work for hours without getting tired?

Procrastinate Productively

It sounds like an oxymoron, but what it means is to strategically postpone instead of waste your time.

Don’t procrastinate with Netflix and gaming. Use that time for accomplishing something meaningful. Maybe it’s not yet time to work on that goal, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t pick another goal that will be better suited for the current time.

What other projects or goals could you work on instead? Is there something that you were trying to do 5 years ago, and it didn’t work out? Perhaps now would be a better time.

And if you’re dead set on that particular goal and now is not a good time, when would it be a better time? If you lack the skills to make it happen, what could you do to learn the skills meanwhile? If everything seems right but you keep banging your head against the wall, who could you ask to help you with your goal?

Love Procrastination without Guilt

The worst thing about procrastinating is not the time lost but the guilt.

You get nothing done and you feel guilty about it. On the next day, you still feel terrible that you didn’t get anything done, so you’re not in the mood to work again. The whole thing is a downwards spiral. A self-perpetuating cycle of guilt.

This goes back to the mood regulation thing. So unless you find a way to temporarily feel better you can’t really go back to work. Forcing yourself to overcome the procrastination is just going to make matters worse.

So instead of feeling guilty about not doing your work, how can you use that time to improve your mood? What could you do in your procrastination time to start loving it? What would recharge you so much that when you go back to work again you’re in an awesome mood?

How to Beat Perfectionism With The 80/20 Rule

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Perfectionism is a big obstacle when it comes to productivity. Instead of focusing on what’s important, we waste time trying to make everything perfect.

How many days have you wasted obsessing over insignificant details? And when it was all over, did you wish you had that time back to invest it into something more important?

Why We Seek Perfection

When you’re working on a project or task, it’s all about the objective that you have in mind. The goal that you’re working towards.

However, we’re not always consciously thinking about the goal or objective. In fact, in most cases it’s unconscious.

Here are some goals that might be in your head while your perfectionism is in high gear:

  • I want to be satisfied with my work.
  • I want to do it better than everybody else.
  • I want my boss to like me more.
  • I want my colleagues to respect me more.
  • I want this to make a ton of money.
  • I want my mom to be proud of me.

These “goals” sound a bit ridiculous. It’s as if a 7-year-old wrote them. But that’s just how our brains operate in the background. We have subconscious needs and motivations that creep into our work.

So instead of focusing on what’s really important and what our real aim is, we end up serving our subconscious needs and desires. Like the desire for approval.

A Better Alternative to Perfectionism

Instead of slaving to your subconscious mind, you’ll be much better off if you set the goal consciously. If you are really clear about your objective. Or as Stephen Covey said, “Begin with the end in mind.”

Write what you really want to get out of your work and what you’re willing to give in return.

For example, if I apply the concept for this article it would go something like this:

  1. Reach and serve as many people struggling with perfectionism as possible.
  2. Spend a maximum of 4 hours working on the article and move on.

The first point is making sure that I focus on the real purpose of the article and what I want to achieve with it.

The second point is to define the constraints. To make sure that I don’t waste time obsessing over small, insignificant details.

If I didn’t have those two points to guide me I would constantly waste time to serve my subconscious needs like, “I want to do it better than everyone else.”

80/20 Rule & Diminishing Returns

Even if you set your aim consciously, however, the perfectionism impulse isn’t going to magically disappear. You’ll still have to put in some effort to stay focused on what’s important. But staying aware of the goal makes it much easier than just going with the flow.

A very simple way to start overcoming that perfectionism impulse is to apply the 80/20 rule. Also known as the Pareto principle.

The rule says, “80% of the results are coming from 20% of the effort.” It means that when you’ve put 20% of the time working on your task, you’re already 8/10’s done.

The more time and effort you keep putting in after that, the less effective you’ll be.

For example, I can write the draft for the article in about 60 minutes. In those 60 minutes, the article is about 80% done. You will get 80% of the value even if I stopped after an hour of work.

For the remaining 3 hours, I might do things like:

  • Format the article so it looks good.
  • Fix spelling and grammar mistakes.
  • Research the facts to make sure they’re correct.
  • Find an appropriate header image.

All of these would add much less value to the article than expressing the main idea in the first 60 minutes.

The 80/20 numbers are a very broad generalization, but the rule is based on the idea of diminishing returns.

A point at which the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of money or energy invested.

Or in other words, the more you keep working on something, the fewer results you’ll get in return.

Prioritize, prioritize, and prioritize some more!

Cutting 80% of your working time isn’t automatically going to leave you with the most effective work. The 80/20 rule applies to tasks and to-dos, not time. The rule works only if you figure out which of the tasks are on the 80% side of the equation.

So how do we do that? We start with the end in mind. The objective.

Using this article as an example again, I’ll take my two goals:

  1. Reach and serve as many people struggling with perfectionism as possible.
  2. Spend a maximum of 4 hours working on the article and move on.

Then my 5 tasks:

  1. Write the draft.
  2. Format the article so it looks good.
  3. Fix spelling and grammar mistakes.
  4. Research the facts to make sure they’re correct.
  5. Find an appropriate header image.

Now that I have my goals and tasks written out, it’s easy to pick the top 20% of the tasks that will give me the most results for this goal.

For me, the top 20% is just writing the draft. That’s where I should spend the majority of my time if I want to get the most results.

In the case of an article, that’s really easy and obvious. But when you’re working on more complicated projects, prioritizing is crucial. It helps to not get lost in the insignificant tasks and get the most bang for your buck.

What are you working on right now that you’re trying to make perfect? What is the true objective of your project? What are some of the tasks that are not going to make much of a difference?

How to Be 10 Times Faster in Google Chrome

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I’m always amazed when watching people work in their browser. Even though the browser is the most used application on everyone’s computer, nobody takes the time to optimize and tune it up.

It’s like being a musician and playing with an instrument that is out of tune. How good do you think your performance will be? Are you going to enjoy the experience?

It’s the same when you’re working with a browser that is out of tune. Investing just a few minutes upfront to tweak it, can save you hours every day. Plus, the whole browsing experience will be much more satisfying.

Here are the most effective ways that I use to tune-up my Google Chrome.

Search Engines

By far the biggest time saver for me have been the built in search engines in Chrome.

Any time you use the search bar for a website, Chrome automatically saves that search bar address in the Search Engine settings. So if you want to search that website again, you can call it directly from the Chrome’s main address bar.

Just type the assigned letter for the website followed by space and the address bar is converted into the search bar for the particular website.

Here are some of the pages saved in my browser, followed by the “shortcuts” that I use.

You can go to “Settings >> Search >> Manage search engines…” and edit your search shortcuts to your heart’s content.

And here is how my address bar looks after typing “wd spacebar”:

So now every time I need to look up something on Wiki Dictionary for example, all I have to do is type “wd spacebar DEFINITION”. Boom and I’m there in 3 seconds.

What does the typical Chrome user do instead?

  • [2 sec] Google the Wiki Dictionary website (because who even bothers remembering URLs nowadays?)
  • [2 sec] Wait for the search to load.
  • [2 sec] Click on the Wiki Dictionary link from the search results.
  • [2 sec] Wait for the Wiki Dictionary home page to load.
  • [2 sec] Look for the search bar.
  • [3 sec] Type the search terms that you need.

Why would you go through all that trouble for every search that you do? You can jump straight to step 6 and save yourself 10 seconds every time.

Think about how many searches you do every day and how much faster you can be if you save 10 seconds per search.

Bookmarks

It’s such a simple and common tip, yet most people don’t have an effective Bookmarks bar.

To use your bookmarks effectively, they have to be prioritized and organized. A hodgepodge of randomly saved links doesn’t really help to be more effective.

Here’s how my Bookmarks bar looks now:

Use Folders

You have limited space on your Bookmarks bar, so use it wisely.

Clicking on a folder in your Bookmarks bar opens a nice little drop-down menu. It takes one extra click to get to the stuff inside, but it’s still super quick.

Group similar links or links that you don’t use that often in folders.

Use Separators

If you don’t want to use folders for everything but still want your links to be organized, use separators.

You can get a great looking separator at separator.mayastudios.com by just dragging their link to your toolbar.  You can see how the separator looks on my toolbar above.

You can even use horizontal separators for items within a folder.

Name your links

Usually, when you save a link, it names it with the full page’s name. That’s just a waste of space. Plus, it looks terrible.

Use short, descriptive names that don’t take a lot of space but are still meaningful to you.

For some links, you don’t even need a name. Just the icon might be enough to recognize the link.

Hotkeys

Hotkeys are another aspect of browsing quickly that most users ignore. With hotkeys, you can skip most tedious, time-wasting mouse clicks. They’re even more effective if you’re on a laptop and have to use a trackpad.

Here are the most common and useful hotkeys that I use constantly.

  • [Ctrl + N] — New window
  • [Ctrl + Shift + N] — Incognito mode
  • [Ctrl + T] — New tab
  • [Ctrl + Shift + T] — Reopen the last closed tab
  • [Ctrl + Tab] — Jump to the next open tab
  • [Ctrl + Shift + Tab] — Jump to the previous open tab
  • [Ctrl + F4] — Close the current tab
  • [Ctrl + Shift + B] — Show or hide the Bookmarks bar
    Did your Bookmarks bar suddenly disappear? You probably hit this one by accident.
  • [Ctrl + H] — Open the History page in a new tab
    You can also view the browsing history from all devices logged in with your account.
  • [Ctrl + J] — Open the Downloads page
    Besides the bottom bar when downloading a file, you can also see a list of all downloaded files at the Downloads page.
  • [Alt + D] — Jump to the address bar
    This one is by far the coolest. Don’t mouse click on the address bar. Just hit Alt+D and start typing.
  • [Ctrl + F] — Find
    Search anything within the page.
  • [Ctrl + 0] — Return everything on the page to default size
    Zooming in and out in a page? This is a nice way to get back to the default quickly.

You can find an exhaustive list of all Chrome hotkeys here (including for a Mac).

Some of these can be hard to remember for a new user. It really helps to keep a little cheat sheet next to your monitor and quickly glancing at it every time you need the command.

Extensions

The beautiful thing about Chrome is that there are thousands of developers creating extensions that make your life easier. You can find extensions for just about anything that you might imagine on the official Chrome Web Store page.

Here are the ones that have helped me work faster the most.

Video Speed Controller

A very convenient extension that lets you speed up or slow down videos directly in your browser. It works with most videos online and it’s great if you’re watching tutorials or educational videos. Sometimes I speed up some videos x3 times, and I can still understand everything.

YouTube already has an implemented function to speed up their videos, but the advantage of this extension is that you can do it with a keyboard shortcut. Much more convenient than clicking the YouTube menus.

Adblock

This one should be included in Chrome by default in my opinion. It saves you so much clutter and distraction on pages that have ads.

Lazarus: Form Recovery

I can’t tell you how many times this extension has saved me after a crash.

It automatically saves everything that you type in Chrome. So if your browser crashes or you accidentally close it, Lazarus will “resurrect” your message with a click of a button.

Evernote Webclipper

If you’re an Evernote user, there is no better way to save notes from your browser. You can set a custom hotkey and save any page with a single click.

Todoist

If you use Todoist (which is the best to-do app,) this extension is a must have. It lets you add new tasks with one click. You can also add web pages and emails directly to your to-do list and access them easily later. The extension keeps the link info.

Images On/Off

Have you ever wanted to turn off all images on a website? Either to make it faster or just to focus on the text?

With this extension, you can disable all images with just a single click.

BehindTheOverlay

Are you tired of the annoying pop-ups asking for your email on most websites? Yeah, me too. This extension lets you get rid of them with one click.

Noisli

This extension doesn’t directly make your browser easier to work with, but it will help get you in the zone.

It creates amazing white noise sounds that help you concentrate. If you can’t focus while listening to music, but you still want something nice to play in the background, this one is for you.

Speed Dial 3

The default “new tab” page of Chrome is just a search bar with the most recently visited pages. Unfortunately, you don’t have any control over the links that show up on that page.

SpeedDial3 lets you design your own “new tab” with the pages that you’d like to see. It’s much like saving Bookmarks, but instead of having the links in the Bookmarks bar, you’ll have them when you open up a new tab.

Mouse Gestures

To use mouse gestures you also need an extension, but I think this one deserves to be in a different category. If I had to choose just one type of extension for Chrome, it would be for this one.

Simply put, using gestures means making pre-recorded movements with the mouse that the browser recognizes and converts to assigned commands.

Why is that so cool? Well, imagine that you can point at the monitor and the browser recognizes your gesture and does what you want it to. It’s exactly like that, except that you’re “pointing” with your mouse.

Gestures are more intuitive and easier to use than keyboard shortcuts. Plus, you don’t have to take your hand off the mouse to trigger a certain command.

How to use gestures?

There are many extensions that help you with gestures, but my favorite one is CrxMouse. It’s got all the functionality that you’ll ever need and at the same time it’s easy to set up and start with right away.

The way you “point” with your mouse is by clicking the right button and dragging the mouse in a certain direction.

Here are some of the default mouse movements, or gestures, that the extension recognizes.

← : back
→ : forward
↑ : scroll up one page
↓ : open a new tab
↓→ : close current tab
↑↓ : refresh
←↑ : reopen closed tabs
→↓ : scroll to bottom
→↑ : scroll to top

So for example, if you need a new tab, don’t click on the new tab button or use the keyboard hotkey, just hold down the right mouse button and drag down. Boom, the new tab is created.

See how much easier it is?

Sync between devices

An amazing function of Chrome is that it automatically syncs up everything between your devices. All you have to do is log in with your Google account and all your bookmarks, passwords, history, settings, and extensions will be saved on the cloud instead of the local machine.

So when you log in with your Google account on another computer, everything is exactly the same as you set it up on the original machine.

Don’t play with an out of tune browser anymore. Take just 30 minutes to optimize it, and the internet will seem like a much nicer place.

How to Quickly Master the Power Nap

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What Is a Power Nap?

Power napping is just sleep, right? So what’s the big deal?

Sleep is a big deal for productivity. It gives us a huge boost of energy, willpower and focus. The problem is that we get only one of those boosts every day – in the morning. Why would you limit yourself like that? With napping, you can get that boost multiple times every day.

However, sleeping haphazardly during the day might leave you waking up groggy and feeling worse than before.

That’s where the power nap comes in. If you only fall asleep for 10-20 minutes, you won’t enter a deep sleep cycle, which is what actually makes you groggy.

And even for 10-20 minutes sleep you can still get that great boost multiple times a day.

How do you do a great power nap?

The power nap has been one of the best tools in my productivity toolbox. And over the years I’ve picked up a few tricks that make it more effective.

Get Earplugs

If you do the napping during the day, chances are there will be noise. Unless you’re in a Zen monastery, of course, in which case you can stop reading now since you’re as productive as it gets.

But for the rest of us mortals, it might be a little difficult to find a quiet spot during the day. That’s why you should get yourself a pair of plugs and get that Zen-like quiet everywhere you go.

The quality of plugs makes a big difference so choose wisely. The best ones I’ve used so far have been silicone ones from OTOTAP.

Get a Sleeping Mask

Much like the noise, if you sleep during the day you’ll probably be in the light. And if you tried napping before, you know that it’s not nice to get sunlight in your eyes.

Using a mask also has a psychological effect on you and makes you feel more safe and isolated from the world. Therefore, it’s easier to relax and fall asleep.

Again, the quality of the mask makes a big difference. Look for masks that:

  • block out light a 100%
  • are comfortable to wear (i.e. don’t slice through your eyeballs)
  • have a firm hold, so they don’t slide off your head when you turn around

Get a Timer

Don’t rely on your body to wake you up at the right time. It ain’t gonna happen in the beginning.

I got a Samsung Gear S2, and it’s the best timer ever. You can take it anywhere with you, and it takes literally 4 seconds to set a timer.

When the time is up, it vibrates gently without sound so it can wake you up discretely even when you’re in a public place.

Experiment with the nap duration too.

Some people tend to fall asleep pretty quickly, and others need more time. The average duration that works is 10-20 minutes, but don’t accept the average blindly. Experiment with shorter and longer durations and see what works best for you.

Typical Challenges While Napping

I Don’t Have Time to Do It

You might feel like a nap would be a waste of time. Why not put that time napping into productive work and get more done?

Well, time not always translates to doing productive work, especially if you’re tired. The state that you’re in while working makes much more difference in the quality of work that you’re going to do.

So yes, you might “lose” 20 minutes napping, but you’ll be so much more productive after that. You’ll easily make up for that time and then some.

The more time you work, the more diminishing returns you start to get on your productive output. The nap is a great way to reset the diminishing returns.

I Don’t Have a Place to Do It

I know, it’s not easy to do it if you’re not in full control of your work environment. But so what? Are you going to give up just because it ain’t easy? If you’re really committed to getting your snooze time, nobody can stop you.

I still work in an office with many people around and it’s tough finding a good place to nap. But I don’t let that be my excuse.

I often take my lunch break off, go into the parking lot and sleep 20 minutes in my car. Also, I get some shuteye in the bathroom almost every day. Is that weird? Totally! But who cares if it works?

What about non-office work environments?

Working while sipping your coffee at Starbucks? How about picking a comfy armchair, putting on noise canceling earphones, your sunglasses and nodding off for a while?

No matter where you are, you can always figure out a good place to do it. You just need to get a little creative. And if it’s not perfect, don’t let that stop you from doing it anyway.

I Can’t Fall Asleep

In the beginning, it can be challenging to fall asleep in just a few minutes. But just like everything else you can get better at it with practice. It only took me a month of practice when I was first starting out to learn to fall asleep during the day. The more you do it, the easier it gets.

A good trick here is to sleep after you’ve had lunch. After a meal we naturally feel more drowsy, so take advantage of that.

Even if you can’t fall asleep initially and just lay there with your eyes shut, your body and mind are still going to get the benefit of it. You’ll still feel relaxed and refreshed after a few minutes of chilling out.

How Napping Saved My Sanity

Two years ago I committed to an insane amount of work. I was just starting my coaching business, and I was overzealous to get the best launch possible.

As a result, I signed up 100+ clients to coach online simultaneously. It was crazy. I had to do 20-hour work days for two weeks straight. And that was just to cover the basics and get everybody started.

I had to pull through these two weeks with less than 4 hours of sleep a day. Otherwise, the business was going to crash and burn.

In the first few days, it was fine. I worked in 90-minute periods followed by a quick 20-minute snooze. But pretty soon I started to get very burnt out. After each of those 90-minute periods, I felt like I can’t do it any longer. There was no juice left in the tank.

The only thing that kept me sane in those two weeks was the power nap. Every nap felt like a breath of fresh air after being stuck underwater all day. After every nap, I got back some optimism, some energy, and some willpower to keep going.

I don’t recommend that you get yourself in such a mess in the first place, but if someday you do, remember your friend the power nap.

And in a hard time like that, it would be much more effective if you already have some experience with napping and know what to do. Don’t wait until you get yourself in a wreck first. Start now. 🙂

How to Overcome Burnout at Work

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What is Burnout?

The experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, especially in one’s career.
Source: Wiki Dictionary

You know that feeling when you’re exhausted but you still have so much to do? Your brain is working at 10% capacity, but you still keep pushing. That’s what we call burnout.

It’s when your body and mind are stretched to the limit, but you have to keep going. All your cells are screaming, “Give us a break!” and you say, “It’s OK. Just one more thing.”

It’s a common trap that we fall into when trying to get more things done. Ironically, working all the time and getting burnt out is counter-productive and we only end up sapping our energy.

Why Is Burnout So Bad?

It Destroys Your Capacity for Work

If you only focus on doing more work, you’re ignoring a critical aspect of your productivity – your capacity for getting things done. Not taking breaks and sleeping enough will get you more work hours but in that time you’ll be operating nowhere near your full potential.

It’s like having a sports car that is tuned to perfection. But at the same time, you don’t put in good fuel, and you’re overheating the engine all the time. How well do you expect the car to perform, even if it’s perfectly tuned in every other aspect?

Your body and mind have a certain capacity to perform. If you take care of yourself well, that capacity will expand. And if you keep burning energy that you don’t have, your capacity will diminish.

It’s a Downwards Spiral

The more burnt out you get, the less effective you’ll be. The less effective you are, the more hours you’ll have to put and get even more burnt out. Get the picture?

It’s not a good idea to try to do more work in, by putting more and more work hours in. Don’t keep burning energy that your body doesn’t have. Don’t sacrifice your long-term productivity just to get a short-term boost.

It’s just like budgeting your finances correctly. Sure you can spend money you don’t have by going into debt, but sooner or later it will catch up with you. Sooner or later you’ll have to suffer the consequences.

You’re Screwed Long Term, Not Just for Today

The terrible thing about burnout is that you can get used to it. If you keep pushing yourself all the time, you won’t even notice that you’re tired anymore. It will just feel like your normal, everyday state.

So if you don’t take care of the burnout now, your whole life becomes one perpetual cycle of not having enough energy, and having to push yourself to the breaking point every day.

It Kills the Passion for Your Job

Even though you might love what you do, being constantly burnt out makes you hate your work. Being in an endless rush to get things done doesn’t let you enjoy and appreciate your work.

After a while, it feels like your whole life is being consumed by it and you start asking yourself, “What’s the point?”

Don’t let burnout skew your feelings about your career. No matter what you do, it will never feel good if your life isn’t balanced.

Practical Ways to Stop Burning Yourself Out

Stop Procrastination

“I have plenty of time to do it later.”

That sentence has gotten me in trouble more than anything else in my life.

Sometimes we waste our energy on YouTube all day and then end up working until 3 AM getting burnt out. And on the next day, the pattern repeats since, “Hell, I was working so late last night, I deserve some YouTube today!”

By default, we’re very unrealistic about how much time work is going to take. We always underestimate it and end up staying up late.

So aim to start your most important work first thing in the morning. That extra willpower you spend on forcing yourself to start early will pay off big time in the long term.

Another awesome way to be more aware of how you spend your time is to track it. Toggl.com and Rescuetime.com are your friends.

Be Careful with Coffee

Do you use coffee to enhance your productivity or to compensate for the lack of rest? If you drink 10 cups a day, it’s probably the latter.

Coffee can give you a nice boost of energy and focus, but again it’s a trade-off. Once your body has been alert and working on 120% for a while, you have to give it some extra rest afterward. Not burn it out with even more coffee.

Whenever you use caffeine, make sure you’re not trying to compensate for the fact that you haven’t taken a break in the last 5 hours. Or that you haven’t slept at all last night.

Don’t Say, “Yes” Too Much

Prioritization is all about saying, “Yes” to the right things and, “No” to the wrong things.

Even if you’re the most productive bear in the world, you can’t get it all done. And if you’re a productivity nerd like me you probably hate saying, “No.” Is it like you’re admitting your limitations right? You want to be able to do everything that comes your way.

Well, that’s a one-way ticket to crazy land. You’ll feel more and more disappointed in yourself with each missed deadline.

A great habit to get into is never to say, “Yes” on the spot. Get into the routine of saying, “I’ll think about it and get back to you shortly.”

That’s a nice way of taking off the pressure to make the right decision immediately. It will also give you the space to think about your priorities and schedule realistically.

What to Do When You’re Already Burning

Say you’ve already screwed up by saying, “Yes” to a ton of projects.

Or you’re so far behind on your work that you’re getting questionable looks from your boss.

Or your final exams are in 3 days, but you spent the last month making sure your browser’s history stays above 1,000+ Reddit entries/day.

What do you do then?

Damage Control

Getting into a panic mode right now is probably the worst thing you can do.

First of all, admit to yourself that you won’t be able to get it all done. You ain’t got time for that.

You have to do a reality check and see how you can get the best out of the time you’ve got left. Prioritize and pick the 20% of the stuff that will get you 80% of the results. If you manage to do that 20%, you might be able to save your skin in the last minute.

Stay Hydrated

When we’re burnt out, we tend to ignore what our bodies need even more. Even if you feel you don’t have time for it, take care of your body’s basic needs. Drink enough water and have a healthy meal.

The time that you will “loose” is nothing compared to pushing your body even further outside what it was designed to do.

Take a Power Nap

Again, that feels very counter-intuitive, but naps have a huge effect on productivity and focus. Even 10-15 minutes can “restart” your brain and get you back on track.

Another benefit from naps is that they do kind of a “mood reset.” In critical situations when you’re stressed out of your mind saying, “Fuck it!” and taking a nap can be huge. You will wake up feeling much better.

Don’t use the “I don’t have a good place to do it in” excuse either. You can always find a way if you’re determined to do it.

I used to do some crazy stuff while working in the office to get my 10 minutes of shut-eye. I couldn’t sleep while everybody was watching, so I used my lunch break to sleep in my car. I also used the office bathroom to nod off for 5-10 minutes every two hours.

You can always find a way if you really want to.

Get Your Blood Pumping

This is especially important if your ass is glued to a desk chair all day. Your body and brain get stale from the inactivity. And the more inactive you are, the worse your focus and productivity will get.

All of your systems work better when you get more oxygen and increase your heart rate. So use your body the way it was meant to be used. Give it what it needs so it can give you the focus and energy that you need.

Again, don’t make excuses. You can always find the time and place for a few pushups or squats. Stretching also feels amazing after hours of inactivity.

Summary

When trying to get more things done managing your time will only get you so far.  If you really want your productivity to soar learn to also manage your energy.

How to Manage Your Energy Better

  • Start with your most important and difficult to-dos
  • Use coffee for enhancement, not compensation for lack of rest.
  • Learn to say, “No” to the projects that are not important or you don’t have time for.
  • Take care of your body’s basic needs first – food, water, exercise and sleep.