📗 Understand
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27 août 2024
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6 min read
Are you feeling overwhelmed and desperately searching for the ultimate productivity hack that will change your life? Maybe you've read countless blog articles or stumbled upon magic pills to boost your concentration? It’s time to take a step back.
Sorry to break it to you, but magic hacks don’t exist, and anyone who says otherwise is scamming you—oops.
Are we shattering your dreams? Let us give you some context to understand why. Hacks are often simplistic propositions that are primarily clickbait (content designed just to generate clicks).
Why do they work so well? Today, many of us are victims of technology: TV, computers, tablets, and smartphones. We spend several hours a day on them—an average of 4 hours and 19 minutes on our phones alone, according to Data Reportal. This has significant consequences on our health (exploding sedentariness leading to vascular problems, overweight, obesity, etc.), capacity to focus (plummeting in recent years according to studies by Gloria Mark), sleep, social life, and more.
Seeing every aspect of our lives affected intrigues and even worries us. However, when it comes time to change bad habits, it’s far from simple. Everything seems to hold us back, convincing us not to change.
"Screens present a unique minefield of distractibility, with their constant flow of notifications and information—and that’s by design" —Gloria Mark
All the services we use depend on our attention; that’s how they make money. So, there’s no way they’ll let you go! That’s where all the profiteers come in, selling effortless hacks to change all your bad habits in a snap.
What is Productivity (really)?
In their books, best-selling authors Nir Eyal and Cal Newport define productivity as the ability to focus a substantial portion of our time and attention on tasks that truly matter to us and propel us toward our goals.
"Deep Work" by Cal Newport: Cal Newport promotes the idea of “Deep Work,” which involves focusing without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks to produce meaningful results.
"Indistractable" by Nir Eyal: Nir Eyal focuses on habit management and attention mastery in his book “Indistractable.” He discusses how to avoid distractions and create productive habits.
The takeaway from their books is that there are no magical fixes that will solve everything overnight. Change starts with introspection (it might take time!). Once you find what motivates you, it's all about being consistent and repeating simple actions daily until they transform your life.
So Why Hacks Don’t Work?
It’s quite simple. Those not ready to change, won’t change. Hacks mainly appeal to those unwilling to invest their time and attention in real, more costly solutions (in terms of time and energy). They choose to believe in miracles rather than hard work.
Hacks might work for a while, yielding encouraging results, but they’re often not sustainable. Here are four major reasons why they won’t work this time or the next:
😪 Lack of Personalization
Productivity hacks are often generic solutions that don’t account for personal differences (everyone has different biological rhythms, preferences, and work styles. What works for one person may not work for another) or the need for flexibility (hacks aren’t always adaptable to changing circumstances or unforeseen events).
🎯 Short-Term Solutions
Productivity hacks are often temporary solutions. Yes, some might offer a temporary boost in productivity, but these gains are often not sustainable. Why? Because they lack deep change: They don’t address the root causes of productivity problems, like bad habits or poor time management, but only the symptoms!
🧨 Risk of Burnout
Excessive use of productivity hacks can lead to burnout for two reasons: intense pressure (hacks can encourage a relentless work pace without sufficient breaks, leading to burnout) and lack of recovery (often, they push to ignore the need for rest and recovery, reducing long-term effectiveness).
🪃 Boomerang Effect
Focusing on hacks can divert attention from core goals, ultimately having the opposite effect of what’s intended. By concentrating on minor tasks, hacks can encourage a focus on immediate, rather than long-term and meaningful, projects. This rests on a simple concept: creating the illusion of productivity. They can give a false impression of achievement without real progress on important tasks.
So What Should You Do in These Cases?
There are proven methods that will require some time and investment. Sure, they will demand effort, but why worry if the results are positive afterward?
We searched online for the best ways to optimize productivity and regain concentration capacity. These aren’t magic hacks; they are tried-and-true methods, many of which are widely supported by key figures in the field.
🫡 Always have clear goals
Get aligned. Write down your top three goals and the top three activities you spend most of your time on each day. Do they align?
Use the SMART Goals method: Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) to clearly define what you want to accomplish. Stop getting lost in endless to-do lists. Learn to sort, organize, and prioritize your tasks.
Opt for long-term planning: It’s important to know what you’re doing tomorrow, in three months, or by the end of the year. It gives structure and meaning to each task. You’re no longer working in a permanent fog; you’re building your future every day. Create a long-term plan with short-, medium-, and long-term goals to stay focused on your priorities.
🌱 Develop clear work habits
The day is divided into two distinct moments: morning and evening. These periods define how each of your days unfolds. Neglect them, and they’ll make you pay.
Develop a good "Morning Routine": Establish a morning routine that mentally and physically prepares you for a productive day. Avoid social media and a flood of emails and reminders first thing in the morning. Take time to wake up calmly, take care of yourself (exercise, meditate, read, etc.). Then, you can start the rest of your day peacefully.
Build better "End of Day" habits: Unwinding is just as important as anything else. It’s like moving from one book to another without reading the end—so frustrating! End each workday by planning the next and taking time to decompress. Find activities (preferably off-screen) to relieve the often unseen pressure accumulated throughout the day.
📋 Better task prioritization
Let’s put an end to multitasking; it’s a myth! Biologically, it’s not possible. You’re not a superhuman; you’re no different from your neighbor: you can’t manage 30 tasks simultaneously.
"You can do anything, but not everything." — David Allen
Instead, you can develop better task management:
Eisenhower Method: Categorize tasks into four categories: Urgent and Important, Important but Not Urgent, Urgent but Not Important, Neither Urgent Nor Important. We discuss this in detail in this article.
80/20 Rule (Pareto): Focus on the 20% of tasks that bring 80% of the results. We explain everything in detail in this article.
🍬 Minimize Distractions
We can’t stress this enough: how do you expect to stay 100% focused if you’re constantly interrupted? Whether by a message, a call, or a notification, a simple interruption can make you lose nearly 23 minutes each time. Here’s a simple solution:
Install an app blocker on your computer and phone: Head to the App Store and try Jomo for free. It’s very user-friendly (no need to be a tech pro), and with one click, you can block the most distracting apps and websites whenever you need to (this is just a small part of the app).
"I did so much research before finding the right app. This is it: the design, user-friendly app, at an affordable price. JOMO is the one. It allowed me to gain my focus and stay super productive with a very demanding schedule. I have been telling all my friends about it!!" — a Jomo user on the App Store.
By implementing these sustainable methods and integrating them into your daily routine, you can significantly improve your productivity without resorting to magic hacks. These strategies promote a balanced and personalized approach to time and task management, allowing you to achieve your goals more effectively and sustainably.
