10 (+1) Keys to making the most of your 24 hours
Someone was commenting on the number of things I have going on (farming, podcasting, coaching, career, writing, etc.); the comment came in the form of a question, “Do you sleep?”
Answer, “Yes, I aim for 7 hours a night.” Which means I still have 17 hours each day to get stuff done.
The Top Ten
Here are 10 (plus 1) things you can do to make the most of your time and accomplish many impactful things. I promise there are unique ideas on this list.
#1 Focus on outcomes over output - I will maintain the perspective that results matter most until I meet a business executive who tells me they would prefer a person who does 100 things that produce a total of X over a person who produces 10X, even if that means that person is doing noticeably less.
Most of the time, we become overcommitted for one of three reasons.
The First, we believe that we can do a bunch of things that will each produce 10X.
Second, the things we are doing aren’t delivering X so we are trying to make up the difference.
Third, check out #11 below.
This one is first because if you aren’t achieving meaningful things that are delivering value fix that first.
Alternative Action: Do fewer things but do them all with excellence. The ones that deliver the greatest outcomes.
To do that you must…
#2 Establish a firm no - have a plan for what to say no to. Say no to things on that list. Then, limit how often you look back. Looking back slows forward progress. Occasionally evaluate your “no” list criteria in case circumstances have changed and, therefore, your list should change going forward.
Alternative Action: Evaluate the criteria for no, not individual decisions you already said no to.
You know what to say yes or no to when…
#3 You have a plan and goals. This is the first thing chronologically, but the story is better when I placed it here. You can’t know what to say no to, what outcomes are most important, or what to delegate if you don’t know where you are going, why it is essential to get there, what success looks like when you get there, or what actions you need to take to get there in the wisest way.
Alternative Action: Waking up every day and “just doing it” makes you busy not productive. Do intentional things not everything.
I slipped in above that to maximize what you get done; you need to rely on others…
#4 Share the load (delegate or ask for help) This is about leveraging your strengths, not trying to overcome your weaknesses. There are things that you (me) suck at. I know that. I am comfortable with my limits. I try to share tasks with others who are good at the things I suck at. I will also delegate work to people that I believe can become greater than me, even at the things I am good at.
Alternative Action: Help others become great. Let others help you achieve greatness. When multiple people are chasing greatness together it increases the odds of achieving it.
Greatness doesn’t usually happen all at once, so…
#5 It would be best if you prioritized progress over perfection. Forward movement with intention and purpose is better than no movement. I wrote in-depth on this one here, or a video is here.
You also can’t achieve sustained greatness when you don’t…
#6 Prioritize refreshing yourself. Another one I have written about before. Check it out here. You need to create energy to spend energy. It is best to create in advance, not after you run out of energy.
Alternative Action: People energize in different ways; figure out what it looks like for you, then do it every day.
And I promise you will run out of energy faster if you don’t…
#7 Wake up early (or go to bed late). We all get 24 hours. Everyone has the same amount. You don’t need more time. Some people accomplish way more than you and some way less than you, but everyone accomplishes what they accomplish within the same 24 hours.
Alternative Action: Creating more time can be achieved through earlier mornings or later evenings, but never both. Pick the one that is best for you based on your flow state.
To find more time instead of sleep maybe you could…
#8 Put down your distractions. Phones, binge-watching, drinking, working out, or …. Whatever it is that you use to distract yourself from dealing with the things you don’t want to deal with needs to be dealt with. Your distractions are causing procrastination and preventing you from succeeding more often.
Alternative Action: Distraction is any activity without impactful outcomes; it goes against #1 on this list. Start to put them down by picking them up less.
The final two things both involve wasting mental energy on worry.
#9 Trust but verify- surround yourself with people you trust. Believe that they will do what they say they will do. Occasionally check in to offer help, reassurance, or high fives. But don’t waste time worrying about the things you give away. This is also where my faith comes in. The more I trust in a good God who keeps his promises and loves me, the less I worry about things I can’t control because an omnipotent God is working things out for good that I likely don’t have enough perspective to see.
Alternative Action: schedule touch points to discuss how you can help and progress that is being made. Touchpoints serve as accountability checkpoints and calming conversations.
Speaking of limited perspective. You need to also…
#10 Stop worrying about meeting other people’s expectations (preferences). Other people's preferences around what you do and how you do it are based on a version of reality filtered through what they know (or think they know), what they believe, what they want, and their prior life experiences.
Each person brings so much bias, preference, and history into a situation they are rarely able to create an accurate assessment of the situation or person. That means the only guarantee is that there will always be room for disagreement, disappointment, and misalignment.
Alternative Action: Instead of worrying about meeting another person’s expectations, stay focused on the outcomes and execute your plan with excellence.
Let others know what they can expect from you, do what you say you will do when you say you will do, deliver value, and spend less time worrying about what others think about you.
You will achieve a lot more every day if you apply those ten things, but you need to understand why you don’t accomplish as much as you can.
# 11 become fearless
Stop trying to make comfort and ease your goals. Become an explorer who embraces healthy doses of discomfort and risk. Be willing to do hard things and push beyond your self-set limits.
Chasing 10X outcomes is scary. But if you go after 10X million outcomes and only succeed at 50%, that’s still a 5X outcome, which is better than succeeding 100% on an X outcome.
If you’re being honest, the root of most of the reasons you aren’t as productive or successful as you wish to be are based in fear.
Fear of missing out
Fear of being found out as an imposter
Fear of not comparing well with others
Fear of disappointing others
Fear of failing
Fear of falling short of a standard (stated or unstated)
Conclusion
So, the true gateway to increased productivity and greater success is to stop living in fear.