J'ai passé la semaine à lire des articles sur la productivité. Voici ce que j'ai appris.

Since I have a Pocket account integrated to my Koboe-reader, my life has changed. I read articles all the time: at night when I come home from school, on the bus, to breathe a little between my assignments. It has become a kind of drug.

And what am I reading about?

About productivity. I'm obsessed with it.

I have my reasons. Every day I have to juggle 3 daily assignments and university classes. Two of these three assignments are mentally demanding and require at least 4 hours of concentration without a break. My classes are three to four hours long each. Add to that the homework: that's a lot.

It's a good thing: productivity is very fashionable these days. I'm not the only one who is trying to achieve fulfillment through work, be physically fit and have a high level of morale.

So this week I devoured dozens of articles on morning and evening rituals, diet and exercise, all in an effort to make myself happier, more energetic, and thus more able to get through my days with flying colors.

Here's what I took away:

Start the day with a mantra

Or, in other words, vizualize. Positive thinking has had its moment of glory, and after several articles that have destroyed it, it seems that no one takes its advice literally anymore. Still, we agree that there are some benefits to positive thinking. In the morning, it puts us in the right frame of mind. If we tell ourselves that the day is going to be beautiful, the most beautiful of our life (and ideally that we try to believe ourselves), we will tend to make it so. And whether that's true or not, at least the chances of having a crappy day are a little less.

Take time for yourself

Before starting the craziness of the work day etc. etc., we take time to indulge ourselves and to refocus. I have a cup of matcha (pure delight) while listening to the radio (love of my life). I confess, I was influenced by this article, that promotes matcha so well, and by David's Tea's infallible marketing strategy. It's my morning coffee.

Make a calendar for the day (not a to-do list)

This Forbes article destroys the to-do list pretty convincingly.

Items on a to-do list can sit there forever, constantly getting bumped by things that seem urgent in the moment. And having this list of things that still need to get done is a root cause of underlying stress.

How I recognized myself in this. I used to list a bunch of tasks I wanted to accomplish during the day, without evaluating their order of importance or the time each task should take. As a result, I would do the tasks I wanted to do, and the others would be put off until the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day. Planning a space in your day to do each thing requires more thought, and this way, you make sure that each task will actually be done.

Note: we never talk about people who are simply undisciplined. They assume that a different tool will fix the problem, which is obviously not the case. Unfortunately, at the moment, I haven't found a remedy on the net.

Eat a high protein breakfast

In his quoted and requoted book The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferris recommends eating 30 grams of protein 30 minutes after getting up. And everyone is aware of the wave of love for protein that keeps growing across the web. It quells hunger, has almost no calories, and is good for your muscles. I don't know why the number 30 would be magical, but I know I feel better if I have quinoa with a little fat than a bowl of granola with fruit. Sugar is bad.

Doing demanding or unpleasant work

“Eat the frog", as they say. Apparently, the time when you are most in control of yourself is in the morning, and as the day goes on, that ability to control yourself diminishes. In my case, this is true. Exercising in the evening after work is much harder for me than doing it in the morning when I get up. The same goes for demanding work: I'm more able to get my neurons working in the morning when I've had a good 8 hours or more of sleep than in the evening when I've had it up to here and just want to watch a Loft Story.

Exercise

If you don't already have a workout routine because you tell yourself you don't need one, or if you don't feel at least a little guilty about not having one, you must be living in a very deep cave. We're so urged by everyone to exercise that it gives us a headache. But it's probably the best habit you'll ever have. To name just a few of the benefits, exercise :

Gives energy (and does not exhaust us as one might think)
Improves our cardiovascular health, allowing us to sprint to catch the bus without tearing our lungs out
Is good for the bones
Helps to concentrate
Makes you feel better
Makes you smarter
Helps prevent obesity (but not necessarily to lose weight))

Etc. An article that sums it all up: This Habit Will Change Your Life

Take a (cold) shower

This one I can't do. I hate the cold. But this time according to Tony Robbins, among others, the cold shower is great (after the first 20 seconds). It boosts your metabolism, puts you in a good mood, and wakes you up. I find that a hot shower is more than enough to put me in a good mood. But I admire those who dare to suffer.

Take breaks throughout the day

Essential to avoid burn out. The Pomodoro technique is a good way to force yourself to take breaks: you put a timer on for 25 minutes, then take 5 minutes, and do it again. After the fourth time, you take a 15-minute break.

I find it hard to apply, because sometimes I have to stop in the midst of excitement and inspiration, but it's worth it at the end of the day because I don't end up burned out.

There are many applications that can be downloaded for free. For an online version, you can follow this link.

Eliminate screens at least one hour before bedtime

The famous blue light. I haven't made up my mind about it yet, because I've heard a few articles that question its harmful effects, arguing, among other things, that it would take a really impressive amount of blue light to see any consequences. Nevertheless, if only to calm our eyes before bedtime, it's always good to turn off the screens before bed. Read a book instead!

Keep a gratitude journal

Being grateful for the good things that comes our way makes you happy. I started following the advice to write down at least 3 things that made me happy during the day. I'm doing well these days for probably other reasons, but it reminds me of nice things, and I forget them less easily

Get at least 7 hours of sleep

Too much of the population lacks sleep. This can increase stress, hunger, decrease our productivity, lower our life expectancy, in addition to the discomfort that I personally find unbearable. I sleep at least 8 hours a night, otherwise I suffer.

Fasting for a minimum of 12 hours

It is not yet proven, but many leads point to the hypothesis that fasting would give our body a break, and thus help it to heal. It would increase our life expectancy, reduce the risk of obesity, eliminate toxins and even destroy cancer.

On the other hand, I have read that our body is quite capable of eliminating toxins by itself without fasting. Since those who are pro-fasting claim most of the time that it helps to eliminate toxins, it makes me doubt the veracity of their arguments.

I still try to fast for 12 hours every day (from dinner to breakfast the next day), because who knows? Besides, I've done this for a long time without any problems.

The result

For the past two weeks, I've made a morning routine for myself. I recite my mantra (Today will be a great day), drink my matcha while listening to the radio, eat a good breakfast, do an important and/or demanding task, work out and then take a (hot) shower. I don't want to advance cause and effect, but I feel really good, and I work longer and more efficiently than ever.