How To Maximize Productivity Through Zero Movement.
I know it sounds weird, but movement creates disruptions.
Productivity is hard to come by. It is an aggregated output function of our ability to get into the State of Flow, sticking our butts on the chair for long, and the ability to stay focused no matter how tired we are.
There is virtually no guarantee to have these stars aligned day after day … unless we make it happen.
Productivity is at the heart of my daily 1% improvement process.
How do I get more productive? In other words, how do I get more s**t done, given the same amount of time?
Recently, I had an epiphany of sorts. It is akin to a lightbulb moment that requires further experimentation.
And it has been successful to date.
That idea leading to a higher level of productivity is proximity. And by proximity, I mean at arm’s length.
It came to me one morning when I was cleaning the keyboard of my laptop with a wet tissue. You know, the one with disinfectants.
My hands were busy, and my eyes were watching my hands moving in a zig-zagging motion.
And then I started talking to myself.
The keyboard has all 26 alphabets, 10 numerics, and tons of symbols within a defined perimeter. Hmm … interesting.
The laptop is cute. The screen is attached to the motherboard, and the mouse is connected for cursor navigation …
I will spare you from the boring long internal conversation in between.
Hey. Did you notice? Everything you need is within arm’s length.
That’s when I started to focus on what I see. My inner voice is right. Everything that is required for work (hardware-wise) is within arm’s length of the motherboard.
As I powered on the laptop and logged into my home screen, the same concept hit me.
All the applications are within searchable distance or can be prompted via a deliberate search.
I started thinking. I wondered if this is meant to enhance productivity. And then, I started thinking back.
Before the Work-From-Home trend, time was perpetually lost to commute. An hour to the office and back home is 2 hours lost if we transport our brains around without doing anything.
I used to travel around the island to meet prospects. I could cover 42 kilometres from the eastern point to the absolute west and back for 2 meetings.
It goes beyond 2 hours in total.
That is crazy. And as I stared at my laptop, I felt that I was nuts. I have never given proximity a serious consideration before.
And so, I did from that day onward. This is what I did.
First, I created a working desk island of self-sufficiency. The entire idea is developed to support maximum time on my butt.
There is a cup of coffee, a bottle of water, and a stack of reference books on my desk. When I need to drink, my hands can grab the cup without my legs taking a step.
It avoids a break in contact from the work-at-hand. Of course, I had snacks at the working desk too.
Next, I pack activities of the same nature together to enhance the State of Flow. Instead of attending Zoom conference calls at 10 am, 3 pm, 8 pm, I arranged them back to back.
I do this so I can stick to my desk for longer, for the same tasks.
This gives me more time to zip out and get into the State of Flow for video content creation, scheduled for the same day.
It is way easier to block out 2 hours and create 5 videos at once, compared to create 1 video at 11 am, 2 videos after lunch, 2 videos at 9 pm.
There is too much mental energy wasted getting in and out of different activities.
In Summary.
Proximity enhances productivity.
When we have all we need at our arm’s length, we minimize unnecessary movements and prevent a break in concentration.
Clubbing similar activities together serves to enhance productivity as well.
Give it a try. You might experience a highly-productive day, compared to yesterday.
I think you will.
Design A Radius Of Productivity!
Aldric
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