Does doing less actually get more done? Do you ever find that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get what you need to be done? What if I told you if you increased your focus on a smaller amount of tasks you would actually be MORE productive each day.
Doing work that matters will ultimately lead to a satisfying and joyful life. Having something you care about. If you feel like you don’t have time to do everything you want each day then this post is for you.
Hi, and welcome back to another weekly blog! If you’re new here thanks so much for joining me here. My name is Chris with YOL and I write and create content each week regarding mindset, habits, goals, productivity, and success. I’m an entrepreneur and purpose coach who’s passionate about helping others elevate to another level in which they otherwise thought impossible. Are you one of those people.?
One of my favourite authors Michael Hyatt talks about in his book Your Best Year Ever - the daily big 3. These are 3 tasks that you set each day that get you closer to achieving your goals. Let’s say your goal is to save $20,000 by the 25th of December 2021.
One of your tasks to get you closer to reaching that goal could be to overhaul your budget and lower your monthly expenses. A task you could commit to (one of your daily big 3 tasks) would be to research/call your cell phone company, home internet company, house insurance, and try and get better rates as a long-term customer or get in on any of the latest promos.
The main takeaway with the daily big 3 is your focus on a small number of tasks that help you get closer to your end goal. Don’t know your end goal yet?
Lucky for you I just created and launched a brand new FREE email course - The Ultimate 5 Day Goal-Setting Course. It will help you get clear about where you want to go and what your big goals are. Signup now to get the lessons sent right to your inbox over the next 6 days!
Do you use checklists each day? How many items are on that list of to-dos? 7 items? 10 items? 20 items? There is a big difference between a checklist with smaller unimportant tasks and your daily big 3. A simple checklist is for random things like; call mom and dad, do the laundry, clean the house, go grocery shopping etc.
I don’t want you to confuse being more productive with “checking off more tasks”. While shallow tasks like these listed above need to get done from day to day you don’t want them to drain your time and effort all day. This will lead to you feeling unproductive and unfulfilled.
Try focusing on 3 important things each day that will get you close to your ultimate goals. If they don’t support the end goal they can go in a different list of less important tasks.
When are you the most productive? When is the time that works best for you to sit down and focus for 3 hours straight? This answer is different for everyone, although if you’re a morning person you may want to tackle important items early before anyone else rises.
If you’re a night owl maybe you want to sit down and get to work at 10:00 p.m. You want to figure out when you can set aside this time and what works for you. For me personally, I like to get a good start on things in the morning. If I can get up read, meditate, and tackle some important work before 10:00 a.m. I’ve had a good start. Obviously, things change and plans don’t always work out as expected. This is where you adjust on the fly and make it work, but ideally, if you can stick to the times you are most focused and productive, you will get more done.
Figuring out what times work best for you to be productive whether it’s schoolwork, exercising, or self-care will help you immensely. Not everyone works well at the same time, trial and effort is your best friend. Don’t be afraid to switch up your routine and see what is your power hour so to speak.
How you start your morning leads to how the rest of your day goes. If you wake up late, snooze your alarm, quickly change into a random outfit, and run to McDonald’s before work you’re setting your day up for failure.
If you want to feel (and be) productive throughout your day you need to start your morning off right. Some ways you can do this is by waking up an hour earlier than normal, exercise, read, write, think, be thankful, smile, listen to an audiobook, go for a walk, or just sit and drink a cup of coffee.
By constantly rushing (and stressing) you aren’t helping yourself get more done - you’re hindering it. If you want to get more done - start your day off on the right foot!
Your days are filled with constant distractions whether it’s the chime of your phone, email notifications, social media, or other random things ready to suck your time and attention dry (like a vampire). When you’re distracted you must switch from task to task - something that is extremely inefficient.
When you want to get something important done, cut yourself off from EVERYTHING ELSE. No phone, no internet, no social media, no browsing, no T.V. Whatever is in the background or on your desk is a distraction - get rid of it. Unless you listen to music while you work (which I often do) turn it off or put it in another room.
When I previously trained for my fitness shows I needed to make sure I was free from distractions in the gym and focused with laser-like intensity. One of the main ways I accomplished this was by turning my phone onto airplane mode before I entered the gym doors. This ensured I wouldn’t get any texts, phone calls, or interruptions during my session.
This may sound a bit extreme to some. You may argue what if there was an emergency, or someone needed to contact me, or an important email I was waiting on. The fact is that whether any of these scenarios were to actually happen - I would answer in one to one and a half hours later. Not a big deal. Most of the extreme things we expect to happen never actually do. If something or someone needs to wait an hour then that’s what needs to happen.
If you want to gain laser focus to boost productivity then you must eliminate ALL distractions. By turning my phone onto airplane mode I was free from the cell network and could focus on the task at hand - training.
Stop trying to multitask and do one thing that matters for a period of time. If you can commit to doing this you will be shocked at the results you see. By going into a stage of “deep work” so to speak you will get so much more done.
Our days are filled with so much scrolling and distractions. I suggest setting a timer when you want to focus on your work. Try working for 90-minute intervals followed by a 15-minute break. You can use your phone or hang out for the 15-minutes, but when you get to the 90 minutes ONLY focus on one thing. This timeframe will help you focus on what matters.
Well, that’s all I have to say today on productivity and getting more done.
Thanks for reading I hope you learned a thing or two about getting more done by focusing on less! Don’t forget to sign up for my FREE email course - The Ultimate 5 Day Goal-Setting Course. I give away so much value to figure out what you want in life, set 5 big goals, understand visualization techniques and so much more! Till next week.
Chris M Wilson
Chris Wilson is a keynote speaker, CTI coach, and entrepreneur. Through his Hover to Fly framework, he aims to impact the next generation in their careers and lives.
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