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Massive action, ruthless focus, zero quit: the productivity playbook 🎯 Wednesday Win
Published 2 months ago • 4 min read
Let's get honest. You want to crush your goals this year, but that path from here to there isn't always easy to see. You need to ramp up your pace and fast. But massive growth in productivity isn’t just about doing more. It’s about doing what matters, and delivering with less effort instead of more. But how?
There are three essential components and one key requirement that drives sustained, meaningful accelerating growth in productivity and results. Let's set the stage and explore how you can put these to work for you today:
1. You need a narrow focus
There is nothing more damaging to our output than context switching. We live in a life filled with distraction opportunities. Every manner of entertainment, news, information, and interruption of focus is at our fingertips and all around us. But we must find focus and flow to make real progress.
The key is not trying to work on multiple tasks at once. Pick your priorities and get hyper-focused on that one essential task for that moment. Work it to completion or until you've reached the allotted time for that activity. Resist the urge to interrupt yourself and put up whatever resistance you need to stop others from breaking your concentration.
One-Task-at-a-Time. It's the only way to complete deep thought work.
Our brains don't allow multi-tasking; they must switch and reset each time
Sustained concentration brings our full mental resources to the task at hand
Tackle items in a sequence rather than in an unplanned jumble each day
Prioritize, choose, execute, complete, and only then move on to the next item
2. Maintain a big picture vision
Now, there is one risk to our extreme focus on only one item at a time. If we don't prioritize well and consider the interconnectedness of all of our work, we run the risk of building a most perfect road that leads us nowhere we want to go.
Highly productive leaders develop the essential ability to build a map so that each task and project fits on the road that leads to their goals. You too must develop the ability to maintain a sense of the big picture and long-term plan without letting the future tasks disrupt your focus on the current priority.
One easy way to do this: take time to reflect and plan between periods of intense and focused work. Take a few minutes at the start of each day, an hour or two at the end of each week, and several hours each month and quarter to sketch out your work plans, align your tasks to that plan, and prepare for any contingencies.
Don't loose sight of the big picture
But also be sure not to be distracted by tasks not yet ready or available for your attention
Take time to reflect so that you stay on track for your goals while you are powering through key tasks
Step back from time to time to review the short-, mid-, and long-term targets for your work
Work on one thing, but know where each fits in the big picture.
3. Be hyper-committed to working through challenges
Not everything will develop as you planned. Others will disappoint, undermine, or just disappear sometimes. Eventually, you will face unpleasant challenges and you should be prepared in advance to face them.
Do not wish for fewer problems, but instead seek to develop more skills. Leverage training, education, peers, leaders, past teachers, and other practitioners. Find a way to get through the inevitable challenges and keep making progress.
The strength for this comes from preparation, planning, and habit. See yourself as the kind of person who doesn't get derailed by negative surprises and increasingly, will be true.
You will be challenged; don't be surprised by the unexpected
Recognize that disrupted plans are part of the path to any meaningful success
While your plans may be upset, take advantage of the planning you've done to find new pathways
Build positive habits to help you through the disruptions
Get organized, get moving, and don't let barriers hold you back.
4. The ultimate superpower? Refuse to quit
When you are working with focus, mindful of but not distracted by the long-term priorities, and putting in sustained effort, you still have one final rule you must follow. You must not quit.
This may seem obvious, but it is the essential element that is violated by most. You want to be in command and outstanding? Great. Keep working.
Yes, there are projects or specific tasks that sometimes prove to be either too hard, too costly, or just not useful enough to complete. But overall, if you have set a proper goal for yourself, you must see through to the end and achieve it!
Commit today and everyday to achieving that priority in your life. Do the work. Stay on track. Do not give up.
You have not failed as long as you are still pursuing your goal
You will want to quit. Maybe often. Don't do it
Be resilient and unreasonably committed
No matter what challenge you face, others have had it worse; don't give up; continue on the path.
Action Summary
You can perform at a much higher level. Believe in yourself and bring an unprecedented level of commitment and you'll be shocked at how much progress you can make and how fast.
Keep the principles in mind and structure your days to optimize your sustained focus.
Take highly focused action
Remain grounded in the long-term, complete view
Be relentless in solving challenges
Refuse to quit
A final note
Ultimately, as Jim Rohn said, "to have more, you must become more." These are hard lessons to learn and living up to these standards will take sustained effort over time.
But the rewards are great in return.
There is some good news for the journey, though. Through the sustained pursuit of excellence, you will build new skills, develop better relationships, and change your mind to help you deliver more.
Recall the pyramid of competence and know that you are climbing the ladder when you commit to this kind of growth. Stick with it. It's worth it.
Keep the discipline and it will get easier and easier to deliver.
What do you think? How to delivery on your highest and greatest challenges? Reply to this email and let me know.
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