As knowledge workers, our fundamental skills are hidden one level deeper.
Whatever you do can be improved at a desk job, can be improved with these practices.
All these practices improve your general well-being, in a way that also improves your performance at work. This is exactly the kinds of practices we want.
An example Skill Stack for a consultant. Each skill builds on the skills below it.
Meditation / Focus Training. Sit still for 15 minutes (set a timer) and stay focused on your breath. Try to notice thoughts and when they appear, acknowledge them and go back to focusing on your breath. Look at your thoughts as clouds passing by in the sky.
<aside> đĄ I use Brain.fm for my meditation and focus sessions. It plays focus-enhancing sounds and has a meditation mode too.
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Gratitude & Mindset Reset. Think about what youâre grateful for and start priming the mind for the kinds of thoughts your ideal self would have. Weâll go into this in the Morning Journal below.
Plan the Day. Create a plan for what youâre doing at every hour of the day. This will help you understand what you can do and, more importantly, what you will not do.
Commit. When youâre done, just take a few seconds reflecting on the morning practices you just completed and commit that youâll try to be the best version of your self.
<aside> đĄ If you love daily inspiration, listen to the daily GrowthDay audio every morning when making coffee. Love it.
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Do Not Multitask. Just like you practiced in the meditation session, stay aware of your thoughts. Resist the urge to do anything else than whatâs on the planâtalk to yourself and try to convince yourself. Saying âjust 15 more minutesâ is a great way to stay focused longer.
Commit to Focus. You really need to have decided that you would try to focus. Remember that getting distracted is not bad! What matters is the moment you return to focus. Youâll have to do that tens or hundreds of times.
Take Breaks. Pause after about 50 minutes of work, for 10 minutes. Make sure you move a bit. Keep paying attention to your thoughtsâbut this time, try to think as little as possible. You can do this by repeating âreleaseâ to yourself, or paying attention to your breath, or paying attention to your senses (what do you see, feel, hear, smell, taste?).
Update the Plan. The plan you made in the morning probably doesnât hold up the whole day. Whenever it starts being wrong, re-evaluate the tasks for the rest of the day and re-plan. This makes sure you can stick to the plan, and because of that youâre less distracted.
Have a Ritual. Do something with the explicit intention of ending the day. For example, you can slowly close each of your browser tabs, or cross off all the items of the day plan, or write down some final words for yourself tomorrow.
Empty Your Mind. If thoughts are still racing, write them down on paper and keep writing until your head is quiet.
Set an Intention. Before you enter your house (or exit the office at your home đ), close your eyes for a few seconds and decide what kind of person you want to be the rest of the evening.
Donât Do Anything Complex. Simplify your evening. Donât fill your mind again with chaotic input like the news or social media. Less calms you down more. Read a book, go for a walk without your phone, have sex now youâre so present and can enjoy it more.