Without a clear idea of your own core values and the things that drive your decisions and motivation, then your schedule will reflect what someone else wants from you, rather than what you want for yourself. The three primary areas of your life that all need a clear direction: Your business, your family, and your self.
Decision Making
Words you can say to help you focus
No. Nope. No thanks. Not at this time. Nuh-uh. Nah. Sorry, but no.
Avoid Random Habits
Amateurs keep their options open. They say yes to everything. They have no boundaries. And they are overwhelmed by the urgent and buried under a million random acts of focus.
On the other hand…
Professionals and top-performers are focused. They design their habits in order to accomplish their goals.
Your habits should not be random…
Your habits need to be an intentional part of the bigger picture of your life. Your habits should be the actions you do consistently that move you forward toward the outcomes you want in your life.
Experiment with new extremes for a short amount of time
From time to time it can be empowering to try something new for a short amount of time.
Try something and recognize that it’s not the new normal forever. Let it be a short-term action which will bring about an agent of change into your life and give you fresh perspective and clarity.
Not everything needs to be a long-term commitment. It’s okay to go extreme for a bit and see what comes of it.
Repetition Matters More Than Perfection
For those with routines, habits, and lifestyle practices — there will always be the next time you do an action.
This is liberating because it allows you to focus on repetition rather than perfection. You no longer need to have the “perfect date” or the “perfect family dinner” or the “best possible workout” … you simply need to focus on having consistent repetitions of those things.
Perfectionism is based on scarcity. Repetition is based on abundance.
The Focus Accelerator (Finally!) →
Hooray! We just recently announced the all-new Focus Accelerator membership. It’s amazing and I think you would love being part.
In short, Focus Accelerator is your all-access pass to every single course and tool in our library, plus a community to help you get clear, take action, and keep going.
The rundown is that you get:
- Unlimited access to every course in our library
- Monthly coaching, workshops, and Q&A with our team
- Accountability and breakthrough with the community
(Full details all listed here.)
This is something we’ve been working on for the past 18 months… It’s finally out there and the response has been beyond what we expected. I hope you’ll come join us.
Don’t stress the fuzzy, outer edges of life and projects
You won’t ever make all the edges of your life smooth and finished.
Even as we grow and mature in our life, the edges also get pushed out and they remain fuzzy. Don’t worry about “fixing” those outer edges — they will always be there. Instead focus on the center and on the core — the things that truly matter — and focus on making those stronger and better.
Three Steps to Being More Productive
1. Identify what you want to do.
2. Plan a time you will do it.
3. Celebrate that you followed through. (And then, repeat.)
My Four Rules of Book Buying →
As the warmer months are finally upon us, here’s a refresher on my four rules of book buying:
- Don’t be a wimp about it.
- Don’t stress about reading them cover to cover.
- Make notes and mark up the margins.
- Share what you learn.
It takes effort to say YES (but YES is the whole point)
A lot of productivity and time management advice includes all the things you should not do.
- Don’t sleep in.
- Don’t use your phone in the morning.
- Don’t check email before lunchtime.
- Don’t binge watch Netflix late into the night.
- Don’t have social media on your phone, etc…
- Don’t leave any emails in your inbox.
- Don’t sleep with your phone in the room.
Why is so much productivity advice about what NOT to do?
The choices you make about your time and focus should be about what you are saying YES to.
The problem is that it is a lot harder to figure out what you want.
It’s far easier (and more dramatic) to focus on what to avoid than it is to take the time to figure out what to embrace.
In fact, the whole reason we are saying NO to some of those things is so that we can actually say YES to what we really want to do.
I am not going to check my email before lunch because I would rather spend that time writing.
Having a long list of things you don’t do will not make you productive.
What do you do in the time you’ve created for yourself? What do you choose to say YES to? Saying YES to the right thing is what makes you productive.
No is easy. Yes requires focus.
Set a 5-Minute Timer for Those Boring Tasks
A reader recently asked me about procrastination, and I pointed them to this article about The 5-Minute Rule.
There are many activities in life that are worth doing but that aren’t always easy to get started. A few things that come to mind for me include:
- Cleaning up the house at the end of the day
- Starting a workout
- Writing
- Reading a book
When it’s time to do one of these activities, and I don’t feel like it, then I will commit to 5 minutes.
I’ll spend 5 minutes putting away the dishes; 5 minutes warming up; or 5 minutes writing whatever crappy prose comes to mind.
Then, after those first 5 minutes, if I’m still not into it I give myself permission to move on to something else. But most of the time, it only takes a few minutes for the momentum to kick in.
Are you too busy to be strategic?
Being “busy” and “productive” is not the same as being strategic.
We all know the tips and tricks and best practices for how to be productive. But we don’t know how to be intentional and strategic — because strategy can be subjective and it’s not always obvious.
Here’s how to be strategic:
- Get clear on your desired outcome
- Pick one thing you think will move you in that direction.
- Stick with it for long enough to determine if your actions are working.
- If they are working, keep going. If they are not working, stop and try something new.
Don’t become so busy that you’re just doing random acts of focus and never have time to be strategic.
The Quality of your Questions Matter
Perhaps, like me, you grew up being taught that there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. But that doesn’t mean all questions are equal.
A great question will go much further in getting you to a great answer.
Three of my favorite smarter questions are:
- What should I start doing?
- What should I stop doing?
- What should I keep doing?
How to Overcome Indecision →
Speaking of The Law of Tradeoffs, this is a fantastic little clip with my friends Josh Kaufman and Mo Bunnell talking about how to avoid indecisiveness.