Hey there!

I hope you've had a productive week! If you are new here, welcome to our Friday Roundup.
What is the Friday Roundup?

A roundup of the best in evidence-based productivity for freelancers, small business owners & founders to help you work smarter and live more.

Be on the lookout for our Tuesday Swipe file & Case study! Every Tuesday a free behind-the-scenes swipe file from an entrepreneur with the systems, tools, and hires that helped them build sustainable success.

-Jenae :)

The Rundown

• 10 Daily Habits of Highly Successful People

• New Study Says There IS a Magic Door Into Your Customer or Coworker’s Brain

• 15 New Productivity Trends to Improve Your Attention Span

• New Study: Does AI or Human Written Content Get More Traffic?

• AI Interpretation Is Here — What does that mean for you?

• Add this video to your watch list: Capacity Planning

🔥Quote/Prompt

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)

Did someone forward this to you?

📈 Performance

10 Daily Habits of Highly Successful People

We have chosen 3 to share with you below but the full 10 is worth the read. In particular, check out No. 8 below. Many people have a to-do list or even time themselves, but it is also important to have a “done” list so you can really see your progress and whether you are progressing in the first place. It’s also very helpful to get the “dopamine hits” you need to keep working on a project that is long-term and you can’t check off in a day or even a week.

7. Self-reflection

Repeating the same mistakes is a sure way to hinder progress. Successful individuals are aware of this pitfall and prioritize self-reflection. They recognize their imperfections and take time to understand their circumstances better. Through self-reflection, they identify areas that need improvement and develop strategies to grow and evolve.

8. Daily progress tracking

Effective progress tracking is like using a compass during a journey. It clarifies one's current position compared to the desired destination. Successful individuals routinely assess their progress. This practice helps them stay on course, make necessary adjustments, and maintain focus on their goals.

10. Comfortable saying "no"

Boundaries are essential for maintaining well-being. Successful individuals understand this and have learned to say "No" when necessary. They are in touch with their preferences and are comfortable declining commitments that could compromise their physical or mental health. This habit stems from self-awareness and is crucial for preserving their overall quality of life.

Adopting these daily rituals allows anyone to embark on a path toward success. These practices empower individuals to navigate life's complexities with purpose and intention, one day at a time.

⚙️ Optimization

New Study Says There IS a Magic Door Into Your Customer or Coworker’s Brain

This study was really interesting and showed that our brains start to sync with certain triggers. This contributes to the way we behave with each other as humans. It can be really useful to understand these methods especially when you are trying to interact with a customer or coworking and achieve a positive outcome for everyone. Below is just one — check out the full article for 4 additional takeaways and action plans.

Face-to-Face Matters

Something as simple as visual contact can initiate INS or brain syncing. No exchange of words or a shared goal or task is necessary!

In the study, the researchers monitored participants’ brain activity as they were asked to sit across each other and behave naturally without speaking. The result was that simply looking at each other triggered correlated activity in certain brainwave frequency bands between participants – particularly the beta brainwaves and gamma brainwaves. 

Beta waves are associated with active, alert, and attentive mental states, while gamma waves are linked to intense cognitive processing and higher mental activities like memory, attention, perception, and learning. 

Meanwhile, if the partners couldn’t see each other, no activation of similar brainwaves was observed.

Action Plan: Getting on the same wavelength takes as little as seeing each other! Knowing how big a role visual contact plays, make the most of in-person meetings or at least video meetings and conversations. This could mean you could come to a quicker consensus and shared understanding in a given situation compared to interacting without seeing one another through phone calls, emails, or text messages. 

Remote work setups may limit this kind of visual connectedness. If you work with teams and use a lot of messaging apps and project management tools to communicate, why not work in a regular video meeting to see if this enhances communication effectiveness and improves overall teamwork? Instead of phone calls or texting with clients or contractors, switch it up sometimes and set up a quick video call. 

⏲️ Time Management

15 New Productivity Trends to Improve Your Attention Span

Usually, articles like this don’t have much to offer in terms of insights, but this roundup of tips from experts is worth a look. Below are two of our favorites — in particular, because they’re both backed by science — but there 13 other great ideas you’ll want to check out.

INCORPORATE NATURE-INSPIRED DESIGN

One “new” productivity trend is integrating natural elements into the work environment, whether that’s in your home office or company workplace. When your workspace is designed with greenery, natural light, and outdoor workspaces, it can help enhance well-being and attention. Exposure to nature has been linked to improved cognitive function and attention restoration.

Mark Damsgaard, Founder, Global Residence Index 

LISTEN TO SCIENTIFIC MUSIC

Listening to music as you work is nothing new, but with so many people working remotely and AI technology improving, there are all sorts of services popping up that feed you music that’s scientifically designed and proven to increase your attention span. Neuroscientists use the information in front of them to collaborate with producers and create tracks specifically meant to keep you focused, creative, and tuned in—literally and figuratively.

There’s a lot of science to back up why the right sound works, as it stimulates our locus coeruleus and produces noradrenaline, a brain stimulant. Users can increase their productivity by 200% to 400%. Music is incredibly effective not only at home offices where distractions happen easily but also in busy offices and noisy work environments.

Robert Kaskel, Chief People Officer, Checkr

💻 Tools & Technology

New Study: Does AI or Human Written Content Get More Traffic?

This study, published only on social media as far as we have found, was conducted by Neil Patel and his team. The X thread is the most comprehensive data he’s put out thus far.

AI Interpretation Is Here — What does that mean for you?

Check out this post we shared on LinkedIn along with HeyGen’s comparison video of human vs. AI interpretation and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This technology is not just coming...it's mostly here. If you're a translator/interpreter or own a language services company:

Ignoring this isn't going to make it go away.

But ignoring it could make your business go away.

There have been several true game-changers in our history as humans like the computer and the internet. Let's not forget that 'computer' used to be a job title, not a thing you bought.

Are language services going the same way? Some of them are.

Not all 'computers' lost their jobs.

The ones that didn't, knew the technology better than anyone.

What do you think about this video? Watch here.

👀 Read, Watch, Listen

This week’s awesome books, YouTube videos, newsletters, etc. to add to your list!

How I Manage My Time - Capacity Planning (video)

This YouTube video is a great one for you if you struggle with accurate time blocking, are new to time blocking, and/or have a team and need to accurately manage (or help them manage) their capacity and time as it relates to the results you're looking for from them.

🎉 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 went to the gym two times this week

• I spent all Monday working on [my New Business] (writing one blog post and defining my service offers.)

• I picked away at my tasks and made a start on my good habits.

• I stuck to the CEO action day, which is great.

• StayFocussed helped a lot w/ SM (didn't even cheat on the PC)

What did you do this week? We feature non-member successes too. Just post them here!

🔒Inner Circle: Events & Announcements

• Announcement: Facelift — New Brand Colors! [Read here]

• Announcement: Book Club is Set [RSVP here]

• Monday: {EU Time} Work ON Business. Theme: [Process & Productivity] RSVP here

• Tuesday: Work ON Business. Theme: [Process & Productivity] RSVP here

• Monday/Friday: Goal Setting + Plan Your Week Party

• Accelerators: February 2 is your Office Hours RSVP here

🆕Enjoy the new newsletter?

We will soon be adding Referral Perks — Refer now to start earning! 👇

As a reminder, you’re getting this twice-weekly newsletter because you opted in to receive awesome productivity and systems tips through one of these methods:

Doer Entrepreneurs, Doers Express Newsletter, Productivity Stacks, Success by Rx, ClickUp Facebook Group, Productive & Successful Translators Facebook Group.

If you’re not interested in improving your and your business’s productivity so you’d like to break up, that’s definitely a bummer. But, you can always use the unsubscribe link at the bottom if you do not want to get these tips — but keep in mind I am hyper-focused on making these twice-weekly emails as valuable as possible.

Got a tip? Hit reply!

I hope you found this valuable!

Wishing you much productivity!

- Jenae :)