Productivity
Michael Townsend Williams, author of Do Breathe, shares tips for improving focus and reducing stress
Calm your mind. Find focus. Get stuff done. That’s the subheading of Do Breathe, an acclaimed book by Michael Townsend Williams, who is the founder of Breathe Sync and an advocate of what he calls ‘well-doing’ – a mash-up of mindfulness and work practice that’s designed to reduce stress, improve concentration and help you work.
People think email is the problem, but it's never been the problem. It's knowing how to use it.
Williams began his career in the high-pressure world of advertising, but after the death of his brother, he decided to reassess, quitting his bad habits and training to become a yoga teacher. “But yoga teachers can get a bit smug, like they’ve cracked it – they're not exposed to the stresses and strains other people are,” he laughs.
The turning point for him was the discovery of David Allen’s book Getting Things Done. “The first page of the book talked about having a mind like water. At the time I thought of myself as a human being, rather than a human doing. But all of a sudden, here was a book about getting stuff done that was talking in the language of meditation and mindfulness and applying that to work – talking about having clarity of mind, peace of mind, less stress.”
As well as Do Breathe, Williams is the founder of Stillworks and has created Breathe Sync, an app for iPhone. RedBull.com caught up with him to get his tips for managing stress, improving focus and boosting productivity.
1. Get lots of sleep
If you can get seven or eight hours a night, that's massive. Then when you get up, it's important to shower – I say you need to get up, then wake up. Some sort of yogi practise would be next. Some movement, breathing, meditation. I'd do a little of each of those, in however much time I have. If I have 10 minutes, I'll do three minutes movement, three minutes breathing, three minutes meditation. But I wouldn't sacrifice sleep for anything.
I wouldn't sacrifice sleep for anything
2. Little morning rituals help start your day
Sometimes I'll write down three things I feel thankful for. Sometimes I'll write about intention – what do I want to get out of this day, or this month? I try not to have complicated breakfasts – I'll use my Nutribullet and have some spinach, some coconut water, a spoon full of protein powder. I like Matcha, a Japanese tea. I like the ritual thing – hand-grinding beans, boiling my little Japanese kettle. With a bit of that I can handle the day better.
3. Use music to shape your mood
Professor Paul Dolan from the London School of Economics says that music is the fastest way to change your mood. I have two types of music for mood – one sort will chill me out if I need to come down, and one type to get me in the groove. If I want that "Fucking hell you can do it" feel, I’ll put on The National or Radiohead – I’ll go straight to albums that I know will give me that feeling.
4. Learn when inspiration is running dry
You need to recongise the signs – for me, it’s when I have my third bath of the day. I'm not a great runner, but I'll go for a half hour walk, without an agenda, and maybe take a few nice pictures on Instagram. Fresh air, nature, some good music, and don't think about the problem. Intentionally avoid the issue!
5. Don’t have priorities, have a priority
“Priority” should mean one thing, but most people use it in plural. "I've got too many priorities" – if you find yourself saying that, you haven't prioritised. I ask a simple question: what can I do where I am with the tools that I've got? Coaching clients, I see they often start fretting about things that they can't do in the position that they find themselves.
I ask a simple question: what can I do where I am with the tools that I've got?
The second question I would ask is how much time have I got? If I've got 10 minutes, what can I realistically do in that time? Thirdly, energy. If I'm full of energy and really in the zone I'll look at big and hard tasks. But if I'm tired or fed up I'll try to find some low hanging fruit.
6. Learn to control your breathing
Counting your breath really helps. I like to do that in conjunction with The Pomodoro Technique. It's designed by an Italian guy who suggests you work in 25 minute sprints, and the technique's name comes from an Italian cooking style – a timer literally ticks away. That might sounds off-putting, but it keeps you on task. I'm always amazed how 25 minutes of concentrated work on something feels like you've been working for two hours. Work in sprints, take lots of breaks, and use your breath to modulate your physiology so you don't get stressed.
7. Be the master of your email
People think email is the problem, but it's never been the problem. It's knowing how to use it. Turn off notifications on phones, desktops, everything. And I'd also educate everyone not to use email as an emergency channel. If something is urgent, text me. I would also use something like the Unroll app to unsubscribe you from as much as possible.
Turn off notifications on phones, desktops, everything
I like to work in two different modes – process mode and action mode. Your inbox should have three folders, and if you’re in process mode, every time an email comes in move it into archive, delete or action. Then, you can go into reading mode later. Don’t flit back and forth between process and action – that’s what creates tension and stress.
8. Reward yourself
For a long time I didn't reward myself because I thought it was the wrong thing to do – that I was doing things for the reward. But I'm an animal like everyone else, and the animal in me likes to feel gratification. If you don't reward yourself intentionally, you do it unintentionally. And then it tends to be chocolate.
9. Delegate!
Delegate as much as you can – a lot more than you probably are. But don't delegate to avoid something. If every time there's a learning opportunity you delegate, that's avoidance, and learning is important.
If people are chatting, you can end up pretending to work and actually earwigging
10. Silence is golden
That's definitely come out of my yoga and meditation practice. Walking into a silent space I find incredibly beautiful. But there's an app called Noizio, which gives you background sounds – October rain, coffee house, thunderstorm, farm. I find that if I'm writing, a little bit of ambient background noise definitely keeps me in the zone. Chat I'm not so sure about. If people are chatting, you can end up pretending to work and actually earwigging.
Find out more about what Michael gets up to at stillworks.org
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