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UnSwamped: Learn

By Kristoph Matthews UnSwampedLife.com By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may be able to become a boss and work twelve hours a day. -Robert Frost, American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet

The Time Management Myth

Time management is something everybody wants because were so busy these days. Work, busy work, errands, friends, kids, remembering a gift for the spouse, chores, and then barely enough sleep. Then we want to develop time management skills so that we can do these things plus more? At what point do we actually experience freedom?

The problem with time management is that its a myth. Its impossible to manage time, because time is going to pass you 24 hours at a time no matter what you do. If you focus on time, youre just going to find more creative ways to spend it. If you instead focus on results you will start spending time on what really matters, and that is what this course is all about. After all is being more productive or having better time management what you really want? What most people ultimately seek is more time for the right things and people, less stress, being effective at doing the things that matter, and the feeling of freedom.

Becoming Truly UnSwamped

What is UnSwamped?In two words it means to be free and productive. No more boss requests piling up on your shoulders. No more putting in face time to look busy and to impress. No more endless to-do lists and blackberry-related thumb sores. No more B.S. time management strategies. To be UnSwamped means cutting your work days in HALF, yet still accomplishing a number of goals that are important to you. It means determining what you truly want rather than what you think youre obligated to do. It means leveraging your few highest payoff activities each day and leveraging other people to get you to your goals faster and with less effort and money.

By the end of reading this UnSwamped booklet, you will be armed with the strategies to immediately accomplish the following: 1

WARNING:

Cut your work day in HALF Accomplish twice as many things that matter to you Feel less busy and more efficient Have more energy and balance in your day De-clutter your life to be stress free and in a flow state

Im excited to be sharing productivity secrets that will enable you to accomplish the above goals, but I have to warn you that my methods may be considered unorthodox. This booklet contains no todo lists, prioritization exercises, focus techniques, and other common, ineffective strategies for becoming productive. If you dont have an open mind and arent willing to make some fundamental changes in the way you perceive time and getting things done, this isnt for you. In addition, each section will include action items that you must complete to actually create change in your life rather than just reading this and feeling good about it. If youre not willing to do those action items, this also isnt for you. If youre still here, lets move on and create the new, productive, YOU.

The Inner Game of Productivity

I know you are anxiously waiting for the strategies that you can apply right away to start creating more time in your life and becoming more productive, however, as with anything, you need to start with a good foundation. The inner game of productivity is all about identifying and removing the blocks that are preventing you from experiencing a state of flow in life. These blocks distract your attention, suck your energy, and cause you to spiral into stressful states. By the time youre done with this section, you will learn to develop habits that will condition you to automatically be productive every day and naturally stop getting stuck.

Unfinished business

Are you aware of the unfinished business in your mind? The loose-ends? The thoughts that distract you while youre working, cause you to think about something else when youre listening to someone, and the thoughts that prevent you from sleeping? As youll realize in the coming sections, productivity is almost entirely dependent on focus. The unfinished business in your mind consumes that focus and prevents you from accomplishing tasks effectively and leads to stress. These thoughts must be dealt with. You can bring closure to them in two ways: 1. Finish the business, 2. Accept and move on For example, I had the following things on my mind: a colleague I didnt get along with, confronting a family member about his poor diet, a war with the US Postal Service after they lost several valuable packages of mine, and mounting debt. For each of these I had to decide 2

whether to face the issue and resolve it, or to let go. Identify which thoughts are always on the back of your mind and deal with them so you can be free to focus.

Death to multi-tasking and the grey zone

Productivity secret #1: Multitasking is the worst sin against productivity Do you notice how multitasking is actually viewed as a good thing in society? The boss labels employees who manage multiple projects successfully as efficient. And web browsers have multiple tabs for people to switch back and forth between web pages. Well, its not as efficient as one might think. Every time you switch from one task to another it takes time. Not only the time to switch, but the time it takes for your mind to adjust to a different activity. Furthermore, the more significant effect is that chronic switching drains your will power and energy. If you need more proof that multitasking is actually inefficient, think about nature. Nature exists the way it does because its the most efficient form. The cell, the smallest unit of life, has components that each serve a specific purpose rather than fulfilling multiple duties. Entrepreneur and self-improvement guru Eben Pagan refers to the grey zone as a state of mind where one is not really focused on one thing or another, but rather splits his focus. Multitasking is only one form of the grey zone. I realized I was in the grey zone in other ways by talking too much during workouts at the gym, by daydreaming in the middle of a conversation I was having, and requiring the person to repeat things, by checking stocks and email too often at work, and more. How are you in the grey zone? When you find that your consciousness and your effort is split between multiple tasks/thoughts, choose the one thats most important and focus on it.

Identifying your energy and time leeches

Time and energy are intimately related. Things that suck your time also suck your energy, and vice versa. The task in this section is to identify the physical, emotional, and mental elements that are leeching your most precious resources. My energy and time leeches consisted of the following: Physical Feeling drowsy from sitting at my desk Skipping meals time all day Emotional Worrying about the outcome of my projects Mental Reading too many making my mind numb

emails and memos is

because I dont have Not breathing deeply

Feeling bad about losing my last argument

Being a perfectionist about the presentation I need to make is exhausting

Youll notice that some of these details are very small and personal things. Because theyre so personal however, they actually occupy a large part of ones focus and consume ones energy and time by creating a mood that prevents efficient accomplishment of tasks. Take a moment to write the things that suck your energy and time. The next step is to come up with actions to eliminate these energy and time wasters. What can you do to eliminate them? Write them down and start acting on them right away. I wrote the following: Physical Stretch and go Emotional Stop hanging around people that dont my energy serve me and suck Mental Put a quote on my desk that says sloppy success is

outside for a walk every two hours upbeat music while listening to

better than perfect do things that are important

Do breathing exercises

mediocrity and only

Productivity secret #2: How you budget your will power directly determines how productive and free you will feel In todays world, with the heightened pace of technology and society, were expected to do so muchfrom our bosses, our friends, and even ourselves. This in turn leads to so many imbalances in our lives by draining us of energy. This energy is something we need not only to complete all of our tasks in our day for ourselves and loved ones, but also to enjoy life: otherwise, why are we here? During a time when I was consistently swamped with work, I engaged in much research and selfreflection, and began to realize the source of my energy drain: depleted will power. You see, although as humans we may have infinite intelligence, creativity, and physical energy (depending on how much we eat), our mental energy, or will power is finite and only gets recharged after we sleep. Every time we run into an obstacle or a social conflict, every time we get frustrated looking for something we lose, and every time we think too much, were using will power. As we consume will power, our ability to think and get things done efficiently decreases exponentially. To conserve will power, we must implement habits that put us on autopilot and minimize the requirement of our own input.

The scarcity of will power

The power of habit

Habit is powerful, because when set in place, it allows you to carry out your tasks on autopilot, instead of requiring you to think and get frustrated.

I realized I unknowingly engaged in many habits that were detrimental to my productivity. I left things that I needed for the next day in random places around my apartment, sending me on a frustrating wild goose chase the next morning. I checked my email and watched news (consisting of mostly market crashes, murders, and other negative updates) first thing in the morning, putting me into a tailspin. I would draft a to-do list and attack all of the small details first because they seemed easy and I could get them out of the way. It wasnt until someone pointed out what my life looked like did I realize I had more in common with the hamster on the wheel than I thought. What kind of habits do you have that dont serve you? Youll want to take a deep look at your own patterns that are holding you back and replace them with positive routines. My main positive routine is to start off the first moments of my day powerfully. I do the following to create an extremely productive environment each day: 1. Wake up and shower. I choose a Philips Wakeup Light as my alarm clock, because it wakes me up with natural light instead of annoying beeps so I can feel good when I rise. 2. Immediately drink a green drink mixed with natural protein powder. This gives me immediate energy and tides me over for the next few hours. I prefer Ultimate Fuel because its all-natural and has slow burning carbs. 3. Meditate for 10 minutes using Holosync audio. This clears my mind and gives me firm mental grounding and creativity for the day. 4. Close my eyes and visualize for 15 minutes. During this time I mentally rehearse my day ahead and also picture what I want my life to look like in the medium and long term. I learned this technique by trying to mirror the techniques of top performing athletes. Having powerful music in the background helps with this. 5. Go to work on the top 2 things that will offer the largest payoff toward my goals and make myself invisible to distractions. By going after the highest leverage opportunities first, I maximize my productivity and dont get bogged down by distractions from my main goals (more on this in the next sessionsee the Focus Pyramid). I engage in this habit in the morning because it is incredibly important to start off your day right. The way you start off your day determines the course of the rest of the day. If you start off your day with mediocrity and reactivity to surrounding distractions, you will lose productivity and talk yourself out of repairing the situation because youll rationalize that tomorrows another day. By executing these activities automatically (because its a habit), I put myself in a state of flow so that I can accomplish the top things that really matter to me with no distractions and stumbling blocks, which require my will power to deal with. My cell phone is off and people know not to bother me during these times.

Immediate Strategies for Accomplishing Double in Half Time

Finally, the meat of the matter: Youve dealt with the inner game and its time to start becoming productive now. This section is all about structuring your activities and their execution correctly while 5

using leverage to maximize your results and cut down the number of hours you spend doing work. Furthermore, youll learn timing techniques and how to deal with interruptions and needy coworkers, bosses, and friends.

Productivity secret #3: To-do lists are crap. Rather than try to accomplish many things, focus your talents and strengths on the few opportunities that will offer the biggest results. I want you to forget for a moment, the concept of a to-do list. Consider what you want in four fundamental areas of your life: career, relationships/family, finance, and ___________ (could be anythingfitness? Notice that time management isnt all about work.). Now lets say that you have only have two hours per day to spend on each categoryno matter what. I know it sounds unrealistic, but bear with me, because it will actually be quite realistic by the time youre done with this course. What tasks would you do? How would you still reach your goals in those areas (and your companys goals for the work category) with such limited time? The secret is a combination of picking the highest leverage activities, leveraging your resources, and using some timing techniques to maximize your productivity. Start out by getting clear on your goal. Then ask yourself what two activities can you complete that will offer the highest payoff in results and progress toward that goal. When I first come in to my office, I take a sheet of scratch paper and draw what I call my Focus Pyramid. I section off the pyramid into a top, middle, and base. 1. In the top portion, I list 1 to 2 items that I must complete because they offer the largest and most immediate payoff in terms of results and progress toward my goal. 2. In the middle portion, I list tasks that fulfill more intermediate goals and enjoyment, and support the top tasks (above). 3. In the base section, I list errands, meetings, and other items that dont produce payoffs in the near future but are nevertheless things that I should take care of. If I dont complete items in this list I wont feel terrible, but tasks at the top of the pyramid must be completed without exception. By completing tasks in the top and middle sections first, the small details in the base section will eventually take care of themselves (see the section on leverage).

The focus pyramid and 60-60-30 task timing

8.21.10 Greatest, most immediate payoff For intermediate goals and enjoyment Misc. tasks/ minimal payoff
Finish product design and send it out to manufacturer Set up online order page to accept pre orders

Go to gym

Meet w/ potential business partner Read innovation book for ideas/inspiration

Pick up groceries on way home Call family Get phone repaired

Ship off FEDEX package at lunch

from your work, and then repeat for the second hour. Its very important that you work without distractions during these periods. For the remaining 30 minutes, you may choose to take a nap, walk around or something else to rest yourself mentally (use tactics from the Physical Boosts and Motivators section). This technique alone will allow you to leave the day feeling accomplished and in control of your life, rather than feeling stressed out, swamped, and reactive to others demands. It may require some getting used to, but learn to cultivate the habits of prioritization and timed focus and you will feel more energy and balance, and your productivity will compound with time.

Master the art of imperfection for maximal progress


Productivity secret #4: Sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity. Why do we get swamped? Why do we dread starting some tasks or feel that it takes forever to finish some tasks? Id venture to say that the answer lies within in one word: perfection. From an early age, were taught in school to color within the lines, to get the highest scores possible, and to avoid errors in general. Because its ingrained in our systems to do and say the right things, we end up working on things longer than we should, we reject many of our own ideas when were trying to start on something, and we make things more complicated than they need to be. This results in stagnation, reinforcing of self-doubt, and complaints of not having enough time in life. When youre feeling overwhelmed by your tasks and feel like you cant get them done, the solution is just a matter of taking action (any action!) toward its attainment and making corrections as you veer off path (as you inevitably will). People constantly ask me, how is it that youre able to accomplish all these things in your life? I usually disappoint them with my less than dramatic reply: I keep a clear intention in my mind, take actions toward its attainment (no matter how small), and complete them no matter what (and quickly). By consistently committing to a small number of actions and completing them by a short deadline (and not stressing too much over the quality), Ive set up a subconscious pattern that declares to my mind, I am someone who can commit to something and get it done. Although this pattern emerged from taking small actions, it grew stronger and allowed me to pursue larger goals. Practice the following to master the art of imperfection and create more time in your day and more success in your life:
An imperfect version of Michaelangelos David (Source: Josephbrandenburg.com)

1. Create a vision of what you want 2. Break down what may seem like an insurmountable challenge into chunks and break those down further into actions that are within in your control 3. Pick 1-2 actions MAX you can do within a given period (day/week). These should be the ones that offer the highest leverage toward your goals. Anything more and you are just making yourself busy and distracting your mind. 4. Give yourself a deadline that leaves you with slightly less time than you think is possible to complete the actions. The more time you give yourself to do something, the more youll either procrastinate or try to perfect or add more to something. Giving yourself ample time for an action is like a giving a shopping addict more money to solve a debt problem. Keep in mind that the above step limits the amount of actions you take per unit time so that you dont feel like youre a hamster running on a wheel for this step. 5. Complete it AT ALL COSTS! Dont worry if the result is crap. You will get better at this in time. Right now were just building a cycle of positive reinforcement. Remember, sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity. 6. Let go of your ego and the need to be right or look good. Often this conflicts with your desired result.

Scheduling interruptions

What are your distractions? What are the things that constantly interrupt you and cause you to diverge from your path, leading you to become stressed out? For most people these are cell phones, email, Twitter/Facebook, colleagues popping into the office, loading and skipping songs on the iPod, checking the status of stuff (such as stocks), etc.

Tim Ferriss, author of the Four Hour Work Week, pioneered the almost oxymoronic principle of scheduling your interruptions. By identifying the sources of interruptions in your life and scheduling them to occur during a specific time(s) of the day, you eliminate the possibility of being distracted during your highest leverage activities (where you need complete focus). So how do we do this in a practical sense? I set two times during the day (12 p.m. and 4 p.m.) to be distracted and completely available to people who need to interrupt me. During this time, I check emails, answer phone calls, browse the web, complete quick errands, and accomplish things at the base of my pyramid (note multitasking is OK during this period because of the nature of responding to interruptions). I let people know that they can interrupt me during these times by putting the following message on my email autoresponder and voicemail (credits to Tim Ferriss for the suggestion):

Greetings friends and colleagues, Due to high workload, I am currently checking and responding to email and voicemail twice daily at 12:00 noon and 4:00p PST. If you require urgent assistance that cannot wait until either 12:00 or 4:00, please contact me at my personal cell at 607.xxx.xxx. Thank you for understanding this move to more efficiency and effectiveness. It helps me accomplish more to serve you better. Sincerely, Kristoph Yes, theres a risk in doing this. Yes, its unconventional. Indeed, I did receive a few nastygrams from people who didnt like my philosophy at work, but after a while I was delightfully surprised to learn that people at work started to copy my strategy and felt more productive about it. If youre worried about how you might be judged by breaking the status quo, consider that people are more than willing to eventually follow a confident trailblazer. Be the one that opens up possibilities and freedom to others at work so that youre entire organization can become productive.

How to clone yourself for maximal leverage


Cloning yourself with your current network Leverage is the second powerful tool that you can use to conserve will power and derive more fuel for your day. If you find yourself pulling your hair out trying to solve a problem or plowing through time-consuming reams of data, enlist the help of others. Most overwhelming feelings can be attributed to trying to take on the world yourselfthe surest way to deplete will power. We are not meant to do things alone as humans, and people are more than willing to help, especially if you offer to return the favor.

The most successful people in this world utilize leverage as much as they can. The current president of the United States, probably one of the busiest people in the world, has the same number of hours in the day as you do, and is still a human being, but he makes great use of leverage to accomplish his tasks. He has an amazing team of not only people who carry out tasks on his behalf, but also advisers to help him think. You also have a lot of power and purpose in life, whether or not you are aware of it. Start thinking about how you can surround yourself with people who you can help and be helped by, to maximize your leverage. If you are stuck on trying to formulate an idea or a paper, for example, ask for others to brainstorm with you to get you over your writers block. If youre trying to fix a computer problem by Googling a solution endlessly, find a tech geek in your office who can help. If you find yourself spending more than 5 minutes on Orbitz or AMEX trying to book the best travel fare, call a travel agency and tell them what youre looking for and ask them to take care of it. Your time is better spent elsewhere. 10

Cloning yourself with virtual (and real) assistants for cheap

The global outsourcing movement has given rise to a new phenomenon: virtual assistants. Imagine having someone at the tip of your fingers to complete all of your tasks that you find mind numbing, boring, time consuming, and frustrating. Imagine that you tell your assistant to do something at a random time in the night and its done by the time you step out of bed. All of this happens and you dont even have to meet him in person. In fact, you dont even need to pay for an office or his salary. Virtual assistant companies can offer you assistants with specific skills in any skillset you can imagine, or can be highly general if you wish. And best of all, because of the growth of this industry as of late, competition has made assistants highly affordableyou can hire a clone to carry out your tasks for as low as $20/hr in North America and $10/hr overseas (Note: these rates apply only to the time that you ask the assistant to worknot full time. Thats further cost savings to you.).

Thinking twice about paying someone else to do your work? Lets put this into context. Say that you make $80,000 per year, working 50 weeks per year, and 40 hours per week. Your hourly pay is $40. Wouldnt it make sense to pay someone $5-10 an hour to accomplish some things that arent worth your time? The phrase, time is money, may be a clich but its true. What kind of work should you outsource? Generally it should be work that: You dont do efficiently, dread doing, or numbs the mind Is something that, if done by someone else, could free up considerable time to do something more valuable (greater payoff) Is well defined and structured, such that someone else could do it with minimal input from you

Id stress the last point, as not all tasks are meant to be handled by someone else. Example: The eclectic mix of activities that I let my clones handle: Fixing any technology problems: computer, software, web problems Resolving issues with banking statements and utility bills (so I dont have to wait on hold or navigate patronizing corporate voice recognition menus) Finding an apartment that meets my criteria Cleaning my apartment (this is a physical, not virtual assistant, obviously) Researching facts and stock photos for my blog posts so I dont have to Google forever Answering non personal emails Finding hotels and flights that meet my criteria Ping people in my LinkedIn network so I can keep in touch with them a couple times a year Manage my advertising campaign for my business Research the best feature and price combination for my next cell phone Find great music to put together for my next party Manage my schedule and set up appointments for meeting with other people so that I dont have to 11

But will I actually enjoy life if I outsource everything? Sure, its possible to get carried away once you realize the power of cloning yourself. But if you clear everything else out of the way and still do what youre passionate about, youll definitely enjoy life. Where to get virtual and real assistants Elance (USA + International) (search for virtual assistants, personal assistants, executive assistants, or any skillset youre looking for) Guru.com (International) Craigslist (USA + International) (particularly useful for non-virtual assistants for physical servicesjust request a job on a post) TryAskSunday (Based in India) Odesk (International)

Grouping tasks by synergy

When you switch from one activity to another, theres always a cost. That cost may be the time associated with traveling from one location to another, the mental energy expended to change your focus, or the time it takes to change your thought mechanism from one topic to another. To minimize this loss, it thus makes sense to cluster activities with things in common.

These synergies can include shared locations, shared topics, shared people, similar goals, and scheduling things close together. Here are some examples of how you could take advantage of synergies to save time: Group errands that involve shops close to work on your way home from the office Choose projects that have some technical overlap Include people you want to meet on activities that you would normally do anyway Select social activities that have something in common with each other and are close to where youre going to be Choose a place to live thats in close proximity to work to reduce commute time Choose work thats compatible with your passion and hobbies Select friends that overlap with hobbies, business, and working out

Productivity secret #5: Less is more. Limit your options, limit your information intake, and limit your availability. Limit your options Having options gives the illusion of control. If youre like me, when youre getting ready to buy a new computer, youre tempted to go on to every major website to compare every model and get the best possible deal. I often have to restrain myself from excessively tinkering with the addictive build 12

The art of saying NO and making yourself less available

your own laptop customization feature to optimize the price. The irony of giving yourself more options is that each additional option produces only a marginal increase in the potential benefit youre looking for. By taking your time to select the best option, youve probably wasted enough time to make up for the marginal benefit youve received. In short, its impossible to know if youre making the definite correct decision, so set a time limit and commit to select something or make a decision from a limited amount of options. Limit your information intake Similar to the case for having many options, having excess information can cause you to become overloaded with details. My stance on this may be considered heresy in this so called information age we live in, however, I believe it to be effective. It takes time to decide which information to take in, it takes time to receive that information (reading, listening, etc.), and it takes time to absorb and integrate that information. In the information hierarchy, start thinking more like a CEO and less like a blue collar worker. What I mean by this is, instead of harvesting information from all different sources and trying to keep up with the news, your friends social lives through twitter, investment opportunities, fashion and tech trends, and books and blogs you should be reading, find a trusted circle of advisors that can harvest that information for you. I have a guy at work that gives me a rundown of all the worlds current events at lunch, a tech enthusiast that informs me of the latest technology trends and shows me his gadgets, I have a family member that designs fashion for a living and selects clothes for me that are in style, I have an entrepreneur network that informs me of investment opportunities and business trends, and the list goes on Because of this network Ive built, I rarely have to go out and seek information on Google, inundate myself with excessive reading, and sift through knowledge while enduring the frustration of deciding whether I need it or not. Start thinking about what type of information you need, and determine who the people in your current network are who can provide you with it on a regular basis. If you ask people about something theyre passionate about, theyre often more than willing to share. Im willing to bet that half of your stress and reasons for seeking out time management strategies is due to being available to too many people and saying YES too often. I understand: you want to be helpful and you want to do a good job. In fact, thats honorable. That is, its honorable except to one person: you. By learning to say YES only to tasks and projects that offer the highest leverage toward your goals (which can include your companys or familys goals) and say NO to the rest, you give yourself more energy, focus, and time, and ironically do a better job for the people you said NO to. Remember, if you cant help yourself first, you wont do a great job at helping others (remember how they say to put the oxygen mask on yourself first in the event of an airplane emergency?). So how do you say NO in a tactful manner? Leo Babauta, author of the Zen Habits blog, mentions the following ways (Ive added my comments): 1. I cant commit to this as I have other priorities at the moment. 13 Limit your availability

If you are too busy to engage in the request/offer, this will be applicable. 2. Nows not a good time as Im in the middle of something. How about we reconnect at X time? This way, the person doesnt feel blown off. 3. Id love to do this, but A gentle way of breaking no to the other party, while being encouraging at the same time. 4. Let me think about it first and Ill get back to you. Only use this if you truly have a hint of interest. 5. Im not the best person to help on this. Why dont you try X? Its a great way to steer someone away from you. 7. No, I cant. When you want to be simple and direct. If they ask why, I repeat myself firmly and stand my ground.

When I say physical, I mean two things: first, your body, and second, the space around you. You may ask, what could this possibly have to do with time management? I understand. Realize that the strategies I give you only work when they rest upon a firm foundation. That foundation consists of forming a great habit, and a great environment that condition you for success and productivity. Getting your physical world in order in effect clears out all of the blocks and paves a straight path for you to take off and increase your productivity.

Getting PhysicalDealing With Stress, Energy, and Time

Physical boosts and motivators

Though weve built a morning power habit to give your day an initial boost, you will need to give yourself replenishing boosts throughout the day to keep yourself focused, balanced, and energetic. I recommend and personally practice seven different boosts:
o

Green drinks. Green drinks have the power of delivering nutrients to your body to refresh and alkalize you so that you can eliminate that sluggishness thats holding you back. To many people, health is sort of an afterthought to their career, social life, etc., when it really should be looked at as the very foundation of their lives. Make sure to feed your body with healthy fuel if you want to have a constant stream of energy and experience feel good vibes. Move. Our species was not designed to have our butts attached to chairs, sofas, and car seats all day (no matter how ergonomic they may be). By taking breaks every so often to walk around 14

and move your arms and torso (preferably with some level of vigor), you raise your heart rate just a bit and increase your blood flow, getting your body to reignite systems that keep you feeling alert and energetic.
o

Breathe. The average person takes very shallow breaths. In this case, the brain doesnt receive as much oxygen as it needs and therefore doesnt run at its full capacity. The next time you start yawning or feeling sluggish and demotivated, take some deep breaths that you can feel all the way to your stomach. Music. Music has a power to change your state and to inspire you with new ideas if you listen to the right type. Start looking for music with not only energizing beats, but positive words. I cant emphasize enough that listening to music with negative lyrics and vibes (no matter how catchy it is) can really take a toll on your day as well as your long term beliefs. Once you find some good stuff, use music on your MP3 player at work or at home to give yourself a quick 3 minute recharge every couple of hours. Midday nap/meditation. Everyone has a unique biological clock. For me, I wake up and feel energized in the morning, but I suddenly hit a dip at around 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. when I get back home. Pay attention to these zones where your body needs to wind down and recharge, and take a quick nap or meditate during these times to clear your mind and give it some rest. Visualize and recenter. Often when we feel drained of energy its linked to feeling overwhelmed. If thats the case, it might be time to zoom out from whatever activities are burdening you and get back in touch with the big picture of what youre trying to do. If Im overloaded with way too many tasks in my business, I take a step back, close my eyes, and visualize what type of outcomes I want in my business and my life by the end of the year. Then Im able to reframe what Im doing into a new perspective and prioritize the tasks that will get me there. Go to sleep on time. Taxing your body of its main rejuvenation mechanism so that you have more time to do things is like trying to win a car race by taking components out of the engine and assembly to lighten up the vehicle and make it go faster. On that note, drinking caffeine in the morning is equally taxing.

De-clutter your life

Productivity secret #6: Your inner world is a reflection of your outer world Adjusting your physical surroundings can help put you in a state of flow, which is conducive to higher productivity. Look around your house and your workspace: are things nicely spaced or are they cluttered? Are they clean or dirty? The way you treat your space is a reflection of the emotions and results youre experiencing in the world. If too many things currently pervade your mind (i.e. youre swamped), youre likely to have things lying all over your floor at home, impeding your movement. That 15

impedance in turn feeds back into your daily activities, preventing you from having a state of flow. Fortunately you can change what you experience in the world by changing your inner world. Clean up your space, take care of yourself, and youll be amazed at how the world will take more care of you and allow you to move on your path without the distraction of unnecessary clutter and interruptions. A few things you can do to de-clutter your life and streamline your productivity: Live somewhat like a minimalist: get rid of junk, things and clothes you dont need, and baggage you take with you when you leave home (literally). Get rid of excess books, binders, magazines, and paperwork. Scan and digitize most of your information. Clean your house and clean out the fridge Get a book or a consultant to help you arrange things in your house according to Feng Shui principles (to refresh and calm your mind) Allow lots of light to enter your home and workplace

Master Your Time for Maximal Results

This course has taught you the inner game as well as immediate techniques for cutting your workday in half, cloning yourself to accomplish twice as much in your day, feeling more balance and energy, and most importantly, having time for what really matters in life. From this point on, I want you to think about what really matters to you: Not the goals that your company sets for you, not what your friends tell you that you should have, and certainly not what society says will make you feel good. What goals, if you pursue, will make you truly happy? Then, break those goals down into tasks and results that you can work on every single day, and use the strategies outlined in this course to complete them. Its time to start being proactive, rather than reactive. Most people go through life feeling swamped because they let things pile up on their plates, then they try to do a good job all by themselves. They allow themselves to be constantly interrupted by Blackberries and colleagues, and get frustrated. This frustration later feeds into their personal lives when they go home such that they cant truly focus on their life, since work is on their minds. This frustration then feeds into the next day and the vicious cycle continues. Has this happened to YOU? If not, do you want it to? Youve only got one life to live. Youre here to make meaningful contributions, have meaningful relationships, and to be happy. If youre ready to make a conscious decision to change and enjoy more time for what really matters and master your time, review this course and actually do the action items to the point that youve created a habit for success and productivity. Heres to mastering your time.

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