aura productivity e-book 2016

A collection of productivity hacks for those who truly want to better themselves

www.auratech.io | www.productivitydigest.net

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Foreword 3 Dealing with Productivity Distractors 4

What is hurting your productivity in the office? Become more focused

Exercise for Productivity 8 Optimizing your lunch hour How to get in some exercise at the workplace

Leisure Time as a Productivity Hack 11 Take advantage of vacation time The counterintuitive benefits of vacations The power of sleep, your mini vacation Optimize your vacation time More Technical Personal Productivity Hacks 16 The myth of multitasking: Why multitasking doesn’t work A case study on salesmen and the inefficiencies of multitasking Creating better to-do lists


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Foreword

Hello! Just like you, we are a group of professionals seeking to become more

productive and live a simpler life. In our increasingly busy lives, we are all trying to get things done more efficiently.

We have collected these simple productivity hacks to help you become more productive and take control. In addition, we will also be introducing productivity hacks directly related to personal growth. Dive in!


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Dealing with Productivity Distractors

In the age of social media and the Internet, there are no shortage of ways to take our minds off of the task at hand. And the problems don’t stop there. In addition to the already distracting allure of the Internet and social media, the rise of smartphone poses an additional threat to productivity. But just how harmful are these distractors?


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What is hurting your productivity in the office?

• Cell phone/texting, gossip, and social media use have been agreed as some of the most prominent distractors when surveying Human Resources employees

• You spend on average 20 hours online at your job, ¼ of which is spent surfing non-work related content

• Americans that own smartphones, spend on average 5 hours a day on these

devices and waste about ⅓ of their time at work distracted by these devices

• Research shows that in the US, most of us check social media outlets at least 17 times a day and at least once every waking hour


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Become More Focused

1. Adjusting your Work Environment Limit the temptations of distractors foremost:

a. Blocking certain websites b. Prohibiting personal calls c. Monitoring internet usage d. Scheduling break times e. Creating an open space layout as opposed to cubicles

2. Implement simple time management tricks

a. Prioritize daily tasks and choose three important goals you have for the day that you must accomplish first


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b. Use cycles of work followed by break (i.e. work hard for 40 minutes without distractions then take a 20-minute break)

3. Beat Procrastination through Small Steps We like to imagine the worst parts of the project instead of meeting it head on, but the better solution is to tackle the project head on! Here are some ways we can limit our tendency to procrastinate:

a. Break the task down into manageable steps so as not to feel as overwhelmed b. Think about the success you will feel once you complete the task c. Announce your goals in progressing towards your project to your coworkers!

Your coworkers can keep you accountable and avoiding embarrassment is a powerful motivator as well.


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Exercise for Productivity

How to make lunch the most productive hour in your day

We see lunch as the time to relax and blow some steam off, but if we spend this

hour every day doing absolutely nothing other than eating, then we could be wasting a very important hour of the day. This could, in fact, be your most productive hour. Here’s how to make that happen:

1. Check your afternoon schedule

Odds are that you have meetings and calls after lunch so make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare.


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2. Reorganize your to-do list

By lunch time your day is about halfway done, and you get a better understanding about which of your goals are attainable and which ones can be put off for some other time.

3. Engage in a “Lightning Workout” A few yoga poses, some pushups or crunches can help you before you get back to your job, as giving yourself physical exercise can help promote productivity once your lunch break is over.


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How to Get in Some Exercise at the Workplace

It is often hard to make time to exercise. A good solution is to incorporate some exercise into your routine at the office, not just at lunchtime. Here are some ways to sneak in exercise at work, without looking too funny.

1. Bike or run to work

Those of you that live a few blocks from work can take advantage of this by biking or running to work.

2. Sit on a yoga ball Sitting on a yoga ball aids in strengthening abdominal muscles, and studies have also found that one’s attention can increase when sitting on yoga balls.

3. Take the stairs! There is usually the option to take the stairs and going the longer way is an easy way to get some exercise at work.

4. Sneaky Desk Workouts Simple exercises like flexing your abs/glutes in 30 second intervals and using a hand gripper are extremely easy and beneficial.


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Leisure Time as a Productivity Hack

Take Advantage of Vacations

Many of us tend to neglect our option to take vacations as they are thought of as a waste of time. Studies show that our brain feeds off of vacations but the U.S. Travel Association found that most workers fail to use up 5 vacations days on an annual basis. Many HR professionals believe that using up vacation days actually makes employees more productive when in the office.


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The Counterintuitive Benefits of Vacations

1. Vacation time increases brain power a. University of California study shows that vacations allow for your brain to fully

recharge b. University of Nijmegen has found that vacations promote new solutions to

problems 2. Vacation time helps the body and physical health

a. Taking regular vacations can reduce the risk of disease by 21% b. Men who frequently skip vacations increase their chance of heart attack by

30%

3. Vacation times aids mental health o The University of Occupational and Environmental Health study supports that

with more vacation time you become less prone to depression


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Optimize Your Vacation Time to Your Best Productivity Advantage

1. Catch up on reading It may seem given but diving into a good read can help to relax your mind and reading about a variety of subjects, whether it be strategy or product growth, can provide a new perspective during vacation

2. Organize your inbox Before you go on vacation make sure everything in your email inbox is sorted and there are no lingering emails you have failed to address appropriately. If you ensure that your emails are cleared before leaving, you can focus on what’s most important on vacation—rest!


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3. Set goals for yourself A useful way to take advantage of your vacation time is to take a minute to reflect and think of 3 simple ways you could improve as a person once your vacation is over. Once you come back from your vacation you can implement these strategies in your everyday life to help you become the person you want to be.

The Power of Sleep, Your Mini-Vacation

• Surgeons who received insufficient sleep the night before surgeries have a 20-32% increase in mistakes made

• Studies show that insufficient sleep leads individuals more prone to headaches

• Studies show that people who haven’t received enough sleep are more prone to become distracted


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Now, while there isn’t a “magic number” as to how many hours you should sleep every day, studies have found that most individuals operate optimally on 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep a night but this obviously varies from person to person. However, even if you can’t achieve enough sleep, there are simple ways to become more awake and focused.

1. Sit near a window Research has shown that those who receive more natural light achieve a better night’s sleep and come back more refreshed the next day

2. Turn off electronics before sleeping

The bright light from your phone or TV can trigger your brain to become more awake and hinder your ability to achieve quality sleep

3. Take a nap!

If you feel exhausted, a quick “power nap” lasting 20 minutes during your lunch break can be a last resort. Naps have been shown to restore alertness as well as heighten sensory perception


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More Technical Personal Productivity Tips

An important part of improving your personal productivity is limiting the amount of time you spend multitasking. Many of us place lots of items on our to-do-lists and feel the need to get a lot of done, viewing multitasking as an efficient use of time. However, multi-tasking is dangerous and most of us don’t know how to make proper to-do-lists.


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The Myth of Multitasking: Why Multitasking Doesn’t Work Multitasking actually cannot be supported by the brain and our minds are optimally

built for doing one thing at a time. • Research shows that if you increase the number of things that the brain needs to

pay attention to, you block out important information and ultimately disrupt your decision-making abilities

• When multitasking, you are creating the perception that all tasks at hand are equal in importance when this is not necessarily true, and it is more important to prioritize your larger goals

• You spend 4 times longer recognizing new things when you are multitasking

• Studies show that you reduce productivity by 40% when multitasking


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A Case Study on Salesmen and the Inefficiencies of Multitasking Imagine you are a salesperson. You might think it’d be efficient to multitask and look to

close multiple deals at once, but here’s why it’s better to prioritize one deal at a time:

• There is an 88% increase in talk time per salesperson when prioritizing one client at a time

• Salesmen that use prioritization instead of multitasking have generated 121% more revenue and a 97% higher conversion rate

Rethink Traditional To-Do Lists and Make Your Lists 100 Times Better A big reason as to why we multitask is because we make mediocre to-do-lists

which pressure us to get a lot done. Here are some simple steps to improve your daily to-do-list:

1. Create a List of Your Long-Term Goals

Before anything, you want to create a master list which is a list in which you identify all the future goals you seek to accomplish. Identifying long-term goals is an important step before you create your new to-do-list because these are ultimately going to be the goals you work toward every single day.

2. List your Daily Focus at the Top of the Page Having a single priority that relates to your long-term goals can allow you to focus on what matters most. Every day, you want to feel like you grew as a person and took a small step towards your long-term goals, and the daily focus allows you to feel accomplished. The structure of your to-do-list is also important and having your focus at the top ensures you never lose sight of your priority.


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3. Create an Achievements List Instead of listing all that you have to do, track all the steps you have accomplished in progressing towards your goal and list all your achievements of the day. This technique is also called an anti to-do-list and ensures that you are not bombarded by tasks that “must” be completed today.

4. Utilize Micro-Journaling at the End of your To-Do List At the end of the day, implement the practice of micro-journaling, in which you write on one specific topic as opposed to endlessly journaling about all your thoughts on a particular day. On your to-do-list, you can use micro-journaling to write about how you worked towards your long-term goals and how you plan to do so tomorrow. In this way, you are able to reflect on what matters most to help yourself grow.


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Thank You

Thank you for taking the time to read our eBook on Productivity Hacks. At Aura (auratech.io), we are dedicated to the mission of helping individuals gain clarity in their lives and become their best selves, the very reason we decided to write this eBook. Follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/myaura16), Twitter (twitter.com/_myaura), Instagram (instagram.com/_myaura), and Medium (medium.com/@myaura) for even more useful information, and please don’t forget to share productivitydigest.net with your loved ones. Sources: Hubspot, CNN, Forbes, Huffington Post, Psychology Today, American Journal of Epidemiology, New York Times, Gallup


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Aura is a simple solution to finding the purpose of your day, getting things done, and becoming your best self.

www.auratech.io www.productivitydigest.net

aura productivity e-book 2016

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