Take control of your life
Tony Schwartz, president and CEO of The Energy Project, outlines the top four habits he has adopted that have helped him to master productivity and get more work done, leaving more room for a personal life. Let’s face it, we are all being pushed or are pushing ourselves to accomplish more in a day than ever before and technology has allowed our work life to blend in with our personal life as our iPhones make noises all hours of the day and night, demanding attention and giving you the itch to answer to any prompt the devices requests you to.
Schwartz first asserts that sticking to a regular bed time which the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) agrees with, noting that sleep is essential for a person’s health. The NSF reports that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more while over 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month – with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more. Most sleep problems are undiagnosed and untreated.
In today’s culture, we are called to hustle and never stop working and people who exist on three hours of sleep are glorified, yet the body needs so much more. Additionally, we are all pressured to achieve dozens of tasks every day which clouds our priorities. Now, Americans tweet, Facebook, email, take pictures, post pictures, blog, read blogs and newspapers, and return phone calls on top of our existing work tasks. Schwartz says we should all identify the singular most important task of each day to help us prioritize.
Additionally, he encourages people to write down their ideas and tasks on paper and to question themselves when triggered. The four of these are productivity rituals which Schwartz notes, “a ritual consciously created is an expression of fierce intention.” So as you start your day tomorrow, remember to do so by developing productivity rituals to express your own fierce intention.
