10 things you can do today that will make you more productive than 95% of people

Illustration made using MidJourney.

Untethered Mind, Friday Edition, 4-min read.

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Am I talking nonsense?

Well, you’ll know if you try.

Experiment with these ideas:

Plan your next 30-day challenge.

Many of us — myself included — can get overwhelmed by the sheer range of things on offer.

Our overwhelm paralyses us.

This is why it can be powerful to briefly forget your longer-term plans and narrow down your range.

What’s one habit you can commit to over the next thirty days? 

There’s nothing quite like limiting your scope and gamifying your life like this to turn up the heat.

Let go of the obligation for order.

Instead of doing the work, we organise files. Instead of action, we sit with a cup of coffee and plan.

But neither of these is a proper action that will push the needle.

Looking for order is an excuse if you’re ignoring action.

When you act, even in the tiniest way, you create logistical and psychological momentum that leads to more action.

Try the reverse to-do list.

Instead of listing tasks you must complete, create a reverse to-do list by jotting down accomplishments and tasks you’ve already completed.

This helps you move past the pressure you can feel around never doing enough. The list will give you a lift, reminding you of what you’ve accomplished.

Once here, you’re in a lower-pressure state that can work wonders for your productivity.

Work to ambient noise.

Instead of getting distracted by Taylor Swift and Jay-Z, use the incredible array of ambient soundtracks.

From white noise to binaural beats, thunderstorms and crashing ocean waves, this kind of audio has been known to promote focus.

The sound cuts distraction while helping you ease into a flow beneficial for a wide range of tasks, like writing.

Do lower-effort tasks later in the day.

It took me many years to see the value in this one, but today it serves me well.

After years of writing, I realised that I was starting the day doing stuff that came easily to me — writing articles.

This meant all the books I wanted to write never got done because by the time I was ready to write books later in the day, I wouldn’t have the energy.

I swapped these tasks, doing book writing in the mornings and writing articles later in the day when my energy was winding down, but I still had enough in me to enjoy those too.

Develop a sense of playful urgency.

Instead of getting into your head and falling into worry, generate assertive urgency around your work. In other words, dive in without overthinking it.

Yes, it feels uncertain, but you need to develop this like a muscle. Start by knocking off many small tasks, as if the world will end if you don’t finish them.

Find a way to make working on things in quick succession a fun thrill — an addiction even. Just be careful this doesn’t turn into pointless ‘busy work.’

This is avoided when you use your brain, focus on your priorities and stay aware.

Batch tasks you can do in one stretch.

Often, all it takes to ramp up your productivity is to bring awareness to how you work. 

Most of us are constantly chopping and changing the types of tasks we do, which is inefficient. You want to be doing as much as possible while remaining in the same brain state, leading to greater flow.

Identify what tasks you can batch in time blocks so you make more use of your brain’s flow.

For example, write two or three in a single morning instead of writing articles three times a week in separate sessions.

Nurture your love for the work.

With anything you know you have to do, whether it makes you uncomfortable or not, there is always a way through.

The door opens when you can find a way to enjoy it, even love it.

Don’t underestimate your creativity by thinking you can’t.

Implement the two-minute rule.

The rule states that if a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately rather than adding a new item to your to-do list.

This can become a habit when you practice it intentionally throughout the week.

Sit with the thing for longer.

Much of productivity is about harnessing stillness.

Most cannot fathom the initial feelings of boredom that accompany the first stage of work.

Instead of escaping to a video or a bag of pork scratchings, you must learn to sit with the thing you have to do.

Don’t give yourself any other alternatives.

Spending time with the project in silence will lead to a breakthrough when you remain aware.

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Pssst. You’ll also love my recent book: ‘The Art of Self Respect: Twenty-five subtle habits for cultivating deep self-respect and attracting the respect of others‘ — get your copy today.

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