3 Weird But Effective Hacks to Get More Done

They’re wacky, but they work

Michelle Loucadoux
Forge

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Person sitting on ground in a colorful room working on a Rubix Cube
Photo by JOSHUA COLEMAN on Unsplash

As a productivity nerd, I have come across a lot of absolutely ridiculous tactics for coercing ourselves to do more. Some are silly, but a few actually work.

I’m not sharing these tips to help you “rise and grind” for 15 hours at a time without rest—I can’t say vehemently enough how much I advise against that. Instead, these hacks allow you to squeeze more work into the hours you have, while making sure your mind and body are healthy and happy. I’ve found they work wonders to prime my brain for optimal productivity. Give them a try.

Chew some gum

Researchers Andrew Allen and Andrew Smith discovered that if you chew some gum, you may be more focused. In four related studies published in Biomed Research International, researchers found that chewing gum can also turbocharge your productivity.

“Chewing gum during the workday was associated with higher productivity and fewer cognitive problems, raised cortisol levels in the morning, and did not affect heart rate,” the study stated. “The results emphasize that chewing gum can attenuate reductions in alertness, suggesting that chewing gum enhances worker performance.”

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