World's shortest productivity course, actually

Summary

This productivity course provides actionable techniques to help you achieve your goals. Start by defining your top 5 most important goals. Break them into daily and weekly tasks, and schedule time to complete them. Useful productivity hacks include planning your day the night before to reduce stress; the 'Jerry Seinfeld staring technique' to get focused when feeling uninspired; practicing deep work in 90 minute distraction-free sessions to maximize productivity; and reading books which research shows boosts critical thinking and problem solving abilities.

Takeaways

• 😀 Reflect on your goals before trying productivity hacks, or you may end up going nowhere fast
• 👍 Streamline your goals to the top 5 most important ones, like Warren Buffett advises
• 📅 Break big goals down into weekly and daily tasks to schedule them effectively
• 🗓️ Plan your day the night before to save time and reduce stress
• 😐 Use the Jerry Seinfeld blank staring technique when feeling uninspired
• 🧠 Apply deep work principles to maximize focus and productivity
• 📚 Reading books boosts focus, critical thinking and problem solving
• 📝 Journaling and meditating, when done right, are productivity gamechangers
• ✏️ Having clear goals and a schedule enables deep, distraction-free work
• 🏆 Applying these techniques can make you highly effective and productive

Q & A

Why is it important to write down your goals before trying productivity hacks?

Without clear goals you might find yourself going nowhere fast, even if you try all the productivity hacks. Writing down your goals helps you focus on what truly matters.

What does Warren Buffett advise us to do with our goals?

Warren Buffett advises us to circle our top 5 most important goals and toss aside the rest, so we can focus on the vital few instead of getting overwhelmed by too many goals.

How can breaking down your goals help with productivity?

Breaking down big goals into bite-sized weekly and daily tasks makes them more manageable and actionable. It's like prepping for game day.

Why is scheduling important for productivity?

Scheduling frees up mental energy from constantly deciding what to do next. Having a schedule with flexibility but consistent daily blocks is key.

What is the benefit of planning your day the night before?

Planning the next day in advance reduces stress and saves time wasted figuring out what to do. It eliminates uncertainty which is a productivity killer.

What is the Jerry Seinfeld staring technique?

When feeling unmotivated, stare at a blank wall or workspace for 5-10 minutes, doing nothing. This simple act can help beat creative ruts and get started.

What is deep work and why does it matter?

Deep work means concentrated, uninterrupted focus for around 90 minutes at a time. You get way more done through intense focus vs unfocused long hours.

How can reading books boost productivity?

Reading books boosts focus, critical thinking, and problem solving skills - all vital for productivity. It's an intense mental workout.

Should you completely avoid your phone while working?

It's best to ditch your phone entirely while doing deep work, even keeping it in another room. The notifications are too distracting and break concentration.

What are some key takeaways from this productivity advice?

Key takeaways include: write goals, focus on the vital few, schedule effectively, plan ahead, use deep focus, stare technique to beat ruts, and enhance mental skills with books.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Mastering Productivity: A Comprehensive Guide

The introduction highlights the extensive research and experimentation undertaken to create an effective productivity course, condensed into a concise format. It emphasizes the importance of setting clear goals as a foundational step towards productivity, illustrating this with an anecdote involving Warren Buffett's advice on prioritizing top goals. The narrative then guides the reader through practical strategies for goal achievement, including breaking down goals into manageable tasks, effective scheduling, and the significance of planning the day in advance. It introduces the Jerry Seinfeld technique for overcoming creative blocks and underscores the value of deep work, as advocated by Cal Newport, for enhanced focus and efficiency. The script also advocates for reading, journaling, and meditation as tools for cognitive enhancement and productivity, ultimately positioning the reader to achieve unparalleled productivity akin to Harvey Specter's prowess.

Keywords

💡Goals

Setting clear goals is emphasized as critical for productivity. Goals provide direction and prevent wasting time and energy. The video advises listing out yearly and longer term goals, then narrowing down to the top 5 most important.

💡Prioritization

Prioritizing the most critical goals out of a larger list is recommended, based on Warren Buffet's advice. This involves focusing on top priorities and minimizing distractions from secondary goals.

💡Scheduling

Creating a schedule with time blocks for important tasks is advised. Flexibility is still important in the schedule, but having set routines and non-negotiable task times is productive.

💡Planning

Planning each day in advance the night before is highlighted as an effective productivity technique. Planning reduces uncertainty and frees mental energy.

💡Jerry Seinfeld Technique

This involves staring at a blank space before starting work to boost motivation and focus when feeling uninspired. Named after Jerry Seinfeld's productivity tricks.

💡Deep Work

Working intensely without distraction in 90 minute blocks, based on the concept from author Cal Newport. Maximizes productivity and focus rather than long unfocused hours.

💡Reading

Reading books boosts focus, critical thinking and problem solving. It trains the brain even though some wrongly view reading as an unproductive pastime.

💡Journaling

Journaling is mentioned as wrongly viewed by some as an unproductive use of time. In fact it is a worthwhile activity for boosting productivity.

💡Meditation

Like journaling and reading, meditation is wrongly dismissed as wasting time by some people. Meditation in the right dosages boosts productivity.

💡Minimizing Distractions

Removing potential distractions like phone notifications during deep work blocks is advised to maximize focus and productivity.

Highlights

Start by reflecting on your goals to give direction and avoid going nowhere fast

Focus on your top 5 most important goals and ditch the rest to maximize time and energy

Break big goals down into specific weekly and daily tasks to make them actionable

Create a flexible schedule with at least 1-2 non-negotiable time blocks for important tasks

Plan tomorrow today to reduce stress and decision fatigue

When uninspired, stare into space for 5-10 minutes instead of grabbing your phone

Work in focused 90 minute blocks without distractions to maximize productivity

Leave your phone in another room while working to avoid disruptions

Find a comfortable, distraction-free zone to work in

Reading books boosts focus, critical thinking, and problem solving

Meditation, journaling and reading are not just fancy ways to waste time but boost productivity

Having clear goals, a schedule, focused work and planning sets you up for maximum productivity

Schedule your day ahead of time to reduce stress and decision fatigue

Find a quiet, distraction-free environment to focus

Books boost critical thinking, focus and problem solving

Transcripts

so you can't stay productive fear not

I'm here to help you with this no

productivity course which is

going to make you the Regina freaking

George of productivity to find out the

world's fetch productivity techniques I

spent the last 46 days pouring over

interviews reading thousands of Articles

reading six best sellers and

experimenting with the productivity

routines of the most renowned people in

the field 73 pages of notes later I made

this productivity course that actually

works under 6 minutes minimize all right

before you set up your desk ready to

work LLY on your six different side

hustles alongside University or that

good old 9 to-5 take a moment to reflect

on the goals you want to achieve I know

I know writing about your goals can

sometimes feel like productivity

masturbation right but trust me on this

it's worth every second even if it means

taking a breather for a couple of days

to jot them all down because you can try

all the productivity hacks Under the Sun

but without clear goals you might find

yourself going nowhere fast all right so

you've got your list yeah goals for this

year maybe even the next

now check this out we're bringing in the

big guns Warren Buffett the man himself

heard of him billionaire extraordinaire

Buffett hits his Pilot Mike Flint with

this productivity gem he's got Flint

listing off his top 25 career goals then

Buffett's like hey buddy Circle your top

five and toss the rest yeah you heard

that right Chuck him in the avoid at all

cost pile see what we're doing here

we're cutting through the noise focusing

on what truly matters so take a passage

from Buffett's Playbook and streamline

these goals trust me it's going to save

you a truckload of time and energy in

the long run make a schedule all right

so we've trimmed the fat right top five

goals locked in rest tossed aside now

let's dive a little deeper into the game

plan break down those big goals into

bite-sized pieces think of specific

weekly and daily tasks you need to do to

make those dreams a reality break it

down like you're prepping for a game day

so once you've got those tasks lined up

it's time to slot them into your daily

schedule think of time blocks keep it

real your schedule should be flexible

but with at least one or two not

non-negotiables for me it's simple

morning keyboard sessions for a couple

of hours and you'll catch me squeezing

in some exercises around 600 p.m. plan

your day William James the famous

psychologist is noted for saying that

habits and schedules are important

because they free our minds to advance

to really interesting fields of action

boy oh boy as humans we have a limited

amount of energy per day and we can't

afford to waste it deciding what to do

you need to plan your day the night

before to reduce stress most of the time

we waste time because we're unsure of

what needs to be done humans fear the

unknown planning your day the night

before is the single most effective

productivity hack that works every time

the Jerry Seinfeld technique so the next

day rolls around you wake up go through

your morning routine and plop down at

your desk but uh-oh you're feeling

uninspired and dreading the work ahead

now you've got two options staring you

at the face you could grab your phone

and start mindlessly scrolling or you

could do something a bit different just

stare yep stare at a blank wall or your

workspace for a good 5 to 10 minutes

doing absolutely nothing I found that

when I'm stuck in a the creative rud or

struggling to get started this simple

Act of blank screen staring makes me get

started it's called the Jerry Seinfeld

technique it works every time as long as

you don't get distracted by that pesky

phone of yours deep work you don't need

to work 8 to 9 hours to get things done

forget that mindset what you need is

deep work it's all about maximizing your

focus and productivity by working in

uninterrupted concentrated blocks of

time typically around 90 minutes each

you can get way more done in less time

if you work like that this is a concept

taken from Carl newport's book deep work

so in order to hit the Flow State first

off ditch that phone seriously leave it

in another room those notifications can

wait next up find yourself a comfortable

distraction free zone to work in I

prefer to go to the cafe down the street

where I get most work done read books

reading books isn't just for snobs it's

a legit productivity hack research from

experts like Daniel Goldman and Howard

Gardner back this up when you dive into

a book you're giving your brain a

serious workout boosting Focus critical

thinking and problem solving skills

don't you ever ever think that

journaling meditating and reading books

are just some fancy way to waste time

nah they're real deal when it comes to

boosting productivity sure some people

might go a bit overboard with them but

trust me when done right they're

absolute gamechangers so yeah by having

minimalistic goals scheduling your day

planning ahead and practicing deep focus

you'll be the Harvey Spectre of

productivity in no time so yeah that's

it for today