Ramzi Ramzi
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5 Hacks to Be More Accountable

Hey, I’m Ramzi Ramzi It has been a while since the last newsletter. A weekly issue was the plan, yet here we are. This newsletter preaches balance, productivity and routine, without always following that advice. You have been there, right? Today you get an honest look at why holding yourself accountable is so hard - and how to fix it. Here is why you struggle with accountability: → Poor sleep → Lack of routine → Too many distractions You can improve these 3 areas:

Sleeping better

Sleep impacts everything. My dad had one of the shittiest sleep habits I’ve witnessed. I can remember waking up at night to get some water. I’d pass by the living room at 2 am, only to see him watching TV. Then he complained of having insomnia. This might be why I’ve become obsessed with the topic. Sleep has an impact on mood, energy levels, confidence, and willpower. And I didn’t even mention health:

Good sleep supports brain performance and mood, decreases the risk for diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity, and dementia, and is central for overall health and well-being. If you don’t believe me, there’s this research, this one and that one. To you, the most important health habit is sleep. How to build better sleep habits? A podcast shared an interesting tactic. Sleep schedule tip from podcast If you have sleep anxiety, force yourself to sleep at 11:30PM and wake at 5AM no matter what. You’ll be tired the next day, but do it again. Within a week, your body will start to crave that routine. Once you’ve built the habit for a week, gradually increase sleep duration by 15-20 mins per day. Go from sleep anxiety to sleep craving.

Timeboxing my days

You easily get overwhelmed trying to cram in more tasks. The irony? You get less done. This came up at length in this edition. Context switching drains energy, not deep work. UC Irvine research found the brain needs ~25 mins to switch contexts (UC Irvine research). Scheduling focused time is essential. Timeboxing keeps the work efficient.

  • Tuesday morning: Client A
  • Wednesday: Client B
  • Thursday: Client C Next, here are 3 tips for meetings:
  1. Group meetings Monday/Tuesday afternoons. Energy levels tend to go down in the afternoon and that’s the perfect time to do something less productive.
  2. Leave only 5-10 mins between meetings.
  3. Shorten meetings to 20-45 mins. Don’t leave big gaps. Here’s what my week looks like (ideally…) Weekly schedule with time blocks for different clients Now, if you work in a company, you could replace client by topic/project. The point is: Try to stick to it and communicate as much as possible to people that this is important to you and will actually help you deliver to them faster.

Building a simple morning routine

This routine goes by the StillMove morning (Yes, just trademarked that)

  1. “Still” - 30 min: No phone, journaling, meditate…
  2. “Move” - 30 min: Gym, exercise, yoga. Whatever floats your boat. The morning is a sacred time. Your brain is less stimulated, you can give that time to you and only you. Waking up early to hit the gym at 7am feels great. Building this habit carves these paths to a healthier morning. It might sound insane to you now, but it turns easy, trust the process. The details live here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4A0YDfNZyc/?igsh=MTg2d2czM3FrdGxpYw== What is one morning habit you can start?

Cut down on digital overload

The biggest struggle here - doomscrolling, YouTube, Instagram, etc. The endless scroll is dopamine overload. An app called Opal tracks usage. It blocks apps and forces more intentional screen time. Still a work in progress, but watching the most used apps and screen time makes you want to land in the top 1% of users. Opal app screen time tracking interface Here’s a link to get Opal (reaching out to these brands for a sponsorship is overdue)

Decreasing my ambitions

This may sound odd. You might say, “You tell us to be super disciplined and stay off our phones. But don’t be ambitious. That’s dumb.” But I see 2 kinds of ambition:

  • Realistic ambition means you are satisfied because you did what you said.
  • Oneiric ambition means what you wish to achieve but fall short. Being a realistic ambitious doesn’t mean doing less. It means finding the most you can achieve. This sets you apart from people who don’t act. Commit to the most you can do, then do it. A real example is making this newsletter ambitiously achievable. Get back to weekly issues, but:
  • Write max 2 hours.
  • Outsource publishing.
  • Don’t overthink it. Write what matters now.

Get my GTD template

Now that good habits are set up, let’s get things done. If getting things done is also important to you, here’s a ClickUp template to capture, plan and crush tasks. Feedback has been great and there’s a 30-day money-back if you’re unhappy. Even ended up as Product of the Day on ProductHunt. GTD template featured as Product of the Day on ProductHunt Ok and if that’s not enough, here’s a 50% OFF coupon that works until Tuesday the 5th: OFF50RVW Get the GTD template. Send me your other tips. Accountability is hard, but the goal is 1% better every day. More to come next week (hopefully)!