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Why structured routines break down
7 emotional habits that ruin productivity
You’re doing Productivity wrong
HabitStrong Newsletter by Rajan Singh
In this fortnightly newsletter, Rajan shares inspiring lessons and stories from his career as an IPS officer, McKinsey consultant, investor, and now, as a startup founder. Join 25,000+ subscribers.
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Overcoming negative thinking
To overcome negative thinking, we must identify thought patterns that cause negative feelings, and replace them with more balanced and healthy ways of thinking. Negative thinking must be handled at 3 levels. Strategy: Handle negative thoughts at 3 levels To overcome...
Understanding Negative Thinking
Our thoughts are affected by what we experience, during both good times and bad. It’s normal to feel low and think negative thoughts from time to time. But when negative thinking becomes your predominant nature, then it becomes cause for concern. Excessive negative...
Maintain momentum to stay productive
Productivity, High-Performance, Flow
On any given week I’m usually juggling at least 3 important projects, all of which require my attention. On top of that, there is routine shallow work and unforeseen ad hoc tasks. Work rarely comes to us in a linear sequential form, allowing itself to be neatly...
How to say no to low value tasks (without getting fired)
Productivity, High-Performance, Flow
Amit is the type of person you’d love to have on your team. Reliable and always willing to take on work, you just know he’d go the extra mile to get things done. So you’re surprised when Amit falls behind on his deliverables. You see him working long hours almost...
3X your Productivity: Ultimate Guide to Attention Management
Productivity, High-Performance, Flow
Earlier, I talked about how time management is a poor tool to deal with a workday that is spiraling out of control. You start each day planning to get multiple tasks done, but soon find yourself distracted by Zoom calls and meetings. Regaining control of your day...
7 key concepts about attention which you probably didn’t know
Productivity, High-Performance, Flow
Kanwaldeep Kahlon, a participant of our Deep Work & Flow bootcamp, finished the first draft of his book in just 4 weeks, a task which previously seemed impossible. He accomplished this with just one small change in the way he worked. During the HabitStrong deep...
Productivity is not just time management
Productivity, High-Performance, Flow
A couple of years ago, I was struggling neck-deep in a hundred different things that needed to be done for the startup. I seriously thought about giving up a few hours of sleep to get it all done. Thankfully I didn’t act on that thought. When we want to become more...
Why are you unproductive? 3 destructive habits that sabotage time management
Productivity, High-Performance, Flow
Umesh, one of our bootcamp participants, had recently founded an education startup. As the solo founder of an early stage startup, he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasks that fell on his plate. He worked late nights, yet work never got done and his...
Understanding productivity: Where does your time go?
Productivity, High-Performance, Flow
John Maynard Keynes, the father of modern macroeconomics, had a rather optimistic view of the future. In 1930, he predicted that 100 years hence people would be working just 15 hours a week, or 3 hour shifts per day, because the standard of living would be so high...
Meditation – Working with thoughts, feelings, and emotions (Part 2)
Meditation texts recommend that you start with mindfulness of breath for the basic practice. As you get comfortable with a meditation routine, you can also start using your thoughts themselves as the object of your meditation. In...
Meditation – Working with thoughts, feelings, and emotions (Part 1)
At work, imagine your boss walking by without returning your smile. How would you feel? If you are like most people, you would be obsessing about whether he is unhappy with you. You start panicking about the one-on-one performance review scheduled later in the day. ...
Meditation – Connecting with the breath
Mindful breathing meditation has the simplest instructions of all types of meditation practices. Just watch the flow of your breath as it enters and leaves the body. What could be simpler, right? It may sound easy, but as you start practising, you will be surprised...
HabitStrong Newsletter by Rajan Singh
In this fortnightly newsletter, Rajan shares inspiring lessons and stories from his career as an IPS officer, McKinsey consultant, investor, and now, as a startup founder. Join 25,000+ subscribers.