Ready to dive into tactics for getting things done?

At this point, we have gone over the steps to setup your body and mind to be capable of high performance.

I purposely did this, BEFORE we dive into specific tactics because I feel many miss this critical step.

If your body and mind are only operating at 70%, you will only be able to output 70%. It’s as simple as that.

I learned this the hard way. Like many, when I started looking into how to get more done each day, I did it backward. I investigated the best tools or best checklists but I was never able to stick to them. 

Trying to add MORE tasks to your day (like filling out a productivity journal) is torture when you're already exhausted and overwhelmed.

It becomes much easier to use these once you make the space and energy for them.

That’s why we had to address that first before we get into the following.

HOW TO MEASURE PRODUCTIVITY AND GET THINGS DONE

This question came up a lot when talking with people and my readers.

Honestly... I had no idea how to answer it at first.

Is it counting up how many tasks you completed at the end of the week?

Is it measuring the results at the end of each week on what you did?

Is it how fast you got things done?

These may or may not work, as tasks will vary each week on what they are, how long they take to do and how important they are.

Crushing 30 “easy and quick” tasks in a week doesn't necessarily mean it progressed you toward some underlying goal in any way.

Results are definitely something critical to measure but can be harder to quantify when you're in the building stage of something.

Is there a true single way to measure productivity in yourself or others?

...I don’t really think so.

Here is what I found to be the most effective though.

I find at any point I can work towards 3 big goals at once. Three “strategic objectives” that I am working towards that are considered Tier 1 goals - or one's that would have a big impact. (Richard Branson also follows the same amount).

The reason is that any more than that becomes far too overwhelming and leads to burnout.

In the last Pillar, we spoke on how taking on too many projects at once just doesn't work. 

Challenge - Right now, think about and pick 3 things most important for you to work on.

These goals could be building this online course, studying for a certification or test, learning a new skill, expanding on my Quora readership etc.

Outsource or put the rest on hold for now until you complete these. 

They should be goals that take some time to accomplish and have a lot of underlying tasks to complete them.

I measure productivity as the amount of completely focused and undistracted time I put towards these goals each week.

What does that mean?

Break down your tasks into intervals of work (25-minute jam sessions or power sessions) where you work exclusively on one task at a time. 

After the 25 minutes, you take a 5 or 10-minute break.

This is based on the Pomodoro technique by Francesco Cirillo. At the end of each week, you would add up how many of these power sessions or Pomodoro's you did for each of your 3 big goals.

For example, my week end tally could look like:

You could modify the 25-minute time frame if you want but I would stick to it. It's quite effective for ensuring your mind does not start to wander. 

Set a timer for 25 minutes, then once done take a quick break. This works well for keeping energy levels high and ensuring you stay focused. If you do decide to increase it, I would not make it any higher than 45 to 60 minutes without a break.

As backwards as it seems, regularly taking breaks is critical to ensure you stay focused in these productivity time blocks.

Get up, move around, go get some sun and air, a tea or coffee, feel free look at your phone notifications for 5 to 10 minutes, then get back to it.

WHY THIS WORKS

How often do you actually sit down and do completely focused work on only one task without distraction?

Without looking at your phone, without the TV on in the background, without checking for emails…

Probably almost never.

I'm still guilty of this as well and it’s not totally our fault.  As we learned, we live in the most distracting era in all of human history.

Constantly switching our attention to different things is incredibly detrimental to both getting things done and our overall mental performance.

Though it’s not our fault that we live in a world full of distractions, it is our responsibility to ensure we don’t let it impact our potential for greater productivity and results. 

The more we succumb to distraction the harder it is to break out of it.

Real, focused work is incredibly powerful. You will be amazed at how much more you can accomplish with your time when you put 100% of your focus and energy into it.

The more you are able to do it, the easier it gets and the more results you can get done.

I spoke with Sol Orwell in Toronto not too long ago and here is his response when I asked him how he approaches his day to day work upon building Examine.com into a 7 figure business.

BALANCING WORK AND PERSONAL LIFE

The beauty of the approach above is it becomes far easier to balance work and pleasure.

When you operate with a model of being 100% focused on thing at a time you know exactly what you're working on. (Or not working on). 

The majority of us go through our days partially focused on one task while at the same time being focused on others.  We take this same approach even when we are not working.

We may be on vacation or out with friends but simultaneously still diving into emails and thinking about ​the tasks that need to get done. Or perhaps we are watching Netflix but working at the same time. We are only half invested into each task so we never are truly focused on working or on resting, which makes us exhausted. 

By following the method above and mapping it out into a schedule, we pick the exact times to be really productive and the times to completely switch off and re-charge.

Because we have the times mapped out where we are 100% focused and productive on tasks, it also makes us feel far less guilty for when we do take time to rest and recharge.

Let's dive into an effective way to schedule out your day to day tasks.​