Favorite Life Hacks ~ What Are They?

[IceCreamKid]

My favorite life hacks:

1. Get up early at 4 or 5am and immediately start working on the hardest task of the day. Accomplishing it gives me a sense of forward momentum that stays for the rest of the day. DO NOT EAT HEAVY CARBS while working or else your insulin in your blood will spike, thus calling you feel tired and slow. I try to eat super lean when I want to get a lot of work done.
   
2. Towards late afternoon I probably feel tired or sluggish so I'll go out for a quick walk. This gives me a sense of renewed energy. It feels GREAT.
3. 10pm go out for a drink. I can't be switched onto business 24/7 so the pint of beer or glass of wine is my ritual for simply releasing stressed energy. Getting out and feeling that crisp Cali air is energizing too.

I think becoming more aware of energy levels and mental clarity was when productivity started to skyrocket.

 

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[snowbank]

I am literally 5-10x more productive when I write myself a detailed schedule the night before for the following day.

 

[Magik]

The best hack I have found is elimination, which is more of an act and a process, than a hack. This means eliminating people who are negative. This means moving to a new location if your current location no longer serves you. This means getting rid of pointless crap that takes up too much space. This means to stop doing things that waste time and retract from your focus. Elimination is the single best tool I have found for getting more done. It's where the entire time management process starts.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Bulletproof Coffee is responsible for kickstarting 6 out of every 7 of my mornings.

Basically it's organic wet processed coffee beans course ground in a french press. After a few minutes I add MCT oil and butter from grass-fed cows. Blend it using a Magic Bullet until it's frothy.

I was not a coffee drinker prior to bulletproof coffee but I absolutely love this stuff as does my wife.

This coffee is like being drip fed energy all day long. I don't get the usual spike of energy one gets after drinking "regular" coffee followed shortly thereafter by a crash. Rather the energy is sustained throughout the day.

It helps with focus and mental clarity.

I know @Likwid24, @Red, @theag (and maybe @MarkNNelson) drinks it pretty consistently. Maybe they can chime in as well.

More info:
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-recipe/
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-mistakes-butter-coffee-fatty-coffee-and-more/
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/announcement-cognitive-study-with-bulletproof-coffee/
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/one-ugly-mug-the-science-behind-just-one-mold-toxin-in-your-coffee/

 

[workingtitle]

Wake up earlier than you normally do. Accomplish something (anything) while others are sleeping. That momentum will carry you through the day.

Hydrate properly (close to a gallon a day). Eat enough food (we usually don't). Vitamins. Exercise every day.

STRETCH. STRETCH. STRETCH. Some form of Yoga or Pilates will do more for you than you can possible imagine. Flexible body, Flexible mind.

When something comes to your mind that you need to do, DO IT IMMEDIATELY. Don't think about it, just do it. Thinking takes more energy than doing. That small little burst of accomplishment will fuel your next task throughout the day.

Try to do one positive thing outside of your comfort zone every day. The things that make you think "Oh that's not for me. That's for other people." "I can't do that. Are you crazy?" That thing. Do it.

Masturbate less. I'm sorry to be crude, but if this is you, don't make a comment, just do it less.

Allow yourself to feel your emotions. Don't try to bury them or hide them. If you need to cry, then cry. Who sees you? Nobody. If you need to scream, scream into a pillow. A breakdown? Do it in the shower. You'll always feel better afterwards.

Realize you control your own reality. If you believe you can do something, you will. You don't, you won't. Your mind is the lens through which you see the world. Force yourself to believe things that are positive, even if you don't. Lie to yourself. Eventually positive lies will become truths. "Fake it till you make it" includes positivity.

Most importantly...

Remember every day that nobody will come rescue you. Not your parents, not your spouse, not your friends, not your kids, not this forum, and not God. You and ONLY you are in charge of your own life. Currently successful? Better pick yourself up before it gets worse. Fallen on hard times? Better pick yourself up before it gets worse. Homeless? Better pick yourself up before it gets worse.

You're either getting better or you're getting worse. There is no such thing as stagnation.

If you keep these few things in mind throughout your day, every day, and like MJ says develop a PROCESS of successful action (implying consistency and commitment) you will have "hacked" your life.

If you're supposed to do something, and you don't, for ANY reason, you lack the necessary commitment to succeed. Excuses don't exist in the real world. Excuses imply you're explaining yourself to someone. Remember what I said above? Nobody is going to come rescue you. Therefore you have nobody to explain yourself to and no use for excuses. "Do or Do not. There is no try." "The only thing standing between you and your success is the bullshit story you tell yourself as to why you can't achieve it".

How many more quotes do you need?

 

[SteveO]

I prefer clean living. Reasonably healthy eating, exercise to the extreme, good sleep schedule. I agree with the early to rise routine.

No alcohol, caffeine, and minimal sugar.

Live in the moment and don't worry about past or future. Do what you want (hopefully, you want to make money).

 

[AroundTheWorld]

In another thread, @IceCreamKid posted a link to the picture of a brain after a 20 minute walk.

And, he mentioned that @AllenCrawley has the scoop on bulletproof coffee. What in the heck is that? I've never heard of it?

This isn't really a hack, but practicing Yoga does wonders for my brain. I have more energy and can think more clearly after a Yoga session.

What Are Your Favorite Life Hacks?

 

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[Gsuz]

Cool thread.

A few things I do daily + benefit for me

1. Getting up at 5am.

Benefit: More energy and way better focus, because everything is so quiet and calm in the morning. Feels great to get things done, look at the clock and it's only 10am, gives a feeling of really owning the day.

2. Cold showers.

Benefit: Wakes you up like no other, gets the blood flowing, gets me hyped up, because once you withstand => personal THIS IS SPARTA moment in the shower.

3. Meditation.

Benefit: Calms my mind, I used to be very racy in my thoughts, now I have more control about the voice in my head which allows me to focus on the task at hand.

4. If something doesn't take longer than 2 minutes to do, do it right away.

Benefit: Small tasks like doing the dishes, putting newspapers in the trash etc. don't add up and you get them out of your mind instead of constantly reminding yourself that you still need to do it.

5. Notebook

Benefit: I do have a notebook where I just note whatever comes to my mind, especially ideas and quotes from books. This works as some kind of brain dump and is a great way to look up noteworthy things from certain books without having to read them again.

6. OneNote

Benefit: Really neat piece of software by Microsoft, you can create notebooks and fill them with all kinds of content, articles, pdfs, images, videos, audio recordings, it syncs with all devices, integrates nicely into the Office suite (spreadsheets and Visio) and the free version has like 7 GB or so of storage.

I started using it, because often I'd find articles or videos on specific topics that I know would come in handy at some point of time.
Initially I saved all of them into different folders inside of my browser's bookmarks, but it started to get very cluttered and disorganized.

That's when I started to create different notebooks inside of OneNote to keep track of all those things. Let's say you create a notebook named business where you collect all the information on business, you then create different segments for mindset, ecommerce, marketing. You can then create different pages within these segments and really narrow it down to ecommerce > importing > fees for example.

Another cool feature is the use of tags which allow you to assign certain tags to a note you create. Say you'd be saving noteworthy quotes by MJ, but he has advice on fitness, importing and breakfast recipes. You could then assign the tag "MJ" to every note based on MJ's advice and then create a summary page which automatically pulls all the notes with the tag MJ and displays them on one site.

 

[ddall]

For clarity of mind, strength of spirit and physical energy, I recommend the following:

1) drink lots of water
2) eat primarily paleo (veggies, lean meats, nuts, berries, complex carbs-arguably not paleo). I have a smoothie everyday. Kale, spinich, swiss chard, banana, hemp seed, avocado, kelp, coconut oil, frozen berries. Sometimes add maca, hemp seeds, flax and more.
3) maintain and foster your relationships with spouse, friends, family. Do not neglect this, it helps the spirit. Life is all about relationships, the older you get, the more you realize this to be true.
4)Lift weights. Squat, deadlifts etc. Compound exercises are fantastic. Do not neglect cardio, it clears the mind, and develops higher levels of energy.
5) Get sleep. Nap if needed.
6)Supplements: Omega 3, zinc, magnesium, vitamin D
7) Talk less, listen more.
8) Indulge every now and then to restore balance, this may involve drinking or other...habits.
9) Never stop learning, or fostering curiosity to understand new things and systems. The brain needs to be exercised and sharpened just as the body.
10) Eliminate time wasters that cause noise and mental pollution and add nothing to your goals, or those time-wasters which you cannot control your indulgence with: ie; reddit, video games, even the news.

Balance is key. You must find your balance to maintain your momentuum and optimize your existence,

 

[smartman]

i have a rule of 10 that I follow each day. ten things on my list each day, never more, rarely less. don't feel like washing the dishes? well, get off your a$$ and wash 10 of them, then you can go back to being lazy. The thing is, once you're on your feet and your hands are already wet, you finish your ten dishes, look at the other 8 that you didn't get to, and wash those as well since you're already there. Part of me wants to write a little book about it to pass out to people I know that can't get out of their own way, but another part of me realizes that the last thing the world needs is another a**hole telling people just to show up and do something with their life.

 

[Iwokeup]

* automate the CRAP out of EVERY facet of your life that you can:

- bill pay (easy, free, simple)
- cleaning (if it costs more in your time spent building your company vs paying someone to pick up your stuff, do it)
- Set your calendar app to remind you when certain things are due: important dates, meetings, bills (if not automating), goal deadlines
- If you have a SO, share calendars
- If you're married, use something like Basecamp or Trello to make yourselves a virtual "to do"list, dream projects/vacations, upcoming needs/expenses (like Bobby's gonna need orthodontics by X date and it costs X amount).

* UNPLUG YOUR DAMNED ELECTRONICS!
- They're such a crutch for time wasting. I used to be the BIGGEST "News" junkie around and could talk pretty knowledgably about a huge range of topics. What did that get me? Nuthin.
- You're just avoiding work that needs to be done.
- You'll have better interactions with everyone! Family, kids, etc.
- Turn off notifications on while working on your computer.
- Put the phone in another room.
- Put the phone on "Airplane mode" at night. That way random notifcations, texts, etc don't interrupt your sleep.
- Take a melatonin before bed
- No screen time at least an hour before bed
- Go to bed early

* Have a MIRACLE morning every morning. It works.

* Work out. Who cares what you do...just do something. We're all dying one day at a time. Do you wanna die fat and miserable or fit and happy? This is what I'm doing, and as a life long lifter it's blown my mind. I love it (I do NOT have any $ relationship to this book, btw).

* Choose your friends wisely. If they're bringing positive energy, they stay. If Negative Nancy's, they're gone.

* Choose to be awesome! 99% of people don't believe in themselves. If you believe in yourself then anything is possible.

* And per MJ: just execute baby. Promise only what you're going to deliver. Otherwise, shut your mouth. Remember, coffee is for closers! And don't waste your (or anyone else's) time.

Last but not least: most things in life aren't impossible to acheive (for those interested, I'll share the story over drinks at B&P). Thing is, most people don't want it enough:
- Marine Corps: tough, not impossible. But tons of encounters that began, "Well, I was gonna be a Marine but..."
- Medicine? Same deal. Give up after one rejection. Or don't even start because the mountain looks too steep.
- Fitness? Everyone knows this one
- True, hardcore research? Dear God, the uncertainty and work involved!
- And being an entrepreneur is turning out to be, as MJ says, like being in a North Korean prison camp. Ye gods.....

 

[SBS.95]

Do the hardest thing first. Whatever it is. Just get it done. Everything else throughout the day feels like "easy mode".

If you spend most of the day at the computer, get up every 40 minutes. Do some push ups, pull ups, lift some weights, stretch, whatever. Your brain can only intently concentrate on something for 40 minutes at a time anyway. I'd rather be really sharp and on for 2/3 of an hour than feel slushy for 3/3 of an hour.

Drink more water. However much you think you should be drinking, you can probably double that.

Find a schedule that works for you. A lot of people advocate waking up early at 4 am or 5 am for the feeling of getting things done before the rest of the world wakes up. I can relate to this, except I prefer to stay up working until 2 am or 3 am for the feeling of getting things done after the rest of the world has fallen asleep. To me, it doesn't matter which one you do, just that you have your private, alone "get shit done without distractions" time.

 

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[bane]

Forcing Smiles
if you are feeling not happy. force yourself to smile.
Put your biggest smile on your face right now and try to feel sad. It's kinda hard.

State Changes with Funny Videos
Also, after I graduated University and was applying for Jobs, I created a video of my favourite parts of the Eddie Murphy movie Delirious and watched them 5-10 mins prior to my interviews to change my state into the super positive.

 

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[Bigguns50]

@Iwokeup ... sure...In addition to yours.

• Evernote
• The book "Ready for Anything" by David Allen. I know...not really a hack.
• 3 second rule. No..not when you drop food on the floor, or in the toilet that it's ok to eat it before 3 seconds. Basically...and I got this from TedTalks, if you have a thought to do something..not all things..do it inside of 3 seconds. ie: Compliment someone, make a phone call whether it's personal or business, and get your a$$ out of bed, feet on floor and stand up when your alarm goes off...3 seconds ! The 'science' behind this is basically that if you wait any longer the chances of you doing it diminishes greatly. Works for me.
• Cross off the days on a visible year calendar.
• Keep a journal, or diary, or simple daily notes on a calendar. My attorney gave me this advice yrs ago saying it is submissible in Court if you ever need it.
• Do everything to stay healthy...everyone gets challenged at some point.
• When you get your a$$ handed to you don't get down and depressed. Pull out your anger emotion and turn it into positive action.
• Look outside your little life bubble.

Meh...probably more.

 

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[IAmTheJeff]

Bulletproof Coffee is responsible for kickstarting 6 out of every 7 of my mornings.

Basically it's organic wet processed coffee beans course ground in a french press. After a few minutes I add MCT oil and butter from grass-fed cows. Blend it using a Magic Bullet until it's frothy.

I was not a coffee drinker prior to bulletproof coffee but I absolutely love this stuff as does my wife.

This coffee is like being drip fed energy all day long. I don't get the usual spike of energy one gets after drinking "regular" coffee followed shortly thereafter by a crash. Rather the energy is sustained throughout the day.

It helps with focus and mental clarity.

I know @Likwid24, @Red, @theag (and maybe @MarkNNelson) drinks it pretty consistently. Maybe they can chime in as well.

More info:
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-recipe/
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-mistakes-butter-coffee-fatty-coffee-and-more/
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/announcement-cognitive-study-with-bulletproof-coffee/
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/one-ugly-mug-the-science-behind-just-one-mold-toxin-in-your-coffee/

I'm soooooo doing this tomorrow instead of Dunkin Donuts

 

[JackRuss]

I've been using Jerry Seinfeld's "Dont' Break The Chain" method. For every new comedic material he wrote he'd mark an X on that day to train himself to routinely keep new ideas coming everyday, hence don't break the chain of X's. I use a printed out calendar on my wall and its made me WAY MORE productive. When you have a visual representation of the progress you're making it really keeps you from drifting off or doing the common "I'll deal with it tomorrow" thing.

I also bodybuild and take cold showers.

 

[HeresMyThing]

My "hacks" (bear in mind I'm a Mac tard)

- Evernote to store and tag every brain fart.
- Action Enforcer (a pomodoro style program)
- stickk.com for accountability.
- Sleep Cycle app to wake up feeling refreshed.
- Ambisci Tesla app generates tones that help me take naps.
- Yerba Mate tea > coffee for alertness and no spikes or crashes.
- Tree style tab firefox add on so I don't have rows of tabs.
- X-Mind for mind maps.
- Pandora for background music
- Scrivener for most writing tasks
- Camscanner to take document or whiteboard pics and save them.
- A huge Scrum board so my work is always visible.
- Vipassana mediation - (Shinzen Young) for dealing with difficult emotions.
- RescueTime and Leechblock to shut down distractions.
- A "Big Mo" folder (momentum) with links to Youtube videos that inspire and motivate me when I feel like crap.
- F.lux
- Awareness of The Dip - http://www.bennadel.com/blog/776-the-dip-by-seth-godin-thanks-jack-welde.htm
- Self talk (Shad Hemlstetter)
- regular 80/20 analysis of pretty much every part of my life.
- Application of Parkinson's Law, though I could improve on that.

Richard

 

[Journey2Million$]

1. I never succeeded in anything until I studied success advice, listened to affirmations, etcetera. That's cuz I grew up with horrible parents and horrible school kids who abused me every day and taught me to be a loser like them, even though I was far smarter than them. I still occasionally listen to affirmations for maintenance. They feed positive thoughts into my mind and help me succeed and be happy, unlike the assholes I grew up with who fed negative words and discouragement into my mind and ruined my life.

2. Think positive thoughts and be optimistic. Look for the gold in the world, not the shit. Open yourself to great opportunities. Look for the silver lining.

3. I eat healthy food, like organic veggies and meat, coconut milk, and various high quality supplements and superfoods.

4. My juice machine is a big deal. It makes a big difference for my health and energy. Everybody should use one. I use veggie juice instead of caffeine for energy. Caffeine will drain precious minerals from your body and F*ck up your health. Minerals are hard to get from food these days, and caffeine will make you pee out what little you have.

5. Stay far away from toxic people and losers. Hang around the winners.

6. Be disciplined as you can. Work hard, persevere, get serious, don't make a weak effort.

7. Learn a lot about nutrition and natural healing of your body. Your body is your vehicle, like a car, and you need to take the best care of it to go anywhere. Don't trust doctors and the drug industry. They just want to keep you sick so they can make a lot of money selling you tests, surgery, and drugs.

 

[Pabski]

If you eat breakfast, start each day with only protein+fat. Eggs are perfect. Incredible focus and sustained energy due to no insulin spike/crash.

Record a motivational self-talk and transfer it to itunes. For me, I listen to this as soon as I get to the gym. It gets my mind right and has an incredibly interesting psychological effect when you hear your own voice telling you to focus and put in the effort needed to reach goals. Workouts have much more intensity.

I start each day by writing: Here is a "reason" to smile, have a wonderful day, you deserve it! On a sticky note and then placing that sticky note with a "reisen" candy somewhere public. Living in the dorms makes finding a public place right when I wake up fairly easy =P.

If I find myself eating a food I know will cause a craving for more and likely end up in a cascade of eating crap, I instead enjoy the shit out of the food and then follow it up with either a hardboiled egg or a slice of cheese. Interestingly these foods completely inhibit any craving that would have erupted due to the dirt pudding I previously ate.

Set phone reminder for 2-3x throughout the day that says: "Relax, do deep breathing, focus on the now." I set these reminders around a usually hectic time in order to ground myself and allow for full focus on the task at hand. Just a few deep breaths and productivity/focus increases 10 fold.
Also, a rubberband around your wrist can work quite well when you find yourself getting distracted. Snap it against your wrist to bring you back to "Now."

 

[IceCrusher]

This is my first post in this forum so I think this awesome thread is a nice place to start

My "life hacks":

1. get up early: I cannot always do that, because I'm a student with a part-time job where I have to do night shifts, but I do it whenever I can. It helps me to get so many things done.
2. sports, fitness: I totally recommed doing some kind of martial art. For me, it builds confidence, discipline and is a good way to relieve stress.
3. drink a lot of water: I drink 3-4 liters (about one gallon) of water a day. Helps me to stay fresh and keep a clear head, especially during my night shifts. I never have any headaches, and I think this may be due at least to some extent to the amount of water I drink.
4. eat "five a day".
5. cold shower: really gest me awake and boosts the immune system. I rarely ever get sick.
6. keep a diary: I started this habit about two months ago, and I regret that I didn't start earlier.
7. read a lot. Should be self-explanatory, right?
8. have no TV
9. turn off my PC at least one hour before I go to sleep

and of course, the best recent addition to my life hacks is
10. this forum

 

[Moodswing]

Low Information Diet.

This means that I allow myself to have only a few sites I take knowledge from and ignore/block all the other bullshit. And by bullshit I mean stuff like Radio/TV/Facebook/Twitter/Video Games (Consoles/Phones/Tablets). It's all negative anyway. You don't need any of that shit. And basically if you really give it a try for a week to a few weeks you will start to notice you don't need it at all. You will also notice that your anxiety levels drop and you become more "peacefull"/rested. Happend for me at least!

And oh yeah, basically if you used to use all of the above, like me. You will notice you get a hell of a lot of extra time!

 

[Magik]

Oh, I forgot about my secret weapon: B complex timed release. B vitamins are the main ingredients in 5 hour energy, this stuff, combined with the kava I take, has had a profound effect on focus and calming anxiety. I also take tons of other vitamins: vitamin c timed release, amino complex, complex omega, vitamin D and E, zinc, and kava kava.

 

[FionaS]

My life hacks:

Bulletproof Coffee (I haven't done MCT oil, just butter, but it is great)
Working out regularly
Plan the next day the night before
Eat Paleo (or close to it) and avoid gluten (that, more than anything else, makes me useless for days)

 

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[Czech]

Very cool thread! Here are my "life hacks" for productivity and success.

1) Train your body and your mind. I've been doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 4x per week for 3 years and love it. It's a sport and an art at the same time.

2) Use a CRM to keep track of all of your opportunities, contacts and notes. I use Insightly. It's free and runs on the cloud so that I can access it anywhere from any device.

3) Keep a daily to-do list that is easily accessible. I use Wunderlist. Whenever I have a thought of what something that needs to be done, I immediately put it into Wunderlist.

4) Caffeine. If you are going to call on a long list of prospects, sip coffee and water to stay alert and hydrated.

5) Pushups. On top of training Jiu-Jitsu, I do 250 pushups 6x per week (Sunday's are rest day). Doing pushups throughout my day (or all at once) gets the blood flowing, my energy levels stay higher and my endorphins are through the roof.

6) Play audiobooks in your car instead of listening to the radio. If you listen to an hour of audiobooks per day instead of an hour of radio, that's 365 hours of education. Average Audiobook = 8 hours. Thus 45 books a year, which is the equivalent of a bachelor's degree. (This is from Brian Tracy's "The Miracle of Self-Discipline").

7) Don't leave voicemails for people unless it's an emergency. If you can't reach them by phone, send them an email and make a note in your To-Do List to call them back.

 

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[Rawr]

Here is a lifehack... realize you are a creature of habit and that's all you are. Things you do you'll keep doing. Things you don't want to do you'll have to force yourself to do until it becomes a habit and hence easier and more you.

If I set first day of "don't want to do" thing at 0-5% motivation, by day 3 it is about 40-60%. That's simply incredible and humans are silly.

Also, get a program called Freedom that turns off internet access for a set amount of time.

 

[pickeringmt]

i have a rule of 10 that I follow each day

That is very cool, I'll have to try this!

Forcing Smiles

This is something that I find very powerful. Just catching yourself and consciously choosing to smile instantly changes how you feel.

I also try to force myself to talk to people that I don't know whenever I am standing by them for more than a minute or so. It is just an opportunity to practice getting people to talk. You meet tons of people, and you build your confidence.

One particular "hack" I have been using is this:

I have a pretty good list of all of the stuff I need to do consistently every day - like opening the mail, managing my budget for the family, writing out my affirmation, etc. I used to never get it all done and slip on some because I was trying to get it all done every day.

Finally, I set a timer and started only giving each thing 5 minutes a day.

Now, I am totally caught up on the routine stuff and totally consistent with the daily stuff.

It doesn't sound like enough time to get things done, but just like anything else, force applied consistently over time beats sporadic bursts.

 

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[Milkanic]

1.) Wake up at 5:20AM and get a 30min workout and 1.5hrs of work in before the day job.
2.) Keep an Evernote notebook of a vision board, goals, diary, and affirmations. I work out at home so I review this between sets.
3.) Listen to podcasts/audiobooks during any downtime (showering, driving, etc) and at work.
4.) Fill out a 3x5 notecard with tasks for the next day at night.
5.) Meditate in the late afternoon to refresh my mind.

 

[axiom]

1. Pick 3 Books. Read them everyday. A few months ago, I read everything in sight. I told myself it was to learn, and that was part of the reason. Mostly though, I was action faking and time wasting. Dropped the books. Picked my 3 favorites. Decided to read them and re-read them until I mastered their concepts and applied them in my life. Its better to be a master of a few things than mediocre at many.

2. Repeat your goals to yourself every single morning. It keeps them at the forefront of your mind. This way, you won't become distracted by all of the little details and problems in life. Plus it gets you pumped.

3. Instead of reading motivational quotes, imagine yourself speaking them. Motivational quotes and videos give you a quick shot of adrenaline, and then it dies out. Instead, imagine yourself as the motivational speaker. Imagine you are inspiring millions. Works every time.

4. Drink butter coffee. This is the one fad that I am happy to be a part of. Because it works. Coffee, grass-fed butter, and MCT oil leaves me with lasting energy throughout the day. No jitters. No sharp crash. Its great. By the way, its not that expensive if you don't buy the Bulletproof brand. Dave Asprey did a good job of convincing people that it only works with his brand, but that's not true at all.

5. Take kratom. I believe I've mentioned it in another post, but a big factor in my life is kratom. I won't go into too much detail here--you can look it up and decide if its for you. Essentially, it helps to keep my mindset strong, my productivity high, and my drive through the roof. If taken the right way, there is no tolerance build up. Get high quality kratom, and you are good to go. I may open a thread about it if people are interested. I'm still fairly new to it.

6. 80/20 Principle. Look it up. Learn it. Apply it. Live by it.

7. Eliminate social media/regular media. Social media is for vain and depressed people to show off to other vain and depressed people. Also, regular media is corrupt and nearly always biased. I avoid both. Saves me a lot of time.

There are more, but those are the main ones.

 

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[eliquid]

I could write a ton about this subject...

However, a lot of you guys have listed some awesome stuff and I don't want to duplicate anything ( one of my life hacks ) already shared as that would be a waste

I'll share some that might not be "life hacks", but might just be quirks of mine:

• Theme your days
  This might seem impossible for busy entreprenuers who wear many hats, but it's the same idea as batching.. but for the whole day ( or until you run out of that batch work ).
  
  For example, my Mondays = Marketing. I do all my marketing tasks for the week on this day and I do them first before any other tasks. You will always have other tasks that day, but do all your marketing that day and do it first ( eat that frog ). When done, do the other stuff.
  
  Fridays = Financials. I do all my financial stuff on Friday like pay affiliates, paying myself, paying bills ( if needed ), running projections, accouting, etc. Do them first in the morning and then work on other stuff later.
  
  If I get a marketing task/issue/new idea on Wednesday.. I either wait until Monday and batch it, OR if urgent I put it off until after whatever my Wednesday theme is and do it after that.
  
  Saturdays = Work on my personal wealth building. I list out 10 ideas, listen to money podcasts, work on a new buisiness idea, etc.
  
  These are just examples. Hopefully I gave you enough to go forward on your own.
  
  
• Pay your bills 6-12 months in advanced.
  Some of you might automate your bills on a credit card with auto pay. That's cool.
  
  I never did like that. Things would happen like I would never look at my bill when it came for errors/corrections. My card would expire or get lost/stolen and I would have to get a new one and that would disrupt the auto-pay, etc.
  
  Instead, I decided to simply save up/earn more in cash and then make 1 trip into town and pay my bills 6-12 months in advance and never worry about it. These are recurring bills I am talking about like electric, water, car insurance, phone/internet, cell phone, etc...
  
  I had a lot of ups and downs in my life, so this was a blessing in times I was laid off or lost my job or had no income. If you pay your bills on auto-pay with a debit card and lost your income and had no savings, this could damage you. If you put it on a credit card, you would be building up debt. In my method though, if I lost my income I still had my bills paid all year and had time to get back on my feet without being in danger of losing my phone or electric, etc.
  
  
• Events that start off badly, hardly ever get better.
  This is a tricky one.
  
  I know a lot of you will disagree and say that anything good or "worth it" is a struggle and that "if it was easy, everyone would be doing it".
  
  However, I am not talking about hustle or putting in your work
  
  I am, however, talking about your gut and friction. For example, I had someone that really waned me to help them on their website and marketing. They couldn't find anyone else to do it and singled me out and had a project list a mile long they needed help with.
  
  When I sent them my contract with retainer, they nit picked it to death and stalled on giving me an answer for 3 weeks. I had forgot about them and then they came back in the 4th week wanting to do "per project" based structure. I didn't like that idea, but I gave them a price anyways and they came back days later wanting 40% off that price.
  
  I should have known why this person "couldnt' find anyone else to do it" and that should have been a red flag ( it was, I just ignored it ).
  
  The point is, this wasn't about hustle or putting in work. This was about my gut and the friction involved just to get this person signed up and the social signals of why no one else was helping them anyways. Its a delicate balance and you need to develop this "feeling".
  
  It started off bad, it's only going to get worse... so I just dumped them to the curb as nice as I could.
  
  I apply this principle as much as I can in everything I do to avoid wasting my time and energy.

Hopefully these are a bit different and helpful for you.​

 

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[Daniel A]

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