10 More Life Changing Life Hacking Tips (My Analysis of Expert Advice)

1) Find the "single thing" that you do that gets you the most of your results. For example, my "one thing" when it comes to managing my inbox is that rather than sifting through a barrage of emails, I prefer to just reply to urgent emails as soon as they arrive in my inbox. I've learned that it's imperative to determine my "single thing" in both my career, relationships and health. Be effective rather than merely busy. While in quarantine, I strive to wake up every day and think, "what can I do that would accomplish my long term goals and pay myself in the years to come?"

2) Batch emails, errands, phone calls, interruptions, and other relevant tasks. Batching has been completely life changing for me! When I set aside a dedicated hour to send or return emails, I'm able to concentrate fully on that tasks and do it faster than if I answered emails in a piecemeal fashion. I used to do this also when applying for jobs on Backstage, however I don't do this anymore because I like to check Backstage daily for new opportunities.

3) Set yourself up for a productive tomorrow by blocking off the last 15-30 minutes of your day to "shut down" effectively and efficiently. Something that I often fail to do that makes a big difference is to clean up my space and create the next day's schedule and task list, which is ideally prioritized and grouped for batching including the #1 priority

4) SET GOALS THAT GET YOU EXCITED! This has made a wealth of difference in my life. When my goals are simply a matter of consumerism or paying bills, I tend to feel less motivated than when I have goals with some more significant meaning behind them. Some reasons to set goals could be:

a. Create a killer side hustle that's more lucrative than the typical waitressing side hustle

b. To make more money to have the ability to travel more frequently

c. To develop a fantastic reputation in showbiz for a long and sustainable career

5) Squeeze short tasks into short openings in your day. For example, if you have a 10 minute window of time, this might be a great opportunity to apply for a show on Backstage, email your headshot and resume to a casting director, reply to an email, or order something you need online

6) Automate as much as possible. If you don't enjoy a task and it's taking up unnecessary time, consider if there's a way you can automate it. The caveat to this is if automating it costs significantly more money than simply doing the task as usual. (for example, ordering groceries online typically costs more than buying it in the store

7) Don't add quick tasks to your to do lists, just do them if they take two minutes or less.

8) Eliminate, delegate or defer things that aren't absolutely essential

9) STAY ON TASK UNTIL COMPLETE! This is a huge struggle for me, but lots of unfinished work unnecessarily takes up space on a to do list, and becomes a mental drag. When you finish a task, you feel a sense of energy and accomplishment. Even if the task was a difficult one, typically the sense of completion will revitalize you

10) Set mini milestones and mini rewards, and celebrate victories, no matter how small

11) Make decisions quickly because prolonging them tends to waste time

12) Decide when you're fully "off the clock" for the day. Note: this is not necessarily when you finish your day job, but when you've decided that the work portion of your day is complete and it's time for rest, rejuvenation and relaxation.

13) Create short deadlines. There's a revolutionary concept that I was recently introduced to called Parkinson's Law that says, "A task will shrink or expand to the allotted time allowed to complete it." This explains why so many of us (myself 100 percent included) have struggled to be productive in quarantine. The luxury of time can often feel like a burden in disguise.

14) Design indestructible systems to run your life. These can include but are not limited to: checklists, spreadsheets, worksheets, scripts, to do lists, etc.