Boy, it seems like you learn, and you learn, and you learn, and still it’s like you’re
no closer to your goals.
Why can't you succeed and go further?
Well, it turns out there are “recipes for success” that winners use, and you can too!
For one thing, it just may be that you just haven't applied the 5-hour rule!
The five-hour rule is one of the most effective techniques of learning created by the founder
of Empact, Michael Simmons.
This concept goes back to Ben Franklin who spent time every day setting goals, learning
new things, and experimenting.
This strategy is used by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk, who
have all reached, shall we say, a very high level of achievement, right?
So to be like these folks, do what they do – invest regular time on deliberate learning!
There are three main steps: reading, reflecting, and experimenting.
Harry Truman said “Not all readers are leaders but all leaders are readers.”
Bill Gates reads one book every week, Elon Musk is sure that reading makes him learn
faster than anything else, and Warren Buffett spends 5-6 hours a day reading.
So read at least one hour a day.
Read during breaks, before bed, or get into audio books.
This will really push you towards the result you seek.
The next step is reflection.
Take time to reflect on what you read.
How can you absorb and use it in life or work?
Can it give you outstanding results?
Analyze, take notes, ask questions.
Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn CEO, spends two hours every day to think about the day's activities.
So review your week and take a fresh look at all your work and personal decisions.
Did you make any mistakes?
What did you learn, and what can you do to be even more effective?
Finally, experiment!
If you’ve read new information, test it and see whether it works for you.
Have courage to try new unconventional approaches in your work.
Should you follow someone else's footsteps, or can you can blaze your own trail?
Every product or service you know and love today is the result of a thought someone else
had, so go out and create your own!
Of course, this 5-hour rule isn't the only technique the rich and successful follow.
Here are some other ones that can help you succeed:
The Eisenhower Matrix
This simple method was created by General Dwight Eisenhower and is mentioned in multiple
productivity books, including the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
At the beginning of your work day, take some paper (or use your work journal), draw a big
box and then divide it into 4 squares.
Write “important” and “not important” next to boxes down the left side and “urgent”
and “not urgent” above the boxes across the top.
And then fill these squares by assigning the tasks you might need to do, according to importance
and urgency!
Your focus should be on activities in the “important and not urgent” category (like,
learning, exercise,personal growth, etc.
That’s where your most important activities live, but they get easily pushed aside by
urgent and not important stuff.
You goal is to spend your day only doing the top 2 “important” boxes, and to eliminate
the activities in the bottom two “not important” boxes (like surfing the net, watching tv,
stuff that wastes your time, etc.)
90-minute intervals
Researchers from Florida State discovered an interesting pattern – top performers
from any field who focus on one thing for 90 minutes are much more productive than others
who grind out hour after hour behind the desk.
So here's an idea for you – try to concentrate for 90 minutes straight on something important
and then give yourself a 15 minute break.
Watch Bright Side, do a little workout, take a walk in the park, and then start another
90-minute focus block.
This time will allow you to recharge and get back in the game with new exciting ideas!
X method
The X method is something you know very well already – you put up a calendar above your
desk, set a goal for yourself, and put a big X for every day you stuck to it.
This technique can help you achieve anything you put your mind to, thanks to one little
detail that you lack – consistency.
The chain of Xs in your calendar reminds you how far you've come and motivates you to keep
going.
Your goal here is to not break the chain.
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld credits this for much of his massive success.
His X was to write one new joke every day.
Worked out pretty well huh?
If you need some extra motivation, set a reward for yourself once you hit the finish line.
It can be anything – lunch at your favorite place, a concert, or anything that floats
your boat.
Peak hours
You can group the people in the world into two types: early birds and night owls.
And most people have certain times of the day where their power is the highest, and
they get a lot done!
So to increase your productivity, you have to make your own schedule and figure out your
2-3 peak hours.
For example, I can't focus well in the afternoon and evening – I’d rather just relax.
But the next day when the clock strikes 9 am, I’m enthusiastic and excited and can
easily do the hardest tasks 'till about noon.
And that's the key to this method – find these 2-3 peak hours when you're the most
productive and perform the most important and productive work during that time!
You can do all the other stuff in the remainder of the day.
Energy levels
Peak hours are best combined with your energy levels!
Your energy may depend on the day of the week and affect your productivity.
And everyone’s different.
For example, let’s say on Mondays your energy is high, thanks to an awesome weekend.
It's a fine time to plan your week.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are your peak days – brainstorm, get the most difficult tasks
done, and experiment!
On Thursdays your personal energy begins to slow down, so it's better to organize a meeting
with your team.
And on Fridays you can't think of anything else but the weekend, so leave it for long-term
planning and easy tasks.
Like I said it’s different for everyone, so keep a log and see where your highest energy
is, then plan around that.
Four distractions
It’s hard to get things done when you’re distracted!
And we live in the most distracted time in history, so you’re not alone.
There 4 main types: • Mental distractions are thoughts that
pop into your head that aren't connected to your goal.
If you notice this type of distraction coming, just stop and ask yourself: what is my focus
right now?
This will snap you out of it.
• Physical distractions are any objects that draw your attention away from focus.
To minimize them, clean your environment and make sure there's nothing around that can
sidetrack your mind.
• The same thing goes for digital disruptions.
Hide your phone, turn off the TV, and pack away your PlayStation.
• And finally, those pesky social distractions!
Let people around you know you’re not available at certain focus times, but you’ll be happy
to talk at certain other times.
These four steps will bring your concentration back to work!
2-minute rule
In his book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity David Allen describes
a simple rule.
If your task can be done in just 2 minutes, do it!
You don't even have to put it in your to-do list – do it right here on the spot.
And if your goal takes way more than 2 minutes to complete, at least start it.
Just make sure you do the Eisenhower analysis first to judge whether this task is vital,
or even worth doing at all.
If not, delete it.
80/20 rule
This productivity rule (also know as the Pareto Principle) is astounding, but true – roughly
only 20 percent of what you do gives you 80 percent of the final results.
Which means 80 percent of what you do only leads to 20% of your results.
Wow.
Looking for more time in your day?
Figure out what this most productive 20 percent is!
Then spend more time working the 20%, and stop doing the 80%, or do less of it!
Two pizzas rule – sounds yummy.
Organizing a meeting to brainstorm with your team can be a good idea.
However, you probably know how it goes when there are too many people there.
Instead of shooting ideas one after the other, you spend an hour on silly and irrelevant
discussions and waste your precious time.
So whenever you want to organize a meeting, ask yourself one simple question: can you
order just 2 pizzas to feed everyone there?
If it's more than 2, then your meeting team is way too big to be productive.
Finally, learn to say “no” to all the many attractive “shiny” things that call
to you “Saying look at me, look at me”, begging for your attention, but only distract
you and are ultimately a waste of your time.
Maybe twitter, facebook, TV, gossip, etc.
All the fun stuff right?
This may be the hardest one, and yet the most effective one!
Just say no.
Do you have any productivity tricks of your own?
Tell me all about it in the comments below!
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