Five Counterintuitive Productivity Hacks

What if I told you I found a way to add one more hour to your day, giving you 25 hours each day? Unfortunately, I know of no such hack, but I bet I have your attention. I have met very few people with extra time at the end of the day, and those who did have extra time were not accomplishing much. Every person, and certainly every leader, could use more time. Our days are filled with activity, and we often go to bed at night wishing there were more hours in the day to get things done.

THERE IS A WAY

While there is no way to add hours to our day, it is possible to “redeem time” as the Bible teaches. There are countless books, websites, and blogs about time management — how to plan and organize your daily activities so you accomplish more with the time you are given. At ILI, we call this Stewardship of Time. We believe God has given us 24 hours of each day as “talents” we are to invest wisely, and then give an account to Him for our investment of His resource.

SURPRISING HACKS

While they may not seem to save time, here are five productivity hacks sure to help us maximize our time:

1. SLEEP MORE

   When I was a practicing surgeon, I took pride in my ability to function without sleeping. I could operate all night and still work productively the next day — or so I thought. Then, I was young and naive. Today, I value a good night’s sleep. Productivity blogger Michael Hyatt states,

   In our high-risk, high-reward economy, there’s a healthy pressure to do more with less. It makes sense with time and money. But it’s a productivity killer when it comes to sleep.

   Invest an extra hour in bed every night, and you will more than recover that time in productivity the next day.

2. EAT WELL

   Eating well does not mean eating a lot, but consuming the right food, cooked properly, at the right time of the day. All my life I have struggled with weight, so I know a thing or two about what food does to your body. I have learned to eat healthier in the last 15 years, and better eating habits have greatly influenced my level of energy. Plus, I am in better shape and far more productive at 57 than I ever was at 27!

3. GET UP FROM THE DESK

   I am a “creative.” I could sit at my desk for hours writing or designing, but getting active and exercising has become a game-changer for me. In addition to a daily workout, it's a good idea to take a couple short breaks throughout the day to walk around the office, or even around the block to get your blood pumping.

4. READ, READ, READ

   You may have heard this one, but some of the best long-term investment of our time is in reading. Many authors recommend reading broadly, including at least one book about something unrelated to your work to get “other brain cells” active from time to time.

5. GET SOME R & R FROM TIME TO TIME

   In a world of constant connection, rest and recreation have almost become a bad word. But did you ever notice that the word “recreation” is composed of re + creation? Recreate is to create again. "Time off" reboots our minds and reignites our souls.

WHICH OF THESE HACKS WOULD "ADD" THE MOST TIME TO YOUR LIFE? WHICH ONES ARE YOU WILLING TO TRY NOW?