5 Ways to Achieve Insane Productivity

My friend Ed O’Keefe was the first person ever to call me “The World’s Most Disciplined Man.” He did that because he said I was the most productive person he had ever met and, like most people, Ed connected insane productivity with discipline.

The truth, though, is that I’m not “disciplined.” In fact, I’m weak like everyone else. However, I was smart enough to recognize that if I just built a few systems into my routine, I could “trick” myself into getting more done in less time – Thus giving an illusion of discipline!

Here are 5 hacks that I’ve used to increase productivity…

1. Add Deadlines to Destroy Parkinson’s Law

Ever have a meeting or call that dragged on & on & on, interrupting the flow of your day, backing up your schedule, and making you late for dinner?

That’s because you allowed a form of Parkinson’s Law to invade (and conquer) your day. This law first introduced to me through Tim Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Work Week, which states:

“Work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.”

And when you don’t have an end time for a meeting or call, unnecessary chatter expands and exceeds your expectations for the event.

One solution to achieve insane productivity each day: Never start a call or meeting that does not have a defined end time.

How do you do that? Answer every call or meeting invitation with a set amount of time you are willing to invest.

For example, when I’m invited to do a podcast – and it fits my criteria of 2,500 downloads per show – I also tell them that I only have 30 minutes scheduled for the interview. That deflates the hot air (unnecessary chatter) and keeps my day on track.

For call invitations, I say, “Yes, I have 10 minutes at 1:45 PM on Tuesday.”

Be strict. Be specific. Be safe with your time.

2. Automate-Delegate-Eliminate Every Day

Last month I told a client to delete Instagram from his phone. That one single action allowed him to boost his company sales $20K (recurring!)…

Deletion of distractions allows for insane productivity, which brings the addition of assets.

Your job is to repeatedly review your daily tasks to make sure you’re not doing anything below your pay grade, or that causes an unnecessary amount of stress or angst, or that can be done equally well through automation.

How can you apply the ADE Formula in your business?

• Manually booking calls into your calendar => Automate
• Editing your own videos => Delegate
• Reading irrelevant news articles that fire you up => Eliminate

Hour by hour… Action by action… Eliminate what you hate… Automate and delegate.

There’s money on the table that needs your attention & action.

3. Match your toughest task with your highest mental energy (Magic Time)

Remember when you were a toddler, and you played with a Baby Blocks Shape Sorter? The object of the game is to take different-shaped blocks and put them in a similar-shaped hole…

Ok, good. Now… Think about the most difficult project you need to finish this week.

Now assign a “square shape” to that task.

Next, look at your calendar… Imagine if you tried to cram that difficult project into your schedule at a time of day when you were tired… That would be like trying to cram a square peg into a round hole. It definitely isn’t gonna work for you.

Instead, what you need to do is realize that your Magic Time – the time of day when you are 3X’s more creative, productive, and energetic – is the same shape as your toughest task.

Leverage that Magic Time into insane productivity!

Take that square peg (toughest task) and insert it into your Magic Time (square hole).

That’s how you win.

Stop trying to do hard things when you’re weak. And stop doing easy things when you’re strong. Match the Intensity of the Task to the Intensity of your brainpower… And you’ll triple your productivity on that tip alone!

4. Achieve Insane Productivity by Developing Distraction Free Zones

Next time you’re sitting at your workstation… Lift your arms up to shoulder height… now rotate 180 degrees each way… This is your Distraction Bomb Zone!

Anything within arm’s reach is a big risk for throwing you off track. It could be that unread book or the TV remote… Your phone… The newspaper… Invoices… You name it.

When you have to focus… MOVE everything… Or move yourself to a distraction-free zone.

Has your home office become a little too comfortable and distracting? Get to work on making it a distraction-free zone!

If it’s impossible to eliminate distractions around you, find somewhere else where you can work distraction-free.

How does Early to Rise’s Head Coach Daniel Woodrum achieve insane productivity? His daily routine includes him going to his local Starbucks to grab a coffee and then he knocks out work at a table where he can be alone and won’t be distracted.

If you have to go somewhere to achieve a flow state, make it happen.

5. Build Your Business Around Your Life, Not Your Life Around Your Business

I recently started doing a little “Amazon Box” skit during podcasts to help people schedule out the week.

At the recent mastermind Head Coach Daniel Woodrum NAILED it and demonstrated my concept 10X’s better than I have been able to do… It’s a game-changer.

It’s a great reminder for you to revisit the Perfect Week Formula.

Here’s a recent reader’s review… if these sound unfamiliar, please re-read the book!

“Craig, the law of subtraction was phenomenal. I always thought doing more is the key but we’re doing less of the good things and doing what is important is what matters. And the 15 minutes every evening to planning your next day is genius and super powerful. I think the idea of the accountability partner is brilliant. You feel watched and you need to commit no matter what. And getting up in the morning and getting right to it was super productive and made me feel unstoppable. P.S. I bought the sleeping earplugs, mask and got myself a new alarm clock, so let’s see how that goes. Thanks for the super step by step easy and simple way to educate us and guide us through live strong hacking techniques.” – Serge D. from Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Create systems for everything in life. Systems create freedom. Even when it comes to my sleep, I swear by earplugs, eyemasks, and now CBD oil for sleeping… It’s what allows me to get a great night’s sleep and come up with ideas like this:

Build Your Business Around Your Life, Not Your Life Around Your Business

Now, it’s your turn. What are systems that you’ve put in place to help you achieve insane productivity? Are you missing those systems? Do you need guidance?

Our coaching team at Early to Rise would love to work with you to create those systems to help you develop that insane productivity regularly to achieve big wins in business & life.

Email support@earlytorise.com with the subject line “Coaching” to learn more about how we can help you increase your income while doubling your time off.