Happy Saturday, friend!

We’re back again with another edition of Productivity + Habits + Fun

😃 Fun Fact of the Week

When posing for photos, instead of “cheese,” people used to say “prunes.”

Supposedly, smiles weren’t popular in photos, so people would say “prunes” to keep their faces with more serious expressions.

Don’t ask me. 😂 

🐦 Tweet of the Week

Hopefully you saw something like this coming.

Habits and productivity are important to me.

To avoid toxic productivity, it’s helped me tremendously to make a fairly rigid schedule.

Believe it or not, it actually gives me the freedom to have time for fun things, like taking a walk, reading, meeting up with friends, etc.

This is because I schedule my work periods into my calendar and hold myself to that block.

When the time is up, I leave my desk and go do other things.

It can be boring, but it also allows me to make progress towards my goals and still have time to live a better-rounded life.

It isn’t all about work, and it shouldn’t be all about work.

💪 Featured Productivity Tip

This is one that I love.

Before bed each night, write down the top 3 things you need to accomplish tomorrow.

This gives you a plan and a purpose for the next day.

If these are things you can do first thing in the morning, that’s even better!

Here’s an example:

• 15 minute yoga routine

• Continue writing the draft of my next course for one hour

• Respond to emails and DMs for one hour

When you can cross these things off your list, you get 2 bonuses:

1. A hit of dopamine to reward your efforts and reinforce your habit

2. Actual progress towards your chief definite aim

Is this something you currently do?

If not, I challenge you to try it for a week and see how much more in-control you feel.

🔌 Sub-Sea Cables

Did you know there is an estimated 1.4 million kilometers (0.9 million miles) of submarine cables beneath the ocean?

They network giant data centers to provide pathways for our digital connections.

🥘 What The World Eats

Very random, but this infographic shows what the world average is for different types of food.

It’s interactive and breaks down some individual countries too.

The only downside is that the data only goes to 2011.

🤔 Decision-making Idea

Availability Heuristic: When making a judgment or decision, we tend to go with the first example that comes to mind.

Example: You overhear some people talking about a Pizza before lunch. There is a good chance you’ll think of pizza when it comes time to choose what to eat.

I definitely fall into this trap more than I should, especially in this example.

My solution is to reduce or eliminate my need to decide in the moment by having a plan beforehand.

The obvious solution for this case is for me to bring my own lunch.

When was the last time you slipped into autopilot and used the Availability Heuristic to make a fast decision?

🧠 Quote of the Week

What I think:

I think this is very broadly true.

With a chief definite aim for our lives, we have a star to follow.

We’re able to filter through all the noise and distractions and prioritize the things that matter the most.

If we can’t do that, we’re on auto-pilot without a real destination in place.

We could end up anywhere.

What about you?

What’s the top goal in your life that you’re working towards each day?

Thank you so much for spending some of you precious time with me. 🙂

I’m always looking to improve, so hit “reply” and let me know what you think!

Have an awesome week.

Sincerely,

Steven Sanders

PS - I hope to see you on Twitter and Instagram!