productivity

Photo by Nubelson Fernandes via Unsplash

I’ve been feeling very British lately. Not in a Union-Jack-obsessed, “Keep Calm and Carry-On” way. I went through that phase in 2012 with everyone else… no thank you. And it’s not even a surge of patriotism catalyzed by the Queen dying — I’m firmly team Diana and team Meghan.

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Google is the world's number one search engine. Over the past 20 years, the engine has only gotten bigger and better. Want to find something? Google it. But the website offers many more features to users than a simple web search. Yes, there's Gmail, Google Docs and the like. However, there are plenty of Google search features that you can use without having to sign up for an account. Here's just a few of the most useful:

1. Site search

Want to search a website but can't find the search bar? Or the website's native search function is just terrible? Google can help. Just use the syntax "site:examplesite.com" and then type what you want to search for. The results will only include pages inside the website you've picked. Super handy, right?

2. Search for specific file types

This search option is helpful to find published PDFs or Word Documents online. It's probably the most useful for students of any kind. You'll want to type "filetype:pdf" or "filetype:doc" and then whatever you're looking for.

3. Use quotes for full phrases

If you're looking for an exact phrase, put it in quotes. This will tell Google to search for those specific words in that order rather than running a general search. This can be useful if you're looking for something very specific without having to sort through irrelevant results. Like song lyrics.

4. Narrow your results with a minus

Sometimes popular companies and pages add clutter to the results you're looking for. You can fix this by using the dash or minus. Let's say you want to search for "apple" but want to avoid all references to the computer company. Type "-iPhone" after your query to eliminate all pages with that result.

5. Look up local times around the world

Wondering what time it is in Beijing, London or Sierra Leone? Just Google it. All you have to type is "time in New York" to find the local time in your desired city, state, or country.

6. Calculate tips

There are plenty of tip calculator apps, but with Google you can do it without ever leaving your browser. Just search "calculate tip" and a helpful widget will pop up allowing you to enter in relevant information. Who says you need to know math?

7. Translate phrases much faster

You don't need to go to the official Google Translate page to translate a word or phrase. Just search for it directly and save yourself a few extra seconds.

8. Set a timer

Another great widget function is setting a timer. All you have to do is type "set timer for x minutes" and it will start an automatic countdown. This is a great solution if you're in a pinch. You can also use a stopwatch with Google if you ever need one.

9. Look up weather forecasts

You don't need to ask Siri for this one. Type in Google weather and a zip code or a city and you'll instantly get a seven-day forecast. Handy when you're planning travel or just want to check up on friends and family.

10. Check flight status

All you have to do is type in a flight number and you'll see the departure and arrival times as well as the originating and landing airports. This is handy to quickly check up on a flight your friend or family member is taking. Make sure to type the airline as well as the flight number.

11. Find local movie showings

Just like with weather, all you have to type is movies and your zip code to get a list of movies playing nearby. Handy when you want to see what's out.

12. Search for public data

You can quickly look up the unemployment rate or population of different countries or states without ever leaving Google. Just in case you were curious.

It's a blessing and a curse to work from home or as a freelancer. On the plus side, you're not expected to fit into the prefab 9-to-5 box. Unfortunately, that means you have to create the whole day from scratch. For some, this is divine freedom. For others, it's a lot of free-floating time to eff up.

The secret to a successful work schedule is to know thyself.

The Seeker's Approach to the Work Schedule

The very notion of "time management" makes some of us want to rebel. It sounds restrictive — which anyone who has been on a crazy diet knows is a recipe for disaster. Rather than start color-coding a planner in blocks, artist and writer Laureen Marchand, says making a work schedule that works for you is about asking questions:

  • What do you want?
  • What's important?
  • What's important enough so you can commit to it?
  • Do I have goals? If so, what are they? If not, should I develop some?
  • What do I want to change?

"Remember, there are no wrong answers," she suggests. "What's right for you is right. But you're more likely to know what's right for you if you ask the questions."

For Marchand, these questions boiled down to values that could guide her days: "Almost daily time for the work that matters most to me. Enough money so I don't have to think about it. Recognition. Connection. Possibility."

The Structure-Is-Freedom Work Schedule

Some people, like Mark Wahlberg, like to schedule every hour of the day. For those who thrive in conditions of ultimate order, hand the job of taskmaster over to Google Calendar or the scheduling function of your choice. Rather than only putting in meetings, doctor's appointments, and the occasional lunch date, create a calendar that is your Daily Routine, suggests Whitson Gordon on Lifehacker.

Set up recurring events with pop-up reminders on your computer and cell phone that will remind you to shift gears. And here's the trick: When you get that pop-up to "Eat Lunch," "Yoga with Alison," "Draft Grant Proposal," drop everything and actually do it.

"Take these events seriously, and respect the calendar, and you'll find your routine becomes much easier to stick to," Whitson writes. "The key here is to set up the calendar and stick to it. Be serious about following to it. It's okay to 'boss yourself around' with this calendar. You're making these appointments with yourself b/c this is the way you want your life to be, so respect that. Don't put yourself at the bottom of all your other priorities/responsibilities. This calendar is here to remind you of that."

Create a window of time for revolving but endless errands and admin, so that you have time each day to go to the post office/drop bike off for a tune-up/call the insurance company.

"It may seem like overkill at first," writes Whitson. "Like you're scheduling every second of every day like a crazy person, but once you get it all set up, it won't seem so bad. Again, the idea isn't to interrupt your important work, just to send you little blips that remind you to shut down the distractions and get your daily routine back on track."

Know your own rhythms

Do you work best in short increments? Or will a long chunk of quiet and solitude lead to better productivity? Will getting email out of the way free up brain space for more innovative and big picture work? Or is that a form of procrastination for the real intellectual heavylifting your job requires. Again, know thyself. And then create the boundaries in your schedule that set you up for success.

We All Have the Same 24 Hours. What Can You Do With Yours?

There are real obstacles to getting our work done — childcare, meal planning, the whole great wide Internet. Feeling like we don't have enough time is such a constant many of us have adopted it as our mantra. There's never enough time!

"Of course, you don't have enough time! Who does? But then again, do you really not have enough time?" asks Laureen Marchand. "Or is it that you have lots of time and you aren't using it for what's important to you? Is your time taken with things that used to be matter but don't so much now? Are you busy doing things you don't really want to do? How can you do less of what you don't want and more of what you do?"

Rethink "Enough"

Defining what is enough for you — and "for you" are the operative words — means learning to silence what Jennifer Louden calls the "Hounds of More, More, More," who have endless suggestions for how to live well.

"Improve yourself! Make more money! Be more awesome! Rise to the top! More, more, mooooooooorrrrreeeee!"

The hounds also love to mess with your routine, yammering:

"Meditate first thing in the morning! No, I meant start with yoga! No, you should go to the gym! But it's summer so walk in nature! No, I meant writing, working on your side gig/sketching!"

It's exhausting. Why? Because the Hounds of More are concerned with illusory perfection, Louden writes, and are never satisfied.

But building a sense of personal satisfaction and accomplishment into your day is essential for creating momentum in a routine. Louden's Conditions for Enoughness help create finite and measurable action plans so that you can declare you did enough at the end of each day — even if you don't feel like you did.

Know your No's and Yes'es

We'll quote the master, here. As Steven R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People put it:

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically, to say "no" to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger "yes" burning inside.

But how do you say no when we've been taught that abundance in all things is about saying yes?

"One thing that helps in this process of choosing a bigger yes is knowing that you do not have to choose one 'big yes' thing forever; you simply have to choose what you want to focus on for now," writes Melissa Dinwiddie, who says that all time management problems are really priority management problems. "In other words, 'no' does not have to mean 'never;' it can mean 'not right now.'"

You've likely heard about CBD. With more states moving to legalize marijuana, we're also becoming more aware of CBD and its benefits.But what is CBD, and can it take your work performance to new heights?

Oils and tinctures are often recommendedCDN

As Natural Stacks explains, "CBD (cannabidiol) is a bioactive component of the Cannabis plant (marijuana) that is becoming well-known for its potential brain health benefits, none of which involve getting high or compromising your short term memory." So, no, you won't be "stoned" at company meetings or on conference calls.

Cannabidiolcan be taken into the body in multiple different ways, including by inhalation of cannabis smoke or vapor, as an aerosol spray into the cheek, and by mouth. It may be supplied as an oil containing only CBD as the active ingredient (no added THC or terpenes), a full-plant CBD-dominant hemp extract oil, capsules, dried cannabis, or as a prescription liquid solution."

Vaping is popularAmazonAWS

When it comes to getting the most out of your CBD, the experts at CanaGel hemp oil gel melts (the first of its kind) recommend full spectrum CBD rather than CBD isolate. "The CBD isolate is just pure CBD and nothing else. CBD on its own still may have medical value as it is the most medicinal part of the plant, but according to research done by Israeli Organic Chemist, Raphael Mechoulam it was found that all the naturally occurring cannabinoids found in cannabis work better when they are together (rather) than isolated. This is what's known as the 'entourage effect,' where all the cannabinoids work together and become more effective. So, full spectrum hemp CBD is more effective because of all the 100+ cannabinoids like CBD, CBC, CBG, CBDA, <.3% THC than just CBD alone. Unlike CBD isolate, full spectrum CBD is filled with nutrients and contains terpenes, flavonoids, essential vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids (Omega 3 & Omega 6), protein, chlorophyll, amino acids and fiber."

Melts in your mouthpbs.twimg.com

Customers who use CanaGel have also seen improvement in their mental health, which can lead to an increase in performance and productivity at work. A reduction in anxiety, insomnia (PopSugar Fitness reports CBD may produce alertness in small doses during the day), depression, and other mental health issues have been reported with use of 5-20 mg. daily. Natural Stacks adds to the benefits a relief in stress levels thanks to "CBD's efficacy as an anxiolytic compound." Additionally, "It's thought that CBD influences neuron activity in the hippocampus (the region of the brain involved in memory consolidation and formation) by increasing calcium ion concentrations in the mitochondria."

CBD gummies sound yummyRedStarCBD

Need more proof CBD can up your performance? As per Medical Jane, "Cannabinoids help your brain grow and slow brain aging. Through a process called neurogenesis, new brain cells are constantly being created. Another study published in The International Journal of Neuropharmacology also points to cannabidiol (CBD) as a key contributor of neurogenesis in the brain. Specifically, this birth of new neurons occurred in the Hippocampus, an area typically associated with conscious memory and navigation by making these developing cells stronger."

You can take your CBD before work, but what if you choose to take a dose at the office? A CanaGel representative noted how this can be tricky, since "many people are still very misinformed (about CBD)." Vaping (consider Select CBD) or using tinctures, creams, or oils can be obvious and distracting - not to say they aren't the CBD "vessel" of choice for many - that's why CanaGel recommends their product which is discreet, not to mention highly effective. A gel melt is placed inside the cheek for up to 10 minutes and the CBD is absorbed into the bloodstream. "Independent lab results show that within 7 minutes of contact, virtually 100% was absorbed." No muss, no fuss.

Clearly, there are many mental benefits, but what about side effects? As per Healthline, "Though CBD is generally well tolerated and considered safe, it may cause adverse reactions in some people.

Side effects noted in studies include:

  • Anxiety and depression
  • Psychosis
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Drowsiness
  • Dry mouth
  • Dizziness
  • Diarrhea
  • Changes in appetite"

As with anything you put in your body, it's important to make sure you are doing It safely. Medical News Today reminds us, "After discussing dosage and risks with a doctor it is important to compare different brands. There are a range of different CBD (products) available to purchase online, with different benefits and applications."

Once you're cleared and ready to use CBD to improve your performance on the job, you'll learn if the mental benefits are affecting you. Hey, you may owe your next promotion to CBD!