| My friend Ed O’Keefe was the first person to ever call me, “The World’s Most Disciplined Man.”
He did that because he said I was the most productive person he had ever met (and like most people, Ed connected productivity with discipline).
The truth though is that I’m not “disciplined”...
In fact, I’m just as lazy as anyone else.
However, I was smart enough to recognize that if I just built a few systems into my routine, that I could ‘trick’ myself into getting more done in less time...
Thus creating the results of discipline.
Here are 3 of the easiest hacks that I’ve used to increase my productivity...
1. Add Deadlines to Destroy Parkinson's Law
Ever have a meeting or call that dragged on and on…
Interrupting the flow of your day, backing up your schedule, and making you late for dinner?
That’s because you allowed a form of Parkinson’s Law to invade (and conquer) your day.
Parkinson’s Law, first introduced to me through Tim Ferriss’s book, The 4-Hour Work Week, states:
“Work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.”
And when you don’t have an end time for a meeting or call, unnecessary chatter expands and exceeds your expectations for the event.
The solution:
Never start a call or meeting that does not have a defined end time.
How do you do that?
Answer every call / meeting invitation with a set amount of time you are willing to invest.
That deflates the hot air (unnecessary chatter) and keeps your day on track.
For call invitations, I say, “Yes, I have 10 minutes at 1:45pm on Tuesday.”
Be strict. Be specific. Be safe with your time.
2. Automate-Delegate-Eliminate Every Day
Last month I told a client to delete Instagram from his phone.
That one single action allowed him to boost his company sales $20K (recurring!)...
Deletion of distractions allows addition of assets.
Your job... You must repeatedly review your daily tasks to make sure you’re not doing anything below your pay grade, or that causes an unnecessary amount of stress or angst, or that can be done equally well through automation.
For example…
- Editing your own videos => Delegate
- Manually booking calls into your calendar => Automate
- Reading irrelevant news articles that fire you up => Eliminate
Hour by hour...
Action by action...
Eradicate what you hate... automate... and delegate.
There’s money on the table that needs your attention & action.
3. Match your toughest task with your highest mental energy (magic time)
Remember when you were a toddler and you played with a “Baby Blocks Shape Sorter?”
You know — the one where the object of the game is to take different shaped blocks and put them in the matching shaped hole.
Ok, good. Now...
Think about the most difficult project you need to finish this week.
Now assign a “square shape” to that task.
Next, look at your calendar...
Imagine if you tried to cram that difficult project into your schedule at a time of day where you were tired — your brain depleted, your energy crashing.
That would be like trying to cram a square peg into a round hole. Ain’t gonna work.
Instead, what you need to do is realize that your Magic Time — the time of day when you are 3X’s more creative, productive, and energetic — is the same shape as your toughest task.
Take that square peg (toughest task) and insert it into your Magic Time (square hole).
That’s how you win.
Stop trying to do hard things when you’re weak.
And stop doing easy things when you’re strong.
Match the intensity of the task to the intensity of your brainpower...
And you’ll triple your productivity on that tip alone.
When you combine all 3 of these hacks?
You’ll watch your output and results go through the roof.
Let me know how it goes!
Success Loves Speed,
Craig
PS - If you’re ready to 2X your income (or more) while working 10 less hours per week...
... Just REPLY to this email with the words “2X 10 LESS” and we'll set up a time to chat with you to find out if we can help.
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