In this post I will attempt to prove to you my dear reader that you have all the tools for success. I will talk about the most effective way to be productive. What highly successful People do. How to be Successful in your career and life and how to find the time to do all that!
It is easy sometimes for us to forget that we all get the same 24 hours in the day. If this is the case, how can some people be a lot more productive than others? How do some people grow to be highly successful in their career and life while others continue living a mediocre life. How can some people Juggle 2 or 3 jobs or run a side hustle, while others can barely find time while working a regular 8 hours a day job.
Do you feel tired most evenings and would rather relax and watch some tv? Well you're not alone we are all geared toward doing things on the path of least resistance. Your body and your mind are geared to doing what is comfortable.
Success Formula Breakdown
Since we all have the same time in the day then the ability to be more productive and successful comes down to a few variables that i like to define in the following formula
Success = Hard work x Planning x Drive x Luck x Individual AdvantageHard work : The Raw effort we put in
Planning : Your strategy to success
Drive : That invisible force that makes the difference between winning the Olympics or being just another athlete
Luck : Being at the right place at the right time, opportunity...
Individual Advantage: Intelligence, Connections, Money...
Out of these 5 variables Luck and Individual Advantage are the only two we don't have control over and while they are great to have, 80% of the success comes from the other variables.
Optimizing For Success
We've now established that we all have the same hours in the day and 3 variables from the success formula is under our control. In this section we'll dig deeper and see how these variables can be optimized for success
Your Biggest challenge is battling time and resistance from yourself. There's a reason there are thousands of quotes about time including the infamous
Time is gold
Most of us always feel like we just don't have the time. We are busy with family, friends, kids, or whatever else you can think of. In reality most of us do really have the time but we are wasting it. At any point in time we are doing what we want to do the most. I've had days go by at times where I didn't want to do anything productive and I acknowledge that its because I wanted to not because I didn't have time
So say I've convinced you so far that you do have the time and you are willing to put the work in and you primed yourself with the right drive and motivation. This leaves you with Planning.
In order for you to be successful you must first figure out what success means for you. What goals you want to achieve? Whether its financial independence or Being the best at what you do or learning a musical instrument
List and prioritize 3 Goals you want to achieve and break those goals down intro increments. Our mind is geared toward quick rewards if you have a long running goal you can get demotivated from the start. Think in milestones and reward yourself for reaching milestones. Our mind resists things outside our comfort zone where you might fail or face challenges. The bigger that resistance the more important that thing is for you. Acknowledge that fear and proceed. Sometimes you wont be feeling it. Force yourself to start on the task for 2 minutes and most of the time once you start you'll keep going.
Optimizing yourself for productivity and health
Once you set your goals and start working on them the following tips will help you stay on track and stay healthy through this journey
Wake up Early
Most Highly successful Business Leaders wake up at 4/5 AM but they don't wake up at this hour to work
In the 5 am club Robin Sharma talks about utilizing that morning time to develop a routine that helps you start the day on the right foot with the 20 x 20 x 20 rule You should spend the first hours of your wake up time
- Exercising - 20 min
- Journaling / Meditating - 20 min
- Reading / Learning - 20 min
I've been implementing this routine in my life and while it is difficult to wake up at 5 am at the beginning, just like any new habit with time it becomes easy. I found that this morning routine grounded me and boosted my productivity significantly.
When you wake up this early and start the day on the right food you get to exercise, journal (generate ideas), and read. These are 3 things our society doesn't have time for anymore. You will be able to do these 3 things consistently and not worry about life getting in the way.
By 6 AM you have accomplished more than 99% of the population. you can now start your day and eventually get to work when you are ready instead of being rushed. There's a lot more important topics discussed in this book outside the scope of this article. Definitely give it a read!
Develop New Habits
Rome wasn't built in a day
We all have habits that wastes our time. Distractions from social media or TV. By being mindful about these habits we can start to reduce them incrementally and introduce no productive ones.We can reduce our idle time and become mindful about how we spend our time.
While small changes on their own might not seem like much together and over time these new habits have a compounding factor that lead to great achievements and success. There's great book on the Subject called Atomic habits I highly recommend you read
