Habits We Are Embracing in 2022 To Help Us Stay More Productive
We’re consciously adopting more habits that will help us stay productive this year.
What habits or rituals are you adopting this year to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life, to advance your career and personal growth, and to ensure your mental health is in tip-top shape?
January, for example, comes with its own set of pressure, as I can attest because this first month has been extremely intense at Clooper. It became busy as soon as we resumed, and we’re still revving (every day!). It’s even more exciting because we’re a group of passionate individuals. If you ever run out of ideas or need to get fired up, you should attend one of our Monday/Friday scrums.
We are increasingly ramping up on delivering on our promises of excellence, and it’s gotten us all right back to work. Matt our co-founder had said “Keep the eventual goal in sight, but be prepared to flex and change as the customer feedback comes in. If you are at a point where customer feedback is coming in, you are doing well” while sharing tips last year about things to know before creating a modern digital product design; if you missed that read it here. That is where we are.
And, as I first mentioned here, it’s not uncommon for a start-up to pivot; “founders can sometimes wander before finding their bearings”! And because we’re pivoting, it’s very busy right now with exciting new additions.
I’d like to take a moment to mention that Clooper is your one-stop marketplace for short-term and long-term rentals, serviced apartments and corporate housing. Please check out the all-new Clooper here and let me know what you think.
So you can imagine how much work has been done and continues to be done behind the scenes, and how much progress has been made. It’s all exciting, but we can’t afford burnout; with how intensely everything is set up and shaping up, there must be habits in place to prevent this from happening.
In my quest to “quieten my mind,” I discovered that simple daily practices, principles, routines or “rituals,” and habits can truly transform your life! I actually struggled with this for a while, where my work is never-ending (partly because I just have to work all the time, which is unhealthy), I became mentally stressed, task requests, emails, and so on increased my anxiety, so I knew it was time to ‘quiet’ down. So far, I’m doing well.
I’ll also explore how the Cloop’D (If you didn’t know, it’s what happens when you work in Clooper, you get Cloop’D) from the content desk (Teddy, Christine and Courtney) and our founders (Toks and Matt) go about their days during these times while remaining productive; I’ll be asking about the seemingly insignificant things that add up to help them work better.
I’ll start, Olamide here; I lead Clooper’s creative content and copywriting team, so we (Teddy, Christine, Courtney, and I) get a lot of content and web copy requests sent our way in between sorting blog posts, editing, and so on. Within the team, things can get quite ‘loud’ and hectic.
As simple as it may sound, I made the conscious decision to compartmentalize and prioritize tasks. I’ve also started daily ‘rituals’ that have helped me so far this January.
When I wake up, I lay in bed for a few minutes to reset. I listen to a podcast and then make my bed (this adds a sense of order to my day in ways I can’t explain) before taking a moment to water my plants.
I shower, prepare myself, and put on a fresh cotton t-shirt (I bought an unhealthy amount, after all, I currently work from home), then I make my ‘famous’ Lord Nelson lemon tea (now Knightbridge) to properly wake me up, followed by a light breakfast (usually fried eggs, an apple or a quick parfait)
During this ‘ritual,’ I light a candle and prepare my daily schedule (which I write down in my notebook) before moving to my ‘workstation,’ and the day begins.
One thing I do is not take on too many tasks at once, so I prioritize, and I make sure to do the same with other teams so that I can deliver on time. I take a one-hour break in the middle of the afternoon (I’m still working hard to keep this up) to eat lunch and check social media (I reduced social media to the bare minimum during the week because I’ve noticed it can take you away from a lot of things), then I continue with my tasks for the day.
Oh, and I followed a friend’s advice and scheduled my Slack messages so that I don’t get notifications very early or late at night, which has also helped to calm my mind. I’m more in control of my schedule now, and I work better and with a clearer mind.
My Saturdays and days off are spent resting or doing fun things and on a few occasions soft learning or taking short courses. I can now compartmentalize so well that my mind is focused on my daily routine and meeting my goals without becoming exhausted on a daily basis.
Hi, Teddy, here. One habit I’ve been embracing is getting outside. In my third year of a pandemic, I’ve noticed myself spending a lot of time indoors. This can be great and comforting but can feel lonely, and stagnate the mind.
I wake up a little earlier these days, brew a cup of coffee in a thermal flask, and walk around the woods for an hour or so. I find connecting with nature helps me to reconnect with myself, and the sights are always beautiful as the sun rises.
If I’m too tired to go for a long walk, I take a short one. Or I’ll take it easy and go for a lunchtime coffee run. Anything that gets me outside and breathing fresh air. It gives me a refreshed, revitalized feeling that I’m excited to bring to 2022, and it also reminds me to be kind to myself if I don’t get everything done in one day.
Going for a short walk is just as beneficial as going for a longer one; the important thing is to get out there, even if it is only for a few minutes.
Hi, Christine here; One of my favourite quotes is, “a man has many masters as he has vices”. This quote is defined by an account user on English Language & Usage as, “while you may think you are your own master, in reality, the things you are addicted to control your behaviour, and, therefore, you”. I found that quote to be enlightening when I first heard it.
The quote helped to put things into perspective. In many ways, I believe that your bad habits can become vices that control your life. On the contrary, your good habits can develop into virtues that enhance your life.
I have a list of professional goals I want to achieve in 2022, and I know that the best way to achieve my goals is to develop positive habits. For me, it’s about the decisions I make on a daily basis that will positively shape my life and allow me to achieve my objectives. My habits are divided into two types: mental habits and physical habits.
Both allow me to reach high productivity, which results in me reaching my goals for 2022. The mental habits I have encouraged so far in 2022 have made me more productive and confident. Positive thinking is a habit I have embraced more in the new year. I do this through words of affirmation, “everyone here has a role to play, and yours matters too”. Followed by, “this work is something you have excelled in before”.
Finally, “you don’t always have to be the most confident person in the room, as long as you’re confident in yourself.” Reminding myself of this on a daily basis has helped me to feel more confident in my role as a content creator. Not to mention that it makes me feel like a valuable member of an incredible team.
In addition to positive thinking, another habit I have adopted in 2022 is mindfulness; mindfulness is a skill I learned in school and has proven to be a valuable practice. Mindfulness has improved my productivity by allowing me to be more present. While working, I try to avoid distractions and concentrate on my task. I am also present with my mood.
So, if I feel anxious, overstressed or burnout, I notice it instantly. And try to find the best solutions to resolve or ease those feelings. Which benefits my mental well-being. Finally, a new habit that has helped my mental wellbeing and productivity is talking to one of my colleagues here at Clooper, Kemi. In such a short period, Kemi has become my confidant, companion and an additional part of my support system. Her encouraging words, immense empathy, intelligence and humour has given me strength.
And returning the favour has been one of my greatest joys working here at Clooper. As well as my mental habits, other habits that have increased my productivity are physical. These physical habits interlink with my routine. This year I have gotten into the habit of starting my day by having breakfast. As they say, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”.
And my breakfast is two bagels, chicken slices (seasoned of course) with mushrooms, beans, eggs (sunny side up) with spinach.
This big breakfast gives me energy throughout the day, making me more productive. Another physical habit I have embraced in 2022 is setting alarms. Setting my alarm allows me to be more self-disciplined and organised. Not to mention it allows me to deliver content on time. I must send in my ‘Travel Tuesday’ content on schedule and post TikTok content at a precise time. So, setting alarms has allowed me to do that effectively.
Finally, I’ve developed the habit of resting guilt-free. I wouldn’t be able to be productive if I didn’t get enough rest. Overall, my mental and physical habits have helped me become a more productive member of the Clooper team. Not to mention that it has improved my mental health. I’m hoping that the momentum continues throughout 2022.
Hi, Courtney here; To me, being productive entails keeping my mind busy. To begin my week, I prefer to have a number of tasks assigned to me so that I have a good understanding of my schedule and days when I am productive.
Communication throughout the day allows me to be more productive, for example, receiving a brief and discussing the layouts and rendering ideas in order to gain a better understanding of what that person requires.
I’d normally need 2–3 days to edit, but in this process, I’m more productive working alone and being left to the edit that’s been assigned to me. In general, I believe that increased communication and daily updates boost my productivity.
Matt:
The days are usually littered with things you weren’t expecting to do, things that aren’t necessarily in your day-to-day activities, so production can be slowed or impeded significantly.
His principle, “I usually set myself a weekly overall target of what basics I need to achieve of my own work and try to aim towards that.”
It’s important the target is not too large as this can become overwhelming and it is important to be able to handle time and help others in the team if necessary. On practices/habits? I try to then plan out the week ahead, assess the time it might take me to do something, set meetings ahead if I need reviews and so on.
The good old list is a must-have, just jot it down and try to organise it to see if any of it helps a) towards your target b) if they unlock the door for others c) can they be put on the backlog
If my actions need others, I will normally ping out and start communications with them in the morning — this gets the motors running.
I try to complete things in steps towards the goals. I try to leave enough room in the day to help others — being productive for the business as a whole and I try to check my progress and speed up if needed.
It’s an extremely fast-paced environment and I find that assessing whether the activities I am doing are still actually adding value through the week, adjust as required. Working at home is tricky to get the balance right, in terms of being too long at your PC. I try to keep an office type routine, have coffee breaks and try to stay fresh during the day.
I also try to change my environment a couple of times a week, perhaps going to a coffee shop for the afternoon…can help refresh my mind.
Toks:
To enhance my productivity this year I decided to focus more on three key areas: waking up earlier, exercising more in the mornings, and engaging in more intense spiritual meditation.
Because I am a morning person by nature, I am most productive early in the day. I promise it has nothing to do with my African sized lunches (righttt).
I am a family man with a paediatrician wife and two young children who attend school and preschool. So you can imagine how mornings at my house are usually like… Every morning is a military-style operation to get out the door, and it doesn’t help that school runs are approximately 1.5 hours round trip, and I do almost all of them.
Thus, I decided to give myself a head start this year to try waking up at 4:30 am each day whilst going to bed much earlier and it has proven to be a great success.
Every day, I begin with spiritual meditation, which includes thanksgiving, worship, and prayer. My Christian faith is very important to me and is a form of surrender which releases my mind from all anxieties, fears, stress and negativity. Now I am in great shape to begin the day.
I get a lot of work done before the military operation starts each morning and before I get dragged into meetings at work.
After dropping my kids off at school, I go to the gym for a quick early morning workout that alternates between strength training, cardio, and mobility exercises. To keep things balanced, I take it easy one day and hard the next. After each session, I stretch and sit in the sauna for 5 minutes before returning to work.
I try to go to the gym at least three times per week and do some light exercise at home on the other days. On weekends, I rest and don’t do much exercise. To be honest, chasing the kids around on weekends is enough exercise for me.
So, once again, I ask, what habits or rituals are you implementing this year to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life, advance your career and personal growth, and ensure your mental health is in tip-top shape?
