One Productivity Tip to Rule them All
(3 Min Read) A simple trick that you can do today
Today, I am going to share the single most effective productivity tip that will supersede every other productivity tip that you may have read or will read in the future.
That's a big claim, and I will back it up. But before we do that, here is the tip.
A good night's sleep. The next day, you will be more productive, guaranteed.
It is obvious and common sense. But with the current hustle culture, 5 hours of sleep debates, and the 4 AM club, it is worth repeating again and again.
Why is sleep a productivity hack?
A tired mind is slow at processing information. When tired, it gets less done, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
On productive days, we either get a lot done (quantitative work), accomplish hard things (qualitative work), or both.
Both types of work require a lot of brain power. A tired brain is low on energy, and therefore, the ability to process information is low as well. Sleep replenishes that.
A good night's sleep gives the mind the fuel it needs to process information.
How much sleep is needed for a good night's sleep?
This topic has been debated forever. My advice is simple: Sleep as much as you need. We are the best judges of our bodies' needs. Listen to them.
Apart from hours of sleep, one other factor that impacts our sleep more than how much we sleep is the quality of sleep.
The quality of sleep
I measure the quality of my sleep by how busy my mind is when I am sleeping. Was I having dreams or getting reminded of work and chores, etc.? I do have those nights, and the next day, I feel like I haven't slept a lot.
My simple exercise for calming a busy mind is called Brian Dump, which I briefly discussed in this post. If you are interested in details on how I use it every night, let me know in the comments, and I can share the details on why it works and how to apply it.
You may also like my other posts on this topic.
4 Ways to Outsmart the Smart Devices and Skyrocket Focus Time!
Increasing our Productivity and throughput without increasing work
Science of Sleep
Finally, if you are interested in what sleep professionals say about sleep and Productivity, please watch these exceptional TED talks.
The first one is by Dr. Matthew Carter, a biology professor, who is great as he highlights the biology behind sleep and how sleep affects our productivity.
In the second video, Jeff discusses what happens to our brains when we sleep and how they recover the next day.