Gratitude, Health & Wellness, Morning Motivators, Motivation, Success, Time Management
Published on January 22, 2018
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5 Ways To Your Most Productive Day Ever

written by Colin Nanka

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” 

– Abraham Lincoln 

 
My wife was out of town this weekend, so I had the house to myself. I really wanted to get a lot done and have a super productive weekend.
 
So I thought through the best way to do that.  I started with a good question.
 
What does success look like this weekend?
 
I already had some things written down that I wanted to get done. I knew in that list were a few important items.  But how important and was the list complete?
 
So I created I list.
 
Then I prioritized it!
 
I resisted the urge to start working!
 
I spent an hour on the process. Writing down all the things I wanted to get done.  I prioritized and reprioritized until it was crystal clear and noted why each one was important. I also created an aspirational column at the end of it. This gets all the ideas out of your head.
 
Here were some examples on my list:
 
  • Write two blogs for the week ahead
    • I feel less pressure to get them done when I am a day ahead 
  • Run before 3 pm
    • I get tired later in the afternoon
    • It doesn’t weigh on my mind
    • The positive momentum early helps me get my best work done
  • Read one profile from Tim Ferriss – Tribe of Mentors Book
    • Learning something from a high performer
  • Watching Two ESPN 30 for 30 short films
    • I love sports stories and brings me joy
  • Get two hours of work done before noon
    • One on personal goals, one on work stuff
    • When my energy is highest
  • Put my 2018 goals up on the mirror and bedroom whiteboard
    • My annual method – what gets focus gets done
  • Go and buy pork loin, vegetables, and salad to cook dinner
    • I enjoy cooking dinner when my wife is gone, I don’ t do it often
 
Aspiration:
 
  • Go see an early movie
  • Read a few blogs Interesting blogs I had earmarked 
 
Here is what I didn’t do:
  • Read email
    • It wasn’t on my list and it distracts from the actual things I wanted to get done
  • Dig into social channels
    • Same reason
    • I actually went through and turned off all notifications on all unimportant apps
 
In Summary:
 
1. Ask yourself what success looks like today?
2. Create a list and prioritize it
3. Note down why beside each one
4. Create an aspirational column for it
5. Turn off distractions
 
How open are you to trying this method, one day this week?
 
Love to hear how it goes.
 
Colin

 

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