Personal Productivity

Here’s the top 10 personal productivity principles & techniques that I’ve had benefit from in my life.

1. Making a Vision / Mission Statement
2. Setting Goals. Big, brave goals release energy. So set them clearly and then revisit them every morning for 5 minutes.
3. Morning Rituals
4. Weekly Planning
5. The Pareto Principle
6. Task Management (Example: Getting things done – GTD – especially “mind like water” – getting everything out of my head, writing it down and using the “2 minute rule”)
7. Outsourcing – Outsource everything you can’t be BIW (Best in the World) at. Focus only on activities within what I call “Your Picasso Zone”.
8. Time Management (Example: The Pomodoro Technique) and focusing on the moment at hand.
9. Doing the First Thing First (Example: Big Rocks principle, what matters most, eat the frog first)
10. Inbox Zero

Other productivity tips that didn’t make the list, but are still so important to your productivity:

• Stop waiting for perfect conditions to launch a great project. Immediate action fuels a positive feedback loop that drives even more action.
• Keep tidy. Mess creates stress.
• Sell your TV. You’re just watching other people get successful versus doing the things that will get you to your dreams.
• Build routines / habits into your life – it’s much easier than disciplining yourself. Peak productivity’s not about luck. It’s about devotion.
• Don’t say yes to every request. Most of us have a deep need to be liked. That translates into us saying yes to everything – which is the end of your elite productivity.
• Stop multi-tasking. New research confirms that all the distractions invading our lives are rewiring the way our brains work (and drop our IQ by 5 points!). Be one of the rare-air few who develops the mental and physical discipline to have a mono-maniacal focus on one thing for many hours. (It’s all about practice).
• Get fit. Getting to your absolute best physical condition will create explosive energy, renew your focus and multiply your creativity.
•  Workout 2X a day. Exercise is one of the greatest productivity tools in the world. So do 20 minutes first thing in the morning and then another workout around 4 or 5 pm to set you up for wow in the evening.
• Work in 90 minute blocks with 10 minute intervals to recover and refuel (another game-changing move I personally use to do my best work).
• Write a Stop Doing List. Every productive person obsessively sets To Do Lists. But those who play at world-class also record what they commit to stop doing. Steve Jobs said that what made Apple Apple was not so much what they chose to build but all the projects they chose to ignore.
• Use your commute time. If you’re commuting 30 minutes each way every day – get this: at the end of a year, you’ve spent 6 weeks of 8 hour days in your car. I encourage you to use that time to listen to fantastic books on audio + excellent podcasts and valuable learning programs. Remember, the fastest way to double your income is to triple your rate of learning.
• Be a contrarian. Why buy your groceries at the time the store is busiest? Why go to movies on the most popular nights? Why hit the gym when the gym’s completely full? Do things at off-peak hours and you’ll save so many of them.
• Get things right the first time. Most people are wildly distracted these days. And so they make mistakes. To unleash your productivity, become one of the special performers who have the mindset of doing what it takes to get it flawless first. This saves you days of having to fix problems.
• Get lost. Don’t be so available to everyone. I often spend hours at a time alone outside. I turn off my devices and think, create, plan and write. Zero interruptions. Pure focus. Massive results.

I truly hope these personal productivity tips have been valuable to you. And that I’ve been of service. Your productivity is your life made visible. Please protect it.
Stay productive.