⏳3 Quick Productivity Tips

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This issue is sponsored by Covenant Eyes.

 

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
(2 Timothy 1:7)

Dear steward,

A little bit of discipline can save you a lot of time. Here are 3 quick productivity tips to help you steward your time more wisely this week.

1. Set Deadlines for Yourself

When I was writing my book, I dragged my feet for 3 months writing very few words per day. Often going weeks without writing anything. But as the deadline approached, my output skyrocketed.

Why?

Because as Parkinson’s Law says, “work expands to fill the time allocated to it.”

Whether it’s perfectionism, laziness, or just procrastination, we are very good at stretching tasks out well beyond the time we actually need to complete them.

Setting a short deadline for yourself can turn what you thought was a 1-month project into a 1-week project.

2. Eliminate Distractions

Studies have shown that the average worker is distracted every 13 minutes. And to make matters worse, it can take up to 23 minutes to refocus after a distraction.

Breaks for email, social media, and interruptions are often bigger time thieves than we realize. While you can’t eliminate all distractions, there are a few you can easily tame:

  • Turn off phone notifications
  • Close your email
  • Declutter your workspace

If you want to gain more time, ruthlessly eliminate opportunities for distraction.

3. Batch Tasks

It takes time to get into “the zone” for focused work.

For example, when I’m recording a podcast, it takes me a while to get into “podcasting mode.” I have to get my head in the right place and make sure I’m injecting my voice with energy. I also have to set up my gear and get the recording software attuned just right. So it’s kind of a waste to go through all of that effort and record just one episode. By batch recording several episodes in a single sitting I save a ton of time and energy.

The same is true for many types of tasks.

  • Batch your email checking and responding into 1 or 2 sessions per day.
  • Batch meetings back-to-back
  • Batch doing chores around the home
  • Batch checking social media

This chart from ToDoist illustrates the power of task batching well:

Stacking small changes like these will help you gain back precious minutes and hours. And they’ll also help make your work more fulfilling because you’ll have a true sense of progress. But most importantly, saving time like this will give you the confidence that you’re stewarding God’s time well.

✨ New on Redeeming Productivity

🎙How to Identify & Leverage Your Unfair Productivity Advantages (31 mins)

Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Are you stewarding them well? In this episode, I talk about one of the most overlooked productivity advantages Christians have and how to utilize your unique giftings to get more done and bring God more glory with your life.

Make sure you’re subscribed to the Redeeming Productivity Show so you don’t miss an episode.

✍️ Why I Chose Circle.so for My Community Platform (10 mins)

I use Circle.so for the community part of Redeeming Productivity Academy. In this article, I give an overview of the platform and explain why I chose it instead of using something like a discord server.

🧑‍💻The Roundup

The Life We’re Looking For (3 mins)

I’m just finishing Andy Crouch’s newest book myself. I appreciated this summary by Darryl Dash.

“The blessings of the modern world are real, but what we’re looking for most is what we sought in our first minutes on earth, and what we’ll search for in our last: a face that gazes back at us.”

(Darryl Dash / DashHouse)

How to switch from Roam Research to Logseq (5 mins)

Between Notion, Roam Research, Obsidian, Logseq, and others, we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to next-generation note-taking tools. But it can be a bear to try and switch between platforms. Haikal Kushahrin has created a series of helpful guides over at Ness Labs:

(Haikal Kushahrin / Ness Labs)

How Will I Find My Ministry Calling? (12 mins)

“How will I find my ministry calling? Will I find it internally, like some impulse that will lead me to start a new thing? Or will my ministry calling come from the outside? Will it come from others telling me where I’m needed?”

(John Piper / Desiring God)

Inbox Pause? How About an Inbox Reset? (2 mins)

“What’s the ultimate solution? An inbox reset. As I detail in my book, you need to start enumerating every type of conversation that’s unfolding over email (or IM, or text), and ask for each, is there a process, or tool, or set of new rules, that would allow us to get this work done in the future without trading multiple unscheduled messages?”

(Cal Newport / Study Hacks)

How to Think Wisely About Becoming a Social Media Celebrity (4 mins)

“More than half of Gen Z and millennials—so those aged 13 to 38—said they’d become an influencer if they could. Even more—86 percent—said they’d be willing to post sponsored content for money.”

(Justin N. Poythress / The Gospel Coalition)

A 3,400-year-old city emerges from the Tigris River (3 mins)

This is just really cool. This site was discovered during a drought in Iraq earlier this year. Archaeologists had to rapidly excavate it before the waters covered it back up. Lots more pictures after the jump.

(University of Tübingen / Phys Org)

🖋Quote of the Week

I have learned over the years that the most important thing to deal with is whatever is most on your mind. The fact that it shouldn’t be on your mind is irrelevant. It’s there, and it’s there for a reason.

– David Allen, Getting Things Done

Resurfaced with Readwise.

🤠 Pardners*

This season of the Redeeming Productivity Show is sponsored by Covenant Eyes.

Covenant Eyes has helped more than 1.5 million people find freedom. Protect your soul with screen accountability software.

Try Covenant Eyes free for 30-days with promo code “ROSE”

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⌛️That’s all for this Week

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I’ll see you next time!

– Reagan

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