You guys know as well as I do that the most successful men in the world have the same amount of time in any given day but, the one thing they do better than others, is spend that time in the best possible way. They don’t squander it on meaningless or trivial matters – they make every second count.
I’m going to share 10 insights I have to make sure you are maximizing your results.
GOOGLE CALENDAR – One of the most productive exercises you could use is your calendar. Now, I happen to use Google but, if you use something else, great. Do whatever works for you.
I’ve found that I’m so much more productive when I schedule my days to the minute – my work meetings, my family time, my time in the gym, my play time. I don’t leave anything to change. I get it all on the calendar so I know it will get done.
EVERNOTE – Now, along the same lines of getting information written down and stored somewhere, you guys should probably check out Evernote. If you’re not familiar with it, Evernote is basically a note app that allows you to sync your notes across your phone, tablet, computer, and any other electronic you might be using.
A lot of people ask me where I get so much content. I get it everywhere. Just today I was driving down the road and I saw a billboard that inspired me so I wrote a note so I can recall it later. And, it doesn’t matter where I record it, that note will be available on any device.
FIELD NOTES – In addition to using an electronic note app, I also use a good old fashion note pad, specifically Field Notes which is the inspiration behind the Friday Field Notes podcast you’re listening to. I have my Field Notes everywhere – in my car, in my office drawer, and in my nightstand. This is so helpful if I have to jot something down really quickly and don’t have a lot of time.
BATTLE PLAN – The next resource I want to share with you is my personal daily planner. I use this thing every single day and, from the time I started implementing daily planning into my life, my life has done a complete 180. You can download what I call the Battle Plan at www.orderofman.com/battleplan and use this as a template to create your own or just use it as-is.
Either way, you’d better start planning out every single day, if you’re not already doing so.
TWELVE-WEEK BATTLE PLAN – If you want to take planning a step further, there is a Twelve-Week Battle Plan I put together but it’s reserved exclusively for members of The Iron Council.
This tool allows you to identify key objectives in each of the four quadrants we talk about all the time – Relationships, Health, Wealth, and Self. From there you’re able to reverse engineer the planning process so that you can identify the tactics you need to use each and every day to reach that objective. You’re also able to track the completion of your tactics and measure you progress and results.
If you’re interested in the exact life planning strategies I use, this is your tool and you get access to the other 170 men inside the Iron Council who are going to hold you accountable to your tactics and objectives. Head to www.orderofman.com/ironcouncil to join us.
READING BOOKS – Now you know I’m an avid reader. I try to read 50 books per year and while reading books isn’t necessarily a time saver, learning how to read faster and more efficiently is. I’m not going to get a ton into this one but, if you want to learn how to read faster, you can check out the article I did on speed reading and the notes and highlighting system I use when I read a book.
ORGANIZATION – This isn’t an app you can purchase or even a book you can read (although you can find plenty of information on it) but you need to be a better organizer. I have seen some vehicles, cars, offices, rooms, etc. that look like they were hit by a tornado.
I know you like to think you can find exactly what you need in your heap of trash but, you can’t do it as efficiently as if you were well-organized. I clean my space at the end of every single day because it gives me the opportunity to start fresh each and every day and it makes me so much faster.
SLEEP – Another tip that has helped me be more productive is sleep. I know it sounds strange because a lot of guys will say, “I can sleep when I’m dead.” Look, if you’re not operating on a full tank, you’re not operating at full capacity. You need to learn how to sleep better.
This one was hard for me for a lot of years but I had a great interview with a friend of mine, Ted Ryce, you should check out. You can find that interview at www.orderofman.com/071.
EXERCISE – On the opposite end of the spectrum, every single one of us should be getting our exercise in – every single day. I’m not always the best but I can tell you when I wake up early – after plenty of sleep – and get my butt into the gym, the rest of the day seems to go so much better. Get your workouts in guys!
MARGIN – And the last tip I wanted to share with you today is the concept of margin. If you want to be effective, you have to stop doing so much. Your multi-tasking is killing you and it’s keeping you from focusing on the very few things that actually matter. Eliminate, delegate, delete, remove, and/or avoid everything that does not energize you. Focus on what’s important to you and you’ll be so much more effective and live happier.
So there you have it guys, 10 tips, tricks, and tactics for maximum efficiency. Not all of these are going to work for you but I hope you’re implementing everything I just shared with you in some way shape or form. Your productivity will skyrocket when you do.
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