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#1 Shoot for an Early “No”

Right when the pandemic started to force me to turn our guest bedroom into a do-it-yourself office, I would find myself texting on Slack, answering emails, talking to coworkers on Zoom, working on a presentation, and reading through a research paper—all at the same time. 

I felt overwhelmed; I felt like I wasn’t getting anything done; I felt like the external environment completely took over my schedule.  

Maybe you can relate to this feeling?

First of all, I learned a very important lesson this year:

Being busy does not equal being productive.

Whenever I crossed items off my to-do list that helped me make progress toward accomplishing my goals, that’s when I felt the most productive and alive. 

The ugly truth, though, is that most of us don’t even know the goals we’re trying to achieve, whether at work or in our personal lives.

And not knowing the direction you want your life, career, or relationships to take is a breeding ground for frustration, demotivation, and unproductivity—not only for you personally, but also for your team, and for your company.

Inspired by the New York Times Best Seller, “The ONE Thing”, by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan, I quickly got out of my productivity slump when I constantly started asking myself one simple question every day:

What’s the one thing you can do today such that by doing it, you make progress toward achieving your one goal?

So first, you must define your goal.

By doing so, you get clarity around the tasks you need to prioritize in order to move the needle toward achieving your dreams.

Second, you will automatically experience spending your time more wisely and seeing incredible results—one tiny action toward your goal every day will soon transform into quantum leaps. 

📚Actionable Tip
Define one goal you want to accomplish in the next three months.

Write your goal down on a post-it note.

In the evening, right before you close your laptop, wrapping up your work day, place your post-it note on the keyboard. 

When you open your computer in the morning, your one goal acts as a reminder for prioritizing the right activities to achieve your “one thing”. It also acts as a motivator to visualize your goals.

Make sure your goals are:
- Ambitious, but achievable
- Measurable
- Finite (assign an end date)
- Shareable 
- Ability to track progress (number)
- Purpose-driven (answer: why is this goal important to you)

For instance, take a look at my goal. If you want to read more about goal setting, I can highly recommend the book “Measure what Matters” by John Doerr.

#1 Define Your One Thing

When I started getting my first business up and running, I was looking for a way to silence my inner doubts and fear.

I was afraid of my idea being rejected, other people’s judgment, or my shortcomings in producing daily content as a non-native writer.

Here’s how I overcame my personal discomfort and boosted my productivity to drag my business to the finish line:

In a moment of confidence, I started telling EVERYONE around me that I would announce my new hobby to the world on a specific day, not knowing if I would even be able to make the deadline. 

Why is telling someone your goal important?

If you tell your friends and family, you will win accountability partners, an essential step to achieving productivity.

Your friends will provide you with positive reinforcement; they will keep you accountable on your goal and deadline; and they will help you cause a 180-degree turn in your mindset. 

By having told everyone around you about your goal, you will automatically link more pain to disappointing your friends than holding on to your own initial doubts. 

Accountability is the most underestimated part of productivity.

It is a guaranteed way to leave your comfort zone and get things done to unlock your dreams.

📚 Actionable Tip
Think about a goal you’ve been thinking about but putting off for a while (hope you did the prior exercise).

Write it down on a post-it (you see, I love post-it notes).

Take a picture of it and share your goal with your friends, your family, or even on social media.

“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” — Alan Cohen

Have you been a victim of back-to-back Zoom marathons every day?

Especially now that we’re working from home, we don’t bump into a coworker while hectically sprinting to the next meeting or step out for a quick walk around the block to grab lunch. 

Now more than ever, it’s essential for you to take a mental and physical break.

In his book, “High Performance Habits”, Brendon Burchard recommends a 10-minute mini-vacation every hour to re-energize.

But before you get too excited, I don’t mean a social media break. Instead, eat a nutritious snack, walk around in the neighborhood while you get some fresh air, or get your groove on, play your favorite song, and dance your last meeting out. 

Following his simple guidance every day has made a day-and-night difference in my productivity.

📚Actionable Tip
Block off the last ten minutes or the first ten minutes of every hour.

Change all your meetings accordingly. For instance, if you have a meeting from 3:00-3:30 p.m., change it to 3:10-3:30 p.m. and take a break from 3:00-3:10pm.

Use the 10 minutes for a real break, not a social media break.

#3 Take 10-minute Breaks Every Hour

#4 Put Your Phone in a Box

You probably don’t want to hear it, but I will tell you anyway. 

Your biggest killer to productivity is your Siamese twin that is currently following you wherever you go: I’m talking about your smartphone. 

I have to confess, I have been tethered to my phone before, and I could tell that it completely hurt my productivity and my social connections.

Whenever Zoom fatigue cropped back up, I would just pull out my phone and text some of my friends in Germany or see what’s new in the world of Instagram.

There’s ample scientific evidence nowadays that even if your phone is sitting next to you on your desk, it will subconsciously own your full attention.   

This is why I started putting my phone in a box in our bedroom closet on the other side of our house and decided to only check it three times a day. 

This little phone detox makes me feel more alive than ever before. Not only has my productivity increased by quantum leaps, but I am also more present and engaged during conversations.  

📚Actionable Tip
Put your phone in a box far away from the space in which you spend most of your day. 
Out of sight, out of mind.

If this topic interests you, check out the podcast, “The Model Health Show”, by Shawn Stevenson, Episode 434: “How Social Media Affects Our Psychology & Why Our Phones Are Becoming Irresistible”. 

Usually, I’ve been known for saying “yes” to everything (learning is my guilty pleasure), with more work piling up on my to-do lists than I could chew. And at some point earlier this year, my inability to say “no” started to wear heavily on me. 

But now, I‘ve learned to myself one surefire question every time someone asks me to take on another project: 

“Is this activity something that will help me accomplish my ultimate goal?”

If not, my immediate response is “no” (unless, of course, my boss asks me to take on a project to meet his goal).

Remember the one thing we discussed earlier this week? If you haven’t defined it yet, go back and do so. I know I’m a broken record here, but getting clarity on your goal is the foundation to extreme productivity. 

📚Actionable Tip
This is going to be a fun exercise, but as a heads-up, it will take some courage—and it might also take some initial eye-rolling from your co-workers. But I believe in you succeeding in this assignment!

Go through your work calendar for this week—hour-by-hour, day-by-day—and ask yourself for every calendar invite you see: “Is this activity something that will help me accomplish my ultimate goal?” 

If the answer is “no”, politely decline the invitation. 

The more important question is: How much time have you gained back? 👀

#5 Learn to Say “No”

Book Recommendation

Did you get hooked by this week’s topic? I hope I was able to boost your productivity that will help you make progress on the goals, both at work and in your personal life.
Feel like you want to learn even more about how to catapult your productivity skills to the next level?
In his book, “Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours”, Robert C. Pozen shares all the tricks that helped him get things done. 

WHO's Ready to become a master in PRODUCTIVITY?

#2 Find Accountability Partners

Did you get hooked?