Mindful Productivity - The New Way

Dear Friends,

In today's fast-paced world, we're all constantly bombarded with emails, texts, and notifications, and it can be tempting to try and multi-task our way through everything in order to be as productive as possible. But, at what cost? This is where a mindful approach to productivity will benefit us in the long term. It also seems to be the new buzzword, so let’s consider it this week.

Let’s define a few things first, to me being mindful is about being aware of our thoughts and feelings in the present moment. It's about being present and focusing on what's happening right now, rather than getting caught up in the past or worrying about the future. Then productivity to me is just getting things done in a timely manner, nothing more.

When we're constantly being bombarded with information and thus forced to multi-task and try to do a million things at once, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and lose focus. We might find ourselves jumping from one task to the next, never fully completing anything and never truly being present in the moment.

But when we're mindful, we're able to focus on one task at a time and give it our full attention. This not only allows us to complete tasks more quickly and effectively, but it also helps us to be more engaged and produce a higher quality of work. The whole quality over quantity jazz may actually lead to better outcomes - whether it be acquiring a big client, creating a piece of content, or earning that well-deserved promotion.

In addition to helping with productivity, being mindful can also improve our relationships with the people around us. When we're constantly multitasking and trying to do too many things at once, it can be easy to lose touch with the people we care about. We might find ourselves snapping at our loved ones or not giving them the attention they deserve. We may also tip the balance to favour more work and eventually completely ruin healthy relationships.

So, how can we start being more mindful to build a healthier relationship with productivity? Here are a few things that have worked for me:

1. I take a few minutes each day to simply sit quietly and focus on my thoughts and breathing. This helps me clear out my mind and be more present.
2. I set aside specific times for each task I need to complete. This helps me focus on one thing at a time and I avoid multitasking.
3. I practice gratitude (this one’s a work in progress). I try to take a few minutes each day to reflect on the things I’m grateful for. This can help us appreciate the present moment and the people in our life.

By incorporating mindfulness into our daily lives and building healthier relationships with productivity, we can not only be more effective and efficient in our work, but we produce higher quality work and improve our relationships with others.

Gratitude:

This week, I am grateful for having you as a subscriber. Like you there are 945 people that subscribe to this newsletter. Despite my inconsistent posting, I am surprised to still see an open rate of 40-50% with every post. I’m also super grateful for the generous feedback and value I’m able to add to others. I hope to be more consistent with this newsletter going forwards (he says lol).

Recommendation:

I would be in the gutter if I did not recommend ChatGPT by OpenAI this week. It’s the new shiny toy and has gained over 1+ million active users in less than 5 days. For comparison, it took Facebook 10 months to achieve that. It’s a completely free AI tool that interacts with you in a conversational way. You can give it prompts and it will produce very plausible/realistic results — you have to try it to appreciate what I mean.

Quote:

We cannot alter objective facts. But subjective interpretations can be altered as much as one likes. And we are inhabitants of a subjective world.

[From My Readwise, Book: The Courage To Be Disliked]

As always be safe, and be happy.

Warm regards - Yath 🤟🏾

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