12 Hacks to Be 99.9% More Productive That Cost Nothing

Summary

The speaker shares 12 productivity hacks that helped him achieve success despite having ADHD. These include increasing cycle time, creating a 'stop doing' list, creating urgency, committing to others, scheduling time to recharge, waking up early, eating the frog (tackling the most important task first), following your energy flow, creating a reason to avoid procrastination, offering rewards for goals, honoring your schedule, and turning off phone notifications.

Takeaways

• 🔑 Increase your cycle time by learning shortcuts and increasing the speed of your mouse to become more efficient.
• 🎧 Listen to audio playbacks at faster speeds and take typing classes to improve productivity.
• 🛑 Create a 'stop doing' list to eliminate activities that don't add value and focus on your strengths.
• ⏰ Create urgency by setting earlier deadlines and using techniques like the Pomodoro Timer to stay focused.
• 🤝 Commit to others by involving them in your projects to increase accountability and collaboration.
• 🔄 Schedule time to recharge to maintain a balance between work and rest, promoting long-term productivity.
• 🌅 Wake up early to gain an advantage over others and start your day with a clear mind and high energy.
• 🐸 Eat the frog first by tackling the most important and challenging task at the beginning of your day.
• 🌊 Follow your energy flow by scheduling tasks according to when you have the most energy for that type of work.
• 💪 Create something to run away from, such as a consequence for not achieving a goal, to motivate action.
• 🥕 Use the carrot on a stick approach by setting rewards for achieving goals to double your motivation.
• 📅 Honor your schedule by planning and sticking to your calendar to manage time effectively.
• 📵 Turn off all notifications on your phone to eliminate distractions and maintain focus on important tasks.

Q & A

What is the first productivity hack mentioned in the script?

The first productivity hack is to increase your cycle time by getting faster at the tasks you perform. This includes using hotkeys, increasing mouse speed, and learning to type efficiently.

How does the speaker suggest improving learning through audio playbacks?

The speaker suggests listening to audio playbacks at faster speeds, such as 1.5x or 2x, to improve learning efficiency.

What is an advanced strategy for increasing productivity mentioned in the script?

An advanced strategy for increasing productivity is to use automation with AI tools like Zapier to create workflows that can process and automate tasks, reducing manual effort.

What is the concept of the 'stop doing list' and how does it relate to productivity?

The 'stop doing list' is a concept where one identifies activities that are time-consuming and not productive, and then commits to stopping those activities. This allows for more focus on tasks that drive results and enhances overall productivity.

How does the speaker use the principle of creating urgency to boost productivity?

The speaker creates urgency by setting earlier deadlines for tasks and using techniques like the Pomodoro Timer to focus and complete work in set time intervals, which helps overcome procrastination and ADHD.

What is the significance of committing to others in the context of productivity?

Committing to others is significant for productivity because it creates a sense of accountability, ensuring that tasks are completed to meet the expectations of others, which can be more motivating than working alone.

Why is scheduling time to recharge important according to the script?

Scheduling time to recharge is important because it allows for mental and physical recovery, preventing burnout, and enabling creativity and growth. It's about maintaining a balance between work and rest for sustained productivity.

What is the benefit of waking up early as discussed in the script?

Waking up early allows individuals to connect to an energy that few experience, providing quiet time for deep work and creativity without distractions, which can set the tone for a productive day.

How does the 'Eat that Frog' strategy contribute to productivity?

The 'Eat that Frog' strategy contributes to productivity by encouraging individuals to tackle the most important and challenging tasks first, which can build momentum and make the rest of the day easier and more productive.

What does the speaker mean by 'following your energy flow'?

Following your energy flow means aligning tasks and activities with the natural shifts in your energy levels throughout the day. This involves scheduling tasks that require different types of energy at the times when you are most capable of performing them effectively.

How can creating something to run away from increase productivity?

Creating something to run away from can increase productivity by leveraging the human tendency to avoid pain. By setting high stakes or consequences for not achieving a goal, individuals can motivate themselves to work harder to avoid the negative outcome.

What role does scheduling play in productivity according to the speaker?

Scheduling plays a crucial role in productivity as it helps individuals plan their time effectively, prioritize tasks, and create a life by design rather than by default. Honoring the scheduled time for tasks ensures that important activities are completed.

Why is it recommended to turn off all notifications on your phone to improve productivity?

Turning off all notifications on your phone helps improve productivity by reducing distractions and allowing individuals to focus deeply on their work without being interrupted by constant alerts from apps and messages.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Boost Productivity with Speed and Automation

The speaker emphasizes increasing cycle time as a key productivity hack. They share a personal experience with copywriters where one's efficiency was significantly higher due to the use of hotkeys and not relying on a mouse. The speaker suggests increasing mouse speed and listening to audio playbacks at faster speeds to enhance learning. They recommend learning to type efficiently, using hotkeys for email and productivity tools to reduce manual work. An advanced tip is to automate tasks using AI tools like Zapier to create workflows and reduce repetitive tasks. The goal is to increase output speed and efficiency without additional costs.

05:01

⏹️ Creating a 'Stop Doing' List to Focus on Strengths

The speaker introduces the concept of the 9010 principle, suggesting that 10% of work leads to 90% of results. They recommend identifying and focusing on personal strengths while delegating weaknesses to others who excel in those areas. The speaker shares personal vices they've eliminated to create space for productivity and suggests finding people who enjoy tasks one dislikes. They also propose creating a 'stop doing' list by reviewing the past six months of activities and identifying those that were unproductive or undesirable, aiming to avoid them in the future.

10:02

⏰ Creating Urgency and Time Blocks for Focus

The speaker discusses the importance of creating urgency for tasks to overcome procrastination. They share personal strategies such as setting earlier deadlines and using time blocking with Pomodoro techniques to maintain focus. The speaker highlights the benefits of having clear blocks of time dedicated to specific projects, which helps in overcoming ADHD and maintaining creativity. They also stress the importance of not waiting until the last minute to start important tasks to reduce stress and increase productivity.

15:04

🤝 Committing to Others for Accountability

The speaker shares their experience of committing to others to enhance productivity. They recount writing a book with the help of a 'book CEO', a writing partner, and an editor, which increased accountability and made the process enjoyable. The speaker suggests collaborating with others even without financial resources, using strategies like joint working sessions. They emphasize that people are more likely to follow through on commitments to others rather than to themselves, using the example of taking care of a sick pet versus self-care.

20:05

🔋 Scheduling Time to Recharge for Continuous Productivity

The speaker admits to previously working extreme hours without rest, leading to burnout. They now prioritize rest and recharge time, recognizing the importance of a balanced approach to work and relaxation. The speaker explains the concept of different bodily systems needing both stress and relaxation to function optimally. They have set boundaries for work hours and ensure to take time for activities that recharge them, such as using a hot tub to brainstorm or reconnecting with friends. The speaker argues that taking time off, like vacations, leads to increased productivity and better relationships with team members and family.

🌅 The Power of Waking Up Early for Enhanced Productivity

The speaker argues that early risers tend to be more successful and suggests waking up earlier than usual to connect with a unique energy. They share their personal routine of waking up at 4:00 a.m. to work on deep and creative tasks without distractions. The speaker recommends starting with 15 minutes earlier each week to adjust to waking up early and experiencing increased productivity and idea generation during the quiet morning hours.

🐸 Eating the Frog: Tackle the Most Important Task First

The speaker discusses the concept of 'eating the frog', which means doing the most important and often most daunting task first. They suggest starting the day with the leading domino task that will set the tone for the rest of the day. The speaker recommends making a list of big tasks and tackling them as quickly as possible to build momentum and complete the day feeling accomplished. They also suggest doing the most important task first thing in the morning to ensure it gets done.

🌊 Following Your Energy Flow for Optimal Task Management

The speaker explains the importance of understanding and following one's natural energy flow throughout the day to match tasks with the appropriate energy levels. They describe their own routine of doing creative tasks in the morning and saving meetings and content creation for later in the day. The speaker suggests mapping out tasks according to when one's energy is highest for optimal productivity and efficiency.

💪 Creating a 'Run Away From' Motivator to Drive Productivity

The speaker discusses the human tendency to avoid pain more than the desire to gain pleasure. They suggest creating a high-stakes scenario to motivate action, using their own experience of entering a fitness competition as an example. The speaker encourages setting significant downsides for not achieving goals to drive productivity and suggests creative ways to use this strategy, such as making public commitments or setting embarrassing consequences.

🥕 Using the 'Carrot on a Stick' to Double Motivation

The speaker advises implementing rewards for achieving goals to increase motivation. They share their personal experience of training for an Iron Man and using a family vacation as an incentive. The speaker suggests involving others in the reward system to create positive peer pressure and support. They emphasize that people are more likely to achieve goals when there is a reward involved, especially if it benefits not just themselves but also their friends and family.

📅 Honoring Your Schedule to Build a Life by Design

The speaker correlates net worth with the ability to schedule time effectively. They suggest planning and putting tasks into a calendar to create a life by design rather than by default. The speaker recommends putting important tasks into the calendar first and honoring that schedule. They discuss Parkinson's Law, which states that work expands to fill the time allocated, and suggest using this understanding to build momentum and discipline by keeping commitments to oneself.

🔕 Turning Off Notifications for Deep Focus and Productivity

The speaker argues that turning off notifications on one's phone is crucial for deep focus and productivity. They share a story of an employee who was always immediately responsive but suggested batching responses to stay focused. The speaker advises against the illusion of productivity that comes from constantly responding to messages and instead recommends setting aside specific time to handle notifications. They emphasize that focus is more valuable than immediate responses to notifications and that batching can lead to significant productivity gains.

Keywords

💡Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficiency of an individual or system in converting inputs into desired outputs. In the video's context, it is the central theme, focusing on strategies to optimize personal efficiency. The speaker shares personal anecdotes and tips on how to increase productivity, such as increasing cycle time and creating urgency.

💡Cycle Time

Cycle time is the duration required to complete one full cycle of a process. In the video, the speaker emphasizes increasing cycle time to boost productivity, exemplified by a copywriter who types with all ten fingers using hotkeys, thus completing tasks faster than others.

💡Hotkeys

Hotkeys are keyboard shortcuts that are efficient alternatives to using a mouse, intended to speed up routine computing tasks. The video uses the example of a productive copywriter who exclusively uses hotkeys, avoiding the mouse to enhance their work speed.

💡Stop Doing List

A stop doing list is a concept where one identifies and ceases activities that do not add value or detract from productivity. The video speaker introduces this as a method to focus on high-impact tasks, citing the '9010 principle' and personal vices as examples.

💡Urgency

Urgency is the perception of something that needs immediate attention or action. The video discusses creating a sense of urgency to enhance productivity, such as setting earlier deadlines to foster focused creativity and preparation.

💡Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that involves breaking work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. The video speaker uses this technique to maintain focus and productivity, especially when overcoming ADHD.

💡Accountability

Accountability is the state of being responsible for one's actions or decisions. In the video, the speaker finds productivity benefits in committing to others, such as hiring a 'book CEO' to ensure completion of tasks and maintain accountability.

💡Recharge

Recharge refers to the act of恢复活力 or regaining energy. The video speaker stresses the importance of scheduling time to recharge to maintain sustainable productivity and prevent burnout, which aligns with the idea of work-life balance.

💡Early Rising

Early rising is the practice of waking up early in the morning. The video suggests that early risers tend to be more productive, as they can accomplish tasks in a quieter, less distracted environment, which is exemplified by the speaker's own routine.

💡Eat the Frog

Eating the frog is a metaphor for tackling the most challenging or least desirable task first. The video recommends this approach to ensure that the most important tasks are completed with the highest energy levels, as suggested by Brian Tracy's同名书籍.

💡Energy Flow

Energy flow pertains to the natural rhythm of one's energy levels throughout the day. The video speaker advises aligning tasks with one's personal energy flow to optimize productivity, such as scheduling creative tasks during peak energy times.

Highlights

Increase your cycle time by typing faster and using hotkeys.

Listen to audio playbacks at faster speeds to increase learning efficiency.

Learn to type and use hotkeys for email and productivity tools to reduce manual work.

Implement AI automation to streamline workflows and free up time.

Create a 'stop doing' list to eliminate unproductive activities.

Focus on your strengths and delegate or avoid tasks you dislike.

Avoid vices and find people who excel at tasks you struggle with.

Establish urgency by setting earlier deadlines for tasks.

Use the Pomodoro Technique to maintain focus and productivity.

Commit to others to increase accountability and motivation.

Schedule time to recharge and avoid burnout.

Wake up early to gain an advantage in productivity.

Eat the frog by tackling the most important task first each day.

Follow your energy flow to schedule tasks when you're most alert.

Create a strong incentive to avoid, such as public embarrassment, to drive productivity.

Set up rewards for achieving goals to double your motivation.

Honor your calendar and treat scheduled time as non-negotiable.

Turn off all notifications on your phone to maintain focus.

Transcripts

I'm going to share with you the 12 hacks

that keep me insanely productive 99% of

every day these strategies will allow

the top 1% to get more done in a day

than most people get done in a week

they're what I use despite having

crippling ADHD to become a millionaire

by age 27 sell three companies and build

$100 million business Empire so without

further explaining it these are the 12

ways to be more productive that cost

nothing the first hack is to increase

your cycle time a couple of years ago I

was hiring a bunch of copywriters and I

noticed that one of them was 10 times

more productive than the other two it

was interesting cuz eventually I ended

up meeting up with them for a work

session and I saw one copywriter type

with all 10 figures using hot keys while

the others just type with two fingers

like fifth graders it never occurred to

me that a copywriter wouldn't know how

to type the person who is 10 times more

productive they also never touched their

Mouse they were using hot Keys the whole

time which made their output be that

much faster the first rule of

productivity is to just get faster at

the thing you're doing increase the

speed of your mouse if you go in there

and just fast forward the speed of your

mouse it might feel weird at first but

you'll eventually get used to it

listening to playbacks on any type of

audio put it at 1.5 2x just gets faster

learning how to type taking typing

classes typing.com learning the hotkeys

for your email tool your productivity

tool to make sure that everything is

just one keyboard click away from

getting done an advanced version would

be automation with AI think zapier or

other tools like it where you can plug

into workflows and use the AI to

understand what your manual ually doing

for it to process it and automate the

whole thing so you never have to touch

that work again it could be everything

from processing comments on your social

media to connecting your inbox so that

once a day maybe twice a day you get a

summary of all your emails using AI to

figure out which ones are high priority

which one are low with even recommended

text to reply to those emails learning

how to automate and increase workflow

and be productive cost you nothing but

improves the cycle time which brings us

to number two which is to make a stop

doing list when I'm speaking at a

Recovery Center or at a group home for

troubled youth I always allow the kids

to sit in my McLaren and often times

they ask so what do you actually do and

I usually respond with it's not what I

do it's what I don't do most of us are

doing things that take up our time and

we don't understand this core principle

called the 9010 principle it's 10% of

your work drives 90% of your results so

the key thing is to figure out what are

your strengths what are you great at

Double Down on those stop trying to

become great at something you hate do

enough so that it's not a deficit but

definitely don't spend all your time

trying to take something you hate doing

to try to make it something great when

you're good at something and go be world

class at it also look at all your vices

when I say it's what I don't do I don't

drink I don't hang out with my friends

and talk about other people I don't

gamble I don't Vape there's all the

stuff I don't do to create the space for

me to be more productive I'm also a big

fan of finding people that are good at

the things I'm bad at and love to do the

things I hate there's people out there

that literally play at things that I

consider work my bookkeeper she would

rather sit there and stare at a

spreadsheet and reconcile bank accounts

than anything else I would hate to do

that I'd rather be on the phone talking

to people I'd rather be at an event

presenting so just understanding there's

other people out there that could buy

back your time that could help you out

you can trade you can ask for favors

another idea is to actually make a list

of all the things that drain your energy

things that you did in the last 6 months

that you wish you wouldn't have done

make that list be clear and then ask

yourself in the future when those

opportunities come up I'm going to make

sure I immediately say no and it's as

simple as a no reviewing the last 6

months and deciding what things you did

that you would never want to do and put

that on the stop doing list is a good

strategy which brings us to number three

which is to create urgency I don't know

if you can relate but I'm the kind of

guy back in the day where I would wait

till the last minute to work on a big

project either homework for school or

big presentation at my work so that I

created a sense of urgency to get it

done I used to tell myself some weird

line about like oh that's when I'm most

creative when I have pressure on myself

but it turned out it made it really bad

for everybody else in my life it meant I

didn't prepare and it just created a lot

of emotional shrapnel that didn't need

to exist this is exactly how I do it

today first off is I set an earlier

deadline for completion I know I'm

making this up in my head that's fine

whatever is the due date I make the date

sometimes 2 weeks before why because I

just want that urgency to focus my

creativity that allows me to come

prepared to all these big events in my

life if it's prepping for a podcast I'm

going on or working on my book deadlines

or whatever it is is I'd rather have the

date way sooner that it's needed so that

I also have the breathing room to be

more creative and more inspired another

strategy I love to use is to block time

in my calendar usually about 90 minutes

per project and what I'll do is I'll set

a timer I like to use a Pomodoro Timer

which is 25 minutes of focused work and

then 5 minutes off to refresh to use the

bathroom to get some water and then it

goes off and I'm back at it again

whatever project I'm working on if I put

that block time those 90 minutes in my

calendar and I do three sessions of that

Pomodoro it helps me overcome my ADHD it

focuses is me and because the timer is

counting down it's like every 5 minutes

I'm like how much did I get done how

much did I get done it's almost up it's

almost up and it just focus me to get

the most work and makes me more creative

and more resourceful and doesn't waste

my time which brings us to number four

which is to commit to others this one

very few people use and it's one that I

use almost on a daily basis I remember

when I was writing my book I tried three

times the first time I sat down and said

oh I'm going to commit to writing every

morning and for 3 weeks I sat there and

I wrote and I wrote and I had no process

and no purpose and honestly I didn't

even know what the book was going to be

about then I tried again and I figured

you know what maybe I should do this

different and I had a friend help me out

with the outline but the problem was I

was still doing it on my own by the time

I gave it my third shot I realized I

need somebody else to be committed to so

first thing is I hired a person that

became my book CEO this person managed

me as the talent to be accountable to

them second is I hired another writing

partner that way I had somebody that was

waiting for me on my writing and then I

also had somebody that was an editor

where we would schedule time together to

review the work as a team and on that

call we would do the work of writing the

book without that I probably wouldn't

have created the type of work I did

because having somebody else that is a

co-creator a collaborator somebody to

bring different creative ideas it

actually made the whole process fun and

I now use that strategy in all the

different areas of my life from doing

paperwork I don't want to do to creative

ideation with some new content ideas

with my team to strategic planning

instead of doing it solo I always invite

one or two other people to collaborate

with even when I had no money I would

just call a friend and ask them if they

wanted to do like joint working sessions

sometimes we'd meet up at a coffee shop

other times we would just connect over

Zoom they have accountability to me

because I'm sharing my screen and then

we' just set a timer we check in with

each other and we just make sure that

hey whatever project we said we would

move forward we committed to that person

cuz it turns out you will do more for

other people than you'll ever do for

yourself just think about your dog I

mean if your dog's sick you're like the

world stops and we get that dog healed

up and all the medication we give 100%

completion of whatever pills the doctor

says whereas for you you will go long

periods of time sometimes not feeling

good without ever taking care yourself

let alone if you get medication maybe

you'll finish 60 70% of it so understand

committing to other people is actually a

very powerful tool to keep us focused

and be really accountable which brings

us to number five which is the schedule

time to recharge I'm not proud of this

but I used to be the person that would

work a 100 hour weeks I would just get

up crank ignore everything else ignore

my health ignore my friends ignore my

relation relationships because I was

just doing whatever I could to try to be

successful and it did create momentum

the challenge is it also created bad

momentum because I didn't take the time

to recharge to reset and the energy was

frantic which means there was no space

for what I call step functions of growth

ideas so now I have a completely

different approach and here's how I

think about it just like I have blocked

time for work I also have blocked time

for rest see the magic that I've

discovered is in the reset we are one

creative idea away from having our whole

life change think about it could be that

book idea it could be that idea to call

a friend could be a conversation with

somebody that you didn't even plan and

what I've discovered is the world works

this way there's two different systems

no matter who you are think about the

ying and yang there's a sympathetic

system which is fight ORF flight and

then there's the parasympathetic system

which is to relax and to chill out

there's the anabolic system which takes

protein to build muscle and then there's

a catabolic system that eats the protein

there's UST stress and then there's

distress UST stress is when you decide

to do something hard and you push on the

World to Change and distress is when you

feel like the world is pushing on you

and it makes it hard understanding that

if you want to be the most productive

the most creative the most expansive

that you have to have some push and also

some time to pull some drive and also

some reset I now have cut off time for

when I finish my work because I know my

brain's not going to work well after

that no good decisions going to be made

and I also understand how my body and my

energy flows so for example I'll go sit

in the hot tub and just sit there on my

phone and outline new video ideas or

reach out to friends I haven't seen in a

while or think about creative ideas of

things I might want to do over the next

6 months it's understanding that you

can't always be going charge charge

charge because it's actually in the

reset where you create the space that

makes the creativity and the big needle

moving decisions come to life I've

learned over the years that vacations

make me a better person for my team for

my family so when I go away and I go

mountain biking with my friends or I

take my family and we go to somewhere is

when I come back I just feel energized I

feel that I've got more life to give

other people and it turns out that if

you're building businesses with other

people you have Partners you have

customers you have vendors those

conversations are going to be a lot more

fun when you've reset yourself you've

new energy you're recharged to attack

your work I think most people feel

guilty taking time off they think

anytime I'm not working or I'm not

showing up for my team that I'm just one

second away where something massive is

going to implode on my life and it makes

it really hard for them to unplug where

the opposite is actually true it's kind

of like a pressure cooker if you work

100 hours a week and you don't take any

time off eventually that pressure cooker

is going to overflow and you may think

that you're good but your body will

start going into adrenal fatigue you'll

have anxiety attacks I've seen people

break out into shingles they've got

these little sore spots that start

breaking out on their skin and that's

literally their body telling them they

have not reset they've not created any

self-care in their life you can't

Redline your body Non-Stop and it not be

upset with you productivity is being

able to stay consistent for long periods

of time without having to reset because

you went too far which brings us to

number six which is to wake up early

this one is going to be controversial

but early risers make more money period

full stop if you look at any person

that's ever succeeded from Church Hill

to you know Steve Jobs they get up

earlier than most people now I'm not

saying you have to join the 500 a.m.

Club but I'm not saying you shouldn't if

you're getting up at 8:30 9:00 you might

want to consider changing your whole day

to start earlier because when you can

get up before everybody else does you

will be connected to an energy that very

few people ever experien there's

actually a spiritual concept around the

4:00 a.m. time frame now you don't have

to get up that early but you should at

some point try it out and really attack

the work do creative things I get 4

hours every day from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00

a.m. where I get some very deep work

some creative projects to really move my

dreams and goals forward because I'm up

that early does that mean I go to bed

early yep I do I'd rather wake up early

connected to my Creator and really plug

in to the availability of the world

because everybody else is sleeping it's

like a different brain wave that's going

on it's quiet nobody's interrupting me

no distractions then not have that

massive boost in productivity and it

carries it on for the rest of the day

getting up early is productivity 101 so

just start with 15 minutes every week

just a little bit earlier a little bit

earlier you'll reset the clock and one

day you'll realize man this isn't even

hard anymore just who you are in those

morning hours you will come up with

ideas that will transform your whole

life which brings us to number seven

which is to eat that frog now there's a

whole book on this by Brian Tracy so

it's not a New Concept but most people

tend to mess this up all the time

essentially before you do anything do

the most important thing I always think

about the leading Domino what's the most

important project typically the thing I

least want to do but I know if I do that

first that it's going to set me up for

the rest of the day essentially it's the

project that is is going to guarantee me

success Marketing sales focused Revenue

driven opportunities for you to get in

front of new people so anything that

kind of gives you angst but it's a

meaningful project I want you to start

with that first it might be working out

cuz that's hard for you it could be

reading a book it could be reaching out

to people it could be learning a new

language whatever you need to do to

really upgrade your life you want to

start with that in the morning so that

you build that momentum for the rest of

the day for some people they'll just

make a list of all their big task for

the day and as soon as they're done it

they'll just call their day complete and

I like that idea too so just make a list

and as fast as you can get through

everything eventually your day is done

and then you can do whatever you want

with the rest of it but eat that frog

first it might be to get 1 hour of

studying for that big test send out

emails to people you've been meaning to

connect with those cold calls obviously

time zones matter but you just want to

get the hardest thing the biggest rock

the Frog eaten first do it first thing

in the morning most people like put off

the thing because they want to get ready

to start it's like I'm not ready I need

my coffee I need my energy I need this I

need my crystals I need my Tim yeah you

need some stuff but just start the work

there's no better answer than just doing

the thing which brings us to number

eight which is to follow your energy

flow I used to be the person that would

take meetings all the time if somebody

can only meet at 8:00 a.m. okay let's

talk then or if I had to create some

content it's like when can I fit it into

my schedule and it's like all right end

of the day 4:30 I guess that's all I got

30 minutes the challenge is it turns out

that the energy that I have throughout

my day shifts and changes and the type

of energy I need for certain types of

work is different and if I mix them up

then those tasks those projects are not

going to get the best version of me I

look at how my energy is going to flow

from the early morning to the late

morning to the lunch to the early

afternoon to the late afternoon and I

map the activities or the projects to

that so for example for me I start my

day with creative tasks things that

require kind of uh unique perspectives

ideation outlining stuff writing

creating designing that is my morning

I'm super blessed to be able to do all

of that before I ever have a meeting

usually not till 11:00 a.m. throughout

the day so I put me first my big

projects first and then I put all of my

conversations Etc in the afternoon if I

got to create content I like to do it

right after I work out why there's

something about getting a workout in and

then going to shoot content where I feel

really good about how I'm feeling and

how it comes across on the camera

everybody's different I'm more of a

morning person other people people might

be a night person I had little kids that

became human alarm clocks so I had to

restructure my whole day but knowing

your energy how it flows for you in

batching those projects that require

that energy together will change your

productivity overnight which brings us

to number nine which is a create

something to run away from whether you

believe this or not most people do more

to avoid pain than to gain pleasure so

this is just how we're wired as humans

we're always trying to look for the

danger out in the world and try to avoid

it so if you make up some kind of thing

to avoid it will Propel you forward

because you're trying not to experience

that so for example when I wanted to

lose 30 lb in 90 days I created some

Stakes I created the downside if I

didn't achieve that goal and for me I

chose to enter in a fitness competition

as I would look no shaving chest No Tan

no super lean I just wherever that

competition was if I didn't hit my goal

immediately entry immediately on stage

all my friends watching recorded for

life that was the Stak so do you think

that I didn't hit that goal or I

absolutely crushed it I mean the stakes

were so high I had something to avoid to

run away from using this idea for

yourself strategically is the most

productive thing you could do maybe

there's a political campaign you would

hate to donate to and if you don't hit

your timeline you don't hit your goal

you have to donate $500 ,000 to that

political campaign and like really honor

it and follow through with it I mean

some people if they were trying to get

healthy just the commitment to

themselves that they will publish a

photo of themselves in their underwear

on their social media is enough fear of

embarrassment to run away from to go get

that result so just think about it for

yourself I think that if I want to be

productive I need a downside thing to

avoid to drive away from to get my

result which brings us to number 10

which is to get a carrot on the stick

this is essentially the opposite of my

previous point this way you'll double

your motivation think about it if

there's a stake or something at risk if

I don't hit it what's my reward if I do

hit it implementing rewards for your

goals is a game Cher when it comes to

being productive when I was training for

my Iron Man I had a family vacation on

the line if I didn't finish the Iron Man

so I told my wife when we were out

eating at a restaurant do you think she

asked me if I wanted dessert no she's

like you have to train tomorrow when I

told her I had to get up early with a

bunch of friends did she give me a hard

time no because she knew what was on the

line even enrolling other people to that

reward will help them create positive

peer pressure on you to achieve that

outcome in those situations I like to

create it where it's not just a reward

for me but it's a reward for my family

for my team members for my friends so

that they get behind supporting me on my

goal and it always comes back that

you'll always do more for other people

than you'll ever do for yourself so

create the reward that helps them as

well so that everybody wins which brings

us to number 11 which is to honor your

schedule I can directly correlate

someone's net worth to the increment of

time they schedule into their their

calendar it's bananas to me most people

do not plan do not put things in their

calendar every day is an opportunity for

I don't know whatever I feel like or

every week is I don't know whatever

happens and it's crazy because it's the

difference between a Life by Design

versus a Life by default if you can just

understand that putting the big rocks

the Pebbles the sand into your calendar

first before the rest of the water and

the other demands on your time come in

will allow you to be more productive

than anybody else you know the key

though is is to honor the calendar not

contact switch not dismiss the

notification not pretend like it's not

there first thing in the morning for you

to attack but sometimes you're working

on something you didn't finish it so if

you didn't just move it to the next time

block maybe to the next day or maybe to

the afternoon one of my favorite

Concepts is this thing called

Parkinson's law I was just sharing it

with a friend the other day CU she asked

somebody to get something done and the

person said while get it done at the end

of the week I said why didn't you ask

for it to get done tomorrow they said

well I don't know I go well that's the

difference between 4 days in one day and

she's like I didn't want to be that

person I said well you could at least

asked Parkinson's law states the work

will expand to the time you allocate to

it and that's true for your calendar

it's true for other people momentum is

about stacking small wins so if you

start doing what you say when you're

going to do it is going to build that

confidence because you're keeping the

commitments you made to yourself in

private so build that discipline which

brings us to number 12 which is to turn

off all notifications on your phone some

of you guys are like no way Dan I'm not

not doing this and I'm going to tell you

there are professional PhD doctorate

employees working at all these tech

companies building all this software

that their only job is to distract you

and when I think of the most

unproductive thing you could possibly do

is allow the notifications the apps to

interrupt you when you are doing

something that you decided was important

to you just because somebody else

somewhere in the world sent you a

message your focus is worth more than

somebody else's notification remember

one time I was messaging with one of my

new employees and he would always reply

always reply always reply and I sat down

with them when our 101 and I shared with

them I said hey I love that you want to

be on top of things and respond to me

right away but that also tells me that

you're easily interrupted if you're

doing it with me you're probably doing

with other people which means I'm not

getting your best work because I'm not

getting your focus work your head's down

deep in the zone work so I'm going to

need you to batch those activities into

one block time so that if you need to

reply to me just sit down and look at

your all text messages and reply and

then get back to your next project most

people will never do this because they

are addicted to the dopamine hits of

those notifications but to do your best

work you have to get into Flow State and

to do that you need to get lost in your

work not distracted by those

notifications most people are on their

phone all day not working because it's

an illusion of productivity responding

to people's messages feels like you're

doing something but you're not getting

anything done you're staying busy but

you're not creating you're not producing

you're not pushing a project forward

you're just moving a bunch of

information it's not that it doesn't

have to get responded to but stacking

that and doing it on your own time

instead of allowing an app to bug you is

going to be a game changer for

productivity if you want to learn the 44

cheat codes I know at 44 that I wish I

knew at 24 click the link and I'll see

on the other side