Creating Better Habits

Think back to the last time you made a decision about work: the order you chose your tasks, the meetings you canceled, and the time you dedicated to stepping away from your screen to take a break. 

Now think about all the decisions you made before you even arrived at your computer. 

Those are as important for your productivity as the time you spend doing your work. 

That's why you need to create good habits around the decisions you make before even logging into your workspace.  It turns out those impact your productivity as your actual workload. 

Minimize Decision-Making

Research has shown that all the small decisions—what to wear, what to eat, where to sit—add up.  Such seemingly all decisions consume the same cognitive resources you use to do your job.

That's why powerful thinkers and leaders, ranging from Albert Einstein to Barack Obama, wore the same outfit every day.  They didn't want to waste brain power making such irrelevant decisions. 

Every decision requires time and energy.  Decision fatigue (which is related to ego depletion) was coined by social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister and his colleagues.

The Ego Depletion Theory proposes that self-control is like a muscle.  Ironically, trying to cram in more self-control related tasks can actually impair self-control, causing individuals to make less restrained decisions.

Minimizing seemingly minor decisions can increase the mental power you devote to work.

Maximize Productivity

Here are a few examples of decreasing the number of choices you have to make, thereby increasing your productivity. 

• Set-up your workflow on your computer every night so that you can get right into Flow in the morning.
• Plan your week every Sunday, such as prioritizing your Most Important Tasks (MITs).
• Prepare your outfit in the evening—or just wear the same style outfit every day of the week.
• Plan out or prepare your meals in advance.
• Stick to a daily routine, which automates certain decisions.  This helps establish habits and consistency.

When you minimize your decisions, chances of getting into a Flow State early in the day increase.  The more time you spend in Flow, the more you can achieve.