| There’s a difference between being busy and being productive. I’ve had days where I’ve spent 12+ hours in front of my computer and running around doing all sorts of things that seemed important at the time, but at the end of the day...
I was nowhere closer to my goals.
In part, it was procrastination. I sorted all my emails (yay inbox zero!), I went through the apps on my phone deleting the ones I didn’t use, I sat in on a few zoom meetings, and I even managed to find the time to go grocery shopping.
Very busy day.
But… not very productive at all. Because none of these activities moved the needle, so to speak. My email list didn’t grow, I didn’t reach out to new possible partners, I didn’t do activities that would improve my conversions, and I didn’t work on a new product.
So even though I got a lot more done, I wasn’t productive.
As a result, at the end of the day, not only did I feel tired, but - and this is worse - I felt like a failure because I knew that my business wasn’t growing and that I was spending time on the wrong things all day long.
Of course, sometimes life just happens. There’s nothing you can do about it. Someone close to you might need help. A family member may fall ill. The internet might be out all day. Things happen.
So what do you do if you want to be productive?
I’m not going to give you the standard “just pick 2-3 things that will move the needle and get them done first before anything else in the day”.
Yes, that’s a part of it… however, that’s just a piece of the puzzle.
What I recommend is you first find out during which hours of the day you’re most focused. For me it’s NOT the morning - 5 am clubs be darned. I’m at my best starting around 1 pm till about 7 pm, and it’s best to squeeze the real focused deep work from 1 pm to 4 pm.
Now that I know that, I can plan my day.
I know that, let’s say, from 9 am till noon I can only be present but not focused. So that’s when I do all the little tasks that get on my nerves.
A quick lunch, and at 1 pm all notifications are turned off and I dive deep into the 2-3 things that I know will move the needle. I know those beforehand because I've written them on a little piece of paper that I have in front of me.
At about 4 pm I'm done with the important stuff… and I can now focus on whatever else I feel like. Or nothing at all.
This way, I get way more done… and because I've not only scheduled time for the important things but also for the mundane, very little falls through the cracks.
Now here’s what most people do when they witness the power of this approach. They overcommit. They take on more because they think they can do more now. Don’t do that… not at the beginning at least.
One day, I’ll talk more about this.
For now… have a productive… not a busy day!
To Your Success, Paul Hanson
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