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- Issue No. 150: 10 Unhelpful Time Management Habits You Need to Unlearn
Issue No. 150: 10 Unhelpful Time Management Habits You Need to Unlearn
Wish you had a better memory?
Jenae Spry
January 24, 2025
In partnership with
Productivity Express
Issue No. 150
The Best in Evidenced-Based Productivity
for Small Business Owners, Freelancers & Founders
Helping You Work Smarter and Live More
The Rundown
When kids set their parents' screen time rules: 'I hit my limit before I even get out of bed'
Wish you had a better memory?
10 Unhelpful Time Management Habits You Need to Unlearn
Perplexity launches Sonar, an API for AI search
Why Agentic AI Will Soon Make ChatGPT Look Like A Simple Calculator
Add this book to your reading list
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🔥Quote/Prompt
The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.
Use the quote as a writing or thinking prompt to finish your week strong.
A bit from mine:
(posted in our Doer Entrepreneurs Free Community — off social media)
Time flies whether we like it or not - that's the reality we all face. But here's what gets me excited about this quote: it puts the power back in OUR hands.
Think about it: as the pilot of your business, you get to:
Choose your destination
Set your course
Make adjustments when needed
Decide when to speed up or slow down
Time is not in control, you are. So, here we […]
Did someone forward this to you?
📈 Performance
Think your social media scrolling isn't affecting your business productivity? Three professionals let their children set their screen time limits for 10 days, and the results were eye-opening for anyone running their own business.
"Before this experiment, I would find myself picking up my phone to do a food shop or check my calendar and, like an act of sorcery, I would realise I was scrolling on Instagram. Now, I can see that just as we set healthy boundaries for our kids' screen time, it's clear we need them, too."
Key Insights:
Most vastly underestimate their "pointless monitoring" time - unconsciously checking apps and emails throughout the day without any real purpose or outcome.
Setting hard boundaries around screen time (like school — err business — hours only) led to more focused work sessions and better quality family time after hours.
Phone restrictions revealed our overreliance on devices for basic tasks - many participants had to rebuild offline systems for things they'd become dependent on doing through apps.
While complete digital detox proved impractical for modern business owners, implementing structured "phone-free" periods increased productivity and improved relationships.
Read the full article for three different approaches to screen time management and practical tips for implementing digital boundaries while running a business.
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⚙️ Optimization
Those moments when you blank on a client's name or forget key details from last week's meeting aren't just embarrassing - they're costing you valuable mental bandwidth. Research from Harvard brain scientists reveals surprisingly simple ways to boost your memory when it matters most for your business. It’s also in the format of a quiz. It doesn’t take long and it’s interesting to compare our perception of how memory works to how it really does — I took the quiz myself to reveal all the interesting information.
Note: If you want to take the quiz, I recommend taking it before reading any further!
"When learning a skill that requires procedural memory, research suggests spacing out practice sessions is the way to go. One key reason is your skills may be improving when you're not practicing. 'Offline learning' happens while you are awake but is most robust when you are sleeping."
Key Insights:
Spacing out learning is more effective than cramming - one hour daily beats a seven-hour marathon session because your brain continues processing information between sessions.
Exercise directly impacts memory function - just six weeks of regular exercise can increase hippocampus volume and improve memory performance, effectively reversing 1-2 years of age-related decline.
Stress is your memory's worst enemy - when you're anxious about remembering something, your brain prioritizes scanning for threats instead of accessing stored information, making recall even harder.
Sleep isn't optional for memory formation - during rest, your brain transfers new memories from short-term to long-term storage, freeing up capacity for new learning.
Read the full article for 11 research-backed memory improvement techniques and a quiz to test your current memory knowledge.
⏲️ Time Management
Running a business sometimes feels like a constant battle with the clock. But what if your biggest time management challenges aren't about what you need to do, but what you need to stop doing? A recent analysis reveals the counterproductive habits holding entrepreneurs back.
"Time management has been a journey of trial and error for me. Early on, I chased every new strategy, thinking the secret to productivity was hidden in the latest tools or hacks. But what truly made the difference wasn't adding more to my routine—it was letting go of the habits that were working against me."
Key Insights:
Multitasking is costing you more time than you think - switching between tasks can reduce productivity by up to 40% and increase errors, especially during complex business operations.
Treating breaks as "unproductive time" backfires - research shows short, strategic breaks actually boost focus and creativity, leading to better decision-making in your business.
Overplanning kills flexibility - cramming every minute with scheduled tasks leaves no room for opportunities or handling the unexpected issues that inevitably arise when running a business.
Most entrepreneurs equate busyness with productivity - filling your schedule with tasks that don't contribute to your goals creates exhaustion without progress.
Read the full article for all 10 time-wasting habits and practical strategies for breaking them.
💻 Tools & Technology
Looking to add real-time AI search capabilities to your business applications? Perplexity just made it possible with their new Sonar API – and they're partnering with some major players to prove it works.
If you don’t know Perplexity already, this is your Google replacement if you don’t want to “put glue on pizza” or read Redditors’ opinions on your query but want the old Google — the one that gave real answers. And no, this isn’t sponsored, I just dislike misinformation. :)
"To optimize for factuality and authority, APIs require a real-time connection to the Internet, with answers informed by trusted sources," explains Perplexity in their launch announcement. Unlike most AI tools that rely on static training data, Sonar connects to the live web for up-to-date results.”
Key Insights:
The API comes in two tiers - a faster, cheaper base version and a Pro version that excels at complex questions with twice as many citations.
Enterprise adoption is already happening - Zoom is using Sonar to power an AI assistant that provides real-time answers without users leaving their meetings.
Pricing is designed to be accessible - starting at $5 per 1,000 searches plus minimal token fees, making it viable for businesses of all sizes.
Results stay current and accurate since Sonar connects to live sources rather than relying on potentially outdated training data.
Read the full article for detailed pricing breakdowns, enterprise customization options, and performance comparisons against other leading AI models..
🤖 AI
OK look — I know that I include something about Agentic AI in probably every other issue lately but I still feel like it isn’t talked about enough. As business owners, we need to understand AI and where it is headed, and ignoring this HUGE factor is dangerous so let’s take a look at the latest. A fascinating shift is happening that could transform how we work with artificial intelligence.
"Think of generative AI as a highly skilled assistant waiting for instructions, while agentic AI is more like a colleague who can take the initiative and work independently toward broader objectives. For example, a generative AI might help you write an email when asked, whereas an agentic AI could proactively monitor your inbox, identify important messages that need attention, draft appropriate responses based on your past communications, and even schedule follow-up meetings."
Key Insights:
AI is evolving from purely reactive to proactively helpful - instead of just responding to prompts, future AI will anticipate needs and take initiative to solve problems.
Real-world business applications are profound - imagine AI systems that don't just handle tasks but actively optimize your entire workflow, spotting bottlenecks and suggesting improvements before they become issues.
The human-AI relationship will fundamentally change - we're moving from a command-based interaction to a collaborative partnership where AI can engage in meaningful dialogue and even challenge our assumptions when beneficial.
Development is accelerating - major players like OpenAI are already working on projects that could enable AI to operate with significantly more autonomy.
Read the full article for detailed breakdowns of agentic AI's architecture, real-world applications, and key considerations for the future of human-machine collaboration.
👀 Read, Watch, Listen
This week’s awesome books, YouTube videos, newsletters, etc. to add to your list!
Mike Michalowicz introduces "Profit First," a system that reverses traditional accounting by prioritizing profit before expenses (Sales - Profit = Expenses). Like using smaller plates for portion control, this behavioral approach helps entrepreneurs allocate profit before spending on expenses, transforming struggling businesses into profitable ones. The system uses four principles focused on bank balance management, emphasizing that small, profitable businesses can outperform larger revenue-focused ones. The book provides practical implementation steps and case studies to help entrepreneurs achieve sustainable profitability..
🎉 Celebration Corner
Every week Doers Inner Circle members do a weekly review & get help when they need it — check out the progress they made this week!
I stuck to my morning routine / habit stack.
I recorded, edited and uploaded multiple videos.
I also prepared my scripts and ideas and wrote one newsletter.
What did you do this week? We feature non-member successes too. Just post them here!
🔒Inner Circle: Events & Announcements
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I hope you found this valuable!
Wishing you much productivity!
- Jenae :)
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