whoisthisguidefor?

Thisguideisforpeople,whoaresickofbeingaverage.Itisforpeoplewhowanttoimprove
andbebetterthanothersbygaininganedge.Itisforpeoplewhoarewillingtotake
immediateactioninordertogetresults.Itisforpeoplewhoseektolearnandimprovein
theirlives.Itisforpeoplewhowanttogetmoredone,stopwastingtimeonfacebookand
surfingthenet,improvetheirpokergameandhavemoretimetospendwithfriendsand
familyanddoingthethingstheylove.

The80%rule

Mostofthestrategiesfromtheguidewillworkifyouapplythemonly80%ofthetime.You
donothavetoapplyallofthemevenifyouapplyonlyoneortwo,theycansignificantly
changeyourlife.

Donottrytoapplyallstrategiesatoncechooseoneortwoinstead,turnthem
intoahabitandchoosenewones.Irecommendthatyoupracticethetwochosen
strategiesforatleasttwoweeksbeforeapplyinganynewones.Thetopic1 .WhereamI
headed?shouldbecompletedbeforeyouapplyanystrategies(itdoesn'tcountasa
strategy,butIstronglyrecommendyoutodoit,otherwiseitisverylikelythatyouwillgiveup
andgobacktoyouroldhabits).

Thequickguidetoskyrocketingyour(poker)
productivity

Content:

1.WhereamIheaded?
1.1Vision
1.2Goals
2.30daysmakeahabit
2.1Accountabilitytechnique
2.2Don'tbreakthechain!
3.Physicalenergy
3.1Water
3.2Coffee
3.3Nutrition
3.4Exercise
3.4.1Morningjogging
3.4.2Buildingenergywithexercise
3.5Smoking
4.Properbreaks
4.1Mindlesstasks
5.Energyvs.Time
5.1Trackingtimespending
5.2Limitingtimewastedonsurfing
5.3Checkingyouremails
6.Clearingyourhead+Stressremoval
6.1Brainstorming
6.2Cleaningyourworkspace
6.3Gettingtoknowthesystem
6.4Gettingthroughthepileofpaper
6.5Usingthesystem
6.6Reminders
6.7Weeklyreviews
7.Ismultitaskingreallygoodforyou?
8.Projects
8.1Easystuffvs.Hardstuff
8.2Finishingstuff
9.Maketimeforthethingsyoulove
10.Rituals
11.Tricksforstartingupyourdayproductively
11.1Gettingupearly
11.2Wakingup
11.3Whattodofirst?
12.Sleeping
12.1Powernaps
13.Knowledgeandlearning
14.Speedreading
14.1Measuringyourreadingspeed
14.2Thespeeddrill
14.3Thecomprehensiondrill
15.Audiobooks
16.Investinginyourself

1.WhereamIheaded?

Thisisthemostimportantstepthatyouhavetotakeinordertoskyrocketyourproductivity.
Withoutknowingyourdestination,youcanneverreachit.Pleasemakeyourselfafew
minutesofuninterruptedtimeandcompletethefollowingtasks.Donotskipthese!Thisis
mostlikelythehardestpartofthisguideasweareoftenafraidtothinkaboutourfuture
becauseweareafraidoffailing.Afterthis,everythingelsewillbewayeasier.

1.1Vision

ACTIONSTEP:

Takeacoupleofminutesofuninterruptedtime.Takeapieceofpaperandapen.Turnoff
theradio,putthecomputertosleep.Nowthinkaboutthefollowingquestionsandwrite
answerstothemonthepaper:

Whatdoyouvaluemostinotherpeople?
Whoareyouatyourbest?(Thismeanshowdoyouseeyourselfinthebestpossibleway
whatareyourbestvalues?Forexample,youseeyourselfasadedicatedandloyalperson
whoisalsoagoodlistenerandcanalwaysbecountedon...)
Whatdoyouwanttobeknownforafteryoudie?

Seriously,putthecomputertosleepnow,youneedtoreallythinkaboutthesequestionsand
answerthem.Doitnow,notin10minutesortomorrowbecauseyouwillneveractuallydoit
otherwise.Onlythenshouldyougotothenextstep.

Thereisanothergoodtechniqueforidentifyingyourdeepestvalues(fromthebook7habits
ofhighlyeffectivepeople):

Visualizegoingtoafuneralwithyourfriend.Youtakeacabridetothefuneral.Whenyou
getthere,therearealotoffriends,familyandyourcoworkersthere.They'resad,buthappy
aswellsincetheyhavealotofnicememoriesofthemanwhoisinthecoffin.Yougoand
checkoutthecoffin,andrealizethatit'syouinthere.Youareatyourownfuneral.

Thereare4speakersatthefuneral:
Yourwife/husband
Yourclosestfriend
Oneofyourcoworkers
Oneofthepeoplewhoyouinteractedwithinasocialactivity,likesportsorachurch

Trytoimaginetheirspeechesaboutyou.Writethemdown.Youwilllikelyidentifyevenmore
ofyourvaluesnow.

Onceyou'vewrittendowntheanswerstothosequestionsandthespeeches,youarelikely
tohaveidentifiedyourdeepestvalues.Nowconnectyourvaluesintoavisionstatement.
Openaworddocumentortakeanewpieceofpaperandwriteaboutyourvision.Include
details.Lookforwardintime,wheredoyouseeyourself?Whatareyoulike?Whatdoyou
wanttobelike?Howdoyouwanttobeviewedbyotherpeople?

Really,dothisnowaswell.Itwon'ttakeyoumorethan10minutes.Youshouldalso
add/change/improvethisvisionstatementlateronwhenyourealizethatyouwantsomething
else/moreaswell.Itmighttakeacoupleofmonthstoperfectit,butdon'tworryaboutit.As
longasyou'vetakenthosefewminutesonyourtime,youarealreadyontherighttrack.
You'vealreadydonemorethan99%ofnormalpeopledotoincreasetheirproductivity.You
shouldfeelgoodaboutyourself!Now,tothenextstep.

Exampleofagoodvisionstatement:

Iamagoodlistenerandshowcompassionandunderstanding.Itrytoseethingsfromother
people'spointofview.WhenIamnearotherpeople,Iamasourceofpositiveenergywhich
spreadsontootherpeople.IalwaysofferhelpwhenIseesomeoneneedingit,with
encouragingattitude.

Istartmanydifferentprojects,butIprioritizefinishingcurrentprojectsoverstartingtoomany
newones.Ichoosehardprojectsinordertolearnasmuchaspossibleandgainsatisfaction
uponcompletingthem.Ilearnfrommyfailiuresandtakeaccountabilityforthem.Itrytobe
consistentinmyactionsandshowintegritybyfollowingthroughwithmypromises.Ireplyto
everythingandtrytonotkeeppeoplewaitingtoolong.Istrivetoobtainnewknowledgedaily
andsharethatknowledgewithotherswhenpossible.

Mymissionistomakepeople'sliveseasierandbetter.Iwanttohelppeoplefindjoy,
happinessanddecreasetheirstress.ApartofmoneythatIobtainduringmyentrepreneurial
careerwillbededicatedtohelpingpeopleinneedofhelp.

ImakesurethatIconstantlyimproveonphysical,mental,emotionalandspirituallevelsand
havesufficientrecoveryinthoseareas.Thisprovidesmewithenergy,concentrationand
allowsmetoremaincalmandmakegooddecisions,eveninstressfulsituations.Ikeepmy
lifeandenvironmentorganizedandIfrequentlywritethingsdownandsetreminderssothatI
donotforgetsomethingandclearmyhead.

WhenIgetolder,Iwanttobeknownasthepersonwhopositivelyaffectedthelivesofmany
people.

1.2Goals

Whatisadifferencebetweenagoalandadream?Adreamisinyourhead."Iwanttohave
ahugehouse,ahotgirlfriendandaFerraributIamnotdoinganythingtowardsit"thatisa
dream.Ifyouputadreamonpaper,itbecomesagoal.Itisthere,youhavewrittenit.You
canholdyourselfaccountablefornotcompletingit.Measurablegoalsareareallygoodway
ofguidingyourselftoreachyourvision,lookingatyourprogressandseeingwhetherornot
youareontherightpath.

Don'tsetmonetarygoals,butrather(pokertheory)learninggoals.Youshouldfocuson
obtainingmoreknowledgeorimprovingatsomething,somakesurethatyourgoalswill
reflectimprovementandthattheyarenotluckdependant(winninganMTTwouldbeabad
exampleofagoal).Luckdependantgoalscanbecomefrustratingwhenyoudonot
accomplishthem.Withsometime,whenyougetahangofsettingnewgoals,youshouldtry
tosetthebarhigherinordertopushyourselftothelimit(iwillwriteaboutthislateron),but
whenstartingout,makesurethattheyarerealistic.

Thegoalsshouldbeinlinewithyourvisionstatementandcomefromyourvalues.Theywill
helpyoustayontherightpathandsteadilyprogresstowardsyourdestination.

Somepeoplerecommendmonthlygoals,othersrecommendweeklygoals.Ichooseto
recommendweeklygoalsbecauseitisashortenoughperiodoftimetomakechanges,but
alongenoughperiodoftimeforyoutoworkoneverythingthatyouchoosetoworkon.

ACTIONSTEP:

Now,youshoulddefineacoupleofmeasurablegoals.Berealistic.Lookatyourvision
statementandaskyourselfwhatyouwanttoworkonthefollowingweek.Writeitdown.

Example:
Iwillreadtwopokerrelatedarticlesthisweek,whichmeansthatIhavetoreadonearticle
untilThursdayandanotheroneuntilSunday.
Iwillplaypokeratasettimeatleastanhouradayeveryday.
Iwillalsopost10handsintothehandjudgingboardsforreviewduringtheweekend.

Aftereveryweek,preferablyonsomethinglikeaSundayevening,youshouldmakeashort
reviewofwhichgoalsyouhaveaccomplishedandsetthenewgoalsforthenextweek.
Makesurethatyoualwayssetnewgoalsthatareinlinewithyourvisionstatement.If
somethingisn'tworkingforyouoritishardforyoutoaccomplish,tryadifferentapproachor
trybreakingthegoalsdownandsettingsmalldeadlines,asinexample#1.

Startslow.Don'tsetthebartoohigh.Ifyouhaven'treadanyarticlesatall,maybeyou
shouldstartwithoneaweek.Ifyousetthebartoohigh,youwillgetoverwhelmedandquit.
Sodon'tdoit.Bytheway,haveyoudefinedyourvisionalready?AsIalreadymentioned,
thisguideisforpeoplewhoarewillingtotakeimmediateaction.Soifyoudidn'tdoit,thisis
yourlastchance.Iwon'tremindyouanymore.Buttheresultswillreflecttheamountofeffort
thatyouputintoyourgrowth.

GOALSANDHABITSSPREADSHEET:

Aspromisedduringthelivecoaching,Demarcohspandmedesignedasimpleworksheetfor
easiertrackingofyourhabitsandgoals.Itcaneitherbeusedintheelectronicformor
printedout.Youcandownloadthespreadsheeth ere,thefileiscalled
Habits_goals_spreadsheet(Ihopethateveryonecanopen.xlsxfiles).

Hereareacoupleofinstructionsonhowtousethespreadsheet:

Habitssection:Writethehabitsthatyouwanttotakeup.Butstartwith1or2max.,you
don'thavetodoallofthem.Theboldedwordsarejustsuggestions,whichyoushould
changeaccordingtoyourownpersonalneeds.Forexample,ifyouwantedtotakeup
jogging,youwouldwrite"jogging"insteadof"exercise".

Nexttothat,youhavesomecells.thoseareusedtomaketicks/crossestotrackyour
progress.Andthere'salsoalineforcommentsifyouhadanyproblemsetc.

Goalssection:Again,thiscanbemodifiable.Youcanaddsomeareasoflifeorremove
someofthem.Youdon'thavetofilleverythingout.Fillasmuchasyouthinkyouneedto.
Don'tset30goals,you'llnevercompletethem.Setarealisticnumberofgoals.Trytobe
specificwithgoals.Commentssectionistherefortrackingproblemsandprogress.

Youcaneitherprintthisoutoruseitasanexcelfileelectronically.It'sdesignedsothatitcan
beprintedouton2pages .Idorecommendprintingitoutandhavingitinfrontofyouat
yourworkenvironment.

AbigthankstoDemarcohspforhelpingoutwiththisworksheet!

Congratulations,youhavecompletedthefirstpartoftheguide!

2.30daysmakeahabit

Ok,movingontohabits.Inordertochangeyourbehaviour,youfirsthavetounderstandit.
Manystudieshaveshownthatittakesapproximately30daysofcontinuingbehaviourto
makeanewhabit.Thismeansthatifyouconsciouslydoonethingoverandoveragainfor
30days,youshouldbeabletodoitsubconsciously(onautopilot)afterwards.Ifachange
isn'tveryradical,itispossibletomakeitintoahabitin14days,butoneshouldbecareful
whentryingtochangetoomanythingsatonce,sincethisincreasesthepossibilityof
becomingoverwhelmedandreturningtoyouroldhabits.

Theproblemisthatthisdoesn'tworkifyouwanttochange10thingsatatime(similarto
multitasking,butwe'llfocusonthatlateron).Thatiswhyyoushouldonlytrytotakeon1or
2newhabitsatatime.Anotherimportantthingwithhabitsistonotbetooradical.For
example,ifyouwanttostartexercising,a10minutewalkeachmorningiswaymorelikelyto
becomeahabit(youwouldincreasepaceanddurationwithtime)thantryingtoruna
marathoneachmorningwithnotraining.

Anotherimportantthingwithhabitsis:theywillonlystickifyoureallydothemeveryday.
Don'trationalizeorsay"i'lldothistomorrow".Doiteveryday,thatwayitwillbetheeasiest
toformahabit.Prioritizeit.Yousaidyouwantedtochange,nowdosomethingaboutit.If
youaregoingtostartwalking10minuteseverymorning,makesureyouactuallydoit,no
matterwhatweather.

2.1Accountabilitytechnique

Luckily,therearesometricksformakingforminghabitseasier.Oneofthem,perhapsthe
mostcommonandeasiestoneofthemistosimplytellasmanypeopleaspossibleabout
yournewhabit.Ifyoutellyourfamilyandallofyourfriendsthatyouaregoingtostart
workingouteveryday,itiswaymorelikelythatyouwillactuallydoit(becauseyouwantto
keepyourintegrity)thanifyoukeptitforyourself.

Anothergoodideaistoconvincesomeoneelsetotakeonthehabitwithyouan
accountabilitypartner.Itwillbewayeasierifyouholdeachotheraccountable.Youcanalso
motivateeachotherandperhapsevencompeteagainsteachother,improvingyour
progress.

Youcanevengoonestepfurtherifyoureallywanttoadoptanewhabit,butforsome
reasonjustcan'tdoit,orifyouwanttomakesomethingthatyoudon'tlikeintoahabitbut
youwanttodoitbecauseyouknowthatit'sgoodforyouandyoushoulddoityoucangive
afriendsomemoney(asumthatyoucareabout,like$100orsomethingyoucanstillafford
thisisofcourserelativetoyourwealth.Tellthemthattheywillbeabletokeepthemoneyif
youdonotdoacertainthingforaweek/monthandthattheyshouldholdyouaccountable.

ACTIONSTEP:

Ifyouhaveablog,writeyourgoalsthereand/orsharethegoalsyou'vesetforyourselfwith
atleastoneotherperson.Tellthemtoholdyouaccountable.

2.2Don'tbreakthechain!

Thisisanothersimple,butnotsowellknowntechnique.Iactuallyfinditprettyfunmyself,
andit'sveryefficient.Itdoeshoweverrequireabitmoreselfdiscipline,soIstillrecommend
usingtheaccountabilitytechniqueinsynergywiththisone.

Whatyouwanttodohereis:

pickahabityouwanttoadopt
getapapertablecalendar
drawabigredcrossoverthecalendarforeverydaywhenyoudothehabit
asyouhaveprobablyfiguredoutbynow,youarenotallowedtobreakthechainofred
crosses .

Thecalendarshouldalwaysbevisible,onyourdesk,infrontofyou.Thiswillhelpwith
preventingyoufromfailing.

ACTIONSTEP:

Getatablecalendar.Itdoesn'thavetobebig,itcanbesmall.It'scheap.Orprintitoutona
pieceofpaper,itdoesn'treallymatter,aslongasyouseeitwhenyouwakeupandhaveit
inlineofsightformostoftheday.Alsobuyaredmarkerforfulleffectofthetechnique.
Chooseahabitandstartmakingthatchain!

2.3Rewardingyourself

Smallrewardscanbeagoodmotivatorforforminghabitsaswell.Dogtrainersusethesefor
areason .Thethingwithrewardisthattherewardshouldreallybesmall,notbigifit'sa
bigreward,youwilldosomethingjusttoberewarded,andthat'snotthepoint.Also,ifyou
taketherewardaway,youshouldstillbeabletocontinuewiththehabit.Agoodrewardfor
exampleis:wheneveryouwakeupearlyinthemorning,youshouldmakeyourselfanice
cupofcoffeeorallowyourselftoreadoneofyourfavouritebooksfor15minutes.Again,the
rewardsshouldbesmallifyoushouldchoosetousethistechnique.
=========================Updated
14.4.2012==============================

3.Physicalfitness

Ok,nowthatwe'redonewiththebasics,wecanfinallymoveontomoreusefulstuff .We
willbeginwithphysicalfitness.Why?Becauseitisthebasisforeverythingelse.Youcannot
achieveoptimalconcentration,focusandenergywithouttheproperphysicalfitness.

Itseemslogicalthatthephysicalfitnessisconnectedtoeverythingthat'sgoingoninour
bodies.Ifweeatwellandexercisewell,wewillhavealotmoreenergythroughouttheday
thatwewillbeabletousefordoingotherstuff.Ourrecoveryandqualityofsleepwillalsobe
betterduetothepropernutrition.

Now,thethingwithexerciseandpropereatingisweallknowthatweshoulddoit,
"becauseit'sgoodforyou"and"healthy",butweareoftentoolazytoactuallydoit.

ThatiswhyIwantyoutoseewhyyoushouldreallydoallthatstuff,because"it'sgoodfor
you"justisn'tagoodenoughargument.Solet'sseethebenefitsofeatingrightmostofthe
timeandfrequentlyexercising:

Tonsofenergythroughoutthedaythatyou'veneverhadbefore
ItmakesiteasiertoSTARTplayingpoker/learningtheory
ItmakesiteasiertoKEEPplayingpoker/learningtheory
Increasesfocusandconcentrationwhileworking
Youwilllookdamngoodwhenyougotothebeach(lotsofpeoplesaytheydon'tcare,but
let'sfaceitwouldyouratherbeleanandsexyorchubbyandunattractive?)
Increasedconfidence(whichwillalsohelpyougainmotivation)
Moreenergymeansthatyouwillthinkmorepositively,belesstiltprone,andpositively
affectpeoplearoundyouagreatbenefitifyou'reworkinginateaminaregularjobaswell!
Youwillbeproudofyourself.Youwillloveyourself,andotherpeoplewillloveyou.
Youwillsleepinfinitelybetter.Nowakingupinthemiddleofthenight,justawesome
dreamingandsleeping.Youwillwakeuprecoveredandenergized.
Youwillbeabletoremembermore
Youwillbeabletobecomemorecreative

ONTOPofallthis,youwillalsohavethepotentialto:

livelonger
havelessinjuries
decreasechancesofgettingacold(whichgreatlydecreasesyourproductivityforacouple
ofweeks)
decreasechancesofgettingamoreseriousdiseaselikediabetes,etc.

Ofcourseyoucanalwaysgethitbyacaroratrain,butlet'strynottobetoomorbidhere
andfocusonthepositivethinking .Youwillactuallyenjoylifewaymoreifyouare
physicallyfit,believeme.Allthesebenefitswillgivewayyoumoresatisfactionthaneating
muffinseveryday,andyouwon'tevenhavetogetridofallofthestuffyoulikeanyway .
Besides,whathappenswhenyoueatsomejunkfoodandsweets?Youfeellikecrap,you
can'tconcentratewellandfeellikesleeping.Willthatreallyearnyouanymoney?

Ohyeah,andonemorethingforthoseofyouwhomightthinkthatphysicalfitnessis
irrelevanttoyourproductivity:tryeatingsomefastfoodandsweetsinthemorning,then
walkingaroundalldaywith20poundsofweights,booksorstonesinyourbackpack.Report
totellmehowyoufeel.

3.1Water

Yes,frequentrehydrationissoimportantthatitrequiresit'sowntopic.Wateriswhatwe're
mostlymadeof.Ifyouconsumetoolittleofit,howdoyouexpecttofunctionproperly?

Dehydrationisthemaincauseofyoufeelingtiredandsleepythroughouttheday.Seriously,
observeyourbodyonadaywhenyoudrinkalmostnowaterandonadaywhenyoudrinka
lotofwater.Howdoyoufeel?

Thethingisthatweoftendon'tevennoticethatwe'redehydrated.Youwillnoticewayfaster
whenyoutrytodosomesportswithoutdrinkinganywater,butthedehydrationisstillthere
everyday,althoughwedonotfeelthirsty,butrathertiredandsleepy.

Trydrinkingaglassofwaterfirstthinginthemorningeverydayandseehowitwillmake
youfeel.Oratleastwithbreakfast.

AndImeandrinkingwateraspurewater,notjuices,sodaoralcohol.Justwater.Therefore,
sinceyoushouldgetusedtothisassoonaspossible,youshouldtrytomakeregular
consumptionofwaterahabit.Trytodrinkoneglassofwateratleasteveryhourortwo.But
howdoyoudoit?Thereisareallysimpletrick.Carryitwithyouatalltimes,ifpossible.

ACTIONSTEP:

Getoneofthose$10plastic/glasswaterbottlesthatarehighlymarketednowadays.Evenif
theydon'tdoanymagicalstuff,theyareusuallynicelyshapedandveryportable,theydon't
deformandtheydon'tstartstinkingwhenyouusethemforawhile.

Havethebottlefilledupandonyourtableatalltimes.Takefrequentsips.Alsocarryit
aroundwhenyou'reatwork/college/wherever.Youcanusuallybuysmallonesthatarereally
portable,andtheenergythatthey'llprovideyouwithwillbewellworththeinvestment.

Ifyou,forsomereason,donotfancybuyingthat,youshouldatleastgetabigjaranda
glassandhavethejar,filledwithwaterofcourse,onyourdeskatalltimes.

3.2Coffee

Themajorityofgrownuppeoplestartadaywithacupofcoffee.Then,throughouttheday,
manyofthemdrinkacouplemorecupsofcoffee.Butwhy?Doesitreallytastethatgood?I
guesssomepeopledodrinkcoffeebecauseittastesgood,butusuallyit'sbecauseofoneof
thesereasons:

Everybodydrinkscoffee,soIshoulddrinkittoo,right?WhatelseamIsupposedtodrink
whenIgooutforcoffee?
I'mtiredandIcan'tgetanythingdone.SoI'lldrinkcoffeetomotivatemeandmakemeless
sleepy.

Well,ok.Nowimagineanoverweightperson.Willfrequentliposuctionreallygivethemthe
bodytheywanttohave?Orshouldtheyfocusoneatinglessandexercisingmore?Since
you'vereadmythreadupuntilhereandyou'renotoneofthenaivepeoplewhowould
actuallythinkthatliposuctionisbetterforyouinthelongrun,youprobablyknowtheright
answer.

Coffeeontheotherhandisverysimilartoliposuction.It'sjustatemporarycure.Abadone
too,sincewecangetusedtoitprettyfastandthenneedevenmoreofit.

So,let'sseewhatcausesustodrinkcoffee.Tiredness,lowenergy,sleepiness,lackof
motivation...Ifjusttherewasawaytofixallthoseproblems.Ahh,Iknow,I'lljustdrinkacup
ofcoffee!

...56hourslater...

Damn,Ifeellikecrapagain.MaybeIshoulddrinkmorecoffee...

...56hourslater...

Whycan'tIsleepatnight?ItmustbebecauseI'mundertoomuchpressure/stress.

Whileitisscientificallyproventhatcaffeinedoesimproveenduranceandenergyandmakes
iteasiertoperformwellincertainsports,itisalsoscientificallyproventhatcaffeinecan
causeenergycrashesafterwearingoff,andthatitnegativelyeffectsourfocusand
concentration,aswellascausessleepdeprivationifconsumedtoolateintheevening.

Sinceweareinpursuitofsustainedhighenergythroughoutthedayanddonotseek
intervalsofhighphysicalenergyandcrashes,caffeineisobviouslynotthebestsolutionto
solvethoseproblems.

Also,whatwillyoudoifyourequireenergyintheevening?Drinkcoffeebeforesleepand
sacrificeit?Here,itgetsreallyironic.Oneofthecausesoftheproblems(sleepiness,
tiredness)thatwetrytocurewithcoffeeislackofsleep.So,essentially,bydrinkingcoffee,
weareactuallymakingthecauseevenworseandarerecursivelyincreasingourtiredness
andsleepinessthroughouttheday.Thiscannotpossiblyleadintosustainedhighenergy.

ButifIgiveupcoffee,whatshouldIdotopreventsleepinessandtiredness?Thereisn'ta
fastandeasysolutiontocaffeineaddiction.Tobehonest,ifyougiveupcoffee,youprobably
willfeellikecrapforaweekortwo.However,ifyoufocusonthecausesoflowenergy,you
canminimizethiseffectandinacoupleofweeks,you'llbeburstingwithenergy,withoutthe
coffee!

Tomakeiteasier,youcantrydrinkingwhiteorgreenteainsteadofcoffee.Whiletheystill
dohavesomecaffeine,theyalsocontainmanyantioxidantswhichwillmakeyoufeelbetter
throughouttheday.I'mtalkingabouthighquality,unflavouredlooseteafromteashops,not
aboutthebagsthatyoucanbuyineverysupermarket.

ACTIONSTEP:

Ifyouonlydrinkacupofcoffeeaday,itshouldbeeasytocutit.Replaceitwithwaterand
focusonpropernutrition,enoughsleep,rehydrationandfrequentexercise.Youwon'tneed
coffeeifyoudoallthosethings .

Ifyoudrinkalotofcoffee,thefirstthingIsuggestisthrowingitaway.Ifyoudon'thaveit,you
can'tdrinkit.

Then,gotoalocalteashopandbuysomeloosetea.Perhapswhiteteawouldbethebest
becauseit'seasiertopreparethangreentea.Askforonethatdoesn'thavealotofcaffeine.
Alsoaskthesalespersonthereforinstructions,writethemdownandfollowthem.Replace
thecoffeewithacoupleofcupsofteaaday.

Alsodon'tforgetaboutpropernutrition,exercise,rehydrationandenoughsleep.Theywill
makegettingridofyourcoffeeaddictionwayeasier.

3.3Nutrition

Andwe'vefinallyarrivedtonutrition!Ifyouareoverweightoreatingunhealthy,pleasego
andreadallthosebenefitsthatI'vewrittenagain.Itisreallyimportantforyoutorealizethat
thefollowingstrategiesinthisguidewillhavewaylesseffectifyoudonotcommittoeating
healthy.Thisisoneofthebestchangesthatyoucanmakeinyourlife.

Andpleasestoprationalizing.Yes,Iknowthatyou'rejust10or20poundsoverweightand
thatyourneighbourisevenheavier.Butthatdoesn'treallymatter.Youshouldfacethetruth
andseethatwhatyou'redoingisn'tgoingtohelpyoureachyourvisionanyfaster.Goand
readthevisionstatementthatyou'vewritten.

IwilltrytokeepthistopicreallyshortbecauseIhavealreadywrittenalongthreadaboutit,
soherearethemainpoints:

Youshouldeatmore(preferablyatleast5)small,balancedmealsaday,whichwillprovide
youwithasteadyflowofenergy.
Eliminatesoftdrinks(andtrytoeliminateextensivealcoholtoo),likejuices,sodas,etc.
Eliminatefastandgreasyfood
Eliminatesweets
Eatfresh,unprocessedfruitandvegetables,leanmeat,fish,eggs,lowfatdiary,nutsand
tryoutdifferentspices.

Ohyeah,andsincethisfoodwillmakeyoufeelfullforalongeramountoftime,youwill
actuallyspendlessonitthanyouwouldonjunkfood.

Rememberthe80%rule!

Iunderstandthatthetransitiontohealthyfoodmightbehard.Whileitisthebestforyouto
completelychangetohealthyfood,anotherslightlyworseoption(butstillbetterthaneating
completelyunhealthy),istoeathealthythroughouttheday,andintheevening,notbefore
playingpokerorstudyingtheory,rewardyourselfbyconsumingasmallportionofyour
favouritefood.Likeamuffinorascoopoficecream,apancakeor1/4ofachocolatebar.
Justdon'teattoomuchofit.Orperhapsdrinkaglassofwineifyoureallyneedto,butdon't
dosweetsANDalcohol,justoneoftheseisenough.

ACTIONSTEP:

Gototheshoppingmall,andbuyaloadoffruitandvegetablestofillyourfridge.Trydifferent
stuff.Trystuffyou'venevertriedbefore.Trystuffthatyoudidn'tlikewhenyouwereachild.
Youmightlikeitnow.Alsopurchasesomeleanmeat,fish,eggs,lowfatdiary,somespices
(trysomeorientalstuff,perhapscinnamonaswell...)andabunchof(like1kg)ofdifferent
nuts.Nutsshouldnotbesaltedorroasted!

Nowyouhaveanice,fullfridge.Youcaneatanythingyouwantfromeat,asmuchasyou
wanttoeat.Trytoeateveryfewhours.Putabunchofnutsinaplasticcontainerandcarryit
aroundatalltimes,alongwithyourwaterbottle.

Duringyourpokersession,isuggesthavingsomefreshfruitandnutsonyourtableand
eatingfrequently.Thatwillhelpyouretainconcentrationaswell.

Ifyouwanttolearnmoreaboutnutrition,youcanreadthepokernutritionguideI'vewrittena
yearorsoago:

Nutritionandpoker.

Youcangetalotofusefulinformationfromthisguide,aswellassomenicerecipes!

YoucanalsoresearchthePaleodietviaGoogle,whichisareallysimple"diet"tofollow.
Althoughremember,it'snotadiet(adietmarksalimitedamountoftimewithfocusonlosing
weight),thisshouldbecomeyournewlifestyle.

=========================Updated
15.4.2012==============================

3.4Exercise

Frequentexercisewillincreaseyourenergylevelsthroughouttheday,atleastifyoudoit
right.Ifyouarenewtoexercising,oraretoolazytodoit,orgenerallydon'tlikesportsand
similarstuff,oryou"don'thavetimeforit",thenIhaveasimplemessageforyou:getoff
yourlazyass,trydifferentsports(yououghttolikeoneofthem),findtheoneyouenjoythe
mostandmakesometimeforit!

Itiswayeasiertoexerciseifyouhavefunwhileatitorifyou'redoingitwithyourfriends.
Youdon'thaveanyfriendswhoexercisefrequently?Joinaclub.Takeuprecreationaldance
classes.Gotothegym.Dosomepushups.Atfirst,itdoesn'treallymatterwhatyoudo,just
dosomethingdifferentthansittingatyourpcthewholeday.AndIcan'temphasisethis
enough,FINDSOMETHINGTHATYOUACTUALLYLIKEDOING!Thenprioritizeit.Without
exercise,youwillhavewaylessenergythroughouttheday.Withexerciseandproper
nutrition,youwillhavetonsofit.You'llbeamazedathowmuchyoucangetdoneandhow
focusedyoucanstayduringyourpokersessionsandlearningsessions.

=========================Updated
16.4.2012==============================

3.4.1Morningjogging

Jogginginthemorning,beforebreakfast,isoneofthemostawesomethingsyoucandoin
ordertoboostyourproductivityinthemorningandthroughouttheday.Itishardtostart
doingit,butifyoudoiteveryday,it'seasytoformitintoahabit.Jogginginthemorning
shouldbeshortandlowintensity,becauseafterawholenightofstarvation,youwouldnot
wanttoburnyourmusclessinceyouarelackingnutrientsinthemorning.Thepurposeof
thisjogistowakeyouupandmotivateyouforthedayandnottodrasticallyincreaseyour
energy.

Youshouldonlyjogforabout15minutes,dependingonyourcurrentfrequencyofexercise.
Ifyou'rejuststartingout,youshouldconsiderwalking.Ifyou'reusingaheartratemonitor,
yourHRshouldnotgoabove140150,dependingonyourage.Keepitlow.

ACTIONSTEP:

Preparesomerunningorcomfortableshoesintheevening.Ifyouhaven'texercisedinages,
gofora10minutewalkinthemorning,beforebreakfast.
Ifyouareexercisingfrequentlyalready,youshouldgofora15minutejog.Itisvery
importantthatyoudoiteveryday!

3.4.2Buildingenergywithexercise

Firstofall,let'stakealookatathletics.Imagineamarathonrunnervs.a100msprinter.
Whichonedoyouthinkhasmoreenergy?Thethinmarathonrunnerorthesprinterfullof
muscle?Ifyouobservethesetwopeople,youwillseethatwhereasthemarathonrunnerwill
beabletoendurelongdistances,thesprinterwillbeabletorunwayfasterinashorter
periodoftime,withsufficientresting.

Inpoker(andalsoinotherjobs),weshouldbefocusingonperiodsofhighperformanceand
periodsofrecoveryinordertoachievemaximumproductivity.Whileonemightarguethatit
wouldbebeneficialforyoutobeabletoplaypokerorworkfor14hoursinarow,thatwould
makeyouarobot.Doyoureallythinkthatyoucanmaximizeyourcreativitylikethat?Will
youreallybeabletoplayyourAgamewithoutlosingconcentrationforthatlong?Doyou
thinkyoucanlearntheoryfor14hoursstraightwhileretainingconstantfocusandoptimal
memorization?

WouldnotitbebetterifyoucouldplayyourAgamefor6hours,learnthetheoryinfewer
hours,constantlyimproveandearnmoremoney,whilestillfindingtimefordoingother
thingsyouloveinbetween?Sometimes,lessisactuallymore.

Ifyoujogfor2hoursfrequently,doyouthinkyourenergywillimprove?Yourendurance
might,butsinceyouwillnotbepushinganythingbutendurancetothelimits,youlikelywon't
noticemuchofachangeinyoureverydayenergylevels.Thereareplentyofstudieswhich
suggestthatintervaltrainingiswaybetterforincreasingyourenergycapacitythan
nonintervaltraining.

Thismeansthatifyoulikejoggingintheafternoon,youshouldjoginintervalsifyouwantto
improveyourenergy.Insteadofrunningatthesamepace,youshouldrunasfastasyou
canforafewminutes,thenwalkforafewminutestorecover,andrepeatthat.Inacoupleof
weeks,youwillnoticeabigimprovementinyourenergylevelsthroughouttheday.

Ofcourse,thisdoesnotonlyapplytorunning.Youcanapplythistocycling,swimming,
rowing...Andtherearealsosomesportsthatarealreadymadeupofintervalsofrestand
highperformance,suchasfootball,basketball,tennis,martialarts...

ACTIONSTEP:

Readyourvisionstatementtoreconnectwithyourpurpose.

Ifyoualwayswantedtotakeupsomesportbutneverfoundtimeforit,orfoundanexcuse
notto,nowistherighttimetodoit.Ifyoudonotknowwhichsportyouwanttotakeup,try
somedifferentones.Mostofthesportsclubshaveafreefirstlessonanyway,soitdoesn't
reallycostyouanythingtotryadifferentsport.

Onceyouknowwhatyouwanttodo,joinaclub.Maketimeforit.Trytoparticipateinthis
sportatleast23timesaweek.Itdoesn'treallymatterwhetherit'sjogging,footballor
workingoutatthegym,justgodoit.Yes,Iknowthatthisisoutofyourcomfortzone.Butthe
onlywaytochangeandimproveistogooutofyourcomfortzone.Whatistheworstthing
thatcouldhappen?Willsomeonedieifyoutrysomethingnew?Iftheanswerisno,thengo
doit.Itwillneverbethe"righttime"inyourmind,butinreality,itisalwaystherighttime.

Therearecountlessbenefitsofthis:Youwillmeetnewpeople,gainnewfriendsandmake
connections.Youwillincreaseyourenergylevelsandbeonthepathtoincrediblefocusand
productivitythroughouttheday.Yourconfidencewillriseandyouwilllookbetter.Youwill
getridofthatextraweightthat'sslowingyoudown.Itwillbeeasierforyoutostudypoker
articlesandwatchpokervideos.Andmostimportantly,youwillbeabletoearnmoremoney
withpokerbymaintainingyourAgamemoreeasily.

=========================Updated
17.4.2012==============================

3.5Smoking

Unfortunately,there'snomagicalwaytoquitsmokingforgood.Theonlywaythatgetsclose
toitiswhenwomenbecomepregnant.Manyofthemwillinstantlyquitsmokingfor9
months.Sadly,manyofthemwillalsogobacktoitafterwards...

Thebook"Easywaytoquitsmoking"hasbeenrecommendedasamustreadbyquiteafew
exsmokerssofar.Itwillsaveyoualotofmoneyinthelongrun,sodon'thesitatetobuyit!

Eventhoughyouprobablyknowmostofthisstuffalready,Ithinkit'sstillwisetogothrough
moreorlesssubtlewaysinwhichsmokingisbad(Iamnottryingtooffendanyonehere,just
pointingacoupleofthingsoutthatyoumightnothavethoughtabout):

Itobviouslymakesyourlifeshorter,increasesthechancesoflungcancerandsomeother
diseases...Butreally,knowingthatwon'tchangeyourbehaviourifyousmoke.Atleastnot
untiloneofyourclosefriendsorfamilymembersdiesbecauseofit.
Itisacauseforyellowteeth.Yes,Iknowthatyoucanwhitenitbutthatcostsmoney.You
don'tcare?Well,womendo.
Yourlungcapacitywilldecrease,whichwillmakeithardertoexerciseanddecreaseyour
energythroughouttheday.
Manygirlsdislikesmoking.Especiallythesmellofitonyourbody.It'snotreallyan
aphrodisiacifyouknowwhatImean.
Thenthere'spassivesmoking.Doyoureallywanttodamagepeoplearoundyoubecauseof
yourselfishneeds?Shouldachildthatiswalkingnearyouonthestreetssufferbecauseyou
fancyacigarette?Andthesmellofsmokingbothersmanypeople.Whywouldyouwantto
makeotherpeople'slivesworse?
Andthenthere'smoneyofcourse.Somepeoplesmokeapackofcigarettesaday.Iknow
thatthepricesaredifferentandthatsomepeoplesmokemore,somepeoplesmokeless.
Butlet'ssaythatyouwaste$5adayforthatpackofcigarettes.That's$1825ayear.Ifyou
investedthatmoneyintosomethingelse,likeyourpokerbankroll,howmuchfurthertowards
financialindependencewouldyoube?Ofcoursethisisaffectspeoplewhoplayatlowlimits
lessthanpeoplewhoplayathigherlimits.Butit'sacostofanicevacationnevertheless.

Now,let'sseewhyI'mevenbotheringwithwritingaboutsmokingifIcan'tgiveyouamagical
tactictostopsmoking.It'ssimplybecausemanypeopleforgettoidentifythec auseoftheir
smoking.Ifyoudonotremovethecauseandstopsmoking,youwillgetbacktoitsoon.Or
youwilldrinkalcoholoreatchocolateinstead.

Askyourself,whydoyousmoke?Theanswerinmostcaseswillbeprettysimple:stressor
depression.Iwonderifthosetwoproblemscouldsomehowbesolved?Wouldyoustillneed
tosmokeifyouweren'tundersomuchstress?Wouldyoustillneedtosmokeifyouwere
happier?Ihopethattheanswerisno.Andnowcomesthegoodpart:Icanhelpyouwith
thoseproblems.Inthefollowingchapters,Iwillalsofocusonstressremoval,somakesure
thatyoustopbyandreadthem.Oh,andyournewnutritionandexercisehabitsshouldbe
makingyoulesscrankyalready .

ACTIONSTEP:

Askyourselfwhyyouaresmoking,andwritetheanswertothatquestioninareplytothis
post.Thiswillmakeyoufindthecauseforyoursmokinghabits.Itwillalsohelpmehelpyou
incaseI'vemissedsomepossiblecauses.

Visityourvisionstatementagainandifyouwanttoquitsmoking,addsomethingaboutitto
yourstatement.

Remember,quittingsmokingwillenableyourenergylevelstoexpandevenfurther.Youwill
feelbetterthroughouttheday.Lifewillbedifferent.Youwillbeabletoseeitfromawhole
otherperspective.Youwillnolongernegativelyaffectotherpeople'slives.Instead,youwill
beabletoexperiencejoyandsharethisjoywithothers.Youwillbeabletosmileandmake
otherpeoplesmile.Andyouwillbeabletouseallthatextraenergytoreachyourvision
faster.Goodluck!

=========================Updated
19.4.2012==============================

4.Properbreaks

I'vealreadymentionedtheanalogywhereIcompareasprintertoamarathonrunner.We
wanttoachieveperiodsofhighperformance,focusandconcentration,andinordertodo
that,weneedperiodsofrestaswell.Theseareabsolutelyamustandcanbeimplemented
within95%ofpokersessions.Theonlyscenariowhereitmightnotbebeneficialforyouto
takeabreakfromasessionforsometimeisifyouareplayingafishHU,andthatis
becausethefishwillmostlikelyleaveifyoutakeabreak.

Incaseyoucan'ttakeabreak(becauseyou'replayingMTTsonasitewithoutsynchronized
breaksoryou'replayingHU),youshouldremembertoatleasttakeacoupleofdeepbreaths
everyhourorso.Theseshouldbedonebyinhalingforabout3secondsandexhalingfor
about6seconds.Deepbreathingcanbeagreatrelaxationtechniqueandveryempowering
aswell.Alsomakesurethatyouhavefreshwater,fruitandnutsnearyousothatyoucan
drinkfrequentlyandeatevery90minutesorso.

Manyexpertsrecommendtakingabreakevery90tomax.120minutes,orincaseofpoker,
wheneveryoufeelthatyouaren'tcompletelyfocusedanymore(themaximumof120
minutesrulestillcounts!).Thesebreaksprovideourmindandbodywiththenecessary
recovery.

Abreakshouldlastabout15minutesifpossible,butincaseyouareinamiddleofa
tournamentwithonly5minutebreaks,youshouldmakesurethatyoumakethemostuseof
thosebreaksaspossible.

Now,whatisagoodbreakandwhatisabadbreak?Breaksonfacebook,surfingthe
internet,watchingavideoorplayingbejeweledwillnotbebeneficialbecauseyourmindwill
stillbereceivinginformation,whichdoesn'tcopeverywellwithclearingyourmindand
gettingbackyourconcentration.Infact,youwillmostlikelybefeelingevenworsewhenyou
comebackfromsuchabreak.Andthisdoesnotonlyapplytopoker.Itappliesto
studying,learningtheoryandworkinginajobaswell!

Thefirststeptotakingabetterbreakistodescreen.Descreeningisanabsolutemustifwe
wantourmindtorecoveroptimally.Thismeansgettingawayfrompc,tv,aphoneorany
similardevice.Yourbreakwillbemuchmoreefficientifyou:

takeawalk(canbewithinyourflat,althoughaminuteortwooffreshairwillalsohelpalot)
consumesomefood(preferrablyfruit,nutsandperhapssomeyoghurt)
drinksomewater

Thisshortritualwillgetyourmetabolismandbloodflowgoingthroughyourbrain,aswellas
provideyourbodywithenergyandneccessarynutrients.Youwillactuallycomebackfrom
suchabreakrefreshedandreadyformoreaction.Andmostimportantly,itcanbedonein5
minutes!

Ifyouarenotinthemiddleofatournament,Isuggesttakinga15minutebreakinordertolet
yourmindrecovermaximally.Theextra10minutescanbespentongoingforaslightly
longerwalkoutsideordoingsomethingyoulove(awayfromascreen!).Itcanbepushups,
stretching,yoga,juggling,playingwithsomekindofatoylikearubik'scubeoraddictaball,
justmakesurethatyoudon'tthinktoomuchwhiledoingit.

4.1Mindlesstasks

Therearehoweverevenmoreactivitiesthatcanbereallyproductiveifdoneduringabreak.
Especiallyifcreativethinkingisneeded,theseareoneofthebestactivitiesthatwillgiveyou
ideas.Itdiffersfrompersontopersonwhichoneworksbest,soyouwillhavetofindouton
yourown.Theyarecalledmindlesstasksbecauseyoudothemonautopilotsoyoucan
actuallythinkaboutotherstuffwhiledoingthem.Herearesomeexamples:

cleaningyourroom
makingyourbed
shaving
brushingyourteeth
cooking
vacuumcleaning
playingwithyourpets
goingtothesupermarket(takesabitmoretimethoughsoitmightnotbethebestchoice
duringasession)

Youshouldreallytrythese,especiallyifyoudon'tbelieveme.Thecoolthingaboutthemis
thatwhileyourelaxyourmind,youactuallygetsomethingdoneaswell,soyoudon'thaveto
worryaboutitlateronandyoualsofeelbetterbecauseyou'vebeenproductiveduringa
breakaswell!

ACTIONSTEP:

Setanalarmclocktoringafter90120minutesofyoursessiontoremindyoutotakea
break.Youwillhavetoexperimentwithdifferentactivitiesinordertofindonethatworksbest
foryou.Repeatthiseverytimeyoustartplaying,studyingorworkingatajob.Itwillhavea
hugepositiveeffectonyourproductivity.

=========================Updated
21.4.2012==============================

5.Energyvs.Time

Forquitesometime,I'vebeentalkingaboutenergy,butrarelyabouttime.Buttherearetons
ofpeoplewhocomplainthattheyhavebadtimemanagement.SowhyamInotfocusing
onthat?Well,simplybecauseevenifyouhaveallthetimeintheworld,butarelowon
energy,youwon'tgetmuchdone.Timeisnottheonlyfactorthatdeterminesour
productivity.

Soyeah,manypeoplecomplainthattheymanagetheirtimebadly,butdotheyreally?Ordo
theyjustmanagetheirenergybadly?Ifyouthinkaboutit,mostofthepeoplewhocomplain
aboutbadtimemanagementhaveunhealthyeatinghabits,exerciserarely,nevertakeany
breakswhileworking,maybetheyevensmoke,andtheyrarelytaketimeforthingsthatthey
sayareimportanttothem.Ijustdon'thavetimeforexercisingorhangingoutwithmy
friendsanymore....

Thisallresultsinlowenergythroughouttheday,whichmeansthatittakesmoretimeto
completetasks,whichmeansthatifyoudonotmaketimeforexercise,etc.,youwillnever
haveit.Andonweekends,youwillbetootiredaswell,sodespitehavingenoughtime,you
won'tgetmuchdone.Andthat'sinthebestcasescenario,whenyouwon'thavetodosome
other(job)stuffoverweekendaswell.

Now,therearealsopeoplewhodonotuseuptheirenergywhentheydohaveit.For
example,therearemanypeoplewhowakeupandgochecktheiremailsandfacebookor
surfthewebforacoupleofhours.Thisway,theywastetheenergytheyregainduringthe
nightonactivitiesthatareneitherenergizingnorproductive.Thepcscreenalsosucksthe
energyoutofthem,sowhentheyactuallywanttogettowork,theyusuallydonothavethe
energyto.

5.1Trackingtimespending

Oneoftheprerequisitsthatareneededforasuccessfulbehaviouralchangeisfacingthe
truth.Howmanytimeshaveyouheardsomeonesaythattheyjustdon'thavethetimetogo
outwithyou,andthenyouseethemonfacebookallthetime?Itiscruicalthatyouknow
whatyou'reactuallyspendingtimeon,ifyouwantimprovement.Youmightalsothinkthat
youonlywaste30minutesadayonfacebook,whileyoumightbespendinghours.

So,whatyoushoulddoiskeepatimediary.

ACTIONSTEP:

Forthenextweek,youshouldcarryanotepadwithyou.Insideofit,youshouldwriteexactly
whatyouweredoingandwhenyouweredoingit,rightaftertheactivity.Here'sanexample
ofarandomtimediary(Ijustmadeitup,whatisinsideofitismeaningless.Itisjustthereto
showyouthatyoushouldtrackeverythingyoudo):

8.00Wakeup
8.008.30Shower,gettingdressed
8.309.00Preparingbreakfast,eatingbreakfast
9.0010.00Checkingemail
10.0012.00Groceryshopping
12.0013.00Preparinglunch,eatinglunch
13.0014.00Resting,checkingtheinternet
14.0015.00Studyingpokertheory
15.0015.30Talkingtoafriendonthephone
15.3017.00Pokersession
17.0018.00Sessionreview
18.0020.00Skype,surfingtheweb
20.0022.00Pokersession
22.0000.00Watchingamovie,somemoreSkype
00.00Wenttobed

Afteryoudothisforaweek,youwillseethatevenwhileyou'redoingit,you'reincreasing
yourproductivitybecauseyouareactuallypayingattentiontowhatyouaredoing
throughoutthedayandnotmindlesslywastingtime.

5.2Limitingtimewastedonsurfing

Sincewebsurfingcanbesomuchfun,youmightfindyourselfsurfingontheinternetfor
quitealotofhourseveryday.Nowdon'tgetmewrong,surfingcanbeproductiveifyou
knowwhatyou'relookingfor,ifithasapurpose.Butifyou'rejustcheckingfacebookwithno
clearpurpose,thatcantikeupalotofyourtime,withoutyouevenknowingit.Luckyforyou,
you'vealreadystartedtrackingyourtime.Ifyouhaven'tstartedyet,doitnow.Getanotepad
andapen,carryitwithyouandtrackyourtime.

Ifyoufindyourselfspendingtoomuchtimeontheinternet,Ihaveanicesolutionforyou.If
youusegooglechrome(whichmanypeopledonowadays),youareluckytohavetheability
togetafreeaddonwhichwilllimityourtimeoncertainwebsites.Ifyoudon'thavegoogle
chrome,youcanalwaysfindsomeparentalcontrolprogramswhichwilldothesamething,
butusuallywon'tbefree.Maybeyoucanevenresearchaddonsforotherwebbrowsersto
findsomethingsimilar.

TheaddoniscalledStayFocusd.Itallowsyoutolimityourtimeoncertainwebsitesevery
day.Forexample,youwanttolimityourfacebooktimeto30minutes.That'seasy,youcan
justaddfacebooktotheblockedsiteslistandsetthealloweddailytimeto30minutes.You
cansetactivedaysandactivehoursmaybeyoujustwanttoblockcertainwebsiteson
weekdaysorfrom8amto8pm.Theuserinterfaceshouldbereallyeasytonavigate,butif
youhaveanyproblems,letmeknow.

Thereisablueclocklikebuttoninthetoprightcornerofyourwebbrowser,ifyou're
wonderinghowtochangesettingsoftheaddon.

Thisaddonhasanothergreatoption,calledNuclearmode.InNuclearmode,youcanblock
allofyourwebsitedforacertainperiodfortime.Forexample,youcanblockeverythingfor2
hoursifyoudonotwanttobebrowsingthewebduringapokersession.Youcanalsoset
theallowedsitesduringtheNuclearmode,whichmeansthatyoucanstillusePTRor
somethingsimilarincaseyouwishto.

ACTIONSTEP:

DownloadtheStayFocusdaddonforgooglechrome
(https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji) .
ThereisasimilaraddoncalledLeechBlockforfirefoxcheckouthowtouseith ere.
Blockthewebsitesthatyoufeelyouwastetoomuchtimeon(remember,thisisactually
limitingyourtimeonthem,notblockingtheminstantly).
Useupyournewlyacquiredfreetimefordoingthethingsyoulove,exercising,hangingout
withfamilyorfriends...inordertorecoverandenergizeyourselffornewchallenges.

5.3Checkingyouremails

Somepeoplespendwaytoomuchtimeonemails.I'llwritemoreonorganizingemailslater
on,butIcanalreadygiveyousomeadviceonhowtoavoidsuchscenarios.It'sprettysimple
actually.Justchoose2timesadaywhenyouareallowedtocheckyouremails.

Averygoodtimeisinthemorning,afteryou'veworkedononeofyourhardestprojects.
Anothergoodtimeisacoupleofhoursbeforeyou'replanningtogotobed.Anddefinitelynot
justbeforeyouwanttogotobed,becausethenyoumightfindthatyouneedtowritea
coupleoflongemails,whichwilldelayyoursleep,getyoulesssleepandmessupyournext
day.Sometimeintheafternoonisusuallyagoodtime.

Turningoffinboxsyncingonyoursmartphonehelpsaswell.Oratleastsettingittosynconly
acoupleoftimesaday.Anddefinetelyturningitoffonweekends.Thereareveryfew
situationswhensomeonewillcontactyouaboutanemergencyoveranemailmostpeople
willcallyouifthere'ssomethingreallyimportant.Soyoudon'tneedtoreplytoeveryemail
withing5minutesafteryoureceiveit.Makesurethatyourrelaxationandrecoverytimeis
reallythat,andnotfullofcheckingyourphoneandreplyingtoemails.Onlythencanyou
regenerateproperly.

ACTIONSTEP:

Set2timestocheckyouremailsdaily,andwritethemdown.
Turnofformodifyyoursmartphoneemailsyncingsothatitdoesn'tinterruptyourspare
time.

=========================Updated
24.4.2012==============================

6.Clearingyourhead+Stressremoval

Sofar,youhavewrittendownyourvisionstatement,understoodhowtotakeupnewhabits
andgetridofoldones,switchedtoamorehealthynutritionplan,takenasteptowards
frequentexercise,implementedproperbreaksinyourworkingscheduleandlearnedhowto
bettermanageyourenergy.Ifyouhavedoneatleastacoupleofthosethings,Ihaveto
congratulateyou.

90%ofthepeoplewhowillreadthisguidestillprobablywillnottakeaction.Why?Because
theyarescaredoffailiure.Becausetheymightthinkthatchangeisnotpossible.Because
theythinkthatourenvironmentorgenescanaffectourbehaviour.However,the10%ofyou
whodidtakeactionwillprovethemwrong.Wecanc hoosehowwereacttothe
environment.Wecanchoosetobeinabadmoodbecauseofbadweather,orbecause
someoneelseisinabadmood.Wecanalsochoosetobeinagoodmood,regardlessof
theweatherorthemoodofpeoplesurroundingus,andspreadourjoytotheminstead.

Iadmit,itisnoteasytochange.Butthehardeststepisjusttobegin.Yes,youmighthaveto
takeathousandsmallstepsinordertoreachyourvision,butunlessyoutakethefirststep,
youwillneverreachit.Andsinceyouhavetakenthefirstcoupleofsteps,youshouldbe
proudofyourself.Youaresteppingoutofyourcomfortzone,andyouw illimprove.You
haveproventoyourselfthatitdoesnotmatterwhatyouarelikeandthatyoucanbewho
youwanttobe,ifyoujusttakethetimetothinkaboutwhoyouwanttobe.

Nowperhaps,youareinthose90%whichdecidedtojustreadandnottakeaction.Butlet
measkyou,whyareyounottakingaction?Ifyoudecidedthatyouwouldtakeaction
later,youwillnevertakeit.It'sbeenmorethan10dayssinceI'vebeganwritingthisguide.
Ifyoudidn'ttakeactioninthepast10days,whywouldyoutakeitinthenext10days?I
cannotdoitinsteadofyou.Iwouldadviseyoutostopreadingthisguideifyouareinsuch
situation.Why?Becauseyouareprettymuchwastingyourtime.

Now,youhavetwooptionsstopreadingtheguideforgood,orgobacktothebeginning,
rereadthepreviouschaptersoneatatimeandapplythoseactionsteps.Itmighttakeyoua
coupleofweeks,butyouwillgetthere.Andthen,youcanjoinusagainonthisjourney.You
arenotcompetingwithanyone,onlywithyourself.Evenifyoutake1actionstep,youare
alreadyonyourwaytovictory.Peopleingeneraldon'tlikelosing.Youshouldn'tloseeither.

WhatIamgoingtotalkaboutinthischapterandit'ssubchaptersiseasilyoneofthemost
amazing,lifechangingthingsIcanteachyou.Youwillhavetheabilitytoclearyourhead
andachievestressfree,amazingproductivity.Yourabilitytofocusandconcentrateonthe
taskbeforeyouwillbeunimaginable.Youwillbeabletowalkaroundtheworldwithout
worryingthatyouareforgettingsomething.Youwillbeabletothinkaboutonesubjectata
time,withoutotherthoughtsinterruptiongyourconcentration.Youwillbeincrediblymore
efficientasyouwereusedtobeing.Letitbelearningtheory,playingapokersessionor
solvingproblems,youwillbeabletoperformbetterthaneverbefore.

Ifthesystemlooksinterestingtoyou,takealookatthebook"Gettingthingsdone"byDavid
Allenwhichusesasimilarsystembutdescribesitwaymoreindepth.

6.1Brainstorming

Thefirststeptowardsclearingyourheadissimplybrainstormingandgettinginformationout
ofyourhead.ImagineacomputerwithRAM(memory).IfthecomputerRAMisfull,the
computerstartsperformingverybadly.WhenyouclearuptheRAM,gettingridoftoomany
processesthatarerunningatatime,yourcomputerwillperformbetteragain.

Thisisexactlywhatwearegoingtodoherehelpyougetridofallthestuffyoukeep
thinkingabout.Butdon'tworry,wewon'tthrowitaway.Wewillwriteitdowninsteadand
saveitsothatwedon'tforgetaboutit.Then,afterwe'vegotalloftheinformationoutofour
heads,wearegoingtoorganizeitsothatitwillmakesenseandthatwewillknowwhereto
finditwhenweneedit.Wewillalsomakesurethatit'stherewhenweneedit,andaway
fromourmindwhenwedon't.

Youhavetopaybigattentiontoonedetailthoughwhenyouarewritingsomethingdown,
youhavetobreakeverythingdownandwritedownthenextstep(s)!

Forexample,youknowyouhavetowashyourcar.Sowhatdoeswashingacarlooklike?
Youusuallyhavetocallthecarwashserviceandscheduleyourcarwash.Then,youhave
toperhapstakeacoupleofthingsoutofyourcarifyouwantitcleanedontheinsideaswell.
Then,youhavetoplanwhatyouaregoingtobedoingwhileyourcarwillbewashed.And
then,youwillhavetoactuallytakethecarthere,andpickitup.

Ifyouknowexactlywhatyouhavetodoandbreakdowntheproblemintosmallerproblems,
itwillbewayeasiertogooutanddoit.

Letmegiveyouanotherexample,perhapsplanningananniversarywithyourgirlfriendor
wife.First,youmightwanttosubtlyaskherwhatshewantstodointhenearfuture.Only
whenyouknowwhatshewants,youcanstartplanning.Thenextstepwouldbetothink
aboutthepresentforher.Whenyouknowwhatyouwanttobuy,youhavetofigureout
wheretobuyit.Youcanaskafriendorresearchitontheinternet.Then,youhavetofigure
outwhataretheworkinghoursoftheshopwhichsellsthepresent.Youmightalsowantto
calltheshopandaskiftheystillhavethepresent.Then,youhavetogoandgetthepresent.
Andthen,youmightwanttogothroughalistofrestaurantsorspasandpickoneofthem.
Youwillthenhavetochecktheworkinghoursagain.Andthen,youwillhavetocallyour
girlfriendorwifeanddecideonadate/time.Then,youwillhavetomakeareservation.And
then,youwillhavetocallyourgirlfriendorwifeanddecidewithherwhereyouwillmeetor
confirmthedate/time.

Doyouseehowmanystepscanhidewithinjustoneseeminglysimpletask?Nowimagine
thatyouhavetonsofthesetasks,andeachofthesetaskshasquiteafewsubtasks.How
areyousupposedtostayfocusedwhenyouhavethatmuchinformationinyourhead?Even
ifyou'renotthinkingaboutitatthemoment,it'sthere.Anditwillhauntyouandcomeinto
yourmindwhenyouleastneedit(duringanexam,animportantmeetingorapoker
session).Yourmindwillwanderawayandyouwillbeinefficientduringthattime.Thatiswhy
youshouldreallybreakdownthetasksintosmallersteps.Don'tworry,we'llgothrough
efficientlycompletingthosestepsaswell.Onlywhenyouidentifyallthosesmallstepscan
youcompletethem.

Thefollowingactionsstepwilllikelytakeacoupleofdaysforyoutocomplete,whichiswhyI
willnotupdatetheguideforafewdays.Thestepsarereallyimportantanditisnotpossible
toproceedwithoutcompletingthem,sotrytoprioritizetheminthefuturedays.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Gotothesupermarketandbuy5001000A4sheetsofpaper+apapernotepad+a
pen/penciltogowithyournotepad+about100simple,essayfolders.Thoseshouldbe
cheap,like$10for100ofthem.ThosefoldersareinessencejustbrowncoloredA3pieces
ofpaperwhicharefoldedsothatyoucaninsertA4sheetsofpaperinthem.Theylooklike
this.Youmightrememberyourteachersinhighschoolusingthemtostoreessays/examsin
them.
Setupacoupleofhoursofuninterruptedtime.Isuggestthatyoutakethemnowortoday.
Thisiswaymoreimportantthanevenyourpokersession.Ifindaverygoodtimeforthis
stepintheevening,becauseit'squieterthenandeasiertohavealotofideas.
Prepareabigpapertrayorabigcontainerwhereyouwillbeabletoputlotsofpaperin,
andplaceitsomewherenear/onyourdesk.
Takethesheetsofpaperyou'veboughtattheshopandstartwritingeverythingthatcomes
toyourmindonthesheetsofpaper,1 task/thoughtperpage.Youshouldwritedown
everything,nothingistoosmallortoobigtowriteitdown.Youshouldalsobreakthem
downintostepsimmediately(writesteps,ifany,belowthetaskitself).

Hereareacoupleofquestionstohelpyouwithyourprocess:

Wheredoyouwanttotravelsomeday?
Whatdoyouwanttobuysomeday?
Whatsports/hobbiesdoyouwanttotryoutsomeday?
Doyouhaveanyhomeworktodo?
Doyouhavetofinish/doanythingforyourjob?Likegoingthroughsomepapers?
Doyouhavetocallsomeone?
Doyouhavetoreplytosomeemails?
Doyouwanttofollowupwithsomeone?
Doyouwanttogetintouchwithsomeoldfriends?
Whatareyourcurrentprojectsthatyouareworkingon?
Arethereanyprojectsthatyouwanttostart?
Doyouneedtogoanybuyanythingatthesupermarketorotherstore?
Doyouhaveanyhouseholdchoresyoushouldcomplete?
Doyouhavesomeerrandsthatyouhavetotakecareof,likegoingtoabank,etc.?

Youwillmostlikelywritedownatleast200tasks,perhapsevenupto500.Butdon'tworry
aboutit,we'llgettoprocessingthemverysoon .

Anotherthingthatyoushoulddoisc arryanotepadandapen/pencilwithyouatall
times.Writedownanythingelsethatcomestoyourmind,andonceyoucomehome,copy
thosetasks/thoughtstothesheetsofpaper,1task/thoughtperpage.Youmayusea
smartphonewithanotetakingappforthis,butIusuallyfindasimplepapernotepadway
easiertousebecauseyoucansimplytearoutthepagesonceyou'vecopiedthetaskstothe
bigsheets.

ItiscruicalthatyouwritedownthetasksontheA4sheetsofpaperandnotona
listinyourcomputerorsomethingsimilar!!!

=========================Updated
27.4.2012==============================

6.2Cleaningyourworkspace

Ok,nowthatyou'veclearedapartofyourmind,let'scleartherestofit.Thenextthingthat
hastobedoneinordertoemptyyourmindiscleaningyourroom.Butnotjustcleaningwith
thepurposeofbeingclean.

Whatyoushoulddoisfirstgothroughalloftheitemsonyourdesk.Youwillinevitablyfind
someitemsthathavesomekindofpossibleactionrelatedtothemPerhapssomepapers
thatyouhavetorevieworstore,somebusinesscardsthatyoushouldsavesomewhere,
somesouvenirathatyoushouldstoresomewhereandofcoursesomeuselessitemsthat
you'llneverneedagain.

Now,youshouldgetabigboxorasimilarcontainer,whichwillserveasanextensiontothe
papertraywhichyouhaveusedearlierforstoringthesheetsofpaperwithyourtasks.

Whenyougothroughalloftheitemsonyourdesk,thereare3optionsforeachitem:

1.Putitinyourpapertray(iftheitemissmallorapieceofpaper)orinyourbox(iftheitem
istoobigtofitintothepapertray)
2.Puttheitemwhereitbelongs(booksonabookshelf,glassesinthekitchen,pencilsinthe
pencilstands...)
3.Iftheitemisuseless,throwitinthetrash

Ifgoingthroughyouritemsremindsyouthatyoushoulddo/mightwanttodosomethingelse
aswell,writeitdownonanA4sheetandputitinthepapertray.

Onceyou'vegonethroughyourdesk,proceedwiththerestofyourworkspace.Thiswill
mostlikelybeyourroom,sogothroughthedrawers,floor,bed,wardrobes...

Thisprocesswillbebeneficialintwoways.Firstly,itiseasiertowork,stayfocusedand
concentrateinacleanenvironment.Secondly,itisalsocruicalthatyougothroughallthe
thingsthatarelyingaround,becausetheyarelyingsomewhereinyourmindaswell,taking
upthepreciousspace.Andontopofthat,youwillneedsomespaceinordertoproceedwith
thisguide.

Thiscleaningmightbeabithardforyou,butwillbemucheasierifyoubreakitdowninto
multiplepartseithercleanyourdeskandthentakeabreak/dosomethingelse,cleanyour
drawers,etc...or,ifyoureallyhatecleaning,committo15minuteperiodsofcleaning,but
makesureyougothroughyourwholeroomwithinadayortwo(thisisbestdoneovera
weekend).

ACTIONSTEPS:

Getabigboxorasimilarcontainer
Committocleaningallthepartsoftheroomduringaperiodof12days
Gothroughallofthepartsofyourroom,moveitemstotheboxorthepapertray,putthem
wheretheybelongorthrowthemaway

=========================Updated
30.4.2012==============================

6.3Gettingtoknowthesystem

Nowthatyouhaveclearedyourhead,itistimetoorganizeallthosesheetsofpaperandgo
throughalloftheitemsinyourbox.

IshouldpointoutthatIamnotafanoftheTODOlists,infactIthinkthatthey'reflawed.If
youevertriedusingthem,youmostlikelyhavesimilarexperience.Theydon'twork,atleast
notinthelongrun.Whynot?Becauseyouusuallymakethemthedaybeforeandput510
tasksonit.Ifyoumanagetocompletethem,it'sgreat.

Butwhatifyoufeelcrappythatdayanddon'tfeellikedoinganyofthosethings?Youget
frustrated.Andwhatifsomethingcomesinbetween?Youcan'tcompleteallthetasksonthe
list,andyougetfrustratedagainanddisappointedinyourself.Andwhatifafriendcallsyou
togooutandpartywhileyoustillhaveacoupleoftaskslefttodo?Onceagain,youget
frustratedeitherbecauseyoudon'tmanagetocompletethetasksorbecauseyouhadto
turnyourfrienddown.

WhereasIthinkthatclassicTODOlistssuck,thereisawaybetteralternative.Itisvery
similar,informoffourlists,butverydifferentaswell.Andthedifferentpartmakesitbetter.
WAYbetter.Solet'sintroducethethreelists:

Tasklist
Stepslist
Dreamslist
Referrencelist

TheTasklistwillcontainallofthemultisteptasksthatyouhavetodo,includingtheirsteps.

Tasklistexample(itwillprobablybemuchbiggerinyourcase)
Gotothesupermarket
Checkwhat'smissingathome
Askyourroommateifheneedssomething
Makealistofthethingsyouneed
Buybananas
Buyapples
Buywater
Buymeat

Plantheanniversary
Askgirlfriendwhatshewantstodo
Brainstormpresentideas
Figureoutwheretobuythepresent
Researchinternet
CallTomandaskhimifheknowswheretobuythepresent
Findtheworkinghoursofashopthatsellsthepresent
Calltheshopandaskaboutthepresentavaliability
Goandbuythepresentatthestore
Brainstormtherestaurantsandspas
Pickaplace
Checkthespa/restaurantworkinghours
Callgirlfriendtodecideonadate/time
Makeareservation
Callgirlfriendtoconfirmthedate/time
Gototheanniversary
Shave
Makesurethatyouhavethepresent

NLHE
Readthearticleonfloating
Playasession
Reviewthesession
GothroughhandsinHM2
Posthandsinthehandevaluationsection
SetupasweatsessionwithJames

Then,youshouldhavealistofnextsteps.Thislistshouldonlycontainthenextstepsthat
youcancompleteimmediatelyandhavenoprequisites.Isuggestdividingitintoacoupleof
subcategoriesforeasieroverview.Youcanmakeasmanyorasfewcubcategoriesasyou'd
like,butIsuggestatleastdividingthemintoafewbasiccategories,suchascalls,
emails,errandsandother.Ifyouhaveajob,youcanaddasubcategorycalled
workandonecalledhome.Ifyoutravelbyplane,busoratrainalot,youcanadda
categoryontheway.

Thislistshouldcontainallthetaskswhichonlycontainonestep,suchaswateringthe
flowersorcleaningyourbed,andonlytheimmediatelydoablestepsofthemultisteptasks
fromtheTaskslist.

Nextsteplistexample
CALLS:
CallTomaboutthepartyonSaturday
Callbacksister
CallJamesaboutthesweatsession
Callgirlfriendandaskherwhatshewantstodofortheanniversary
ERRANDS:
Buyanewlightbulbattechstore
POKER:
Readthearticleonfloating
PlayasessionofNL10
OTHER:
Checkwhatfoodismissingathome

ThismightbeabitconfusingatoncesinceyouwillhavealotofstuffontheTasklistand
Nextsteplistatonce,butyouwillsoongetahangofit.

Thenextlistwillincludeallofyourdreams,thingsthatyoumightsomedaywanttodoor
wanttobus,somewhereyoumightwanttogo...Youcandivideitintosubcategoriesifyou
want.

Dreamslistexample
Countriestovisit:
Thailand
Germany
Egypt
Australia

Sportstotryout:
Kungfu
Parkour
Snowboarding

Languagestolearn:
Chinese
German
Spanish

Thingstobuy:
Pooltable
Footballtable
Waterbed
Newlaptop

Thelastlistthatyoushouldhaveisareferrencelist.Here,youshouldstoreallthethings
thatyoumightneedsomeday.Actually,Isuggesthavingadrawerespeciallyforthis.Solet's
callitareferrencedrawer.Here,youshouldstoreyourbusinesscardsinaboxandperhaps
somemagazinesthatyoumightwanttolookatsomeday,etc.Sinceyou'vecleanedyour
room,youshouldhavemanyemptydrawersandthisshouldn'tbeaproblem.

Theselistscanbeeitherelectronicorpaperorboth.Forexample,youmightwanttousea
paperlistforthelistofcallsthatyoucancarryaroundatalltimesandthencompletethose
callswheneveryouhavesometime/you'rewaitingforsomeone,etc.Butingeneral,youwill
probablyfinditeasiertohavetherelistsonyourPCdesktop,writteninawordprocessing
programbecausetheywillbeeasiertowriteandmodify.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Selectareferrencedrawer
Create3textfilesonyourpc
Or
Create3listsonsheetsofpaper/makespacefortheminabignotepad

6.4Gettingthroughthatpileofpaper

Nowthatyou'vemetthesystem,youcangothroughthatpileofstuff.Simplytakethose
items/papersfromyourpapertrayoritembox,o neatatimeandthenaskyourself:

1.Doesthisthingrequireanyactioninthenearfuture?

NO:youcanputitintheReferrencedrawerorontheDreamslist.
YES:2.Askyourselfifthetaskhasmultiplesteps

YES:WriteitdownontheTaskslist
NO:3.Askyourselfifthisstepcanbecompletedwithin5minutes(berealistic)

YES:Doitnow.
NO:WriteitontheNextstepslist.

Ifyoufindsomecompletelyuselessitemsthatyoudon'tneedanymore,youcanofcourse
throwthemaway.

Thiswillprobablytakequiteafewhours,soyoucanofcoursesplittheprocessintomore
smallerparts.Justmakesureyoufinishitinacoupleofdays.

6.5Usingthesystem

Usingthesystemisinfactreallyeasy.Youshouldmakesurethatthelistsarealwaysin
frontofyouandeasilyaccessible.YoushouldtakealookattheTasklistandNextstepslist
wheneveryou'renotdoinganything,andaskyourselfthefollowingquestions:

1.WhereamIandwhattoolsdoIhave?

Youobviouslywon'tbeabletomowthelawnatyourweekendhouseifyou'reatwork.If
you'renearcomputer,itwouldmakesensetodosomecomputerbasedtasks.Ifyoursister
isoutwithyourcar,youprobablywon'tbeabletogotothesupermarket.

2.HowmuchtimedoIhave?

Ifyouonlyhave5minutes,that'splentyoftimetocompleteaphonecallorwriteashort
email.Ifyouhaveafreehour,youmightwanttoplayasessionofpoker,readanarticleor
reviewyourprevioussession.

3.HowmuchenergydoIhave?

Thisisareallyimportantquestionwhichpeopleoftenignore.AsI'vealreadymentioned
before,itmakesmoresensetogoanddosomeeasiertaskssuchasreadingafictionbook
orreadingyouremailsifyou'relowonenergy,orevengoshoppingforasuitthatyouneed
tobuy,whereasifyouhavealotofenergyitwouldmakesensetogoandplayapoker
sessionorreadapokerrelatedarticle.

Afteryoucompleteatask,simplydeleteitfromtheTasklistand/orNextsteplist+addthe
newnextsteptotheNextsteplistfromthemultisteptask.

Whatmakesthissystemsoawesomeisthatsinceyouhaveeverythingwrittendown,you
canuseyourtimeandenergywaymoreefficiently.Ifyou'regoingtoashoppingcenter,you
canjusttakeapeekatyourerrandslistandbuythefood,anewsuit,apresentforyour
girlfriend,anewnotebookandanewlightbulballatonce!Youmightevenwanttogoand
driveyourcartothecarwashorautomechanicwhileyou'reatit.

Thiswillsaveyoutonsoftimeandmakeyoualotmoreproductive.Youwillalsobeableto
fillinthoseunusedtimeholesthatyouhave.Youwilldefinitelyhavealotof15minuteholes
whichyoucannowuseupbymakingyourselfmoreproductive.Ofcourse,youshouldstill
sticktoproperbreaks,butevenmakingafewphonecallswhileyou'rewaitingforsomeone
elsecansaveyousometime.

=========================Updated
5.5.2012==============================

6.6Reminders

Let'stalkaboutcalendarsforabit.Whilecalendarscanbeagoodthing,peopleoftenuse
themineffectively.Namely,theyputeverythingontheircalendars.Theyscheduletheirdays
aweekinadvance.ThisisdestinedtofailbecauseofthesamereasonsastheTODOlists.
Itonlyleadstofrustration,alotofreschedulingandwastedtime.

Ofcoursetherearewaystousethecalendarmoreefficiently.Thiscaneasilybedoneby
usingthecalendaronlyforthethingsthatneedtobedoneonaspecificday.Ofcourseyou
canalsousethecalendarfortheDon'tbreakthechaintechniquedescribedearlier,but
thatshouldbeaboutit.

Fordaytodaywork,youshouldmostlyusethesystemofliststhatyouhavecreatedinthe
previouschapters.Thecalendarwillusuallyhaveonlyonepurpose:Whenyouwakeup,
afteryourmorningroutines,youshouldtakealookatthecalendarfortheday.Ifthere's
anythingyouneedtodoonthatspecificday,doitimmediately.Andthat'sit.

Ofcourseyoushouldalsokeepthecalendarinfrontofyouatalltimesifpossible.Thisway,
itwillalsoremindyouofsomethingthatyouneedtodowithinthenextweekorso,for
exampleworkonacertainprojectorthatyouneedtobuysomeoneabirthdaypresent.
Makesurethatyouupdateyourlistssystemwiththesetaskswhentheycomeclose(for
example,ifyouranniversaryisjustoneweekaway,youshouldaddthetasktothelists
system).

Herearesomeexamplesofthethingsthatyoushouldputonyourcalendar:

Birthdays
Anniversaries
Errandsthatneedtobedoneonaspecificday,forexamplegoingtothecourt
Meetingsandscheduledcoffees
Callsthatneedtobedoneonacertainday(forexample,ifyourfriendisoutofthecountry
andonlycomestoyourcountryforaday,youhavetocallhimonthatday)
Trips/holidays

Youmayalsousethecalendarforprojectdeadlines,althoughIrecommendkeepingthose
inthelistssystemitselfifyougothroughthelistsacoupleoftimeseveryday,youshould
neverforgetaboutadeadline.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Buyadeskcalendarifyoudon'thaveoneyet(oryoucanuseanelectroniconeaswell,but
itreallyneedstobevisibletoyouatalltimesforittowork)
Addthereminderstoyourcalendar

Thisconcludesourlistssystem,andnowwecanmoveontothelastpartofthissection,
whichwillkeepthesystemrunning.

6.7Weeklyreviews

Byweeklyreviewingyoursystem,youwillmakesurethatyoukeepitrunning.

Theweeklyreviewdoesn'thavetobelong,itcaninfactonlytakeabout30minutesofyour
timeeveryweek.Whenyoushoulddothereviewisreallyuptoyou.IsuggesteitherMonday
morningorFriday/Sundayafternoon,becausethesearethetimeswhereyouusuallyenda
weekorstartanewone.

Inthereview,youshould:

Checkallofyourlists.Removeyourcompletedtasksortasksthatwerecancelled/arenot
relevantanymore.
Brainstormifthereissomethingthatyouforgottowritedownduringtheweekandadditto
thelists.
Gothroughyourcalendarforthenextweekandaddsometaskstoyourlistsifneccessary.
Thisisalsoagreattimetocleanyourworkenvironmentifyou'vemadeamessinthepast
week(whichyoushouldn'thave,butincaseyoudid).
Youcanalsousethistimetoplannewprojectsthatyoumightwanttostart,andaddthem
toyourlists.

Alsomakesurethatduringtheweek,youaddthepapers/businesscards/notepadnotesto
yourpapertray.Youshouldfrequently(Isuggestattheendofeveryday)organizethose
newthingsandputthemwheretheybelonginyourlistssystem.Ifyoustillhavesomestuff
inthepapertray,theweeklyreviewisthetimewhenyoushouldemptythetrayandwrite
thosetasksdown.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Thinkaboutwhichday/timeisbestforyourweeklyreview
Setaweeklyreminderonyourcalendarforthereview.

Thisisoneofthosetasksthatshouldbedoneonacertaindayoratacertaintime.Incase
anemergencycomesup,youshoulddothereviewaftertheemergency.Incaseyouareon
aholidayatthetimeofyournextreview,youshoulddothereviewbeforeyougotothe
holiday.

=========================Updated
9.5.2012==============================

7.Ismultitaskingreallygoodforyou?

Nowlet'stalkalittlebitaboutmultitasking.Manypeople(especiallywomen)areproudof
theirmultitaskingskill.Theysaythattheycanget10thingsdoneatonce.Butisitreallytrue
thatifyoudo10thingsatonce,youwilldothembetter/fasterthanifyoudothem12ata
time?

We'vealreadytalkedabouthowtryingtotakeup10habitsatatimeisabadidea.Itturns
outthatmassivemultitaskingisaswell.AccordingtoaharvardstudybySteven
C.WheelwrightandKimB.Clark,havingtwotasksatthetimeisthemostproductive:

Manyexpertsagreewiththis,andIagreewiththisaswell.Butwhyisitso?

Obviously,itisveryhardtofocuson10thingsatatime,anditwilltakeyouagestogetall
thethingsdone,whichmightcausesomeproblemswiththepossibledeadlines.Whenyou
dotoomanythingsatonceyourarelytakethetimetothinkanddevelopqualitysolutions
becauseyoujumpacrossdifferentprojectwhichcausesyoutoperhapsevenforgetwhat
youactuallywantedtodoonanotherproject.

Butwhyishavingtwotasksatatimebetterthanhavingjustone?Theanswertothisis
actuallyprettysimple.Often,oneofyourtaskswillbedelayed.Youmightbewaitingfor
someprogramstoinstall,youmightbewaitingforareplyfromyourfriendinordertomakea
decision,youmightbewaitingforsomebooksthatyouneed,orsomeotherpersontofinish
andsendyoutheirworksothatyoucanbuildonit.Ifyouactuallyworkontheotherproject
inthemeanwhile,youcanbeproductiveinsteadofjustdoingnothingandwaiting.Many
companiesfailatthiswhentheyhaveemployeesassignedtoonlyoneproject,sotheyoften
endupwanderingonfacebookforhours.

Thesecondreasonisthatevenifyouworkonthemostfunprojectintheworld,therewill
comeatimewhenyouwilleithergetsickofit,don'tfeellikedoingitorfaceaproblemthat
youjustwon'tbeabletosolve.Workingonanotherprojectforsometimeiswaybetterthan
stubbornlyworkingonsomethingevenifyoudon'tfeellikeitorwastinghourswhenyoujust
can'tcomeupwithasolution.

Sointhefuture,whenyoustartsomeprojects,trytostarttwoatatime.Don'tstartmore
thanthat,becauseyou'lllikelyjumpfromonetotheotherandperhapsevenfailtofinish
someofthem.2wellexecutedprojectsarebetterthan10badlyexecutedorunfinished
projects.

=========================Updated
12.5.2012==============================

8.Projects

Projectsarebasicallytoolsthathelpyouacheivesourgoalsinamoredefinedand
interestingway.Sure,youcansetagoaltobecomeawinningplayeratacertainlimitin
certainpokergame,orthatyouwillplayamillionhandsinayear.However,youarequite
unlikelytoreachthosegoalsifyoudon'tbreakdownandmakesureyoukeepitinteresting.

SoIsuggestthatyoubreakdownthosegoalsandimplementshortprojectsorchallenges.
Theyshouldbeshort(atleastatfirst),max.1weeklongwhichshouldbejustenoughtimeto
getalotdonebutnotgetboredtooquicklyandgiveup.Youcanalsostartwitheven
shorter,1or3dayprojectsifyouwishto.

Theseprojectsshouldhaveapurpose.Ifyouwanttoimproveyourpokerskills,youmight
wanttocontactafriendanddecidetodoacoupleofsweatsessionsovertheweekend.Or,
youmightwanttoreviewandpost5handstotheevaluationsectioneachdayforaweek.Or
youmightwanttowatchvideoseriesinaweek.

Itiswisetokeepprojectdiversifieddonotdothesamethingoverandoveragain,oritwill
becomeboring.

Agreatideaisalsotostartachallengewithyourfriend(s),setuppropbets,etc.

Afteryoucompletetheproject,makesurethatyourewardyourselfwithsomerelaxing
activitiesthatyoureallylike.Itmightbepartying,readingfictionbooksorgoingonatrip.Itis
veryimportantthatyoutakesometimeoffafteraproject.Aswealreadyknowfromtheother
areasoflife,theperiodsofhighstressandrecoverybringreallygoodresults.

Inthepreviouschapter,wehaveseenthathavingtwotasksatatimegivesthebestresults.
Itisthesamewithprojects.Ifyouwanttobesuperproductive,youshouldalwayshavetwo
thingsgoingon.ThatiswhyIalsosuggestalonger,nonpokerorientedproject.Itcanbe
anythingfromlearninganewlanguagetolearningtojuggle.Thebestoptionwouldbe
somethingthatyoualwayswantedtolearnbutnevertookthetimetodoit.Nowisagreat
time.

Forexample,youalwayswantedtolearnhowtomakewebpages,butyoualsoreallylike
horses.WhileyoucouldjustgoanddotheHTMLandCSStutorials,thiswon'treallygetyou
faralone.Ifyousetupaproject,likemakingyourownwebsiteabouthorses,itiswaymore
likelythatyouwilllearnwhatyouwantedtolearn.

Thisprojectshouldbelongerandyoushouldinvestlesstimeintoit.Thatisbecausepoker
projectsshouldbemoreimportantandyoudon'twanttohave2veryintenseprojectsgoing
onatthesametimeyouwillburnout.Soyoucanstretchthisprojecttoamonthorsoand
keepitatalowerintensity.Workingonit15minutesadayisgreatalreadyifyoudoitevery
day,butyoushoulddoitwheneveryouhavesomesparetimeandyouwanttobe
productiveaswell.

8.1Easystuffvs.Hardstuff

Themajorityofthepeopleusuallytaketheroadthattakestheleasteffort.Theyjustwantto
passthetestsattheirschool,withouttheambitiontoacethem.Thatiswhytheirknowledge
inthesubjectwillbemediocore.Butyouareapokerplayer.Youarecompetitiveandwantto
bethebest.Sothiswayofthinkingunfortunatelywon'tgetyouwhereyouwanttobe.It'sok
tobemediocoreatthingsthataren'timportanttoyou,butyoushouldstayasfarawayfrom
thisattitudeaspossiblewhenyou'redoingsomethingthatisimportanttoyouoryouwantto
becomegoodat.

Ifyousetupareallyeasyproject,youwon'tfeellikeyouhaveaccomplishedanythingwhen
youcompleteit.Youwon'tfeelanystress.Youwon'tbechallenged.Andyouwon'timprove.
Youwillstagnateandstaymediocore.Doyoureallywantthat?

Ifyousetupahardproject,youwilllikelyfacemanyproblems.Butyouwillovercomethem,
andimprove.Youwillfeelagreatsatisfactiononceyoucompletetheproject.Thiswillalso
increaseyourmotivationforthefutureprojects.Tomakesurethatyoudon'tgiveupduringa
project,youshouldmakeitshort.It'smorelikelythatyouwillgiveupduringa1month
projectthana1weekproject.

Toconcludethis,ifyoukeeptryingouthardthingsandtakingthehardestroadsinsteadof
theeasyones,yourprogresswillbeunbelievable.Youmightnotseeitatfirst,butyouwill
beabletowithsometime.Withtime,youwillseethatalotofthingsthatyou'veonce
consideredhardwillbecometrivial.Andthatiswhenyouknowthatyou'reontherightpath
tobecomingreallygoodatsomething.

Inordertoimproveatanything,youhavetostepoutofyourcomfortzone.Andthat'sexactly
whatyou'regoingtodohere.

8.2Finishingstuff

Iusedtobeoneofthosepeoplethatalwayshadalotofthingsgoingonforthem.Iwould
startmanydifferentprojects.ButIwouldneverfinishanyofthem.Itmighthavebeenfunto
tryoutdifferentstuff,butthisdoesn'treallygetyouanywhereinthelongrun.Thereisno
senseofaccomplishmentifyoustartsomethingbutneverfinishit.Youmightlearnsome
stuff,butyoucan'tsaythatyoumasteranareaofknowledge.Andwell,withtime,you
realizethatthatkindofsucks.

Youoftengiveupinthemiddleoftheproject,whenthingsgethard.Or,iftheprojectistoo
long,yougiveupbecauseyoubecomeboredandsomethingnewcomesup.Oryougiveup
becauseyoustarttoomanyprojectsatatime.Wehavealreadytalkedabouthowtoprevent
mostofthosethings.

Butthereisoneveryimportantthingthatyoushouldbeawareof.Amediocorlyfinished
projectisstillwaybetterthanaprojectwhichyouexecutedgreatbutneverfinishedit.You
willgetbetteratthesubjectifyoujustdoacoupleofmoreprojects.Butifyougiveup,you
willalwaysbebadatit.

Sothenexttimeyoustartsomething,committofinishingit.Thatshouldbeyourtoppriority.
Itdoesn'tmatterifsomepartsarepoorlyexecuted,youwillgetbetterwithtime.Themost
importantthingisthatyoudon'tgiveup.

Ifyoucomeupwithacoupleofnewideasduringthatproject,justaddthemtotheDreams
listandyouwilldecidewhichoneyouwanttodonextafteryoufinishyourcurrentproject.
Donotstartanynewprojectsifyoualreadyhave2projectsgoingon,unlessit'ssomething
exceptionallyimportant,likeamentoringoppurtunityoradreamjob.Yourcurrentprojectis
rathershortanyways,therearen'tmanythingsthatcan'twaitforaweek.

Thisconcludestheprojectssection,andherearesomeactionstepstohelpyouimplement
thisadvice.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Setupashortpokerprojectforyourself.
Writeaboutitinablog,ifyouhaveone.Thiswillhelpyoukeepyourselfaccountableand
alsohelpyougetapartnerforyourchallengeifyoushouldwantone.
Thinkaboutwhatyoureallywanttodo,andsetupalonger,nonpokerrelatedproject.You
canalsostarttheprojecttogetherwithyourfriend(s),whichwillmakeitmoreinteresting.
Committofinishingthoseprojects!

=========================Updated
14.5.2012==============================

9.Maketimeforthethingsyoulove

WhenItalktomyfriends,IwaytoooftenhearsomethinglikeIwouldlovetodoallthat
stuff,butIjustdon'thavetimeforit.I'mtoobusy..Butdotheyreallyhavenotimeandare
leftwithoutachoice?Peopleareconscioushumanbeingsandwemakeourowndecisions.

Itistruethatmanypeopledon'tliketakingdecisionsbecauseitmakesthemfeel
uncomfortable,andthentheyseekexcousesfornottakingdecisionsortheypushthe
responsibilitytosomeoneelse.Thisiscalleddependencytheyaredependantonother
peopleandexternalfactorsandnotindependent.

Ifonewantstoachievegreatsuccess,onehastobecomeinterdependent.Buttobecome
interdependent,hehastoleavethedependencystageandbecomeproactiveand
independent.Iknowthatthismightsoundabitconfusing,butIcangiveyouanexample:

ApersonwhokeepssayingIkeeprunningbad,thefishkeepsuckingoutonme,Ialways
runintobetterhands,I'mjustnotluckyenoughforpoker,I'mtoostupidforpoker,etc.,isa
dependantperson.Heusuallytalksaboutthethingsthatpreventhimfromwinningand
focuseshisenergyonthingsthathehasnoeffecton.Thiscauseshimtotiltandlosemore
money,orstartplayingonautopilotandnotthinking,andthereforelosemoremoneyaswell.

Anindependentpersonwouldrealizethathehasachoicetoeitherkeepwhiningand
stagnating,ortostartimproving.Hewouldreadthearticles,analyzethehandsheplaysand
watchvideos,readbooksaboutpokerandselfdevelopmentanddevelophisowngame,
andimprove.

Aninterdependentpersonwouldupgradethisbyalsointeractingwithotherpeople.They
wouldjoinstudygroups,posthandsinthehandsevaluationsections,discusshandsand
strategieswithotherpeople,havesweatsessions,purchasecoachingsorgetamentor,etc.
Withthiskindofattitude,theywillexcelaboutthedependentandindependentpeople.

Thismighthavebeenslightlyofftopic,butwecantranslatethistotheotherareasoflifeas
well.

Adependentpersonwillseekexcousestonotmaketimeforthethingsheloves.An
independentpersonwillmaketimeforthethingsheloves.Aninterdependentpersonwill
maketimeforthethingshelovesandtrytoconnectittohisfriendsorotherareasoflife.

Sostopwhiningthatyoudonothavethetimetodothosethings.Iftheyareimportantto
you,prioritizethem.Letthembeonthetopofyourprioritylists.Itdoesn'tmatterwhetherthis
isplayingbasketball,spendingtimewithyourgirlfriend,familyorfriends,partying,readinga
book,hiking...Maketimeforit.

Thiswillbenefityoubecauseyouwillbehappierandfulfilled,andyouwillalsobesatisfying
yourvalues.Ontopofthat,theseactivitieswillempoweryouandprovideyouwithenergy,
motivationandrecovery.Thismeansthatitwillbemoreproductiveifyouworkfor7hours
andspendanhourwithyourfamilythanifyoujustworkedfor8hours.Manypeoplefailto
realizethis.

Thegreatestideasandsolutionsareusuallydevelopedawayfromyourworkspace/work,
whenyouactuallyhavethetimetothinkaboutthem!

Soevenifyouhavealotofworktodo,youshouldchoosetotakesometimeoffforyourself.
It'sadecisionthatyouwillneverregret.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Thinkaboutwhatyoureallylovedoingbutyourarelytakethetimeforit.
Committodoingthisatleastonceaweek.Preferrably,makeafixedtime,putitonyour
calendarandmakeitintoahabit.
Ifyou'replanningondoingsomesportsorjoiningsomeclasses,askyour
friends/family/girlfriendifthey'reinterestedinjoiningyouaswell.

=========================Updated
20.5.2012==============================

10.Rituals

Ok,let'stalkaboutritualsforabit.Whatarerituals?Ritualsarebasicallycertainactivities
thatyoudofrequentlywhichwillhelpyouregainfocusandconcentration,aswellashelp
yourelaxandrecover.

Manyprofessionalsportsmenuseritualsinordertoendurelong,intensive
matches/competitions.Forexample,ifyouwouldcloselystudytennisplayers,youwouldsee
thatmostofthebestplayersintheworldhavecertainritualsduringbreakswhichthey
repeatoverandoveragain.Itmightbeclosingtheireyes,tappingtheballorvisualizingthe
nextpoint.

Manysuccessfulbusinessmen,executives,salespeople,etc.usecertainritualsaswellto
eitherrecoverfromhardworkortoprepareforanimportantevent.Forexample,atop
performerwouldvisualizethatajobinterviewgoeswellinhisheadtoputhimselfintoa
confidentstateofmindbeforetheinterview.Abusinessmanmightgoandtalktohis
employeesforhalfanhourwhenheisfacingaproblemwhichhecan'tsolveimmediately.
Anexecutivemightgoandhavealunchintheparktocomebackrelaxedandfullofenergy.

Doallbusinessmenandsalespeoplehavesuchrituals?Ofcoursenot.Manyofthemwork
onautopilotandjustwaitforthedaytoend.Ortheyworkalldaywithoutbreaks,thinking
thatthey'reextremelyproductivewhenthey'renotreallyallthatproductiveandtheyarealso
destroyingotheraspectsoftheirlifeinprogress.

Butmostofthereallysuccessfulpeoplehavecertainrituals.Theymightnotevenbeaware
ofthem,buttheyhavethem.Ifyouhangoutwithareallysuccessfulpersonandobserve
theirbehaviourbeforemeetingsandduringlunches,youwilloftenbeabletoseewhatI
mean.

Pokerisnotthatdifferentfromajoborentrepreneurship.Youstillhavetoputinalotof
hoursofplayingatthetables,analyzingyoursessionsandlearningnewstrategies.Forthat,
youwillneedalotofsustainedenergyalongwithgreatfocusandconcentration.

Havingahealthynutritionplan,exercisingfrequentlyandtakingproperbreakswillgetyou
veryfartowardsachievingthosethings.Youwillingeneralbeinmuchbettermoodandless
tiltprone.However,whathappenswhenthethingsgoterriblywrong?Whathappenswhen
yougetsuckedoutforyourwholestack5timeswithinacoupleofminutes?Oronceyou've
realizedthatyoustartedspewingalotandmadeacoupleofbadplaysinarow?

Theobvioussolutionistotakeabreakandtoendasession.Andthiswillactuallyhelpin
mostcases.Butthereisanevenbettersolutiontothestandarddescreeninganddoing
mindlesstaskswhileonastandardbreak(althoughyoushouldmostlyusethiswhen
somethinggoeswrongandmakeahabittouseittogetbacktoyourAgame).Forthis,you
willhavetodevelopyourownritual.

Iamadvisingyoutodevelopyourownritualbecausewearesodifferentthatwhileonething
mightworkforoneperson,itwon'tworkforanother.Butthisdoesn'tmeanthatitcan'tbe
somethingthatsomeoneelseisusing.Itonlymeansthatyoushouldtryoutacoupleof
differentthingsandthenpickonethatworksthebestforyou.Iespeciallyadviseyoutotry
outthingsthatyou'venevertriedbefore,becausethiswayyou'llbeabletolearnsomething
newandvaluablealongtheway!

Theritualsshouldnotbeverylong,Isuggestyoulimitthemto1530minutes.Anything
abovethatwillusuallykillyourproductivityfortherestoftheday.

Hereareafewexamplesofpossiblerituals:

Yoga
Stretching
Meditation
Deepbreathing
Listeningtoyourfavoritetypeofmusic
Readingyourfavoritebook(inspirationalbooksaregreatforthis,andevenfictionisgood!)
Juggling
Jogging
Doingpushups
Goingoutsideforawalk
Cleaningyourroom
Throwingastressballatthewall(similartowhatHousedoeswhenhe'sthinking)
Goingtoasupermarket
Goingoutforashortbikeride/cardrive/motorcycleride
Callingafamilymember/friend/girlfriend
Visualizationofplayingcalm,concentrated,Agamepoker
Takeabreakforasmuchtimeasyoufeelyouneed.(betteralone)
Breath,anddonotblockanythingthatcomesintoyourmind,letithappen!Stayquietand
don'tanalyzethoughtstoomuch,justletthevibrationsoftherage/anger/adrenalinebefelt.
BeawareofwhatishappeningtoyoubothphysicallyandemotionallyDonottrytoresistit
orhurryitup,it'llpassbyjustasitcameby.

Ofcoursetherearecountlesspossibilities,butIwouldadvisestayingawayfromthePC,TV,
phoneandotherscreensifpossible.Ifyouchoosetohavearituallikeplayingavideogame,
youshouldbecarefulbecauseyoudon'twanttogetdrawnintoitandkeepplayingitfor2
hours.Ifyoucancontrolthat,youshoulddoitforonly15minutesandthendescreenfor15
minutestorecover.

Ifthetilt/downswing/badbeatsarereallybad,youshouldperhapsendthesessionforthe
dayandgoanddosomethingfun,likegotothegym,cinemaorhangoutwithfriends.But
onlyusethisasalastresort,becausethepurposeisusuallytogetbackintoAgameand
exploitthefishes!

ACTIONSTEPS:

Pickatleast5differentactivities(themore,themerrier!).Atleast2ofthoseshouldbe
somethingthatyou'veneverdonebefore.Writethemdown.
Thenexttimeyoustarttiltingduringasession,stopthesessionanddooneoftheactivities
fromthelist.Afteryoufinishdoingit,writehowyoufeelonthepaper,nexttotheactivity.
Afteryouhavetriedallofthemout,compareyournotesandpicktheonethatyouthink
workedbestinregainingyourAgamemindset.
Wheneveryoustartasession,makesurethatyouhaveeverythingforthatactivitynearby
(runningshoes,ballsforjuggling,yogamat...).
Applytheactivitywhenyoufeellikeyou'retilting,thengobacktothetableswithyour
Agame.Ifyou'restillnotplayingwell,endthesessionandgoforthelastresortstrategy
(cinema,snooker,etc.).

Ifyoushouldcomeupwithanyotherinterestingrituals,letmeknowsothatIcanaddthem
tothelist .

=========================Updated
27.5.2012==============================

11.Tricksforstartingupyourdayproductively

Let'stalkaboutbeingproductivefromthebeginningoftheday.Whywouldwewanttodo
that?Well,simplybecauseifyoudoalltheimportantstuffinthemorning,youhavealldayto
relax.Theotheroptionrelaxinguntilevening,bringsstressbecauseyouwillthinkabout
theimportantstuffwhenyou'redoingunimportantstuff,soyouwon'tbeabletocompletely
relax.

Youwillalsogetalotmoredoneifyoudothemostimportantthingsfirst,andwillbemore
flexible.Forexample,ifafriendasksyoutogooutandparty,youwillbeabletodoitinstead
ofhavingtocancelonhimjustbecauseyouhavetostudy(whenyouwerenotstudying
thewholeday...).Thisisthesimplestwaytobeatprocrastrinationtodevelopahabittobe
productiveafteryouwakeup,andafteryoufeellikeyou'vedoneenoughfortheday,spend
therestofthedayrelaying,havingfun,notworking.

11.1Gettingupearly

Gettingupearlyhasalotofbenefitsinitself,likegivingyouthefeelingthatyou'vedonea
loadofstuffbeforemostpeopleevenwakeup,havingtheabilitytogoandwatchthesunrise
(itcanbeverymotivatingtogooutforawalkorajogduringsunrise,plusit'susuallyso
peacefulouttherewhichcanputyouingreatmood),havingalotofquietworkingtime
withoutthenoises,therewillbelessdistractionsbecauseyourfriendsarestillasleep,etc.

However,gettingupearlywon'tneccessarilymakeyoumoreproductive.Somepeopleare
justnotmorningpeopleandcan'tseemtofunctionearly,nomatterwhat.Propernutrition,
sleepandexercisecanmostlysolvethisproblem,buttherewillstillbeacoupleexceptions.
Somepeoplejusttendtobemorecreativeintheeveningthaninthemorning,andinthat
caseitmightnotbethewisestdecisiontoforceyourselftowakeupearly.

Sinceyouarepokerplayers,youusuallydecidebyyourselfwhenyouwanttowakeup.Use
thattoyouradvantage.Ifyoudon'thavetowakeupearly,thendon'tdoitifyoudon'twantto
doit.Don'tbeannoyedatthefactthatyoudon'twakeupat5or6amandmisshalfofthe
day.Ifyousleepfor8hours,itwon'tmakemuchofadifferencewhenyouwakeup.It's
true,yourbodywillproducelessmelatoninesothesleepwillbealittleworsethanifyou
sleptfrom226,butit'slikelythatyouwon'treallynoticethedifference.

Iknowalotofpeoplethatgetfrustratedbecausetheycan'tgetthemselvestowakeupearly
frequentlyenough.Ifyouacceptthefactthatyoudon'twanttowakeupearly,youwillsave
yourselfalotofstress.

Forexample,youmightdecidetowakeupat7thenextday,butthensomethinggoesup
andyougotobedat4am,andwakeupatnoon.Alotofpeoplewouldbeatthemselvesup
forthisansspendmoreenergyonbeatingthemselvesupthanbeingproductive.Theythrow
awayanotherdaylikethat.Ifyoujustacceptitandstartbeingproductiveat1pminstead,
youwillaccomplishwaymore.

Anotherthingthatyoumightwanttotakeintotheconsiderationiswhenthegoodplaying
timesare.Sinceyouhavetheadvantageofbeingabletosleepwheneveryouwantto,you
shouldmodifyyoursleepingschedulesothatyoucanplaywhiletherearethemostfishat
thetables.

Youshouldbeawarethatincaseyoumightwanttowakeupearly,youhavetogotobed
early.Youcan'tbeproductiveifyoudon'tgetenoughsleep.

11.2Wakingup

Nowlet'ssaythatyouhaveproblemswithwakingup.Alotoftimes,youhitthesnooze
buttonandsleepfor12hoursinsteadof8.Therearenumerouspossiblesolutionstothis
problem,andIwillgooverafewofthem.

Thefirstthingthatyoucantryissettingupmultiplealarmsoneafteranother,every2
minutes.Alotofthenewsmartphoneshavetheoptionstosetmultiplealarms.Sojustset5
alarmsinarow.Bythetimethatyoupressthesnoozebuttonforthe5thtime,youwillbe
awake.

Anotherthingthatyoucandoisputthealarmontheothersideofyourroom.Ifpossible,you
canevenputitoutsideoftheroom,that'sevenbetter(butyouhavetomakesurethatyou
willhearit!Gettingupfromthebedwillmakeitlesslikelyforyoutogobacktosleep.

Areallygoodideaisalsotogeteitherareallyloudalarmclock(Iuseaveryloudradio,it
workslikeacharm),oranalarmclockthatwillmakeyoudosomethingbeforeyoucanturnit
off.Youcanresearchtheinternettofindsomequiteinterestingandeffectivealarmclock,
likeonewhereyouhavetoliftaweight30timesbeforeyoucanturnitoff,aflyingalarm
clockthatyouhavetocatch,ormaybeonewithapuzzlethatyouhavetosolve.

Thesealarmclocksusuallyaren'tthatexpensive,thepricesrangefrom$20$30.Youcan
alsoasksomeonetobringittoyouasabirthdaypresent .

Afterthealarmhasgoneoff,youshouldturnthelightson,openwindowsandletthesunlight
intoyourroom.Bynow,youwillbemostlyawake.It'stimetogetoutoftheroomanddrinka
glassofwater,theneithergoandtakeawalk/jog,orshower.Now,youarecompletely
awake.

Anicethingtodototrickyourselfintogoingjogginginthemorningistoputtheoutfitonyour
chairandtoputtherunningshoesinfrontofyourroomdoorthenightbefore.Thisway,you
canjustquicklychangeyourclothesandgetoutoftheapartment.Thefreshairisoneofthe
bestawakeningthings.

11.3Whattodofirst?

There'sasayingfirstthingsfirst.Youshouldapplythissayingbydoingthehardestofyour
projectsthefirstthinginthemorning.Firstofall,thiswillpreventyoufromavoidingitthe
wholeday.Itwillalsogiveyougreatsatisfactionafteryou'veworkedonitanditwillbenice
toknowthatalltheotherthingsthatcomewillbeeasier.Thisway,youwillgetjustwaymore
donethatyouwouldotherwise.

Theeasiestwaytogetyourselftodothisisbypreparingthematerialfortheprojectthenight
before.Thiscanbedonebyrunningsomecomputerprogramsandputtingyourcomputerto
hibernatebeforeyougotobed.Whenyouwakeupandturnonthepc,they'llbewaitingfor
you.Iftheprojectisn'tdoneonacomputer,thenjustpreparethematerialforitandputiton
yourdesk,sothatyoucanseeitwhenyougettoit.

Youshouldalsodoactivethingswhenyouwakeup,inordertowakeupyourbrainaswell.

Whatnottodothepassivethings:
Readbooks(itwillbehardforyoutoconcentrateifyouforexampletrytostudyinthe
morningbyjustreading)
Watchtv/youtubevideos
Surftheinternet
Watchvideoswithouttakingnotes

Thesethingsareallpassiveandwon'tgetyoutostartbeingproductive,quitetheopposite
theywillmakeyouwanttogotobacktosleep.

ThatiswhyIsuggestdoingmoreactivethings:

Programming
Doingexercises(ifyou'restudyingforanexam)
UsingICMtrainerforSNGs
Readingarticles+takingnotes/drawingmindmaps
Watchingvideos+takingnotesandactivelythinkingaboutconcepts
DoingsomeKhanacademyexercisesormaybetryingoutthis
game:http://www.lumosity.com/braingames/problemsolvinggames/raindrops
Reviewingyoursessions
Gothroughthehandevaluationsection.Posthands,commentonotherpeoples'hands
Playingasessionofpoker(makesurethatyou'renotonautopilotthough!)

ACTIONSTEPS

Figureoutwhatthebesttimesareforplayingpoker(observethetablesondifferentdates
anddifferenthours).
Planyoursleepingschedulearoundthosehours
Trysettingupmultiplealarmsonyourphoneorgetanawesomealarmclock
Identifyyourhardestproject
Makeahabitoutofpreparingstuffforthehardestprojectinadvanceintheevenings

=========================Updated15.6.
2012==============================

12.Sleeping

Sleepingisanotherveryimportantpartofbeingproductive.Wehavetosleepenough,but
nottoomuchinordertoprovideourbodieswithsufficientmentalandphysicalrecovery.

Sleepingisinessenceverysimilartoexercise.Sleeptoolittle,andyou'llbetiredthroughout
theday.Exercisetoomuchandtaketoolittletimetorecover,yourperformancewill
decrease.Sleeptoomuch,andyou'llfeellazythroughouttheday.Recovertoomuchfrom
exercising,andthemuscleswillstopworkingoptimallyasthey'renotgettingenough
frequentstimulation.

Irecommendtheprettystandard8hoursofsleepanight.Itmightnotbethebestoptionfor
everyone,butit'seasilyapplicabletomostpeopleanditinmostcasesprovidesbetter
recoverythan6or10hoursofsleepanight.

Iamnotgoingtodiscussothervariantsofsleepinthisguide,suchaspolyphasicsleep.This
issimplybecauseIdon'tliketogiveadviceonthethingsI'venevertriedorresearchedin
depth(Ihaven'ttriedpolyphasicsleepyetbecauseIbelievethatmymusclesneedthesleep
forrecoveryandgrowth,sinceIoftenexerciseintheevenings),andalsobecausethose
sleepschedulesaren'tappliccabletoeveryone(ifyougotoschool/dayjob,it'sprettyhardto
stickwiththeschedule).AsIsaid,thesemightworkforsomepeople,soifyou'reinterested
insleepinglessandstillperformingwell,goahead,researchandtryoutthosetechniques!

Now,weareabitdifferentandnoteverythingworksforeveryone,thatiswhyIsuggest
tryingoutbyyourselfandseeingwhatworksornot.Icantellfrommypersonalexperience
thatifIsleeponly6hours,Iamtiredinthemorning,thenfunctionproperlyforsometime,
thenbreakdownintheafternoonandhavetogobacktosleep.IfIsleepfor10+hours,I
usuallywakeuplazyandsometimesstilltired,andthenbecauseIamtoolazytodo
anything,Igoandsleepsomemoreintheafternoon.

Ifyouseeyourselfinanyofthesedescriptions,trysleepingfor8hourseachnightfortwo
weeksandseeifyourproductivityoverthedayimproves(youcaneasilymeasurethiswitha
timediaryotjustbywritingdownhowyou'vefeltandwhatyou'veaccomplishedattheendof
eachday.

Therearemanypeoplewhobelievethattheycanfunctionproperlyon6hoursofsleepa
day,becausethey'velivedlikethisforacoupleofyearsandgotusedtoit.However,the
researchhasshownthatifthesepeoplemoveto8hoursofsleepaday,theywillgetmore
doneintheremaining16hoursthattheywouldhavedonein18hours.Besides,alotof
peoplewastethe2hoursadaywatchingTVorsurfingthenet,whichdoesn'texactlyhelp
withproductivity.

Now,thisagainmightnotbeapplicabletoeveryone,butyoushouldatleasttryitbecause
youcouldbemissingoutonadditionalenergy.

Buthowdoyougetenoughsleepwhenyoudon'thaveenoughtimetosleepbecauseyou
haveto/wanttodomanyotherthings?It'sprettysimple,prioritizeit.Ifyou'vecomethisfarin
myguideandappliedsomestufffromit,youhaveprobablynoticedthatmostoftheapplied
advicehashelpedyoubecomemoreproductive.Sogoandtrythe8hoursforaweekand
seehowitgoes.Youwillbesurprisedtoseehowmuchmoreyoucangetdoneifyouinvest
those2hoursofsleepintoadditionalrecovery.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Writeatimediaryforaweekonyourcurrentsleepingschedule.Observehowmuchyouget
doneeachdayandhowyoufeelthroughouttheday.
Switchtothe8hoursofsleepanightandwriteatimediaryagainforaperiodoftwoweeks
(thefirstweekwillbemostlyforadaptation,sotheresultsfromitwon'tbethemost
relevant!).
Observeandcomparetheresultsofthecontrolweek(yourcurrentsleepingschedule)and
thesecondweekofthe8hours/nightsleepschedule.
Choosetheschedulethatsuitsyoubetter.

*Ifyouwanttomaximallyoptimizeyoursleep,youcangoandresearchothersleep
schedules,andwritetimediariesforeachoftheminordertofindtheonethatsuitsyoubest.
Someschedulesrequirelongeradaptationperiodsthoughsopayattentiontothataswell.

12.1Powernaps

Powernappingmightbeseenaslazyfromtheworkaholic'spointofview,butisironicallythe
contraryofthat.Manyextremelyproductivepeople,suchasJohnFKennedy,Winston
ChurchillandNapoleonBonaparteusedpowernapstoprovidethemwithadditional
recovery.Itturnsoutthatashortnapintheafternoonwillgiveyouagreatrecoveryandhelp
youbeproductivethroughouttheevening.

Thebesttimetotakeanapisusuallyafteryoucomehomefromschoolorwork,orwhen
youbeginfeelingtiredandunproductivesometimeintheafternoon.Listentoyourbodyand
youwillknowwhenyoushouldnap.

Therearemanydifferentrecommendationsregardingnappingsomepeoplerecommend
20minutenaps,somerecommend1hournapsandsomemightevenrecommend1.5hour
naps(althoughthat'sclosetobiphasicsleepingalready).Ihavefoundthata40minute1
hournapworksbestforme.IfInapless,Itendtonotrecoverfully,andifInapmore,I
becomeevenmoresleepyandwanttosleepforafewmorehours.

Thisisagainaverypersonalizedarea,sothebestideawouldbetotryoutdifferentnaps,
comparethemandseehoweachofthemworks.AsIalreadysaid,theseshortnapswillhelp
youbemoreproductiveintheevening/afternoonthaninyoudidn'tnap.

Youshouldonlytakethefollowingactionstepsafteryou'vecompletedtheonesfromthe
previoussectiononSleeping.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Writeatimediaryofyourcurrentsleepingscheduleforaweek
Tryout20,40,60and90minuteafternoonpowernapsinthefollowingweeks,andwritea
timediaryforeachweek
Comparetheresultstofindwhichonesuitsyoubest.

=========================Updated1.8.
2012==============================

13.Knowledgeandlearning

Everyoneisprobablyusedtotheirparentstalkingendlesslyabouttheimportanceofcollege.
Iwon'tgointogreatdetailsaboutmypointofviewaboutthecollegesandformaleducation,
asthisdependsalotfrompersontoperson.Someonewhowantstobeagreatdesigner,
programmerorbusinessmandoesn'tneccesarilyneedacollegedegree,infactsomeofthe
mostsuccessfulpeopleinthoseareasdonothaveacollegedegree.However,ifyouwant
tobeasuccessfulsurgeonorlawyer,youwilllikelyneedformaleducationtogetyouwhere
youwanttobe.

MastersdegreesandPhDsarealsoaveryrelativesubject.Someonewhoisintoresearch,
likeaphysicistorbiologist,mightbenefitgreatlyfromthem.However,foracomputer
scientistwhoisinterestedinhavinghisowncompanyorabusinessmanwhowantstobein
agreatcompany,itmightjustnotbeworththetimeandmoneyanymore.

JoshKaufmandiscussesthesubjectindepthinhisbookPersonalMBA(whichIgreatly
recommendreading)foranyonewhoismoreinterestedinthesubject.Butthebottomlineis
thattheloans/moneyandthetimethatyouwillneedtocompleteanMBAcoursewillusually
notbeworththebenefitsthatyouwillgetfromcompletingthemnowadays,whensuch
coursesarebecomingmoreandmoredevaluedanditiswaymoreimportantwhich
problemsyoucansolvethanwhatkindofadegreeyouhave.

Ofcourse,therewillstillbeexpensiveMBAprogramseventhoughalotofthemgivequite
genericandoutdatedknowledge,becausetheschoolswhichhostsuchprogramsgetalotof
moneyfromthem,aslongastherearepeoplewhowishtojointhosecourses.

Butcollegeisn'tallthatbadyouknow.Itmightnotbethemostimportantthinginyourlife
anditmightnotbethemostbeneficialthingtodo,butfrommypointofview,itisagreat
backupplan.Ifyouarealreadyinthemiddleofcollegeandonlyhave1yearorsotogo,I
woulddefinitelyrecommendfinishingit,eventhoughyoumightbeearningalotofmoney
frompokeroranotherincomestreamalready,especiallybecauseitmightbeagoodbackup
planinthefuture,incaseanotherthingsimilartoablackFridayhappens.

Iamabigfanofhavingdiversifiedincomestreams(orincomestreampossibilities),andthis
isaprettygoodwaytohaveabackupincomestream,incaseeverythingelsegoeswrong.

Now,letusnotmistakeknowledgeforeducation!Thesetwoare,inleastinmyopinion,two
veryverydifferentthings.

Theknowledgewhichyougainincollegesisprettygenericandsometimesalsovery
outdated.Themainbenefitofcollegesistheabilitytomakegoodconnectionsforthefuture
andtakeadvantageofthecolleges'facilities.Theknowledgethatistaughtincertain
colleges(computerscience,business,management,etc.)canbeobtainedfasterandmore
efficientlyviaselflearning.

Now,whyistheknowledgereallyimportant.Togetajob?Yeah,maybe,inaway.Butlet's
thinkinamorepokerrelatedorentrepreneurialmindsetforasecond.Whywouldan
entrepreneurorapokerplayerwanttobecomemoreknowledgable?

Well,theanswerisactuallyprettysimplethemoreknowledgeyouhave,themoremoney
youcanmake!Andthereforedowhateveryouwishtodowithit.Ifyouareknowledgable,
youcanalsohelpalotofotherpeopleifthatisimportanttoyouand/ormakesyouhappy.

WhenIaskedawellknownselfdevelopmentbloggerforadviceonhowtobecomereally
successful,herepliedwithasimplesentence:Learnasmuchasyoucan!.Atthetime,
thatdidn'tconvincemeverymuchbutnowIknowthathewasright.IfIdidn'tlistentohim
andgooutandlearnasmuchaspossible,Iprobablywouldnotbewritinghereatthe
momentbutwouldprobablyplayvideogamesinstead.

Let'stakeanentrepreneur,likeabloggerforexample.Themoreknowledgeinthesubject
thatheiswritingaboutthatheobtains,themorethingshecanwriteaboutandthemore
readershecanget.Hecanalsolearnaboutwebsitedesignormarketingtechniquesto
makehiswebsitenicerandmarkethisproductsbetter,whichcanthenincreasehissales
evenmore.

Manypeoplethingthatlearningendswithformaleducation,butinreality,forsuccessful
people,itonlybeginsthere.Verysuccessfulpeoplefrequentlyreadbooksandstriveto
improvedailytogetanedgeabovethecompetition,whichisgettingbetterandbetterdayby
day.Ifyoucomparesomeonewhoreadsalotofhisbooksanddevelopshisownbusiness
tosomeonewhoworksasasecurityguardatdayandspendstheafternoonsplayingvideo
games,youcansoonseewhythefirstpersonwillbewaymoresuccessfulthantheother
one.

Constantlylearning,applying,failingandlearningfrommistakesleadstoconstant
improvement.Andconstantimprovementgivesyoumoreoptionsinlifeandenablesyouto
maximizeyouroutputandreachyourgoalsfaster.

Nowlet'sseehowthisappliestothepokerplayers.Thereisnorealformalpokerplayer
education,buttherearealotofplaceswhereyoucanlearnaboutpokerforumsand
websiteslikepokerstrategy,books,fellowpokerplayersandofcoursepokercoaches.

Somepeoplehaveareallybigproblemwithlearningpokertheory/concepts.Theyhate
reviewingtheirhands,theyfallasleepwatchingpokervideosandreadingarticlesandthey
can'tbebotheredtogetahandonapokerbook.Ofcourse,therearesomegreatpoker
playerswhodidn'tuseallthesethingstolearnbutIamsurethatthey'veusedatleastsome
kindofsessionreviews/handanalysisontheirroadtogetthere.

Thethingwhichalotofpeopledon'tthinkabouttoomuchthoughisthatbylearningand
masteringconceptsinpoker,youareopeningyourselfmoredoorstothemultiplestreamsof
incomeanddiversifyingyourincomeportfolio.Ifyoubecomereallygoodatthegame,you
canbecomeapokercoachandareabletowritebooksandarticles,producepokervideos,
hostlivecoachings,evaluateotherpeoples'hands,offerprivatecoachingstotheother
people...Andifyou'rethinkingaboutplayingpokerforaliving,thisisagreatwayto
decreasetheeffectofdownswings!

Nowadays,itisincrediblyeasytoobtainknowledgeinpokeroranyothersubject.You
havesomeamazingfreeonlinecoursesontheinternet,onthewebsiteslikekhanacademy,
udacity,mit.x,coursera,etc.Andthenyouhavethelibrarieswhereyoucanreadtonsof
booksreallycheap!Thebooksalonearegreatinvestmentstheyareusuallyverycheap
(especiallyifyoubuyusedones),andthevaluewhichyougetfromthemexceedsthecosts
byfar!Thenyoualsohaveaudiobooks,interdependentlearningviaforums,studygroups,
conferences,seminars,paidonlinecourses,etc.Whichyoucangetalotofknowledgeand
valuefromaswell.

Ifyouwanttobeanamazingpokerplayerandhaveanedgeontheoppositionwhichis
constantlyimproving,youneedtolearnandanalyzeyourgameandimprove.Notonlywill
thatincreaseyourwinrateandenableyoutomoveupthelimits,youwillalsobeableto
diversifyyourincome.Don'tforgetaboutlearningaboutthementalaspectsofpokerthough
(perhapsviaabooklikeThementalgameofpokerbyJaredTandler),whichalsoplaysa
greatroleinyourincome.Nomatterhowgoodofaplayeryouare,allcangotowastepretty
fastifyoutiltandgogambleawayyourwinningsonhighstakespokertables.

Knowingallthis,Iwouldreallyrecommendinvestingatleast15minutesofyourdayinto
learningsomethingnew.Itcanbeaseasyashavingabookandreadingitonthetoilet/in
bath,orreadingitonabus/train/planeincaseyoutravelalot.Ifyougotoworkeachdayby
car,youcouldalsobuyanaudiobookandlistentoitonyourphone/mp3player.Ofcourse
youcanalsoinvestmoretimeinit,likeanhouradayorso,orevenmore.Playingaround
withkhanacademyexercisescanbequitefunandusefulifyou'restillatschool,and
reviewingyourgamedailycanpayoffverynicely.

Thereisonelastthingthatyoushouldknowaboutlearning,anditisaveryimportantthing
alltheknowledgeintheworlddoesn'thelpyouifyouneverapplyanyofit.Reading10poker
bookswon'thelpyouifyoudon'tapplywhatyou'velearnedwhileyou'replaying.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Buythebook/audiobookthatyou'vebeenwantingtoreadforalongtime(notfiction,
preferrablyonselfdevelopmentorpokerorbusiness/whateveryou'reinterestedinatthe
moment).Youcanalsoborrowitatalibrary.
Eitherhaveitinthetoilet/bathroomandreaditwhileonthetoilet/takingabath.
Theotheroptionistocarryitaroundatalltimesandreadit/listentoitwhiledriving,takinga
bus/trainorwaitingforsomeone(you'dbesurprisedhowmuchtimeyouthrowawaywhena
friendislateforlunchoryourgrilfriend/wife/boyfriend/husbandislatetoadate!).
Togetahead,youcanalsoreadit/listentoitfor30minutesbeforeyougotobed.Itisjust
insanelyeasiertofallasleepifyou'rereadingabookbeforebedthanifyou'reinfrontofa
TVscreen/PC.

14.Speedreading

Speedreadingisnotamyth.ImyselfcandoitandIknowotherpeoplepeoplewhocandoit
aswell.Itdoestakeabitofdeliberatepracticetolearnit,buteveryoneshouldsee
improvementsveryfastiftheyusethecorrecttechniques.

Itmightseemabitcounterintuitive,butwhilelearninghowtospeedreadyouwillactually
increaseyourcomprehensionskillsaswellnotonlywillyoubeabletoreadwayfaster,you
willbeabletorememberwaymoreaswell!

Youdohavetounderstandthatspeedreadingisabitrelativethoughitdependsonthe
kindofthematerialaswell.Agoodspeedreaderwilladjustandreadsomethings,like
magazinearticlesandfictionbooksfasterwhilereadingcomplexstudymaterialslower.
However,eventhoughhewillbereadingitslower,hewillstillbereadingitwayfasterthana
normalreader!

Let'sgiveapracticalexample:anaveragereaderreadsatarateofabout200250wordsper
minute.Anaveragespeedreaderwhogoesthrougha6weekcoursewillbeabletoread
fictionbooksatabout2000wordsperminuteandcomplexstudymaterialatabout1000
wordsperminute.Ofcoursetheseareroughestimatesanddifferfrompersontoperson,but
Ithinkthatthey'reinthecorrectballpark.

Butwhocanactuallybenefitfromspeedreading?Well,prettymucheveryone.Itdoesn't
matterwhichtypeofalearneryouareIhavediscussedthisingreatdetailinoneofmy
repliestomyguide,youcanbenefitalotfromspeedreadingsinceyoucanacquire
informationalotfasterbyreadingthanbylistening.

Thoseofyouwhostillgotoschool/collegewillbeabletodecreaseyourstudyingtimesbya
lot.Thoseofyouwhowanttoreadalotoffictionbookswillbeabletoreadthroughway
moreofthose.Thoseofyouthathaveadayjobthatincludesreadingalotofreportswillbe
abletosavealotoftimewhiledoingthat.Thoseofyouwholikemagazineswillalsobeable
toreadthroughamagazinewayfasterthanbefore.

Sohowdoesallthisapplytopokerplayers?Well,therearealotofarticlesandbookstobe
readwhichcanincreaseyourwinrates,andyoucansavequiteabitoftimeinthefutureif
youinvestsometimeintolearningthespeedreadingtechniques.Youwillalsobeableto
readforumpostsandhandevaluationsfasterandsavesometimethereaswell.Andifyou
areworkingonyourself,youwillbeabletogetthroughthoseselfdevelopmentbooksfaster
aswell.MaybeIshould'vewrittenthischapteratthebeginningofmyguidetosaveyou
sometimereadingit,haha .

Ithinkthatthereisonemorewayinwhichpokerplayerscanbenefitfromspeedreading
however.Thisisonlymyhypothesis,butspeedreadingshouldbeabletohelpyounotice
whatisgoingononthetablesfasterandthereforeenableyoutomultitablemore
efficiently/getmorereads.Ibelieveinthisbecausewhenyoulearntheskillsofspeed
reading,youareabletofindsomethinginabookwayfasterasyou'vetrainedyoureyesto
beabletomovefaster.Thisshouldinmyopiniontranslateintoaquitenicelittleedgein
onlinepoker.Soifyouaregoingtotakeupspeedreading,pleaseletmeknowifitaffected
yourperformanceatthetablesinanycase,Iwouldbeveryinterestedtohearaboutit .

Iamonlygoingtodiscussonespeedreadingtechniqueinthisarticle,theverybasicone
whichisoneofthemostbeneficialonesaswell,becauseitcanhelpyoudouble/tripleyour
readingspeedveryfast.Itisexecutedbyusingyourindexfingerwhilereading.Yes,justlike
youuseditasachildintheschool.Thiswillallowyoutocontrolthespeedyouarereading
atbecauseyoureyeswillfollowyourfinger,andyoucanmoveyourfingerleftandright
prettydamnfast.Itwillalsohelpyoufocusyoureyesontotheactualwordsinsteadof
forgettingwhereyouwereandwonderingaround.

Soallthatyouhavetodoisbasicallyslideacrossthebottomoftheline,fromlefttoright,
fromstarttotheendoftheline.Thenmovetothestartofthenextlineasquicklyaspossible
andrepeat.Agoodmeasureofhowfastyoushoulddothistobeginwithisbyspending
aboutonesecondoneachlineinanormalbook.Youcaneasilydothisbysayingone
eachtimeyoureadaline.Makesurethatyougofromthestarttilltheendofthelinewith
yourfingerandthatyoudon'tskipanywordsatthebeginning/endoftheline!

Ihighlyrecommendthatyoumakeahabitoutofreadingwithyourfingersotrytouseit
everywhere!Whilereadingnewspapers,magazines,books...youcanevenuseitonthe
computerscreen(althoughyoushouldbuysomethingtocleanyourLCDwithinthatcase).
Ofcourse,youcanalsohoverwithyourfingeramillimeteraboveyourphone/pcscreen,but
frommypersonalexperience,slidingproducessslightlybetterresults.

Thereisoneveryimportantbadhabitthatyoushouldgetridofbecauseitslowsdownyour
readingALOT.Thatisreturningacouplewordsbackandrereadingsomething.Thereisno
needforthisatallsinceifyoumissedsomethingduetothelackoffocus,youwillbeableto
figureoutwhatitwasfromthenextsentenceswhichareusuallyinthesamecontext.
Besides,youreyesprobablydidacquireitanyway.Therearewaymoreefficientrereading
techniquesthangoingbackafewwords,whichreallyscrewsupyourreadingrateifyou're
usedtoit.

Sohowdoyouactuallylearntoreadfaster?Let'slookatananalogywhereyouaredrivinga
caronanormalroad,andyouaredrivingonitwithaspeedof60kph.Theroadhassome
nastyturns,soit'snottheeasiesttodriveon.Thenyougototheracetrackforone
afternoon,whereyoudriveatthespeedsof200kph+.Onceyoureturntothepreviousroad,
drivingat60kphwillfeelveryveryslow,andyouwillbeabletodrivemuchfasteronit.Ithink
thateveryonewhohasadrivinglicencehasexperiencedsomethingsimilarinthepastwhen
returningtoanormalroadfromahighway50kphwillfeelwayslowerthanbeforeyouwent
onthehighway.

Learninghowtoreadfasterisactuallyverysimilar.Byreadingatwayhigherspeedsthan
youareusedto,youcanincreaseyournormalreadingspeed.

ButbeforeIshowyousomebasicreadingdrills,let'stalkabouthowtoactuallymeasure
yourreadingspeed.Thisisactuallyprettyeasy.

14.1Measuringyourreadingspeed

Allyouneedtodoistakeabookandastopwatch/timer.Setthetimerto3minutes,markthe
placewhereyou'vestartedandstartreading.Oncethetimeisup,marktheplacewhere
you'vefinished.Thenextthingthatyoushoulddoisdeterminewhatistheaveragenumber
ofwordsperline(WPL)inthebook.Thiscanbeeasilydonebycountingthewordsfrom5
fulllinesanddividingthenumberby5.Onceyouknowthat,youcanjustcountthenumber
oflines,multiplythembytheWPLanddividetheresultbythenumberofminutesread,
whichisinourcase3.Theresultofthisisyourreadingrateinwordsperminute(WPM).

WPM=(numberoflines*WPL)/time[minutes]

Apracticalexamplewouldbe:

WPL=7
Numberoflines=100
Time=3minutes

WPM=(100*7)/3=233

Incasethelinesaren'tfull,youcanalsocountsomeofthemashalflinesor1/3oflines.

Onceyoureadveryfast,youcanalsogoonestepfurtherandjustmultiplythenumberof
linesperpage(LPP)withWPLtogetthenumberofwordsperpage(WPP).Then,youonly
needtomultiplytheWPPwiththenumberofpagesyou'vereadanddivideitbytime,instead
ofactuallycountingallthelines.Ofcoursethiswon'tbecompletelyaccuratebecausesome
pagesmighthaveabitmoretextthanothersbecauseoftitles,etc.ButIMOit'sclose
enoughandawaybetteroptionthancountingthelinesof15pages.

Theequationsarethen:

WPP=LPP*WPL
WPM=(numberofpagesread*WPP)/time[minutes]

Example:

WPL=7
LPP=25
Pages=5
Time=3minutes

WPP=7*25=175
WPM=(175*5)/3=291

Nowthatyouknowhowtocalculateyourreadingspeed,youcantestyourselfbysimply
takingarandombookwhichyouhaven'treadyet,selectingarandompassageandreading
for3minutes.Makesureyoureadinawayyouwouldreadnormallyslowly,withoutusing
theindexfingerandbyreturningbacktorereadwhatyou'vemissed.Thiswillbeyour
startingpointfromwhichyouwillbeabletoseebigimprovementsinthefuture.

Whileusingtheindexfingerallthetimewillalreadyincreaseyourreadingspeed,ifyouwant
togetseriousanddouble/tripleyourspeed,herearetwobasicdrillswhichyoucando,one
forspeedandoneforcomprehension.

14.2Thespeeddrill

Forthisdrill,youwillneedanoldbookwhichyouhaven'treadyetanddon'treallymind
writinginwithyourpencil.Youwillalsoneedatimer/stopwatch.

Youcanstartatthebeginningofthebook,there'snoneedtoselectarandompassage.Just
makesurethatyouhaven'treadthepassagebeforeyet.

Setthetimerto2minutes.

Markthestartingpointwith1.
Startthetimerandreadasfastasyoucanuntilthetimerunsout.Makesurethatyour
fingergoesfromthestarttilltheendofeachline.
Marktheendingpointwith2.
Calculateyourstartingspeedreadingspeed.
Rereadthepassage,startingatpoint1,in2minutes.Youneedtoreadfurtherthanthe
mark2!
Marktheendingpointwith3.
Rereadthepassage,startingatpoint1,in2minutes.Youneedtoreadfurtherthanthe
mark3!
Marktheendingpointwith4.
Rereadthepassage,startingatpoint1,in2minutes.Youneedtoreadfurtherthanthe
mark4!
Marktheendingpointwith5.

Ifyouwish,youcannowtestandcalculateyournewreadingspeedbyreadingfrompoint5
onwardsfor2minutes.Thisexercisewillenableyoutoconstantlyimproveyourreading
speedasyouwillbeabletoreadmoreandmorewithinthe2minutes.Youshouldseepretty
niceimprovementsinyournormal,startingspeedreadingspeedquitefast.

Remember,thefocusofthisdrillisreadingasfastaspossible,wherereadingmeansseeing
allthewords,notnecessarilyunderstandingeverything!Ifyoucan'tseemtobeabletoread
fast,trywavingyourfingerintheairleftandrightasfastaspossible.Ifyoucanwaveitin
theairveryfast,youcanalsowaveitwhileslidingonthebookveryfast.Youreyeswill
follow,don'tworry .

14.3Thecomprehensiondrill

Thebasiccomprehensiondrillisprettysimilartothespeeddrill,butthemaindifferencehere
isthatwhereaswiththespeeddrillyoushouldfocusonreadingfastandnotsomuchon
understanding,heremostofthefocuswillbeonunderstandingandrememberingwhat
you'veread.

Oneofthebestexercisesforimprovingcomprehensionisreadingapassageforxminutes,
closingthebookandwritingdownwhatyou'veremembered,eitherintheformofkeypoints,
sentencesormindmaps,whicheverworksbestforyou(Ipersonallyprefermindmaps
thoughsothatIdon'thavetowriteanessay).

Selectapassagefromthebookwhichyouhaven'treadyet,itcanbethesamebookasthe
oneusedforspeeddrills.Youcanstartwhereyou'vefinishedwithyourpreviousdrill.

Setthetimerto2minutes.

Markthestartingpointwith1.
Startthetimerandreaduntilthetimerunsout,focusingoncomprehension.Makesurethat
yourfingergoesfromthestarttilltheendofeachline.
Marktheendingpointwith2.
Writedownwhatyouremembered.
Calculateyourstartingcomprehensionreadingspeed.
Rereadthepassage,startingatpoint1,in2minutes.Youneedtoreadfurtherthanthe
mark2!
Marktheendingpointwith3.
Addanynewinformationthatyou'venoticedtowhatyouhavewrittendownbefore.
Rereadthepassage,startingatpoint1,in2minutes.Youneedtoreadfurtherthanthe
mark3!
Marktheendingpointwith4.
Addanynewinformationthatyou'venoticedtowhatyouhavewrittendownbefore.
Rereadthepassage,startingatpoint1,in2minutes.Youneedtoreadfurtherthanthe
mark4!
Marktheendingpointwith5.
Addanynewinformationthatyou'venoticedtowhatyouhavewrittendownbefore.

Ifyouwish,youcannowtestandcalculateyournewreadingcomprehension+speedby
readingfrompoint5onwardsfor2minutes,writingdownwhatyou'verememberedand
calculatingyournewcomprehensionreadingspeed.Thisexercisewillenableyouto
constantlyimproveyourcomprehensionasyouwillbeabletorememberandwritedown
moreandmorewithinthe2minutes.Youshouldseeprettyniceimprovementsinthedetails
thatyouremember.

Consistencyiskey,whichisespeciallytrueforspeedreading.Thesedrillswilltakeabout
1520minuteseach.Ifyouwanttogreatlyimproveyourspeedfast,Iwouldrecommend
doingeachofthedrillseachday,whichwilltakeyou35minutesorsoperday.It'sagreat
investmentbecausethetimethatyouwillbeabletosavethroughyourlifetimewillgreatly
outweighthetimewhichyouwillinvestinincreasingyourreadingspeed.

Ifyouareinterestedinthissubjectandwouldliketoincreaseyourreadingspeedformore
than10timesyourcurrentreadingspeed,Istronglysuggestbuyingthebookcalled
BreakthroughrapidreadingbyPeterKump.Itwillgiveyouamazingresultsinjust6weeks
bypractisinganhouraday.

ACTIONSTEPS:

testyourcurrentreadingrate
startusingyourindexfingeroneverythingthatyouread(youcanusethisontheaction
stepsfromthepreviouschapternow).
getanoldbookwhichyoucanmakemarksinwithapencil
invest35minadayintoincreasingyourreadingspeedandcomprehensionbydrilling.Doit
everydayandmakeahabitoutofitifpossible.
trackresultsinaspreadsheetifyouwantto(atleastyourreadingspeeds).

=========================Updated30.9.
2012==============================

15.Audiobooks

I'vementionedaudiobooksandtheirawesomenessinthepast.It'skindofironic,butInever
actuallypaidattentiontothem.Itwasonlywhenaverysuccessfulfriendmentionedhow
awesometheayaretomethatI'veactuallygiventhemashot,andtheresultswere
astonishing!Nomorewastedcardrives,nomorewaitingformyfriendsboredomlywhen
they'relateforalunch,nomoreboringtrain/busridesfromtheseaside.

Now,Ihavementionedaudiobooksalotinthepreviouschaptersofthisguide,soIamgoing
totryandavoidrepeatingmyselftoomuchhere.AthingthatIwouldreallyliketopointout
thoughisthecomparisonbetweentheaudiobooksandclassicbooks:

Youcanread/listentobothonatrain/busorwhilewaitingforsomeoneorwhileonatoilet
Youcanalsolistentoaudiobookswhileexercising,drivingacarorridingabike
Youcanlistentoaudiobooksinthedarkmoreeasily
Audiobooksareslightlymoreportableasyoucankeepthemonanipod/phone
Ifyouknowspeedreading,youcanreadthebookswayfasterthanlistentothem
Booksarebettersuitedfortakingnotes,highlightingandnavigationthanaudiobooks
Unlessyouhaveakindle,theAudiobooksarewaylessspaceconsuming,soyoucaneasily
carrymultipleofthemaroundyou

Sowhatcanweconcludefromthiscomparison?

Iwouldadviseyoutokeepthenonfictionbooksthatincludeexercisesoractionstepsinthe
physicalform.Thisisespeciallytrueifyouwanttofrequentlyusethosebooksfor
referrencesornotetaking.Iwouldputselfdevelopmentbooks,schooltextbooks,business
books,pokerbooks,etc.Inthisarea.Especiallythebookswhichhavealotofvisualaidsare
bettertobekeptinthepaperback/ebookform.

Asfortheaudiobooks,Isuggestbooksthatincludesomekindofastoryanddon'trequire
anyimmediateactionornotestobetaken.Thesewouldmostlybebiographiesand
inspirationalbooks,ormaybesomebookswhichyouwouldusetobroadenyourgeneral
knowledge.

Fictionbookscanreallygoeitherwaytheaudiobooksaregreatfortravelling,whilethe
paperbackonesareinmyopinionslightlybettertoreadinthebedintheeveningortoread
onthebeachonavacation.

Butthesearejustmyownobservationsandpreferences.Theyareguidelines.Ifyouprefer
tokeepdifferentbooksinadifferentformatbecauseitworksbetterforyou,goforit.But
makesurethatyoutryoutsomethingnewaswell,becauseyouhavenothingtolose.If
you'veneverlistenedtoanaudiobook,getone.Nottomorrow,notin2hours,NOW.

ACTIONSTEPS:

Getthatfreakin'audiobook.Ifyou'retoocheaptobuyit,thegotoAudible whereyoucan
get2audiobooksforfreeatthemoment.
Putitonyourphone/ipodandcommittolisteningtoitonyourwaytowork/uniorwhile
exercising.Onceitbecomesahabit,it'sreallyeasytoremembertodoit.

=========================Updated13.11.
2012==============================

16.Investinginyourself

Investinginyourselfisacruicalsubjectineveryareaofyourlife.Itisthebestpossible
investmentthatyoucanevermakeasithasthegreatestvalueithelpsyouimproveway
faster.Ithasbetterreturnsthananyotherinvestment,letitbegold,stocksorhavinga
business.Growingasapersonispriceless.

Byinvestinginyourself,youwillbeabletomastercertainskillswayfaster,learnconcepts
thatyouwouldn'thaveachancetootherwise(oritwouldtakeyoualotmoretimetofigure
themoutbyyourself),andthevalueoftheinvestmentwillusuallybewayhigherthanthe
costofit.

HereIthinkIshouldmentionaveryimportantconceptcostvs.value.Peopleoftenthinkin
costs:ohh,Iwouldgetthiscoaching,butitcostssomuch!.Buttheyrarelytakethetimeto
thinkabouthowmuchvaluetheycangetfromsomething.Ofcourse,ifyougoandbuya
chocolatebar,it'sunlikelythatyouwillgetawholelotofmonetaryoranyotherkindofvalue
outofit.Youmightgetpleasureoutofit,butbecauseofityourproductivitywillalso
decrease,+youwilllikelygetevenmorehungryandneedtospendmoremoneyonfood.

Butifwetakeaprivatecoachingforexample,thethingsareWAYdifferent.Ifyoupay$50
foracoaching,itisverylikelythatyourcoachwillhelpyoufindandfixleakswayfasterthan
youwouldbeabletodoitonyourself.Ontopofthat,hecangiveyousomehomeworktodo
andshowyouhowtoimproveevenmoreinyourowntime.Intheshortterm,youprobably
willnotbeabletoseeimmediatemonetarybenefitsthough.However,byhavinglessleaks,
yourwinratewillbehigher.Acoachcanhelpyouincreaseyourwinrate(orevenmakea
winningplayeroutofyouifyouwerelosingbefore),andyouwillbeabletotakethe
advantageofthiswinrateboostinmonthsorevenyearsafterthecoaching.

Letmegiveyouanexample.It'sjustanapproximation,buttheconceptisreallymore
importantthannumbershere.Let'ssaythatyou'replayingNL25andyoupay$50foran
hourofcoaching.Andlet'ssaythatthecoachwillimproveyourwinrateby1bb/100hands
duringthiscoaching,whichIthinkshouldbeveryreasonable.Evenabiggerimprovementis
definitelypossibleduringthefirsthourofcoaching.Thismeansthatifyouplay10.000hands
amonth(whichagainisrathereasytoachieve),youwillbeabletoget1BIextraeach
month,whichis$25.Inoneyear,that's$300.

Asacomparison:ifforexampleyou'dput$50inabankata5%yearlyinterestrate(whichis
prettyhigh),youwouldhave$52.5bytheendoftheyear.

Andthatwasaratherpessimisticexamplewiththecoachingasit'sdefinitelypossiblethat
yourwinratewillimproveevenmorefromjustonecoachingifyouhavesomemajorleaks,
youwillalsobeabletomoveupthelimitsfaster,learnbetteronyourown,putinmore
volumethanjustthe10khands/month,buymorecoachinghours,etc.Soinreality,thevalue
isevenbigger.

IactuallyhaveafriendwhowasstuckaroundNL50forsometime,withoutseeingmuchof
animprovement.Thenhedecidedtoinvesth alfofhisbankrollintohiringaprivatecoach.In
ayearorso,he'snowatNL200/NL400andhemadeabout$9.5kduringthelastmonth(a
heater,butstill).Hisinitialinvestmentwasmaybeabout$750,andhesaidtomethatthe
valuethathegotfromitisreallyinsane.Tensofthousandsofdollars!Itmadeahuge
differenceforhimhecouldeasilyquitpokeratthetime,butinsteadhedecidedtoinvestin
himselfandnowhe'smakingverynicemoneybyplayingpokerforaliving.

Ofcourse,therearealsootherwaystoinvestinyourselfbuyingbooks,attendingonline
courses,purchasingaccesstothesiteswithpokervideos,joiningpokerseminars,etc.

YoucanalsocheckoutmyPrivateCoachingthread.Here,thevalueofthecoachingsis
evenbigger.NotonlywillIhelpyoubecomewaymoreproductive,getmostoutofthetime
thatyouinvestofyourpokerandearnmoremoney,Iwillalsoteachyoutheconceptsthat
willenableyoutoexcellinmanyotherareasofyourlife.Therefore,youwillbecomeway
moresuccessfulinthoseareasaswell,sothevalueisprettymuchpriceless.

ACTIONSTEP:

Thebottomlineisdon'twaituntiltomorrowtoinvestinyourself.Takeactionn ow!The
ratesofthegoodcoachesareconstantlyincreasing,soyoushouldusethisopportunityand
bookthecoachesnow,whenthey'restillaffordableforyou.Evenifitmeansthatyouhaveto
investhalfofyourbankroll,Iassureyouthatinthelongrun,thevaluewillbyfarexceedthe
costs.

Atthebeginningoftheguide,Ihavementionedthatit'sallabouttakingaction,andthisis
howIwouldliketowrapupthisguideaswell.IhavetakenactionmyselfIhavewrittenthis
guideforallofyou,freeofcharge.Nowitisyourturntotakeaction,applytheconceptsthat
I'vetaughtyouandalsoinvestinyourselftobeabletoimproveevenfasterthanthe
competition.Iwilladmit,therearealotmoredecentplayersinpokernowadaysthatthere
werebefore.Butthatdoesn'tmeanthatyoucan'tmakeatonofmoneyinit.Youjustneedto
bebetterthanthemajorityofthem.Ihaveshownyoutheway,nowit'syourturntogothe
distance.

THEEND