Do You Have Weird Work/Productivity Habits? I Realized That I Do
According to some science-minded people, like Elon Musk, humans are nothing more than hardware (our physical body) and software (our mind). If you put the right inputs into the machine, you get the right outputs.
For some people that means eating the right kinds of food to maintain energy throughout the day. Others use stimulants to force their bodies to be alert for more hours than is natural. I like food, but not the drugs (I’ll stick to cannabis).
Weird Work Habits and Routines
One thing that happens as a result of our machine-like nature is that we develop weird habits for getting things done. If there’s a certain sequence of activities that will improve one’s productivity, most people will do it.
Mantras are a mild example of this. If you whisper certain phrases to yourself over and over again, it probably doesn’t rearrange the ‘energy’ of the world around you… but it could totally work as a way to mentally prioritize an idea. By focusing on a concept, one “primes” their mind for opportunities, a scientifically proven phenomenon.
Some habits are weirder…
For example, I had a recent post about how I love watching video game speed runs. Now that plot has evolved, I am using speed runs as a work productivity enhancement method.
It turns out that if I put speed run videos on my cell phone and lean it within view of my laptop, silently, it helps me to stay focused. The video is non-distracting and I don’t care about what happens because it is just a video game over and over. This helps me resist the urge to click on any real distractions, because I do have the speed run to glance at now and then.
More importantly there is a motivational aspect. Speed runners have a remarkable amount of determination. 99% of runs are failures right from the start. It’s common to watch a speed runner restart a game dozens of times within a few hours, making mistake after mistake.
Watching that process unfold again and again keeps me motivated. It’s a direct example of not letting failure hold you back. Watching the speed runner’s pain helps me face my own daily journey.
What Are Your Weird Routines?
Of course no self-improvement handbook is going to advise you to watch video games to improve productivity. This is a weird and personality-specific tactic that works for me because my brain moves quickly and I need some extra “noise” to stay focused.
Do you have your own work habits? Something that you think most people don’t do, but that really helps you be as productive as possible?
I’m very curious about this one so definitely let us know in the comments if you have a good answer!
Cook a lot of Earl Grey tea, add some milk and type away!
I can't do cafés any longer b/c I've become way too accustomed to working with both earplugs and over-the-ear noise-canceling headphones. It feels a bit weird numbing the senses to that extent in public, but it works at home or in the office!
I like and enjoy your every post. Your writing is too good.
when i work i need to get off my seat and walk around a little lol. many times
At one point in the past I had a very intense job and would have to listen to Rage Against The Machine prior to work to amp myself up to the needed level.
Now my job isn't so intense, just soul sucking. I play with my cryptos throughout the day and watch the money roll in.
This helps me stay motivated to hang in there until I'm free of the rat race.
Errr.. idle into town for a coffee and muffin or two, stroll back, 'Homes under the Hammer' and more coffee, then lunch, quick nap, nip up the club for a workout, sauna and steam, more coffee, nip to the allotment, collect the harvest, bake some bread and make some soup, eat lunch: then I'm ready to power through 2 hrs of work before thinking about dinner.
But no, for real....Oddly enough I just read a post by @guyfawkes4-20 on staying disconnected which pretty well summarises my views on productivity - no rituals, just disconnect as far as possible and GTF on with it!
I am confused.. please post an example of 'speed running"