8. Be proactive.
Living in the moment is fine when you’re already ahead of the game, but when you’ve got a lot on your plate it is very difficult to live at all, let alone in the moment. By setting realistic expectations and benchmarks for your tasks and goals, you’ll be proactive by default. Being reactive often results in sloppy and panicked results — and it shows. Being proactive allows you to actually craft what you’re doing with superior quality and effort. Time is on your side when you’re proactive, and time can be your worst enemy when you let it control you. So don’t let it.
9. Embrace curation.
Take a good hard look at what you’re spending your time on (and in). Be honest with yourself and examine what is stealing your attention away from what you need to be doing in order to be supremely productive. Then either manage that with a deliberate approach or, if you can’t afford the willpower, eliminate it altogether. Television is a big one here. I cut cable out of my life a couple of months ago and have been able to create a lot more since I did, because I’m not able to flip a switch and watch what someone else has created. I’ve started using Netflix to watch what I want and when I want, but there is some effort involved. It’s not just a press of the button and images magically appear on the screen. Absorbing what I want rather than wading through what is offered on television has greatly enhanced my productivity. I’m curating my television habit, and I’m far better for it.
10. Forget Inbox Zero.
You’re going to get email. Deal with it. Spending all of your time trying to clear it all out every day (or week) is more wasteful for many than watching television. Again, absorb what you want rather than wade through what is offered. Create a folder within your email client and call it “Keepers”. Drag what you feel you must keep into that folder, and then delete the rest periodically. Review the “Keepers” folder daily, and delete what’s been dealt with when you’re ready. Don’t get bogged down in email. It’s not worth it, and it’s one of the biggest factors as to why so many of us aren’t supremely productive.
Pushing through the urgent stuff and getting to the important stuff is a lot easier when you’ve set yourself up to succeed. The details will start to rise to the top the more you are able to pay attention to them. By mapping out the course, discovering what works best for you and clearing and curating the path along the way, you’ll find that being supremely productive isn’t all that difficult. Getting started may seem to be the hardest part, but it’s actually the waiting to get started that is the hardest part.
So what are you waiting for?
