Read through this short thread if you're up for it.
STEP 1: Identify ONE area where you excel.
Prince excelled as a musician, which is pretty broad. But he was also a tremendous guitarist (Eric Clapton called him the best guitarist in the world). Figure out your one area and write it down at the top of a sheet of paper.
STEP 2: Write down three small things you need to do to get even better at that area.
then...
STEP 3: Write down three small things you want to do to add even more skill/expertise to this area.
STEP 4: Spend from now until next week trying to make progress on all 6 things.
That boils down to 1–2 things per day at the most if you spread it out over the course of the week.
Follow through on that challenge and you'll be taking some ownership of the time you have. I believe time is definitely a “created thing” (as Lao Tsu said), so the key is to not worry so much about the time we have but to invest it wisely while we have it. #endthread
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Here They Are: The 5 Ingredients for Personal Productivity.
You absolutely need to use two of these ingredients to make a palatable productivity process but if you add any or all of the other three you’ll make a much better meal.
Let's go.
AWARENESS
Without this you won’t be able to cook anything. It’s the ingredient that makes you realize something is either working well or needs improvement. It may not offer much beyond that on its own, but it's the ingredient that kicks the rest of the recipe in motion.
CLARITY
I think this is the ingredient that combines with the first one to make the third one really pop. Once you’re aware, then you can get clarity. And that’s a powerful productivity ingredient. And it's different than focus: entrepreneur.com/starting-a-bus…
You get up at whatever time you need to get up. Maybe it’s early because you go to bed early and want those morning hours for yourself or maybe it’s later because you’re more of a night owl and thrive in the evening hours.
You grab some form of breakfast. Sometimes it’s whatever you can throw together. Sometimes it’s something you prepared in advance. Sometimes it’s drive-thru.
You get anyone other than you ready for the day ahead. Maybe it’s your partner at home. Maybe it’s your partner (or partners) at work. It could be your children. It could be your colleagues. It could be anyone but you.
I’m not a fan of the term "to do" (or "to-do"). It just doesn't resonate with me. I know the term is clearly a part of the lexicon, but I'm at a point where I'd like to adjust peoples’ vocabulary when and where I can. I think I can start with these 3 alternatives. 🧵 1/13
TASK
This is probably the easiest to adopt because it's already used by different apps and tools that help you get things done. The interesting thing about the word "task" is while it can mean a single item it can also mean a single item with many variables inside of it. 🧵 2/13
In essence, a task can be a project when defined that way. For example, here's how Robert Greene uses the word "task" in his book Mastery: “Your Life’s Task is to bring (your uniqueness) to flower, to express your uniqueness through your work.” 🧵3/13