2019 is here! We are not the biggest fans of new year resolutions here at WildFit. The reason is that they tend not to be followed through on.
Instead, we believe that you can make this year better by building on the successes from last year.
Eric is currently running a #2019NewYearNewYou challenge on Instagram.
The challenge goes like this:
Look at 2018. What was great about it? What were some of your favorite times?
And then, once you know what some of the best parts of 2018 were, make a list of the ingredients present during those peak times:
The people you were around.
The places you were.
The things you were doing.
Once you have your list, start planning to include as many of those people, places, and activities as you can in your 2019 plans.
If you want to engage with Eric, click here write your list on his post on Instagram.
The next step is to make the list real. Here are my favorite hacks you can use now make 2019 your best year yet.
5 Productivity Hacks To Kickstart 2019
1. Say NO
The first step is to learn how to say “no”.
We are not able to take charge of our own life until we learn this. If we don’t, our time and energy will be spent on other people’s agendas.
This has been a major focus in 2018. I say “yes” to too much and it drains my energy.
When I learned to say “no” (still a work in progress), I have been much better at prioritizing my projects. That doesn’t mean that I say no to everything, but “yes” is no longer my default answer.
If someone asks me to help out a week or two in advance and it fits with my plans, I say “yes”. If they ask me last minute and I have other important stuff planned, I say “no”.
This was extremely hard at first. But with some practice, I’m getting better at it.
Saying “no” gives you freedom.
It’s like this in the WildFit Challenge, where you say “no” to food that doesn’t support you.
2. 20/80 Rule
A lot of the time, the list of things you want to improve in your life can be incredibly overwhelming. This is where the 20/80 rule comes in handy.
It is a great technique I learned from Tim Ferriss. I highly recommend following his blog and podcast.
Whenever he starts a new project, he asks himself this question:
“What is 20% of what I need to do that is responsible for 80% of the result?”
Another question he asks himself when he looks at his to-do list:
“Which single item, if done, would make the rest easier or irrelevant?”
By focusing on the few and important stuff, you maximize effectiveness.
3. Weekly Planning
At this point, you know what you need to do. This hack will make sure you set things into motion.
Set aside time each week to
- Review the last week. What went great? What were the magic moments? What can be improved for next week?
- Look at the important stuff you need to do. Ask yourself “What are three things I can do this week that can move me forward?”. Block those action items into your calendar for the week, so you know when to do them.
Weekly planning is also the key to living WildFit. Set some time to plan out what you want to eat for the next week. What are you eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? If special occasions are coming up (like parties or travel), plan out how to successfully meet those special occasions with approved food and drinks.
By planning out your week, you set yourself up for success!
4. Create a Not-To-Do List
Do you love checking things off on your to-do list? Have you ever done something that was not on your to-do list, then writing it on your to-do list, so you can check it off?
It’s satisfying! But it’s not very effective.
And how do you feel when you’re not able to complete your to-do list? It’s not a nice feeling.
This is why Eric loves to create what he calls Not-To-Do lists. He has actually written an article on Medium about it. Click here to read it.
It is a great way to manage your day-to-day to-do list and feel like you are being successful and productive.
This is the way you do it:
Let’s say you have 10 things on your to-do list. Instead of having one list with 10 items, you create two lists instead: a To-Do list and a Not-To-Do list. Add 4-6 of the most essential items to your To-Do list. The other items go on the Not-To-Do list.
Focus on the items on your To-Do first. You are only allowed to start on items on the Not-To-Do list when the To-Do list is complete.
Lets look at two scenarios.
What would happen if you only completed 7 of the 10 items on your old To-Do list? It wouldn’t have felt satisfying.
What would happen if you were able to do all six items on your new To-Do list and one item on your Not-To-Do list? It would feel much more successful.
If you want to learn more about this and get a FREE copy of the template that Eric uses himself, click here.
5. The Pomodoro Technique
If I want to increase my focus and get stuff done, I use The Pomodoro Technique.
This technique is simple:
- Set a timer for 25 minutes. When the timer starts, you focus only on the task in front of you. There is no room for coffee breaks, pee breaks, messing around on Instagram or watching cat videos on youtube.
- When the 25 minutes are done, stop what you are doing. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Use this break to go to the toilet, make a cup of tea, fill your water bottle or mess around on social media. When the 5 minutes are up, set the timer to 25 minutes and get back to work.
This technique will make sure that you give the task at hand 100% of your focus. It also makes sure that you take regular breaks. We need frequent breaks to keep our productivity high.
There is a lot of Pomodoro apps available, so you don’t need to reset your timer every time manually. Just search “Pomodoro” in the app store.
With these hacks, you are able to take your goals, projects, and plans into action and make 2019 your best year.
What are your intentions for 2019? What are your favorite productivity hacks? Comment below.