Reader Tips For Greater Productivity

Wow. I was very impressed with the feedback I received for my last email. Productivity is certainly relevant to many of our readers, and in this newsletter I’ll be sharing some of the best tips I received.

But before that: I think it’s really important to organize productivity advice in a way that’s relevant to you and that you start working on the tips that address your biggest obstacles. Only you know what those are. Is it distraction? Lack of clarity on what you’re working on? Fear of failure? Feeling overwhelmed?

What is your biggest challenge, and what will you do to overcome it? You can then work on applying more and more tips, in incremental steps.

Now, onto the tips:

Kenny relies on exercising early in the morning, eating healthy food, and playing sports. I can’t stress on how important your body is to your mental clarity and level of energy, which are essential to productivity. So make sure you’re taking care of your body.

Terri Alexander recognized the importance of good sleep by sleeping early to wake up alert. She also surrounds herself with like-minded friends to continuously make progress. The people you surround yourself with truly matter, and you need to be selective about who they are and how strong of a bond you forge with them.

Aseel Al-Masaad had this to say about the importance of people:

“Companionship with visionaries and positive people is one of the best tips I can recommend, this is from my experience.”

Ahmad Al-Ben-Ali deals with stress and overwhelm by focusing on a clear, proximate objective and visualizing a solution to the problem he’s encountering. If you obsess over the problem you’ll feel bad, instead of striving to reach your goal.

Our very own Zainab Mirza admitted to succumbing to distractions and being constantly interrupted while working (I hope she wasn’t implicitly complaining about me. I’ll give her a call later to find out). Zainab finds it necessary to switch off the Internet for an hour or so every day and disconnects every Saturday. What I love about this is Zainab’s recognition of how she can manipulate her environment instead of being manipulated by it.

Abdullah Al-Othman organizes his work into 3 lists: Urgent, Get Done, Can Wait, and works on the most urgent tasks first. This is a great system for prioritization, and can help develop focus on what matters.

Omar El Badry began by acknowledging that we are our own biggest obstacle (can’t argue with that). He believes passion is the foundation to productivity, which he translates into a clear vision that is expressed by timelines and deadlines he keeps in front of him for constant reference to complete his tasks.

Marah stressed on the importance of not blaming outside circumstances, and to always stay positive, regardless of what happens to you. She also writes down every idea that comes to mind, keeping her mind clear from mental clutter.

Finally, Dari Al-Huwail, one of my heroes, said that his motto is to put first things first. This is a video that demonstrates the principle visually. I highly suggest you watch it to get a better sense of why it matters: Putting First Things First.

Thanks to all who shared their tips, and I hope you found them beneficial. 🙂

I already shared the outline of my book to those who shared their advice with me. If you’d like to read it, then reply to this email with either an obstacle you want to overcome or a tip on what you find useful to staying productive.

Speak soon.

Haider Al-Mosawi
Learning & Laughter Officer