6 Practices that Changed My Life
1. Morning 30
I dedicate 30-minutes every morning towards working on my #1 goal at the moment. Some months that means working out first thing in the morning, other months, that means doing 30-minutes of psychometrics tests to prepare for company interviews. By dedicating my most present and powerful time for making incremental progress towards my #1 goal, I ensure that I feel accomplished by the end of every day. Furthermore, this allows me to avoid burnout from daily tasks that would otherwise have me continually saying, "I'll start tomorrow."
2. Two-day Rule
First introduced to me by YouTuber, Matt D’Avella, I utilize the two-day rule to stay on track with building habits, especially when it comes to the gym. The two-day rule promotes learning a new habit while accounting for the 'life happens' interruptions of every day. The rule goes as follows: whatever the habit is, you must not miss two days in a row. For example, if you go to the gym on Monday, but on Tuesday, a work deadline arises; you miss your workout, on Wednesday, you must go to the gym to stay true to the two-day rule.
3. 20-minute Timer
Often, when we are not passionate about an assignment or a task, we feel unmotivated to complete said task. Or sometimes, we are hindered by the thought of not being able to complete a task to perfection. A practice that significantly changed my life? Setting a timer. Sound simple? That's because it is. The idea of setting a timer is about mastering your mind. The objective is to tell yourself that if you commit to 20-minutes of pure hard work without distraction, you don’t have to do anything else after. The catch? 20-minutes is usually the amount of time it takes for you to get in the 'zone.' After 20-minutes, you will find yourself focused and working for far longer than expected.
4. Smart Multitasking
With an increasing amount of studies suggesting that multitasking is not efficient for our brains, I have quit multitasking when it comes to completing high-level tasks. However, I still multitask in other areas of my life where less focus is required. For example, if I am walking home from university, I’ll take the 30-minute walk to call my mom. If I am going to watch Netflix, I will watch from my iPad while walking on the treadmill. If I am cooking or cleaning, I usually pop in a podcast and learn something new.
5. Morning Briefing
To streamline my news and remain up-to-date with current events, five days a week, I read the New York Times Morning Briefing. The briefing is 100% free and jam-packed with information that takes exactly 5 minutes to read. The Morning Briefing allows me to carry professional conversations throughout my day without spending 30-minutes reading the news every morning. If I’m especially interested in a headline, I make a mental note to research the headline separately later.
6. Gratitude Journal
Every morning, I write down 5 things I am grateful for. I try to be as specific as possible. For example, the comforting conversation I had with my best friend yesterday, the feeling of a slow morning, the kind stranger who let me on the tube during the morning rush, etc. It does not matter how big or small if you are thankful for said 'thing,' it counts. I began this concept after reading Rachel Hollis’s Girl Wash Your Face, and it has stuck ever since. The act of forcing myself to think about 5 things I am grateful for first thing in the morning sets a positive tone for the day ahead.
Those are the 6 practices that I have adopted throughout the years that have drastically altered my productivity and daily routine. I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and make sure to share in the comments below which of the 6 practices you'll be incorporating into your life.
