It is vain to do with more what can be done with less.
__ William of Occam
We're living in the peak of digital age. Almost everything can be done virtually from buying food to "seeing" an oversea friend. The most popular device is the smart phone. From young children to elderly, almost everyone cannot seem to get enough out of that little device.
Besides the obvious benefits of smart phone, it also brings the unexpected side effects such as distraction and addiction. In this article, we will explore tactics to control our smart phones. 1) Remove Unnecessary Apps The number one goal of app developers is to get you download their app, and to have you use their app as much as possible. In reality, we, as users, tend to download a lot of apps but barely use all of them. Having too many apps in your phone causes overwhelming distractions. Therefore, to simplify your life and your phone, simply take a good thirty minutes to consider which apps you have not used for a while. Then you can simply delete them (no worries, if needed, you can always redownload). 2) Turn Off Notifications As humans, we're primed to discover mysteries. The same psychology applies to notifications. We feel the urge to check out notifications although 1) most of the time, they are not urgent and 2) usually, we will get to them eventually. Similar to removing unneeded apps, simply go through your phone and turn off notifications. I recommend to turn all notifications off, but if it's too hard for you, you can start out with a few apps first. Remember, again, you can always turn them back on if needed. 3) Limit Your Screen Time Time flies fast when you are on your phone. App developers know how to maximize your engagement time with fast frames, attractive colors, etc. The more you spend time on your phone, the more hooked you become. The most simple thing you can do is to monitor and track your screen time. Most smart phones have this feature, which usually provides weekly report. I recommend you to check this tool daily, at the end of day, to give you a better chance to make adjustments. You can also time and cap your phone usage. For example, you can set up a timer to allow you to check social media for thirty minutes a day. 4) Create Self-Rules Somehow, smart phones have received a lot of exceptions recently; "I need to keep my phone with me during dinner in case my boss tweets me"; or "I need to bring my phone to the bathroom or I will miss that livestream". Sounds familiar? To prevent smart phones from invading our personal life/space, you can start to create self-rules. A lot of people find success when they stop bringing their phones to the bedroom, bathroom, and during meals. A fun game you can play with friends while dining out is to have everyone put their phone in the middle of the table. Whoever touch his/her phone first will have to pay tips for the whole table Conclusion Smart devices were created to serve and help us, not to dominate our lives. Following these tactics does not mean you will break up with your phones, but rather you will find a better balance of time and freedom. Happy Living, The Kid
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To top performers, there is nothing more valuable than time. Time determines if the endeavor is achievable. Time measures how successful an operation is going to be. Time control mastery creates a huge advantage in most paths of life.
In this article, we will explore what time essence means to top performers and how they handle/control time differently. 1) Courage Saying No After researching many top performers (like Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, etc.), a common similarity emerges: they all say no to a lot of things. Everyone in the world has the exactly the same 24 hours, it is crucial for you to prioritize by saying no to most of things. Some tactics include 5-whys (asking why 5 times) and hell-yes (if it's not a hell yes, it's a no). 2) Ability to Make Time Top performers almost never say they don't have time. On the contrary, they make time for things that they prioritize. Common things/activities that top performers make time for include exercising, reading, meditating, and socializing. 3) Understanding of Time Urgency Understanding the urgency of time does not mean top performers will rush through their tasks/projects, that result in lower work quality. Rather, top performers will devote all their attention and efforts to the tasks at hand because they understand time is not reversible. Conclusion. Mastering time is one of the most critical skills one can acquire to become a high performer. It takes practice, discipline, and of course, time to master this simple yet extraordinary skill. Once you become a time master, then you will truly have mastered your own life. Remember, today is your youngest day ever! Happy Leading, The Kid Everyday, each of us wakes up with some sort of tasks in mind. It can be as simple as eating breakfast, exercising, getting that coffee; or as complex as planning for an important meeting, preparing to propose to your loved one, etc. Hence, we all make choices starting from the very first moment of being awake (my struggle is always about whether I should surf Facebook, while laying on bed with little/no sunlight)
So is there a best way to prioritize tasks to plan your day? Is there a way to conquer your own psychology to be your very best version everyday? Good news is it is possible to perform at your peak from the very beginning of a day: Do the thing that you have to do (regardless of difficulty), and that you hate the most. Classic examples include taking trash out, feeding your kids, finish an urgent deadline, etc. I can also give you 2 opposite personal stories out of many, which demonstrates the different effects. First story. Every Thursday morning, I am supposed to to out the trash. On a beautiful Thursday, I woke up and did remember about the task. However, I told myself to hold off and instead go check the stock market. I then got interrupted by my wife because she wanted to ask me an important question. After helping her, I realized I forgot to brush my teeth, so I rushed to the bathroom. Then, I heard the noise from the garbage truck, and so I rushed outside with my toothbrush still clinging with white paste. And voila, I missed the truck, on top of NOT finishing brush my teeth, and incomplete work on stock market. The funny thing is this story happens many times with different variations (some involves in fire, money, and sex, which I would prefer not to embarrass myself). Second story. Learning from the first story, every Thursday, I would start off by immediately brushing my teeth. I then promptly take out the trash, check in with your wife if she needs help urgently with anything, and then I finally sit down work on my own task(s). And most of Thursday, I have no issue finishing up what I originally plan to do. You can see how it is a lot easier if you're willing to do what you hate the most first compared to saving these hated tasks for later/last. Saving hated tasks later/last results in not doing it entirely or doing it (along with other tasks) not correctly. Please note I suggest to do the task you hate first, not necessarily the most difficult task(s). For many people, doing the most difficult task(s) upfront will do more harm than good since it destroys your sense of achievement from the very beginning. The topic of doing difficult tasks will be discussed in a future post. Now you got the simple trick to start off your day strong. Please leave a comment of your story/feedback below. Quick note from the first paragraph, I usually lose the mental battle with Facebook surfing, and I am still working on an improvement. Happy Living, The Kid Music is one of human's products with highest impacts. Some people can make a living from singing, play instruments, or even critiquing. For most people, including me, we are simply consumers. We listen for fun, for relax, or for focus. Below, I will list a couple options to listen to your favorite music while working/studying effectively:
1) Do not listen at all. Many recent studies have confirmed listening to music while working/studying will not boost your focus (it may even distract you). The solution is to take breaks and listen to music during these specified periods. 2) Listen to no-lyrics music. Choosing correct types of music is critical. The general rule is to avoid music with lyrics. Imagine your lips following lyrics or even worse, your mind has to spend at least some focus on lyrics. Recommended music includes instrumental, classical, or meditation. 3) Listen to low-pace music. Music's speed is critical as well. The faster the music speed, the more it distracts your brain. Avoid hip-hop, rap, and similar categories. 4) Listen to low-volume music. Low to moderate volume has been proven effective. Loud music is destructive for absolute focus. Remember, these rules do not apply to every person. You might be an artist, a creative thinker, or a genius who goes against all these rules; I get it. But if you are listening to your favorite music, and find yourself being distracted, you should try some of these tips. Happy Being Effective and Efficient, The Kid Each of us all have experienced periods when we need absolute focus to do certain things (final exams, rush projects, etc.). There are hundreds, if not thousands of ways to enhance your focus. Below I will share with you some weird tricks that work for me (and more importantly, they might work for you too):
1) Eat five almonds every 45 minutes. This method is recommended by Human Performance Institute, located in Florida. This works extremely well for those who have a habit of snacking. 2) Pornography. I confess that I watch porn. It is human's physiology to think about sex at the weirdest moments. If you find yourself thinking about sex too much while needing focus, go watch some porn. The key here is to allocate a specific amount of time, say 5-10 minutes, and treat it like a break. 3) Take a nap. We feel sleepy because our Melatonin level rises. Taking a 30-minute nap will help reduce this hormone level and help you stay awake better, without sabotaging night sleep. 4) Wash some dishes or do some housework. Studies have shown washing dishes increases your creativity (the soap, the water's sound, the "bubble" feelings, etc.). I say, for me, it also increases my focus afterward. Bill Gates washes his own dishes for some reasons. 5) Take a walk or do light exercise. Locking yourself up in your desk/office/room, regardless how pretty the outdoor view you have, is harmful. Step away from your desk for a walk or 20 push-ups or so, and you will see the difference. 6) Meditate. I am horrible at meditating and after doing mediation, it helps me. If you are a pro, picture how much benefits meditation can offer. Now you should have learned a few more tricks to apply. Please try each of them and decide which works best for you. Happy Learning, The Kid Many of us enjoy Sunday mornings when we can lay in our bed, surf through our smart phone, and have a brunch. Some of us may feel satisfied as it is a small reward after a hard working week. How about feeling guilty? I bet some of you out there feel bad too at the end of day, when we tell ourselves "what the heck did I do today?" The problem comes down to PROCRASTINATION.
Both in the past and nowadays, humans are usually proud wearing the badge "busy" on their chest. Silicon Valley's famous motto is about sleeping as little as you can, so you maybe able do more things. You have to be busy to be classified as "good". Don't believe me? Simply observe a conversation either on TV or on the street. One person would ask the other how things are going, and a typical response is "busy" followed by a compliment from the other side. If conventional wisdom identifies procrastination as a bad thing, why the heck should we appreciate it? Here are a couple things you might want to think about: 1) Improve creativity. Smart people are huge fans of procrastination because they want to do more with less. They want to figure out how to solve problems without spending too much resources. Take Steve Jobs as an example. He is a genius and he is very lazy. Hence, he always figured out how to do things with the shortest amount of time. Now even for non-smart people like me, procrastination still helps. I dislike Excel so much that when I open up the app, I just want to shut down my whole computer. I was qualified to become an accountant, a consultant, a financial analyst, but I rejected all these opportunities simply because I've found a career to avoid Excel for the rest of my life, which is writing blog. Procrastination pushes you to the corner of laziness, and if you accept its fact, your creativity will be benefited. 2) Become your-true-self. If you are reluctant to do a certain things, it might be a good sign that you don't belong to that tasks. Picture yourself sitting at a Blackjack table playing a couple hundred dollars for fun and you lost all the money. Suddenly, you decided to keep playing to make it up although you don't want to, and you know it is not wise to keep playing. For me, I once bought a $4,000 accounting software to study for CPA. Once I bought it, I put my time and my soul into the software, but it was simply too boring. My heart got confused and and my brain released endless cortisol (the bad hormones) because I force my body to do something it cannot accept. If you believe you are going to live for at least 60 total years, it is a good idea spending a year or two to use procrastination to discover your passion and curiosity. Happy Living, The Kid I used to stay up to 5 a.m. to do homework and waked up 1 p.m the next day. I ate instant noodles at midnight and drank energy water to trick my brain into working endlessly. You probably can guess now I ended up become super unhealthy. I could not breath; it took me hours to on bed to go to deep sleep; I was fat with high sugar. Until this year, I finally lost 15 lbs, and have become a normal person. Below are few things I do every morning to win the day:
1) Sleep and wake up early. As you already knew, most world top-performers are morning guru. They might sleep a bit late, but usually wake up extremely early, around five. Also, there are studies showed sleeping before midnight is very beneficial. Each hour before 12 worth more than just one hour. For example, if you sleep at 10 and wake up at 6, you basically have more than 8 hours of sleep. 2) Light exercise. I hate exercise. I barely go to gym. I have zero muscle. But what I force myself to do is 10 push-ups every morning. This helps put your body into a small level of intensity and stretch your whole body. Some of my friends are tech nerds, who commit into ONE push-up either before bed or after waking up. 3) Meditate. I know not everyone like sitting in one spot and do some B.S thinking. But meditation will work if done correctly. The key is to make yourself comfortable, find your ideal zone. Don't do 10 minutes of meditation of you don't feel so; do one instead. As long as you put your mind into your thinking, you can benefit from this practice. I usually meditate for 10 minutes (3 mins for gratitude, 3 mins for wishing other be happy, and the rest for picture myself finish certain milestones). 4) Cold shower. Have you seen many athletes put themselves into deep cold giant pot? Tony Robbins is an example. The reason is with massive cold temperature, your brain will produce more dopamine/endorphin, which excites your mood for a short period. For me, 60 seconds cold-shower would wake me up instantly. 5) Make my bed. Why the army requires soldier to make their bed first thing in the morning? Because it gives you a sense of the first accomplishment and you will likely be rolling for the rest of day. At least, if you have a bad day, you will surely come back to your nice bed at night. 6) Write something. I hate writing journal (most people write journal in the morning). So instead, I write down 10 ideas. It could be anything from business to relationship, and it does not have be good idea. Let's go and win all mornings now! Happy Living, The Kid For students, your calendar is full of meetings or study sessions, work-out routines, and various entertainment plans. Do you schedule them randomly or based on your favorite order? If you believe in science, you should follow this order: work/study => rest/entertain => work-out
It is unclear the reason behind this order. But there have been various studies where scientists put samples into different groups and try out all possible sequences. At the end of the experiment, these groups would take a same intelligent test and the group with followed the order above received the best result, around 20% better than the rest. Scientists could not explain the real reason behind the result, but they suggested human brain function best when it deals with intelligent matters first. This result, however, is quite opposite with studies, which attempted to identify the most ideal time to exercise during a day. The answer is morning. This result has been confirmed by world-top performers, icons, and celebrities when they usually exercise in early morning (not necessary the first thing they do). For whatever reasons, if you cannot exercise in the morning, then you might want to consider the recommended schedule of scientists. If you can exercise in the morning, it is fantastic then. After wake up, I usually meditate, read, exercise, and write. This has transformed my life in a positive way for the past 6 months. Happy Learning, The Kid |
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