I don’t know about you, but I’m always curious what separates people that are ultra-successful in achieving their life dreams from those that end up missing the mark and stagnating in life. If we’re not growing/learning and becoming the right type of person than it’s unlikely that we will ever get there, right?
More than likely to become the person that wins our life dreams, we must become the person and develop the character of the person that we envision for those dreams. Wow. So let’s start with trying to become more productive towards achieving those life goals with the hours that we’ve been given and take it from there.
I really see myself as this guy on the hammock, so you will likely see it in my blogs quite often!
1. They focus on minutes
There are 1,440 minutes in every day, invest every one of them intentionally. Do whatever it takes. Time block the most important activities that directly contribute to one small step towards your dream. If you haven’t heard of time blocking, and if you do nothing else from this blog, you really need to build this in to your daily calendar. There are many templates out there.
2. They Set Daily Priorities
Identify your Most Important Task, and work on it for two hours each morning. In fact, if you can get up before everyone else, time block two hours each day for the most important activities.
3. They don’t use to-do lists
Throw away your to-do list; instead schedule everything on your calendar. This helps you keep on task and not allow things to run-over into your most important achievements for the day, and it adds urgency because you only have so much time to complete the task.
4. They beat procrastination with time travel
Your future-self can’t be trusted. What can you do now to make sure your future-self does the right thing? I think this can be best achieved again, with the good-old calendar and some solid time blocking.
5. They make it home for dinner
There will always be more that can be done. Time block your priorities and end the day guilt-free, at home eating dinner with those you love.
6. They use a notebook
Capture everything in your notebook so your mind can stay carefree; move to-do’s to the calendar and out of your head.
7. They only check emails three times a day
Do not let social media interrupt your important work flow; schedule times in your calendar to read and respond to email. Oh my gosh, what a game changer this one is. I used to make the mistake of leaving Outlook or Gmail open; do not let it run your life.
8. They avoid meetings at all costs
Don’t hold meetings. If you have to, keep them short and make everybody stand up. I think back to my days working in government and think about the hours we spent in meetings doodling.
9. They say “no” to almost everything
Every “yes” is actually a “no” to something else, right? Say no to everything outside of your goal areas. Wow. The progress you will make on your life goals will be mind blowing.
10. They follow the 80/20 rule
80% of outcomes come from only 20% of your activities. Identify the 20%, and eliminate, delegate, or simply forget the rest.
11. They delegate or outsource almost everything
Identify your unique ability, utilize it, and outsource everything else.
12. They have work themes for days of the week
Create a set day of the week to schedule to focus on major areas; batch your tasks during the day.
13. They touch things only once
If something will take less than 10 minutes to complete, do it immediately.
14. They have a consistent morning ritual
Wake up early and give yourself 60-minutes for mental, physical, and spiritual health. This is really my favorite part of the day sitting with a cup of delicious coffee going through my affirmations, meditations, and connecting with my soul. Oh my, what a gamechanger at 5am.
15. They don’t think about time; the focus on energy
Maximize your energy to maximize productivity. Focus on sleep, diet, exercise, and short breaks throughout the day.
Summary
As you are probably already aware, I’m a big fan of financial freedom and lifestyle design. My preferred work week is a little longer than 4 hours, but I really see myself making plenty of time for those activities and people I love. To achieve this, I will need to be extremely productive with the time I spend working so I am constantly trying to implement these 15 hacks into my own life. Many of them I don’t even think about anymore, and some I need to refresh often. Each of these is a skillset in itself, and maybe in another blog I will take a deeper dive.