Plus a free productivity worksheet
Happy New Year! For a lot of us, a new year means a new start. Maybe you felt a little stuck in 2017, like your days weren’t adding up to the life you really wanted.
I can relate. Not that many years ago, I was stuck too. I’d put two books on the New York Times bestsellers list, but the days of sitting down at a coffee shop and easily firing off words seemed long gone. Instead, I’d become a horrible procrastinator. The process of writing a book was taking years instead of months. And worse, writing had become a chore rather than a positive work habit.
I thought the problem was with me. But as I researched procrastination, I realized the problem was in how I was structuring my day.
It turns out, the brain works like a muscle, growing weary and weaker with use. I needed a new way to structure my day so I was getting the most out of my mind when my mind was the strongest.
So I came up with a tool to help me manage my mental energy, and in turn, my day. I filled out this one sheet every morning for 30 days to see what would happen.
The result? Within four months I’d finished a new book. No kidding. That’s the fastest I’ve ever written a book.
If you struggle with productivity and procrastination, try this system for 30 days. It won’t take you more than 10-15 minutes each day, but it will unlock new levels of energy and focus you didn’t know you had.
If you do this 30 times, you’ll develop new habits, become more productive, overcome procrastination, and complete projects that have been gathering dust.
As a business leader, you’ll find that getting clear about your days will help you streamline your processes at work and focus on the tasks that will truly move the needle for your business.
Ready? Download the free productivity PDF and let’s get started.
- If I could live today over again I’d…
In this first section, ask yourself what would happen if you could “live today over again.” This idea was first proposed by Dr. Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychologist who worked with depressed and suicidal patients. Asking them to consider “what they’d do differently the first time around” was a mental trick that allowed them to assess what was really important and learn from their mistakes even before they made them.
Asking yourself this simple but profound question will keep you from getting caught up in trivial problems. It will allow you to focus more on what really matters instead of just “the stuff” that has to get done.
- Things I get to enjoy today
Dr. Neil Fiore has spent decades studying why we tend to put off our work. When he had his clients make a list of all the enjoyable things they got to do later in the day, they were more likely to get their work done. Why? Because they knew they weren’t going to miss out on the fun stuff.
In this section, make a list of …