1: What’s the best way to make your to-do list?

There’s something satisfying about writing down a task and then crossing it off your list.

“That’s exactly the wrong way to create a to-do list. That signals you’re using it for mood repair, rather than to become productive,” says Carleton University psychologist Timothy Pychyl in Charles Duhigg‘s book Smarter Faster Better.

Writing down a series of short-term objectives … continue reading

1: “Greg Sloan was on the fast track,” Sahil Bloom writes in his book The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.
“Just into his early thirties,” he notes, “he had risen to become a vice president at Goldman Sachs, one of the most prestigious financial institutions in the world, and he served as a trusted financial adviser to a long list of well-known corporate … continue reading

1: “When we’re asked,” Google productivity expert Laura Mae Martin writes in her book Uptime, “to schedule a meeting on Monday at 8:00 a.m. the day we’re returning from a two-week vacation, we think ‘Sure!’ and add it to our calendars.”

What don’t we do?

“Envision future 7:45 a.m.-Us that day trying to make that happen,” Laura notes.

The psychological research is clear: There is a disconnect between our … continue reading

1: One of Google Productivity Expert Laura Mae Martin‘s most popular trainings centers around what she calls “The List Funnel.”

We “can think of to-do lists like a funnel,” Laura writes in her book Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing.  “Start with the highest level of everything we could possibly do, or want to do, and narrow it down into what we actually will do … continue reading

1: How do we maximize our productivity?

That’s the question Laura Mae Martin is tasked with at Google.  Her job title?  Google productivity expert.

At the core of Laura teaching is the idea of the List Funnel, “something I’ve taught successfully at Google for years,” she writes in her book Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing.

We “can think of to-do lists like a funnel,” Laura … continue reading

“Every morning, therefore, at about 9.30 after breakfast each of us, as if moved by a law of unquestioned nature, went off and ‘worked’ until lunch at one. It is surprising how much one can produce in a year, whether of buns or books or pots or pictures, if one works hard and professionally for three and a half hours every day for 330 days [a year]. That was why, … continue reading

“Many of the opportunities you have in your life are generated by the energy you create around you.” —Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica

1: It’s Tuesday.  Time to take on the day.

There is, however, a hidden enemy working against us.

“Every time we switch tasks,” Dan Martell writes in his book Buy Back Your Time, our “brains have to switch focus.”

The technical term for this is “context … continue reading

1: Sometimes, entrepreneur and author Dan Martell plays a little game with his coaching clients.

“It’s a mini-test disguised as a simple question,” he writes in his book Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire.

He sends a text: “Do you have time for a quick call in the next hour?”

How they answer gives Dan insight into how that coaching client is … continue reading

1: “I can’t afford it.”  That’s what many entrepreneurs tell themselves.

“Far too many entrepreneurs,” Dan Martell writes in his book Buy Back Your Time, “spend their time grinding because they erroneously believe that they’re the only person for the job, they can’t afford any help, or they feel guilty not doing certain work.”

What gets in their way?  As their business grows, they hire wrong.  They hire to … continue reading

Yesterday, we looked at how  Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, Tom Clancy, and Andy Warhol spent their time.

How can we apply the lessons from this diverse group of incredibly successful people?  Dan Martell asks in his book  Buy Back Your Time.

We begin by creating a 2×2 matrix where we analyze how valuable each task we are doing in terms of (1) money and (2) … continue reading