How to be productive when your life is in chaos

How to be productive when your life is in chaosHow to be productive when your life is in chaosIn a perfect world, everything is steady. You can make plans that actually come true 100% of the time. You can anticipate things in advance.But as you and I both know, thats leid how life works.In real life, a single random (and unexpected) event can suddenly screw up all your plans, goals, and good intentions to make a change. Think of A family member who passes away.Getting pregnant.Getting into a car accident.A calamity at work that causes bankruptcy.Falling in love.Unplanned events can disrupt everything. Ive experienced that several times in my life. And theres notlagehing you can do to prevent unexpected events.To be clear, when I talk about chaos, Im not talking about adverse events. Sometimes, good things can also disrupt our focus. Life can be unpredictable.And despite that unpredictability, we still have to function. We must wake up, treat the people in our lives with respect, do o ur work, and find inner calm. The way I see it, we have two choices.We accept that life is chaos and find a way to adapt ourselves.We refuse to adapt and become miserable because life is hard.To me, its a no-brainer. I choose the former. But how do you adapt when life is uncertain? How do you still manage to be productive when you cant even catch your breath before you have to absprache with the next thing?Here are 3 tips that can help you with those challenges.1. Stay focused on your tasksWhen something important interrupts your life, its easy to develop tunnel vision. Before you know it, your whole life can be consumed by something random. Lets say you fall in love with someone.And all of a sudden you cant think of anything else but that person. You cant focus on your work. You forget about your friends. You dont go to the gym anymore. You just want to spend time with that person.Even though its great to be in love, theres more to life.Sure, enjoying today matters. But we cant all ow ourselves to forget where we are going in life. We cant neglect our work, family, friends, and health- under any circumstances.To stay focused and not give up my ideals, I keep reminding myself of why I do what I do. I do that through daily journaling. No matter how hectic your life is, you can always find 10 minutes to sit down and reflect. No excuses.Plus, I keep looking at my goals almost every day. That reminds me of where I want to go. And when you know where you want to go, youll keep going. Its as simple as that.Want to hear more tips about staying focused during chaotic times?Listen to my latest podcast geschehnis about it.2. Work in short burstsAlways be prepared to get work done. Every time you have a moment to yourself, dont play with your phone, but instead, squeeze in some work. Even if its only 8 minutes.I bring my laptop and notebook with me wherever I go. Those two things are always by my side. When my life lacks structure, I whip out the laptop at any free moment I have.Doesnt matter what time it is, where I am, or how long I can work- when I get the chance,I work.But working in short bursts is not that easy. After all, you cant truly focus. In a perfect world, you have hours of time blocked for a single important task.Thats how you do deep work.Working in short burstsonlyworks if you know what you have to do (Step 1).Thats why I always keep a long list of things that I have to do. So when I work in short bursts, I know that I cant waste my time browsing the internet or thinking, What should I do next?The process is simple. I grab my laptop, look at my list, and pick one thing that I feel like doing at that time. My list consists of essential tasks. So it doesnt matter which task gets done first.For example, this is about the ninth time (I lost count) Im working on this article. My life has no structure right now. But thats okay. I still write my articles.Remember Your goal is not to work like this forever. When youve weathered the storm,ge t back to your regular routines.3. Fuel yourselfLife can be demanding. You need proper fuel to handle the physical and mental stress that you endure.Im no diet expert. But I am an expert onmypersonal diet. Usually, Im not a fan of trial and error. But when it comes to dieting, its my go-to strategy.Ive tried many different diets and eating patterns. I currently eat mostly protein and unsaturated fat as my first meal, which is around 1130am. In other words, I skip breakfast.Thats what they call intermittent fasting these days. Theres nothing new about that. People have been skipping breakfast for ages.Look, I cant give you diet recommendations because its different for every person. But I can share a few things you should considerDont believe everything you read from the health industry. Everybody has something to sell (Im not only talking about products but also ideas).Distinguish the difference between eating patterns (when you eat, how often, etc.) and diets (the type of foods you consume like protein, fat, carbs).Be careful with experimentation. Only try things that are NOT harmful to your body (dont starve yourself, dont try weird diets like eating red meat only).Keep notes on how you feel after what food you eat. Exclude things from your diet that make you feel bad.Thats how Ive found the ideal foods and eating pattern for me. For example, I eat rice every evening. I love it. Without eating rice, I get hungry very quickly and dont feel as sharp. Should I stop eating rice because some random internet person says so? No, of course not.Finding structure in chaosIn the past, I hated uncertainty. I think thats something you learn as you grow up. Get a safe job, is what people say.But they dont tell you that a safe job will ultimately make you lazy and weak. Why? Because youresafe.Jordan Peterson said it best in12 Rules For Life An Antidote to ChaosOrder is not enough. You cant just be stable, and secure, and unchanging, because there are still vital and import ant new things to be learned.On the other hand, uncertainty forces action.Thats why Ive grown to love uncertainty. It forces me to find solutions to every challenge I face.And once you live your life that way, you cant even function properly without challenges. When youve reached that stage, know that youreactuallysafe.Thisarticlefirst appeared onDarius Foroux.