Stack a new habit next to an old one to help you build your new habit more easily.
Flow Wall Desk →
This is a gorgeous, stow-away desk / art piece.
$10k Schedule Audit →
Tomorrow I’m hosting a free, live Zoom call to walk a few business owners through my “$10k Schedule Audit” to help them identify some quick and easy wins around their tasks and time.
I’ll also be answering questions about my upcoming Productivity Intensive happening next week.
The Power of Goal Setting for Your Business
Goals give you a direction and help you make progress. If you had to stop everything you were doing and could only pursue one goal what would that be?
If your organization is spending time on things that are not important, it will be nearly impossible to maintain motivation for yourself and your team; it will be difficult to find enjoyment within the tensions and pressures of business.
When you can get clear about your goals, you can get clear about the action you need to take. Goals help you and your team move from a passive / reactive state to an intentional and proactive one.
PS: If you’re a business owner, next week I’m hosting a two day intensive for business owners only. Find out more here.
The Discipline of Focus
This month I’m teaching a productivity intensive for small business owners, and as part of my prep, I came back across this quote from 4DX:
“The more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish. [But] smart, ambitious leaders don’t want to do less, they want to do more, even when they know better.”
Want to join us? Register here!
Schedule What Matters
Your friendly reminder that your to-do list should exist on your calendar. (A sneak peek at how I do it.)
A quote I’m pondering about focus
“The more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish… Somewhere along the way, most leaders forget this. Why? Because smart, ambitious leaders don’t want to do less, they want to do more, even when they know better. … there will always be more good ideas than you have the capacity to execute.” — 4DX
Margin reduces stress and increases productivity
I recently came across this article showing how stress rises when you’re in back-to-back-to-back meetings. But the thing that really stood out to me was how individual productivity doubled as meetings were reduced.
If you’re in too many meetings, it may be a symptom of a bigger issue. When there are too many meetings it means there is a lack of clarity and focus. And so meetings end up becoming a short-term, band-aid solution for trying to develop vision and strategy and get things done.
- Make a decision about something
- Make progress on a specific work task / project that requires real-time collaboration
- Celebrate and connect as a team
P.S. Speaking of Margin… in a few weeks we will be kicking off our Margin Reset booster for the 300 members inside the new Focus Accelerator membership. 🚀
Pro Life Hack: Having your own calling card stationary (so fancy)
In my office is a stack of fancy, ready-to-use note cards, with stamps right there. I use them constantly to easily send folks hand-written notes in the mail. One of my favorite things. And Hoban Cards makes the best.
The Hierarchy of Productivity
Least Important: Tips and tricks and hacks and shortcuts.
Very Important: Habits and routines. Your daily actions and behavior. Your system of execution.
Most Important: Vision and values. Your purpose, your priorities, your why.
MagicFiber Cleaning Cloth →
Your annual reminder that these little microfiber cloths are the best. I have them stashed all around my house and use them for cleaning my glasses clean and my camera lens. They’re cheap, and I replace them about once or twice a year.
Six Principles for Focus and Simplicity
In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster lists several principles for the outward expression of simplicity. These are things which someone could use or do in their attempt to flesh out the meaning of simplicity in the modern life.
Here are six of Foster’s suggestions:
- Develop a deeper appreciation for nature.
- Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
- Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you.
- Develop a habit of giving things away; de-accumulate.
- Shun whatever would distract you from your main goal.
- Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
My current daily routines that I’m focusing on the most
- 90 minutes of writing each morning
- Only have my phone available from 12:30pm – 8:30pm each day
- Keep my phone outside my office during work hours
- 20 minute workout
The definition of overwhelm
The definition of “overwhelm” is pretty intense, actually. It means:
- bury or drown beneath a huge mass
- defeat completely
- give too much of a thing to someone
When you’re feeling buried under a mass of so much stuff, and you feel as if you’ve been given too much of a thing, it can feel as if you’re responsible for everything in the whole world. But it is liberating when you step back and get clarity about the things that ONLY YOU can do.