The Single Most Useful Productivity Hack You Can Use In Less Than 2 Minutes Everyday
Okay, I hate "hacks."I'll be honest.They're usually taken out of context, oversimplified to suit every scenario, and don't actually move the needle.This one feels different, to me.
It's a little weird, so stick with me for a sec.
Gerunds.So, gerunds are those verbs that end in "-ing."
- Working.
- Planning.
- Compiling.
- Visioning.
- Assessing.
Etc. etc.
I see people use these works in their task list all the time.
"I'm going to be working on the report for our Atlanta warehouse, today."This is no good!
What does "working on" mean?
It has no clear beginning or end.It doesn't explain how much work will get done or when the whole task will be done.It just says "I'm busy."
We want to avoid being busy. We want to be productive.
A better task description would be:"I'm going to input the McKinsey report into our database so I can decide if we need to close the warehouse in Atlanta this week."Focus on what you will actually achieve, today. This is a core principle of the Agile Framework and it will keep you focused on discrete deliverables.And that's what productivity is all about.Small, incremental deliverables.
2 Minute Action
Review your task list for today.Use these 3 Questions to avoid the gerund trap.
- What did you achieve/finish yesterday?
- What will you achieve/finish today?
- Do you have any impediments or dependencies that might stop you from finishing, today?
You Should Cheat. Here’s Why . . .
You should cheat.The reality is that the problem your facing is probably not new.Someone, at some point in time, probably faced a problem just like this, already.
And we live in the most connected and intelligent society, to date.
So, spending time trying to figure it out by yourself, might not be the best option.Stealing someone else's solution is probably faster and will have better results--since it's already worked for someone before.As long as you're not breaking rules that hurt or undermine others: you're leveraging resources.It’s a shortcut.So what’s wrong with cheating?
2 Minute Action
What’s a problem you’re trying to solve right now?Can you spend 2 minutes looking for someone else’s solution?
How To Turn 200 Words Into A Book
Almost every one of these is around 200 words.Every post is small, readable, and only focuses on one thing.Every post is fine by itself, but together they are a track record of intention and action.I'm somewhere around a few hundred blog posts.Together, that's a book.
It didn't happen all at once, that's impossible.
It happened every day.Principle: Big hairy, audacious goals are actually made up of lots of small, achievable goals.
2 Minute Action
What's your book?How will you break it down into blog posts?Reply/Comment and let me know what you're working on.I'd love to help break it down into actionable pieces with you.