Hi folks, Shubham here.
I am back with another edition of Life Hacks🛠
Become a Loudspeaker
Accountability is an intelligent hack to keep a check on your goals.
Therefore, whenever I find it hard to stick to my targets, I will do sweeping declarations.
For example, when I wanted to inculcate the habit of getting up early, I bugged every family member with this desire. It rankled them to a point that if they found me sleeping till late, they would wake me up to bash me. Result: I started waking up early.
Sharing your goals with others helps you to stay accountable.
Recently, I have been struggling with smartphone addiction. I try not to use my phone after 10:30 pm. However, I became complacent.
There have been nights when I slept at 3 am, wasting hours with mindless scrolling :(
It feels good at that moment but always ends with regret.
Moreover, it messes with my sleep cycle and the next day’s schedule. Poor ROI.
Things are so bad that I can’t trust my willpower anymore. Therefore, I tweeted this last week.
Now if anyone finds me online after 10:30 pm, they ping me to go to sleep.
Wanna stick to some habits?
Take a megaphone and announce them.
Do It for Money
I recently read a tweet that said “Drink water like someone’s paying you.”
Using the above tip for a couple of days improved my water intake.
I am fascinated by the idea. Although I didn’t receive any money for drinking, the notion that someone was paying me for it kept me motivated.
We can extend it to other departments, to tasks or hobbies which we keep stalling, yet will help us grow.
For example, exercising in winters becomes tedium. Nowadays, waking up for workouts is trickier than working out.
I use the same strategy whenever I feel languid. I am being paid to stay fit. And boom, I hit another session.
Seems ludicrous, but it does work for me.
Try it out once. Let me know if it works for you, too.
Trendy Nomenclature
Another brain hack I have been using lately is giving fashionable names to my chores.
Like the previous trick, it makes the task a bit more appealing.
I publish two newsletters a week which can be overwhelming. The motivation varies daily. Some days it’s like writing poetry while on others it’s as intimidating as writing college exams.
Newsletter is a flex. You are no longer dependent on social media algorithms for the views or followers. Tim Denning calls them Rock Concerts for writers where readers come to listen to your writing.
That’s the word I use now. Writing a newsletter is equivalent to jamming for my rock concert. The trick works. Believe it or not, it doesn’t sound like work anymore.
The name alters the vibe around the task.
I have tried the same with other practices too, journaling has been renamed to Brain Dumps, meditation to Road to Nirvana, reading to Soul Soothing.
Once again, the activities are the same. We are changing the surrounding narrative, which lowers the resistance to pursue them.
Give nicknames to your toils.
Hope you enjoyed this edition.
Signing off for today :) Until next time, Houdoe! 🙋♂️
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Sounds interesting ...excited to try all the hacks!!!