How to Improve Your Productivity in 5 Minutes

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I came across this tweet above which inclined me to write on the relationship between tech and productivity.

We see toddlers glued to iPads and parents addicted to arguing on Facebook and WhatsApp and don’t think folk in the middle are not too far away from an extreme.

So I’m here to pass along some methods I leverage in my day to day.

Spoiler: The first section of the scroll is very iPhone related, but the overall thesis of the story can be applied to those who use non-Apple products.

Something to Read: Increasing productivity with Screen Time settings

A hot take: Society has became more digitally obese than physically as of late.

Being born in 1996 makes me one of the youngest of the Gen-Y category. So by default my cultural upbringing is split between living with tech and living in tech.

But from then till now I believe it has never been more important to seek boundaries between you and that super computer in your pocket.

And as you read this blog post wherever you are in the world, I hope something said will improve your productivity and overall well-being.

Downtime Settings

This is a feature you’d think this would be more used since it’s been around since iOS12, but I’ve found my peers are usually clueless on it.

It’s a setting that limits who can call/text you and vice versa between a window of time.

How I use Downtime: My iMessage is locked every weekday from 10:30pm until 2-4pm. Only a select few are able to communicate with me between the hours selected. For those in multiple group chats, this is a gamechanger.

There’s a section to add specific people that can text you during the downtime hours.

My workaround: Added all family members, co-workers, and business partners.

App Limits & Selective Usage

This is what I’d call a low hanging fruit tactic where it takes almost no effort but has plenty of upside.

Both Twitter and Instagram are ones I find the most distracting so I place an hour cap on both.

Now does this work 10/10 times? No, but an added level of friction has never not helped.

Embracing the “no-Notification” Lifestyle

I’ve kept a strict “no notification” lifestyle for the past couple years. From Discord to Instagram I’ve blocked all little red numbers on my home screen.

Heck I even went to the length of changing all my apps to black.

Yes this can seem like too much, but each choice has given me back hours of time and energy. The investment is well over ROI positive.

I take pride that my tech doesn't own my attention and I’m not at the mercy of the non-important so I hope you give one of these a shot.

Something to Watch:

How to Schedule Deep Work | Cal Newport

Learn how to do more in less time with a simple productivity framework coined up by author and professor Cal Newport.

Do less, do better, know why.

The snippet above is from a podcast ran by MIT researcher Lex Fridman, so if you’re interested in hearing more of this chat:

• Click here for the full interview (YouTube)

• Click here for the interview in podcast format (Spotify)

A Song to Listen to:

Satin Jackets - Hundred Fifty Up

Listen to this track and many others on La Fórmula, a playlist by Modern Analects

A Quote to Think About:

If you enjoyed anything above — make sure to share with others and spread whatever you feel was valuable.

And make sure to follow all things Analects on Instagram and Twitter.

Until next week,

Burak from Modern Analects