important

15 most important tips for being productive

08/12/2021 by

Leon Ho is the creator of Lifehack, a well-known Internet resource in the West. In recent years, he has read over 100 books on productivity and identified a dozen and a half universal recommendations that will make your work much better.

♥ ON TOPIC: Bitcoin: 10 Surprising Facts You May Not Know

Leon recalls that ten years ago he got a promotion at his previous job and became one of the leaders of the company. After working in a new position for some time, the young engineer noticed that he had no time to do everything he had to and to spend his free time the way he wanted. From someone he heard that productivity books solve this problem, and he took up reading.

“I was hoping the books would teach me how to do more in less time. They not only helped me achieve this goal, but also improved other aspects of my productivity. “

Of course, reading 100 books on productivity won’t be quick. Therefore, Leon brings to your attention 15 universal ideas from these books that will make you a much more productive and successful person.

♥ ON TOPIC: Does IQ affect success, or what prevents us from becoming successful people?

1. Do not wait until a deadline is set for you – set it yourself

The system of education at school and university taught us that within a certain period of time we must study new material and prove that we have understood it. Pass – free, get ready for the next “deadline”. But there is one unpleasant side effect here – when we finish training, we already have no one to set deadlines. As a result, people become lazy and uninitiated to (by the way, this is why many high school and university students do not get the best job in life).

Successful people don’t expect someone else to decide something for them. They comply with the minimum external deadlines necessary for a trouble-free life (imposed on them from the outside – for example, to file a declaration and pay taxes on time) and are actively involved in the implementation of internal (set by themselves) deadlines. The main thing in this business is to be (pro) active, not passive.

♥ ON TOPIC: The best cities in the world: 28 places with the highest standard of living.

2. Track your time like a bank account

We like to think we know ourselves well. But when we are asked to remember what we did on the same day a week ago … But time is the most valuable resource we have. It must be monitored as carefully as the money in a bank account. You can always make more money, but getting back the wasted time will not work with all the desire.

Track the time you spend on various tasks – including daily and personal. You will be surprised how much time you are wasting.

♥ ON TOPIC: Warren Buffett’s 5/25 Rule – highlighting the most important things in life.

3. Don’t focus on your weaknesses – work on your strengths

People think that the first step is to correct their own shortcomings. But it’s actually more important to improve what you do better than others. After all, if you already have a strong point, it means that you are already doing something better than most, and you know that you should improve. And growth in this case will be exponential! None of the same will happen when working on weaknesses – after all, there you start from scratch.

♥ ON TOPIC: Why the dollar is called the buck is denoted by the $ symbol and other interesting facts about the American currency.

4. Prioritize by importance, not sequential

All tasks are of different importance. Always ask yourself “What needs to be done right now” and do what is more important.

♥ ON TOPIC: There are 16 circles in this picture, can you see them?

5. Don’t take more than you can stomach

You can’t eat all the pizza yourself (unless, of course, you want to get problems like overeating and being overweight) – and you can’t take on too much. If you want to do everything in the world personally, then your psyche may simply not stand it and will hit you with stress, depression and demotivation. What if you can’t refuse? Find helpers for yourself or divide a large task into several smaller ones.

♥ ON TOPIC: 10 Mistakes That Have You Not Succeeded Yet.

6. Delegate on time

Do not force yourself to do everything down to the smallest detail – doing more does not mean doing better. Identify tasks that can be transferred to other people without big problems, and yourself focus on more important things.

♥ ON TOPIC: How to learn to memorize information better than others: 9 effective tips.

7. Think, don’t memorize

Humanity has generated so much information that no Homo Sapiens can remember it. On this score, there is a good saying: “You have already forgotten more than you know.” At the same time, access to it in the 21st century has become an order of magnitude easier than before – just take a smartphone and enter a search query. So it is better to use the capabilities of the brain for thinking. Thinking is generally useful :).

♥ ON TOPIC: Space velocities: how fast do you need to fly to leave the Earth, planetary system and galaxy?

8. At the end of the day, take stock

Ask yourself the following questions:

What have I done well?
What have I done wrong?
Why didn’t I succeed in doing what I planned?
How can I make things better tomorrow?

When we don’t think about what we’ve done, the next time we face the same situation, we give ourselves up to chance. Successful people consciously ask themselves questions like the ones above and look for new opportunities for improvement. Even if you think that you did everything perfectly, think, maybe it can be done even better? There is always room to grow …

♥ ON TOPIC: Best Thrillers: A list of the top 35 films with descriptions, trailers and links.

9. Sometimes it’s better to give up than do it

Regularly clear your list of tasks that you do not consider valuable to yourself. It can be anything – everyday issues, business affairs, and even relationships. Here you can draw an analogy with reinstalling Windows – it removes all accumulated garbage from the system, and as a result, the computer runs much faster.

♥ ON TOPIC: 20 things smart people never do

10. Learn to schedule time for each task.

It is very useful! First, you can better manage your own time. Second, a “timed” approach will quickly show you that you are not doing well enough or fast enough so that you can make adjustments and learn to be more effective over time. For example: you want to make a vegetable salad. How quickly can you complete this task – in 30 minutes, in 15 minutes, or in 3 minutes? Of course, no one wants to spend extra time preparing food, so you will start looking for ways to speed up this process.

♥ ON TOPIC: Who has the most Instagram followers – 40 most popular accounts.

11. Become a more creative person

Of course, talent is from God, but a little creativity should be present in any task that we do. It’s easy to sit and think and present an interesting idea to the world.

♥ ON TOPIC: Hell for a perfectionist: 50 photos that destroy harmony.

12. Learn to know when it’s time to stop.

When a project does not start working as efficiently as before, you must not miss the moment when you have to say goodbye to it. The longer it takes to complete the tasks associated with it, the less likely it is to succeed. As soon as the success of your business begins to decline, you should cut costs and re-look at the project development plan.

Example: When a businessman notices that every month his company is losing more and more money, he changes his development strategy.

♥ ON TOPIC: Why You Have Too Few Friends: 11 Reasons.

13. Always remember: you don’t know as much as you think.

The truth is, most people don’t know that much. And this is impossible – as we have already mentioned, there is too much information to “digest”. Never be satisfied with current successes, always remember that there is always something to improve. Don’t stop, strive for more. Remember – the best is only the one who is constantly looking for new ways of growth. And, of course, do not allow yourself to be arrogant – neither in public, nor “inwardly.” Stay humble and the people around you will appreciate it.

♥ ON TOPIC: How many years do trees live (table).

14. Don’t give in to instant gratification.

Instant gratification – words or actions after which you immediately feel confident, productive … and that you don’t need to do anything else. Example: Your boss is a very friendly person and constantly praises you for the way you work. As a result, at some point you just relax. In fact, the words of the boss should be taken as motivation to become even better (of course, first of all for himself, and not for him).

♥ ON TOPIC: What is horsepower and how much horsepower is in one horse?

15. Start Big, Finish Small

Define the main goal, break it down into tasks, and them into sub-tasks. Perform subtasks one after another in the order in which you should do it, and do it, as they say, wisely, and do not work “stupidly”. At the same time, keep in mind the big goal and your progress towards it.

See also:

IOS 15 Review: 50 Most Important Tips

21/09/2021 by

This is not to say that Apple surprised everyone. At the presentation of iOS 15, the main focus was on the social capabilities of FaceTime and iMessage, which, frankly, very few people use here. But new features in iOS 15, of course, appeared.

♥ BY THEME: Can I charge my iPhone or iPad with a MacBook Pro charger (30W or more).

New design in “Settings”

Since users visit “Settings” quite often, its new look will not go unnoticed. The design has changed a little. The paragraphs turned out to fit well into the sections with their rounded corners. Earlier, Notes changed in a similar way, so Apple simply repeated the successful trick.

♥ BY THEME: How to view Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin rates on iPhone in the Promotions application.

Focus – Improved Do Not Disturb Mode

Now the Do Not Disturb mode has expanded its powers to Focus (detailed view). In this new section “Settings” you can both temporarily mute calls or incoming notifications, and configure several scenarios for the behavior of the device in such situations.

Initially, “Focus” allows you to customize “Personal time”, “Work” and “Sleep”. Each of these modes can be adjusted to your taste, taking into account personal needs. From this menu, you can select the allowed programs and contacts for a specific scenario.

Also in “Focusing” you can create custom modes, and you can quickly switch between scenarios through the “Control Center”.

♥ BY THEME: Continuity Camera, or how to take pictures on Mac with iPhone camera.

Updated application “Weather”

Weather is an application that each of us uses from time to time, so changes in it will be noticeable. And although the shell has been redesigned, the data, as before, is pulled from The Weather Channel. But visually, the application has become much more interesting and informative.

Now in the “Weather” (detailed overview) you can find more options for graphical data presentation. Surely you will pay attention to weather maps that show the situation in a specific region, neighboring cities, or even on a specific route. It’s hard to imagine that some third-party solution can perform better than this standard iOS application.

♥ BY THEME: How to send passwords via AirDrop on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Tags and mentions in Notes and Reminders

You can now use the @ mention symbol and tags using # in Notes and Reminders. And the second option seems to be much more useful, because it now makes it easier to sort your posts. In a situation where there are a lot of them, tags really save you.

Mentions, on the other hand, are good for co-editing posts, which users are not actively using. Usually, mentions are placed next to some new information or revision to further highlight this element.

Notes received a number of minor changes, like a new icon for the checklist button.

♥ BY THEME: How to transfer current call from iPhone to iPad or Mac.

Redesign of the “Notification Center”

I must say, users have long wanted to see a redesigned “Notification Center” – it was required to revise its concept, taking into account the work with a variety of different messages. And in iOS 15 it happened.

The Notification Center has become even more compact, while being able to improve its information content. This happened due to the ability to customize your own sets of notifications, only the most important of which are displayed at the top of the list.

Notification summaries are published in Notification Center according to the schedule you set along the way Settings → Notifications → Scheduled delivery…

In addition, the new Notifications interface includes contact photos and larger app icons.

♥ BY THEME: Is your iPhone taken when you sleep? How to check.

Safari changes

The Safari browser in iOS 15 has changed significantly. Immediately striking is the updated start page, which can also be flexibly changed. Start page settings are synchronized with other devices.

But a much more important change is seen as moving the address bar to the bottom of the window. Moreover, this element turned out to be also floating, disappearing from the screen while scrolling the page and appearing when necessary. This approach maximizes the use of screen real estate.

We admit that this location of the address bar caused a storm of dissatisfaction from users. Apple went to a meeting and added the ability to return everything as it was.

In addition, Safari introduces Tab groups (detailed overview), which allow you to create thematic groups of tabs for a specific direction of surfing (for example, you can create a group with tabs on the same site), move tabs between groups, rename them, copy links to all tabs in a group, etc.

Now you can switch between tabs. This can now be done using horizontal swipes on the panel itself.

Also, Safari on iPhone and iPad now has support for extensions, just like on Mac.

And finally – Voice Search. Just tap the microphone icon in the search box and dictate your request.

♥ BY THEME: How to turn on flash (flashlight) on calls and notifications on iPhone.

Spotlight can now search in “Photos”

The smart search engine in iOS 15 is even more advanced. Now she has learned to find images by location, which was previously impossible. Spoitlight also finds the right people or objects.

The developers promise in the future to teach the search engine to display cards of famous personalities, but so far this remains at the level of assumptions. It is also planned to provide recognition for the search for handwritten text, but for the Russian language such a “chip” will probably appear not soon. So Spotlight is gradually proving its usefulness more and more. This tool is trying to be in demand.

♥ BY THEME: How to lower the iPhone screen to reach the top of the display with one finger.

New widgets in iOS 15

Unfortunately, there was no noticeable improvement in widget functionality in iOS 15. Users will not receive active action buttons. For example, the Music panel will not have a much-needed playback control key. It’s hard to say whether Apple doesn’t want to change anything fundamentally yet, or whether it’s just leaving the changes for the next major update of its operating system.

But at least the list of standard widgets has become larger. For example, in iOS 15, Latitude, Mail, Sleep, Contacts, and the App Store received their own dies. Some old widgets were also slightly revised: Weather and Files. True, in the first beta version of iOS 15, new widgets are still unstable.

♥ BY THEME: How to straighten objects and correct perspective in photos on iPhone and iPad.

Dolby Atmos and Lossless for Music

IOS 15, like the latest iOS 14 updates, has something interesting for music lovers. Apple Music streaming service has taken on advanced features. There were compositions without compression, in the Lossless format, as well as Dolby Atmos spatial sound.

You can activate these features of “Music” in its section in “Settings” (in detail). There you can also choose how best to download songs in the new quality: via cellular networks or Wi-Fi. However, one must understand that not all headphones will be able to fully reveal the capabilities of such audio.

♥ BY THEME: How to listen to Apple Music in a browser on Windows (or Mac) computer.

Desktop shortcuts can be duplicated

IOS 15 introduces an interesting feature with which you can shape your home screen. Now shortcuts can be duplicated on desktops. And to create an additional icon, you just need to drag it to the desired location from the application library (details).

♥ BY THEME: How to gift someone a paid game, program, or movie from an iPhone or iPad.

LiveText – OCR on photos

IOS 15 introduced Live Text technology, which allows you to recognize (and translate into different languages) characters from a photo (in detail).

♥ BY THEME: 20 iPhone Camera Functions Every Apple Smartphone Owner Should Know

Noise reduction and portrait mode during calls

Now, when making a voice or video call using both standard tools and those built into social networks or instant messengers, you can select the appropriate effects for voice or video. For these purposes, special panels will appear in the “Control Center” (in detail).

For example, the effect “Isolating the Voice” will allow you to drown out extraneous sounds, thus the active noise cancellation, which is present in AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, is programmatically implemented. IPhone calls get even better.

And for video communication in real time, the “Portrait” mode will be useful, similar to the one present in the “Camera” (in detail).

♥ BY THEME: How to disable password on iPhone and iPad when installing free apps from the App Store.

The ability to communicate live in the “Translator”

Now in the application “Translator” there is a possibility of live communication. Especially for this in the tab Communication the corresponding section was even highlighted “Face to face” … With its help, you will be able to talk to random people you meet on the street without wasting time on choosing words. This function seems to be very useful.

♥ BY THEME: How to enable trackpad mode on iPhone keyboard.

In “Photos” you can find information about Exif metadata and add music from Apple Music to Memories

The “Photos” application has received an important function – now the Exif metadata can be recognized and changed without using third-party tools (details).

Also in the program there was a place for the editor of memories, which allows you to add your favorite music to the created objects (in detail).

♥ BY THEME: How to turn off hints (predictive typing) on the iPhone or iPad keyboard.

New magnifier when selecting text

The developers believe that using this element it will be easier to move the cursor to the desired location. But so far, the first user reviews are not too optimistic – the virtual trackpad already controls the cursor well.

♥ BY THEME: How to add a voice alert when iPhone or iPad is charging.

Magnifier received a separate application

This application will help to increase any information. Previously, a very simple utility from the Control Center was used for this. But now the application has got a separate interface and many additional features. Of course, not all of them will be really in demand.

♥ BY THEME: DMD Clone, or how to create a double in a photo (clone objects) in an iPhone.

iCloud +

In 2021, Apple announced a new premium iCloud + service that requires a subscription. It provides the user with more storage space for photos, files and backups, as well as additional features, including iCloud Private Host (not yet available in Russia), Hide Email (detailed) and HomeKit Secure Video.

♥ BY THEME: How to check if you bought a new iPhone (activated or not)?

Improved mimoji editor

This tool offers many new features. Among them is the ability to make multi-colored eyes. Thanks to the advanced toolkit, it will be possible to create a virtual avatar that is as close as possible to the original image.

♥ BY THEME: How to enable built-in pop-up Shazam on iPhone without installing the app itself.

Other innovations in iOS 15

Social opportunities Facetime… Now in FaceTime you can organize the joint listening to music and watching movies, there is also the effect of being in the same room, as well as the ability to share the screen.

In addition, Android and Windows users can now participate in FaceTime calls.

How to make a FaceTime call from Windows or Android, we talked in detail in this article.

Moving screenshots directly into the application. Now you can move screenshots to other applications directly from the preview (detail)

Background nature sounds built into iOS. With the release of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, nature sounds in the background are now available on iPhones and iPads. They should help users focus, calm down and relax (in detail).

New in iMessage… The branded messenger received even more interesting functions. However, as practice shows, it is unlikely that this will help him gain popularity in our area.

New features of “Maps”… Apple’s proprietary navigation service has traditionally been overlooked in our country – it’s all about its poor information content for Russia and neighboring countries. All these functions and three-dimensional views are not relevant to us yet.

Passports and not only in Wallet… Apple’s e-wallet gets new features in the US. Now you can add keys, identity documents and more to it.

♥ BY THEME: How to use a compact dialer on iPhone.

Conclusion

As much as I would like to highlight significant changes, let’s be frank – there are clearly few of them. Is this really all that Apple has been working on for a whole year? In fact, only functional widgets deserve attention, the rest of the “chips” will be of little real use – you still need to find or come up with scenarios where they will manifest themselves.

See also:

15 most important tips for being productive

25/12/2020 by ALOK DAS

Leon Ho is the creator of Lifehack, a well-known Internet resource in the West. In recent years, he has read over 100 books on productivity and has identified 15 universal recommendations that will make your work much better.

♥ BY TOPIC: Bitcoin: 10 Surprising Facts You May Not Know About

Leon recalls that ten years ago he got a promotion at his previous job and became one of the leaders of the company. After working in a new position for some time, the young engineer noticed that he no longer had enough time – he did not have time to do everything he had to, and to spend his free time the way he wanted. From someone he heard that productivity books solve this problem, and he took up reading.

“I was hoping the books would teach me how to do more in less time. They not only helped me achieve this goal, but also improved other aspects of my productivity. “

♥ BY TOPIC: Does IQ affect success, or what prevents us from becoming successful people?

1. Do not wait until a deadline is set for you – set it yourself

The system of education at school and university taught us that within a certain period of time we must study new material and prove that we have understood it. Pass – free, get ready for the next deadline. But there is one unpleasant side effect here – when we finish training, we already have no one to set deadlines. As a result, people become lazy and lack of initiative (by the way, this is why many high school and university students do not get the best job in life).

Successful people don’t expect someone else to decide something for them. They adhere to the minimum external deadlines necessary for a smooth life (imposed on them from the outside – for example, to file a declaration and pay taxes on time) and are actively involved in the implementation of internal (set by themselves) deadlines. The main thing in this business is to be (pro) active, not passive.

♥ BY TOPIC: Top cities in the world: 28 places with the highest living standards.

2. Track your time like a bank account

We like to think we know ourselves well. But when we are asked to remember what we did on the same day a week ago … But time is the most valuable resource that we have. It must be monitored as carefully as the money in a bank account. You can always make more money, but you won’t be able to get back wasted time with all the desire.

Track the time you spend on various tasks – including daily and personal. You will be surprised how much time you are wasting.

♥ BY TOPIC: Warren Buffett’s 5/25 rule – highlighting the most important things in life.

3. Don’t dwell on your weaknesses – work on your strengths

People think the first step is to correct their own shortcomings. But it’s actually more important to improve what you do better than others. After all, if you already have a strong point, it means that you are already doing something better than most, and you know what you should improve. And growth in this case will be exponential! None of this will happen when working on weaknesses – because there you start from scratch.

♥ BY TOPIC: Why the dollar is called the buck is indicated by the $ symbol and other interesting facts about the American currency.

4. Prioritize by importance, not in order

All tasks are of different importance. Always ask yourself “What needs to be done right now” and do what is more important.

♥ BY TOPIC: There are 16 circles in this picture, can you see them?

5. Don’t take more than you can handle

You can’t eat the whole pizza yourself (unless, of course, you want to get problems like overeating and being overweight) – and you can’t take on too much. If you want to do everything in the world personally, then your psyche may simply not stand it and will hit you with stress, depression and demotivation. What if you can’t refuse? Find helpers for yourself or divide a large task into several smaller ones.

♥ BY TOPIC: 10 mistakes that made you still not successful.

6. Delegate on time

Do not force yourself to do everything down to the smallest detail – doing more does not mean doing better. Identify tasks that you can transfer to other people without big problems, and focus on more important things yourself.

♥ BY TOPIC: How to learn to memorize information better than others: 9 effective tips.

7. Think, don’t memorize

Humanity has generated so much information that no Homo Sapiens can remember it. There is a good saying on this score: “You have already forgotten more than you know.” At the same time, access to it in the 21st century has become much easier than before – just take a smartphone and enter a search query. So it is better to use the capabilities of the brain for thinking. Thinking is generally useful :).

♥ BY TOPIC: Space velocities: how fast does one need to fly to leave the Earth, planetary system and galaxy?

8. At the end of the day, take stock

Ask yourself the following questions:

What have I done well?
What have I done wrong?
Why didn’t I manage to do what I planned?
How can I make things better tomorrow?

♥ BY TOPIC: Best Thrillers: A list of the best 35 films with descriptions, trailers and links.

9. Sometimes it is better to give up than do it

♥ BY TOPIC: 20 things smart people never do

10. Learn to schedule time for each task

♥ BY TOPIC: Who has the most followers on Instagram – 40 most popular accounts.

11. Become a more creative person

Of course, talent is from God, but a little creativity should be present in any task that we do. It’s easy to sit and think and present an interesting idea to the world.

♥ BY TOPIC: Hell for a perfectionist: 50 photos that destroy harmony.

12. Learn to know when it’s time to stop.

When a project does not start working as efficiently as before, you must not miss the moment when you have to say goodbye to it. The longer it takes to complete the tasks associated with it, the less likely it will be successful. As soon as the success of your business begins to decline, you should cut costs and re-look at the project development plan.

Example: When a businessman notices that every month his company is losing more and more money, he changes his development strategy.

♥ BY TOPIC: Why You Have Too Few Friends: 11 Reasons.

13. Always remember: you don’t know as much as you think.

The truth is, most people don’t know that much. And this is impossible – as we have already mentioned, there is too much information to “digest”. Never be satisfied with current successes, always remember that there is always something to improve. Don’t stop, strive for more. Remember – the best is only the one who is constantly looking for new ways of growth. And, of course, don’t let yourself be arrogant – neither in public, nor “inwardly.” Stay humble and the people around you will appreciate it.

♥ BY TOPIC: How many years do trees live (table).

14. Don’t give in to instant gratification.

Instant gratification – words or actions after which you immediately feel confident, productive … and that you don’t need to do anything else. Example: Your boss is a very friendly person and constantly praises you for the way you work. As a result, at some point, you just relax. In fact, the words of the boss should be taken as motivation to become even better (of course, first of all for himself, and not for him).

♥ BY TOPIC: What is horsepower and how much horsepower is in one horse?

15. Start Big, Finish Small

See also:

Warren Buffett’s 5/25 rule – highlighting the most important things in life

03/12/2020 by ALOK DAS

Warren Buffett is the world’s most successful investor. He’s been making a great investment, and has been doing it for over 60 years. But the most amazing thing is that Buffett finds time not only to make new investments, but also has time to think about how we all can change our lives for the better. The story of one of his employees is a prime example of this.

One day Buffett suddenly realized that his personal pilot, Mike Flint, had been working for him for over 10 years. The financier decided to find out what Mike’s future plans are, and how he himself can help him in achieving them.

Buffett asked Mike to compile a list of 25 goals that Flint would like to achieve in the foreseeable future. He then instructed Mike to sort them in order of importance and circle the top five. The second task turned out to be more difficult than the first, but in the end the brave pilot, of course, coped with it.

♥ BY TOPIC: 74 healthy habits for wellness, a healthy mind and great relationships.

After everything has been done, Buffett will ask Mike, “What are you going to do with the remaining 20 cases?”

Here’s what the pilot replied:

“Well, the first five things are the most important to me, but the other twenty have almost the same meaning. They also need to be done, and I will deal with them when I see that I have made progress in achieving the first five objectives. They are not so urgent, but I still plan to spend time with them. “

At that moment, Buffett’s mood changed dramatically. He said harshly:

“No. You got it wrong. Everything you haven’t circled has just become your Avoid-At-Any-Cost list. It doesn’t matter what it is – these cases will not receive any attention from you until you are successful with your top 5 cases. ”

Flint, of course, did not expect such a development at all. But, of course, I did not argue – people like Buffett know better.

The 5/25 rule (choose the most important and do only this) is a very good guide to action in modern life, where people go to two extremes: either they cannot decide at all with life guidelines and for years “go with the flow”, or they grab onto everything in a row, do not have time for anything and do everything at best “mediocre”. Steve Jobs, for example, adhered to a similar philosophy – and the stages of his life path are well known to everyone. Try to apply the Buffett Rule to your life – it is quite possible that this strategy will change it for the better.

See also: