Ever feel like you're just not getting enough done?

Know how many days per week you're actually productive?

About 3:





(Tim's blog is here and his podcast is here.)


1) Manage your mood

Most productivity systems act like we're robots – they forget the enormous power of feelings.

If you start the day calm it's easy to get the right things done and focus.


This means you're not in the driver's seat working on your priorities, you're responding to what gets thrown at you, important or not.

Here's Tim:

I try to have the first 80 to 90 minutes of my day vary as little as possible. I think that a routine is necessary to feel in control and non-reactive, which reduces anxiety. It therefore also makes you more productive.


Studies demonstrate happiness increases productivity and makes you more successful.

As Shawn Achor describes in his book The Happiness Advantage:




So what's the first step to managing your mood after you wake up?

2) Don't check email in the morning


To some people this is utter heresy. Many can't imagine not waking up and immediately checking email or social media feeds.

I've interviewed a number of very productive people and nobody said, "Spend more time with email."

Why is checking email in the morning a cardinal sin? You're setting yourself up to react.

An email comes in and suddenly you're giving your best hours to someone else's goals, not yours.

You're not planning your day and prioritizing, you're letting your objectives be hijacked by whoever randomly decides to enter your inbox.

Here's Tim:



Research shows email:

1. Stresses you out.
2. Can turn you into a jerk.
3. Can be more addictive than alcohol and tobacco.

Is this really how you want to start your day?



3) Before you try to do it faster, ask whether it should be done at all

Everyone asks, "Why is it so impossible to get everything done?" But the answer is stunningly easy: You're doing too many things.

Want to be more productive? Don't ask how to make something more efficient until after you've asked "Do I need to do this at all?"

Here's Tim:



But is this true in the real world?

Research shows CEOs don't get more done by blindly working more hours, they get more done when they follow careful plans:


(For more ways to save time go here.)

Okay, you've cleared the decks. Your head is serene, you've gotten the email monkey off your back, and you know what you need to do.


4) Focus is nothing more than eliminating distractions



Has modern life permanently damaged our attention spans?



Here's Tim:

Focus is a function, first and foremost, of limiting the number of options you give yourself for procrastinating… I think that focus is thought of as this magical ability. It's not a magical ability. It's put yourself in a padded room, with the problem that you need to work on, and shut the door. That's it. The degree to which you can replicate that, and systematize it, is the extent to which you will have focus.





They found that not one of the 12 executives was ever able to work uninterruptedly more than 20 minutes at a time — at least not in the office. Only at home was there some chance of concentration. And the only one of the 12 who did not make important, long-range decisions "off the cuff," and sandwiched in between unimportant but long telephone calls and "crisis" problems, was the executive who worked at home every morning for an hour and a half before coming to the office. [The Practice of Management]

(For more on how to stop procrastinating go here.)

I know what some of you are thinking: I have other responsibilities. Meetings. My boss needs me. My spouse calls. I can't just hide.

This is why you need a system.

5) Have a personal system

I've spoken to a lot of insanely productive people. You know what none of them said? "I don't know how I get stuff done. I just wing it and hope for the best."


Here's Tim:



Great systems work because they make things automatic, and don't tax your very limited supply of willpower.


(Give and Take author Adam Grant consistently writes in the mornings while Tim always writes at night.)

How do you start to develop your own personal system? Apply some "80/20″ thinking:

2. What handful of activities absolutely crater your productivity?


So you're all set to wake up tomorrow with a system and not be "reactive." How do you make sure you follow through on this tomorrow? It's simple.

6) Define your goals the night before

Wake up knowing what is important before the day's pseudo-emergencies come barging into your life and your inbox screams new commands.

Here's Tim:


Bestselling author Dan Pink gives similar advice:

Establish a closing ritual. Know when to stop working. Try to end each work day the same way, too. Straighten up your desk. Back up your computer. Make a list of what you need to do tomorrow. [Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself]

Research says you're more likely to follow through if you're specific and if you write your goals down.



So how does this all come together?

Sum up

Here are Tim's 6 tips:

1. Manage your mood
2. Don't check email in the morning
3. Before you try to do it faster, ask whether it should be done at all
4. Focus is nothing more than eliminating distractions
5. Have a personal system
6. Define your goals the night before

The word "productivity" sounds like we're talking about machines. But the irony is that much of being truly good with time is about feelings.


I couldn't have written this without the help of Tim Ferriss and Adam Grant. Both volunteered their very valuable time.

Was that a waste on their part? They definitely won't get those minutes back. Helping others takes time but research shows it makes us feel like we have more time. And it makes us happier. Once you are more productive, you'll have a lot more hours to fill. So why not use them to make others and yourself happier?

(I'll be sending out more tips from Tim Ferriss in my weekly email so make sure to sign up.)


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