This is an ironic post, as I feel extremely sleep at the time of writing this article, thus, will keep it very brief!
Firstly, if you find yourself trying to pull an all-nighter often, then you are probably doing something wrong.
The following are the main causes of being forced to sacrifice sleep and pulling all-nighters:
- You are a bad time manager! It’s all about anticipation and understanding how much time you REALLY have left during the day,
- You probably get distracted a lot during the day! If you have a busy day ahead of you, keep distractions to the minimum. Check your email once or twice a day and time yourself with a use a stopwatch to make sure you do not spend more than 20 minutes on each email processing.
- Switch off your phone! You are probably spending way too much time on your phone during the day.
- Social media addiction and justification. You are probably browsing several social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, without even realising the amount of time you have lost dong so,
- Sex, Porn, Chasing the opposite sex, Romance, Flirting, Tinder etc. Prioritise your life!
- Long showers. Stop taking 20-minute showers or baths if you have such a busy day!
- Buying/cooking lunch etc. Prepare your meal the previous day to avoid wasting time nipping to the supermarket/restaurant or trying to cook in the middle of the day.
- You eat too slow or take your time at lunch.
- Too much talking! If your phone calls are more than 5 minutes, then you clearly have no priorities. This also applies to face to face conversations
- Unnecessary meetings. 80% of the meetings are unnecessary. Stop arranging or going to meetings. If you have to, insist it will be a standing up (scrum) meeting.
- Daydreaming. Stop daydreaming about useless stuff. No, you will never be able to fly like Superman no matter how hard you imagine it.
- Internet random surfing or link hopping. Stop doing anything that doesn’t immediately contribute to your goal!
- Commuting. This is sometimes a difficult one to avoid in the short term, however, try not arranging unnecessary meetings miles away from your location, if you have to, then arrange them ar a place just outside good public transport route. If you are wasting too much time travelling to work daily, then make sure you move closer to work if possible, arrange a local co-working place near your home to work from. Or work from home when possible,. Record all the important memos into audio files and play them back while on public transport.
What if it’s too late, and you have ruined your day already?
Well, here are a few tips to keep you awake (That work for me)
- Have only 1 cup of coffee! More will have a negative effect as will dehydrate you and also make you anxious
- Drink LOTS of water.
- If it’s winter, wear warm clothing and socks! You do NOT want to use a duvet to keep yourself warm. That is recipe for disaster.
- So NOT lay down on the bed/sofa for “one minute”. Either SLEEP or STAY AWAY. No in between. The sooner you get it done, the sooner you can sleep. Don’t ruin your next day and current night. Make a decision and stick to it.
- Eat Apples 🙂
- Keep some healthy snack around the house.
- Drink lots of green tea.
- Put some background music.
- Do NOT switch on the TV or Radio.
- Make sure you do NOT repeat the steps that put you in this position in the first place.
Common sense
You probably already knew all of the above. However, it’s nice to get a reminder! It’s all common sense really! All motivational stuff, even the ones delivered from the big names, are common sense really! When you learn to filter out excuses and justifications for actions that are not in line with your goals, you will be able to hear the deep common sense voice inside of you!
Stay focused
Sam