It seems that simplifying your life is the big personal-growth trend right now, pushed by sites like Zen Habits. Personal productivity has had it’s day in the spotlight, now it’s the turn of simplifying, streamlining, identifying the essential, or whatever you want to call it. Goodbye David Allen and say hello Leo Babauta (or maybe not). We’ve gone from focusing on being super-efficient to being super-effective, almost like a bunch of fashionistas going from black to grey… and back again. However, simplifying your life isn’t, ironically, as simple as you might think. Consider the following problems with it:

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Working hard and playing hard is a very popular saying nowadays. Actually to many people it’s more than a saying, it’s a way of life. Not too long ago Salford University used it as a basis for one of their adverts. Because we spend so much time working it’s only natural that we should find an equally demanding form of release that we can fit into the little time we have left for ourselves. What better way to play hard than to go out on a weekend, down copious amounts of alcohol, and eventually stagger home at 6AM?  The problem with working hard is it’s a surefire way to burn out and the problem with playing hard is… it’s also a surefire way to burn out. You see the problem?

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“I never have enough time!” I bet you’ve heard people say that often. It’s quite likely that if you are reading this blog you will also have said it plenty of times too, and you want to do something about it. When I was in my getting (any) thing done stage several years ago I often felt the same way. Then I spent several months out of work and I suddenly had so much time I didn’t know what to do with it. This made me rethink my views on those precious hours constantly ticking away…

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Productivity bloggers love to go on about getting up early. After some GTD loving, sleep is probably the most discussed topic out there… except here. Is this where I’m going wrong? Anyways, why is it so important whether you drag your body out of bed at midday, 8AM or even (ouch!) 5AM? Apparently, from those who do it on a daily basis it is supposed to make you more productive, if only for the reason that you get more stuff done with less distractions because the rest of the world is still (wasting time) sleeping.

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Welcome to another post in the self-help myths series! This time I will take a look at the comfort zone, which is the collection of areas, thoughts, attitudes and environments in your personal, social and work lives that you have become accustomed to. To stray away from these would cause varying degrees of anxiety, which can hold you back. A great many self-help guides state that expanding your comfort zone is the key to achieving your dreams. The more new things you do the bigger your comfort zone becomes, right? Wrong!

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