28 Tips Apps Tricks and Hacks to Make 2016 Your Year
What a beautiful epoch to be alive….2015 was incredible, but now’s the time to make 2016 your year. The 21st century clearly has room for improvement, but has there ever been a better time to exist?
Certainly not for me.
If you’re reading this post then you have greater access to information than any president of the United States prior to the rise of the world wide web… think Bill Clinton… crazy…
With all this technology and information, the only question is finding the real gold amongst all that junk out there. So here you’ll find 28 tips, apps, tricks, and hacks to help you make 2016 your year.
It’s time to take full advantage of the fruits of the future.
So let’s dive in…
Make 2016 Your Year: What’s Here?
In this post, you can expect to find the following:
- 3 Overarching Strategies central to success in any endeavor
- 2 Invaluable Tools for Gaining Focus and Clarity
- 9 Apps, extensions, and programs to help you stay on top of your Game
- 7 Habits that can put you in the fast lane of life
- 2 Books to update your Psychology of Productivity OS
- 5 Bonus Challenges – For those brave souls who are committed to Thriving
3 Overarching Strategies
Even the most powerful technology in the universe is meaningless if you don’t use it. These three strategies then will help you keep your eye on the prize, kicking 2016 up a notch.
Use self-management for self-transformation.
#1 Track What Matters Most
“That which gets measured gets monitored”
If you want to see things happen in a particular area of your life (finance, exercise, books read, words written, projects finished, paintings produced, time wasted) then just track it.
Tracking what we do affects what we do. In other words, the measurement itself affects our behavior. If you track how many books you’ve read this year, then you’ll just start to feel good when you add a new book to the list. So you’ll read more.
If you’re trying to save money, you’ll cringe whenever you have to jot down a new payment. As a result, you’ll naturally resist buying things.
In the sections below, you’ll find several apps to help make 2016 your year through tracking
#2 Reflect – How Are Things Going? What do You Really Want?
Life is busy. We all have things to do. And most of them should have been done yesterday.
But funny enough, one of the best ways to get things done to a higher level and more quickly is to simply reflect on how things are going and where you want to be. That’s one reason why the measuring technique above works.
We’ll dive into some specific strategies here in the habits section.
But remember this: reflection is the motor of perfection (you’ll never reach perfect, but the phrase has a nice ring to it, eh?)
#3 Set Clear Goals – No Boats Leave Port Without a Reason
One aspect of reflection is figuring out what want and why you want it:
What would it take for 2016 to legitimately be the best year you’ve ever lived? What would have to be true?
Would you start a business, or get a promotion? Find that amazing relationship partner you’ve been dreaming of? (Get out of that toxic relationship?)
Is it finally time to own your health and fitness so that you wake up feeling great every day? Or maybe it’s time to kick an old bad habit?
Whatever it is that will make 2016 your year, set a clear goal. Write it down. Visualize what success will look and feel like. Figure out the next stop and take action. In fact, the next section offers a free workshop to help you do just that.
**Tip 4 is a program to help you do just that.
Clear and Focused: Start the Year off Right
The materials here are guaranteed to help you lock-in to the fast lane and get laser focused on what matters most.
#4 Get Clear – Use Creative Problem Solving to Outline Outcomes
Get the Full Program Right Here
This is a free workshop made just for you. One of the first testers gave it my favorite unofficial title:
The “Making-Shit-Happen-For-Real-Program”
How did it get that name you ask? Well this workshop gives you a system for starting with mere thoughts and dreams. Then it gives you a rock-solid system for transforming those ideas into actual reality.
That’s how creativity works. You start with ideas, then create them into physical results in the real world. This program will give you the tools to do so.
#5 Get in The Game
Have you switched on or are you “living on autopilot”?
Which drives and intelligences run your life? Passions, intellect, virtues, or vices? Probably a mix.
Playing The Game is about tuning-in to what’s really going on between our ears. We’re only every playing against ourselves.
How does it work? You can start right now….
You… Are…Now… Breathing… Manually… Game on!
Click the link to get the full instructions.
Playing The Game is an anchor for mindful living, peak performance, and overall well-being every single day.
9 Apps & Extensions for Staying On-Point
Here’s some fun and useful stuff. These apps can save you time, take your knowledge to the next level, and give you an edge in making the moves you’re looking for.
They’ll help you make every day count.
(FYI – I am in no way affiliated with any of these apps, programs, or extensions. I’ve just found that they rock, and I use them daily, or more, to keep my own routine on track.)
#6 Audible or Bookmobile by Freshmowed – Speed up Books and Podcasts
There’s so much useful info out there, right?
But who has the time to read everyday…?
The good news is… You Do! Ya, seriously.
You probably have to walk, drive, or ride to places including work, school, stores, gyms, clubs, events or other activities, right? (If not… then we’ve already identified a huge area for potential transformation.)
Well, use these apps to transform your transit time into a mobile university. You can insert whole years of college level learning into your travels… that’s called life-changing…
The audible app is a great way to get access to game-changing resources. Send me a message if you want any book recommendations based on your personal needs.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” So this one habit could transform your capabilities. But don’t take my word for it.
Let’s make a bet. Try it out for the year and thank me on Jan. 1st, 2017.
If you’re not into paying for books or if you prefer podcasts. Then get the Bookmobile app. It also lets you speed up your audio.
Most podcasts, audio books, and lectures are SOOOOO SLOW…
Speed them up to 1.25, 1.5 or even 2x speed and you’ll leverage your learning, making 2016 your year for living on a whole new level. You could save hundreds of hours….I have
#7 Video Speed Controller for Chrome (Free)
Clearly we can take info in at a faster rate than the normal speed than most people speak. (People speak at about 1-200 words per minute and we can process anywhere between 4-700.)
And how much time do we spend in a year learning about random things on Youtube or other internet video players?
Well however much time that is, you’ll cut it down with this app saving you invaluable time and energy.
Take a 10 minute video, speed through the 7 boring minutes of useless info, and slow it back down for the 3 minutes of gold. You’ll save HOURS.
Trust me, once you start using these services to speed up your videos, podcasts, and audio books, you’ll NEVER go back, and you’ll always wonder how you put up with the regular speed for so long.
#8 Ad Blocker Extension for Web Browsers
Have you noticed how ridiculous the ads on youtube have gotten? (a 30 second, non-skippable ads on a 3 minute video!?!?… that’s worse than TV or radio…)
Also, it seems like every site out there has ads cluttering up our screen space. Get this extension for Chrome (the other browsers must have something similar too), and take back your screen space.
More importantly, take back your mind space. Those ads are insidious and try to weasel their way into your brain like tape worms… that’s gotta stop.
Once you get this extension, the internet just gets better. But you won’t realize how much better until you have to use someone’s computer that doesn’t have it. At that point you might start pulling your hair out from the roots and shout, “… How can you stand all these damn advertisements….!”
#9 Coach.me App
This app is highly recommended by Tim Ferris and other productivity gurus throughout the net.
It relates back to the overarching strategy: that which gets measured gets monitored.
Basically it offers you a super easy way to track those critical activities that will make 2016 your year.
#10 Evernote
Never has personal organization been a more practical skill.
And Evernote is a widely untapped resource for taking your self-mastery in the world of personal organization to a whole new echelon.
There are at least 3 levels depending on where you’re starting the Evernote journey:
1) People who have never used Evernote – They just don’t have it nor think about it.
2) People who aren’t using Evernote effectively – They’ve got it and realize it’s probably helpful, but are pretty sure they aren’t using it to its full potential.
3) People who use Evernote Masterfully – Life goals and personal organization are integrated and lead to massive results faster than ever realized.
Use it right and it will help you accomplish endless health, home, career, and life goals twice as fast (if not 5x or even 10x faster).
If you’re not sure where to start, consider hiring someone to help you get it installed or read the books suggested below and work out a system for yourself -> 4 hours of installation could save you 1000’s of hours in real work.
I used to be in that first category. Then I reluctantly moved to the second… and now Evernote is my command center for kicking ass and taking names, often literally.
By combining Evernote with David Allen’s system, “Getting Things Done,” you can experience an absolute transformation in productivity, focus, and well-being. Keep reading to learn more about GTD down the page.
#11 RescueTime Program
How do you spend most of your time on the computer? Do you know? Could you give a reasonable estimate? If we’re being honest, the answer is probably “no.”
Humans are notorious inaccurate when it comes to tracking their behavior in their minds.
In other words, only by using objective measures can we get an accurate sense of how real hours and minutes are spent.
Enter RescueTimer. It can be installed to your computer, and it will help you track the way your time has been spent.
I’ve been letting it run for the last year. But I forgot I had it. I finally opened up the Dashboard to see how things have been going (not really remembering that it has been tracking things for 10 months), and it blew… my… mind.
As soon as you see how your time is actually getting spent, it ignites a flame to kick things up a notch. Put this bad boy to use (it’s free) and just having it can help you make 2016 your year.
#12 Meditation timer Pro
Do you meditate? If yes, then awesome; keep it up. If no, then good news: meditation is awesome for your brain health, but more on that below.
The question here is do you use an app to track your time? I’ve been loving this app (totally worth the $1 for the pro version), and it’s sweet how it tracks your stats:
Total time on the matt
Total number of sessions
Average length of sessions (including days you skip)
And average number of sessions/day since you started.
This is hard data and it doesn’t lie. If you want to meditate everyday, but aren’t, this program just gives it to you straight. It’s up to you to close the distance on that cognitive dissonance.
Also, spending the $0.99 will help you psychologically invest in your habit.
#13 Lights Out: Convict Conditioning Tracking App
As we round out the holiday season, most of us have found we’ve rounded out our waistlines as well.
It’s that time of the year when health and fitness pop back up into awareness as “something I should probably look into at some point.” And here’s a super easy and fun way to get that in.
FYI – if you want fast results in terms of fitness, strength training is probably your best place to start. When you break down your deep muscle tissue, your body ups your metabolic rate long after the workout.
It takes energy to rebuild your muscles, so you’re burning extra calories for the next day. And it builds lean mass. Importantly, the number of calories you burn daily (basal metabolic rate) depends on how much lean mass your body has.
Also, strength training helps your body release all sorts of helpful hormones that keep the organs running smoothly.
Convict Conditioning is a strength training program that anyone can start. Buy the book or find the info for free on the internet. (I personally found the book both highly motivating and helpful for maintaining proper form with each exercise.)
Use the above app, or one similar to it, to track your progress. If in a single week you can get even 3 strength training workouts of 20-30 minutes, you will feel more powerful and energetic than ever before.
And as you look at your stats through this app, and you’re transformation in the mirror, you’ll feel “pumped” to get right back on it.
#14 Tally Counters App
We’ve already covered the value of tracking what matters. So if you want to track something else, and the apps above aren’t what you’re looking for, this Tally Counter will do the trick.
You can make a new counter for anything you want. It’s easy to use, and there is a one button screen capture tool. You can use this to log your progress before you reset counters.
Keep track on a weekly or monthly basis. Screen capture your progress. And compare it over time. How many workouts did you do this week? How many treats did you give yourself? How many days did you go out drinking, or smoking, or running, or dancing, or whatever.
This will help you keep track of what you’re actually doing.
7 Habits for Thriving
#15 Earlier to bed; Earlier to Rise -> Win the Day, Everyday
Quick question, be honest… how often do you go about your day feeling groggy or sleepy? How much does grogginess impact your performance? 1%? 5%? 10% or more?
What would be the difference if you could increase your overall performance in life by any % for every day for the rest of your life? Probably pretty significant, right?
That’s why this habit can be your foundation to make 2016 your year. If you can lock-in a solid routine right here. Then this year could be a pivot point in your life.
How many times do we miss a workout because we’re too tired? How many times do we each junk food because we’re too tired to make something better? How much easier is it to give-in to temptation when we’re exhausted?
These little decisions add up quickly. So own this area and watch things soar. Here’s how:
Step 1) Take Note – How much sleep you really need? I personally need at least 7.5 hours to be close to full capacity. 8 is really more realistic. This number varies for everyone so figure out what you really need.
Step 2) What time do you have to wake up to get ready for your day?
Step 3) (I know this sounds crazy…) Now subtract 30 minutes from whatever time you have to wake up in the morning… These 30 minutes will be your prime time to take this year to a level that most people only “dream” about… ;).
Step 4) Do the math. What time do you need to go to bed if you are going to wake up at the time you decided in step 3 AND get the amount of time you decided you need in step 1?
Step 5) Go to bed at that time. But get ready for bed an hour earlier:
- Turn off screens
- Get away from bright white lights
- Move away from stimulating activities
- Bring it down a notch and settle in to sleep mode
Step 6) Use your extra 30 minutes in the morning to invest in yourself. Get clear about your goals for the day, do some meditation, reading, some quick exercises, or light yoga (the next 2 habits can help there).
**Personal Insight – Skip if you want**
(I know this all sounds tough, or perhaps crazy. I once felt the same way. For me, I used to have to leave for work by 6:30am… I had to be up by 6 to leave on time. Then I started waking at 5:30 to do some meditation. Then I moved it to 5:15 to add some light yoga.
But that wasn’t enough time to get into the flow. So I pushed it to 5:00. But that still wasn’t quite enough time because I would spend 10 minutes wallowing in bed.
Eventually I moved this to 4:40 Monday-Friday.
Admittedly, this is probably a bit extreme, but there was no arguing with the results. Everyday I would head into work, and everyone around me looked like a bunch of zombies while I was already in 6th gear, crushing the audio books and ready to rock.
By 7am most people were just coming online and I had already knocked out 20 minutes of meditation, 30 minutes of yoga, and 30 minutes of audio books on double speed.
Lock in this habit and you will pull away from the herd faster than you ever thought possible.)
#16 Morning Meditation
So you’ve got an extra 30 minutes in the morning to invest in your success and transformation. What can you do? (I’m guessing you see what’s coming…)
If you don’t currently have a meditation habit, then I’ve got good news: Your brain Loves meditation. It literally can’t get enough. Meditation grows that precious grey matter between your ears.
Benefits Include:
- Increases your memory
- Ups your ability to learn quickly
- Aids with problem solving
- Increased fluid intelligence (ability to think on your feet)
- stay cool in stressful situations
- stay focused
- improves executive functioning (prefrontal cortex)
- ups your creativity, productivity, and general sense of well-being
- and a lot more.
… Could we call this… “mind-blowing…”?
Here are some written instructions to start.
And here are some video instructions to get started in as little as 10 minutes.
#17 Morning Yoga – 5 days/week
With some meditation, your mind is now focused. So it’s time to invest in the body. And you don’t need formal classes here. With the short routine described here you will keep your back fresh, your joints lubricated, and your energy levels at an all-time high.
Here’s how it works:
Do 10 Sun-Salutations everyday. There are 2 styles: A and B. The first is shorter; the second longer. Do 5 of each and your body will thank you for the rest of your life.
(“Surya Namaskar” means “Sun Salutation”)
You can memorize the routine in a couple days. And with that knowledge you will have a key to maintaining your body health, mobility, and autonomy throughout the rest of your life.
(When people get put in an “old-folks home” it’s because they can no longer get around and take care of themselves… don’t let that happen to you. Lock in this habit before you REALLY need it and wish you had.)
And it takes less than 15 minutes:
- Sun Salutations A – 5x
- Sun Salutations B – 5x
#18 Keep an “Incoming” List
This one is both simple and sweet. Start a new note in your phone. Title it “Incoming.”
Any time you ever think of something you want to do, something don’t want to forget, an idea, an email to write, a book or movie recommendation to check out, a website to visit, something to pick up at the store, a bill to pay, or whatever crosses your mind that you don’t want to forget…. Capture it here in writing.
This list is a catch-all. Its only purpose is to act as a storage unit for your thoughts so that your best ideas don’t get away from you.
The Incoming List is only a parking space until you run a weekly review.
#19 Weekly Review
This might be the single most powerful habit for taking any and all areas of your life into your own hands. It’s all about setting aside some time each week to reflect on how things are going.
Since you’re now keeping an Incoming list with you at all times, the weekly review is a perfect time to process those ideas.
Step 1) Look through your Incoming. Take anything out that you are sure you want to act on. And save the rest in another list called Someday/maybe.
Then put the actions into your calendar or in your personal productivity system/to-do lists (that we talked about with Evernote). This way you can follow through with those things you care most about.
Step 2) Take some time to write and reflect on these questions:
- What went well this week?
- What got in my way? What could have gone better?
- What can I change to improve things next week?
- What will I focus on?
These questions are deceptively simple yet incredibly powerful. Do the experiment yourself. Once each week this January, stop and answer these questions in writing. Notice how it instigates changes immediately.
Here’s what you’ll probably find:
Writing about these questions makes it clear how you are helping and hurting your progress towards your goals. Once you write it down, it’s harder to ignore the ways you’re hindering your own progress.
Also, you’ll notice what’s going well, and you’ll want to do more of that.
Over the weeks, you get increasingly creative with finding ways to do better next week.
#20 Audiobooks in Transit
We talked about the apps, but this is about the habit.
Set a goal here. Can you listen to at least 30 minutes of audio books everyday? Most books are less than 6 hours long if you listen to them at the regular speed. Increase the speed to 1.5x and you’ll crank out a new book every 4 hours.
That’s about 4 books every month. This is a powerful habit that can transform your learning, and most people just aren’t doing it.
#21 The Frederick Douglass Challenge
Frederick Douglass was born a slave in the South of the US in the early 1600’s and lived through the civil war. One day, the master of his residence made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want the 12 year old Douglass to learn how to read.
Realizing that his master probably didn’t have Douglass’s best intentions in mind, he did everything he could to learn how to read, write, and then consume as much information as possible.
It turned out that reading and learning were 2 of the Keys to his Freedom, figuratively, psychologically and literally.
Douglass emancipated himself and escaped to the North before the Civil War. Once there, he spoke out publicly about the atrocities of slavery. This helped sway a partially indifferent population that slavery was an evil that must not be allowed to persist.
In honor of a great man, I present to you the Frederick Douglass Challenge:
- Gold Medal – Read 52 Books/year = 1 book per week
- Silver Medal – Read 24 Books/year = 2 books per month
- Bronze Medal- Read 12 Books/year = 1 book per month
(*Audio books count – podcasts do not)
If you’re interested my reading list, I earned the Gold in 2015. Check out the my personal list for the year here.
2 Books to Crank Your Productivity Up to 11
The are so many great books out there. These are two of the best of taking productivity and focus up a notch.
If you take on the F.D. Challenge, here’s a great place to start. For me, these two books were like an upgrade to my psychology of productivity OS.
I’ve hinted at some of their secrets in the habits and tips above. But you won’t believe the value available here with just the smallest adjustments in personal organization habits.
What you focus on drives what you’ll do. The ideas here can help you get laser focused and make 2016 your year.
#22 Getting Things Done by David Allen
To get the benefits here, you’ll have to read the book or listen to the program. But let’s put it this way:
What if you could get more things done more efficiently, to a higher standard, while simultaneously lowering your overall stress levels.
That’s what this system can do. Most people take some time to get it installed. But if you want to get it in place in about 1/20 the time, contact me here. We can combine it with Evernote to create a thing of real beauty.
It’s crazy what can happen when people upload this operating system. Life-changing is definitely not too strong a word.
#23 Scrum By Jeff Sutherland
This book is the icing on the cake. It’s full of ideas for removing impediments throughout your life and thus dropping into flow states.
This has the greatest potential to leverage productivity with teams. But the basics found here can help individuals as well. It’s about process thinking and creating a system that promotes getting results quickly.
Check these two sources out and see how they can help you make 2016 your year.
5 Bonuses – For Those Brave and Fierce Souls…
#24 Start a website: Side business, Blog, or Platform
It turns out that the internet is here to stay. And there is a ton of potential out there. Maybe it’s time to test the waters yourself. Make 2016 your year starting an internet venture. The entrepreneurial waters are warm.
Maybe this is the year to launch a business of your own.
Or you can also use it as a platform to take your creativity to the next level:
What do you care about? What do you think about? What do you know about? Is there any way you could provide value to other people?
If so, you could make 2016 your year in terms of greater connection, wealth, influence, and purpose just for starters.
If you’re not sure if you could do it or if you don’t know where to start, then here’s 2 options:
– Complete this Creative Problem Solving Workshop
– Contact me for a consultation to get the creative juices flowing
#25 Try a Gong – Commit to a 100 Day Challenge
A Gong is the official name for what Dr. Pedram Shojai gives to a 100 day personal challenge. Here are the rules:
Chose a short list of things that you will commit to doing (or quit doing) everyday for the next 100 days.
Keep track of the days you complete your Gong goals. If you miss a day, you have to start over from day 0.
An example Gong could include a daily regiment of:
- 10 minute meditation
- 10 Sun Salutations
- No Drinking
Then you just keep track of the days that you do this. When you hit 100 days, you’ve done it. If you miss a day, start again. It’s a way to take your health, mental toughness and self-reflection to the next level.
And you can focus on whatever you want.
The key is to be honest with yourself. Just make it happen. If you’re too scared to try it, then that’s something to think about…
How long has that voice inside you been holding you back? How often has that feeling stopped you from achieving your full potential?
#26 Before 5pm – No Social Media, Random Internet Browsing, or television (Monday-Friday)
Try this simply rule and you might find that your productivity goes through the roof.
You’ll start to notice how often your mind wanders to these activities. If you’ve installed the RescueTime extension then you’ll get a record for how much time is really spent there.
But the real power of this one is in how you use your newly liberated free time.
If this saves you 5 hours/week, how would life be different if you used this time to exercise, or start an internet side business, or launch a youtube channel, or learn a new skill?
Track how you do here and watch how your productivity soars. You can make 2016 your year just be applying this simple rule. Use self-management for self-transformation.
#27 Reduce Your Most seductive Vice
Maybe you’re not ready to sound the Gong (see #25), but you can still make huge strides in other ways.
What is your biggest vice? I mean something that you know that hinders your health and well-being? Porn, cigarettes, weed, alcohol, sex, tv, social media, shopping, junk food, addictive games, harder drugs?
Choose something that’s got its hooks in you. First just track how often you use it (with Tally Counters #14 above). Then when you’re ready, look at how much time/resources you usually spend on this and then reduce it by a % that seems good to you.
Can you reduce it by 50%? If not, how about 25%? Pick and amount that seems highly achievable. Then set a time target and makes it happen.
If you want to make 2016 your year, then start by taking control of those things that are most harmful.
#28 Healthy Eating – Track Just 2 Things
Don’t worry about overhauling your diet. Just track these two things and see what happens. Use the Tally Counters app described above and make 2 new counters:
1) Junk food and Treats = Soda, desserts, candy, etc.
2) Veggies – servings of vegetables (potatoes don’t count)
Whenever you eat a serving of vegetables, hit plus 1 here. Whenever you give yourself a processed snack, cake, candy, soda, or other sugary/salty/fatty comfort food, hit plus 1 there.
For this to work, you don’t even have to set an overt goal at first. Just keep track of it. At the end of each week, screen capture the totals and then reset them.
Simply keep track of your totals for these two categories. Watch how they rise or fall.
Knowledge is power and the results can be transformational.
Make 2016 Your Year: What Are Your Goals?
What are your goals for 2016? How can you make it your best year to date? State your intentions loud and proud in the comments below. Join the community here and we’ll help you realize your goals.
Also, which of these tips, apps, tricks, and hacks work for you?
Do you have any others that I should have added to this list?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
And seriously, make this year your best one to date. What could possibly stop you? If you have any personal challenges, then hit me up here with a private message. You can do it and I can help.
Until next time, keep rockin’ it and make every day count
