I came into 2021 dedicating the year to improving my lifestyle from a wellness standpoint and to downshift and let content, ideas and strategies find me, not actively look for the new. As ideas emerged, I stress tested them and brought them to you on my MMPTs. Sometimes it's important to just listen and wait for those "aha moments". This past week I had one - a really big epiphany. It hit me that there is so much noise in the world of self development which I think hinders how people develop and how quickly. Let's face it, most thought leaders are focused on building their personal wealth and personal brand as their #1 scoreboard, not the development of their students. They need to overwhelm you with the content to get you to pay their prices. Now I'm probably being overly critical but I am just telling you how I'm made to feel when I'm consuming most content. It doesn't always feel authentic. Having been on the front lines, I can tell you for a fact that money is not always the #1 driver for people. The motivational drivers for high producers, as I see them, are overall health and happiness, financial freedom and recognition (validation of self worth and one's progress) and probably in that order. To be honest, I've struggled to find the niche where I fit into all of this noise. To me less is more so just give me the goods that work. So, that really sums up my journey, to find the "big rocks" that matter, that are high impact/low cost, easily accessible and executable for anyone. That has been the "holy grail" that I've been in search of having studied productivity and success habits for 13+ years, using all of my work experience over 37 years in retail clothing, as a DJ, in call center management, as a real estate broker, brokerage manager, leader, mentor and coach and I can tell you with certainty if you do execute certain things, in a certain way, consistently over a long period of time, you'll win.
So, in my attempt to just sit back, downshift, "listen", take note of everything that I've learned, I've awaited that "aha" moment. I got it and it's so simple, it's silly and not some new breakthrough idea that you might be looking for but it's the Ultimate Productivity Hack that has been right in front of you, hidden in plain sight and stress tested. As this idea surfaced, I was annoyed at how simple it is so I had to do some serious thinking and make sure that met some "non-negotiables" for me. This Ultimate Daily Productivity Hack needed to be:
- Deeply rooted in mind control and frequency management
- Simple and easy to execute by everyone, at all experience levels
- Stress tested and personally proven over time
- Quantitative and easily trackable
- Based on compounding habits and relationships
So, here it is. I'm highly recommending that you do the following 5 things every day and consistently track your progress. The Ultimate Daily Productivity Hack goes like this:
1. 1 Hour of "Me Time" per day. Your mind and body need a reset everyday to recharge.
- Thinking Session, Meditation, Visualization, Prayer
- Exercise/Yoga/Stretching
- Quiet lunch or coffee by yourself
- Cook/bake
- Dinner with close friend discussing non-work related items
- Coaching session/Therapy session
- Massage/Self Care
2. 30 Minutes of Planning per Day. This gives you the ability to play on offense, not defense.
- Review previous day's email
- Review previous day's text messages
- Review previous day's calendar
- Move all actionable items to a task management system
- Prepare for meetings and presentations
- Review current day's calendar
- Collect, organize and bag all necessities for the day
3. 30 Minutes of Self Development per Day. You operate and earn at the level of your self development so a dose of new ideas is critical.
- Listen to a PODCAST in the car in between appointments
- Read 10 pages of a book each night before you go to bed
- Watch an inspiring YouTube video while getting ready for the day
- Listen to an audiobook while you prep your day
- Watch 1 module of an online course during lunch
4. 1 Authentic Lead Generation Activity per Day. If you want to harvest, you need to plant seeds.
- Make a value add call to a prospect
- Make a call to a past client you know is ready to transact
- Reach out to a potential referral partner in another market you don't have a relationship with
- Post to Instagram and Facebook (posts and stories) providing value
- Send a value add text or email to a prospect
- Send email marketing campaign email
- Mail monthly geographic farm postcard or letter
5. 1 Authentic Relationship Management Activity per Day. A relationship based model is the only way to create an enjoyable and predictable business in sync with your desired lifestyle.
- Review TOP 100 and make a call to a past client you've have not had contact in 90 days
- Send a handwritten birthday card with gift card to a person in your Top 100
- Send a quick text with video to a Top 100 just to say hello and check in
- Spend 15 minutes on social DM'ing Top 100 words of congratulations and encouragement
- Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner with a Top 100
- Client Event (when appropriate)
- Real Estate Review (Ninja principle)
When you hit your stride, these actions can easily be done, on most days, by 12:00 noon. If you make this idea a non-negotiable, everyday guiding principle, it will ensure that you get 1% better each day, or 37 times better after 365 days. This type of growth will mathematically ensure a higher level of living. On the other hand, if you don't execute on this incredibly simple concept, you have no one to point the finger at other than yourself.
If you do the math (even if you don't hit on this Hack for 30 days in a 365 day year), you can't tell me that your business will not grow if you take 330+ hours of me time, 165+ hours of planning, 165+ hours of self development (the equivalent of 20+ books), 330+ actionable reach outs to prospects and another 330+ actionable authentic reach outs to your Top 100. All things considered, it is mathematically impossible not to be in a better place in your business a year from now. But, to be effective, you must track these 5 areas each day. For a proven tracking method simply search, "Weekly Rhythm Register Darren Hardy" or review "The Compound Effect" by Darren Hardy for a simple-to-use PDF and then go to YouTube to do further research on the entire tracking method. Use this method while I work on something that could be another option for you.
The late Jim Rohn, the mentor for Tony Robbins and Darren Hardy, said "Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day." I grew up on Jim Rohn as my parents listened to it as they tried to build their side hustle business, so as you can see, this concept has literally come full circle.
For me, where do I fit in? I'll be holding you accountable to live this simple HACK, by calling it like I see it, helping you focus on less and execute better. A phrase that has always resonated with me and you've heard me use it consistently is so applicable: "If you win enough days, you'll win the week. If you win enough weeks, you'll win the month. If you win enough months, you'll win the quarter. If you win the quarters, you'll win the year. If you win enough years, you'll win your career". It's that simple. Give yourself an hour of me time each day, 30 minutes of planning and 30 minutes of self development to grow personally. Reach out to 1 prospect and 1 person in your database for the simplest of formats to grow your business. Don't worry about next week, next month or next year. Focus on today, stack those victories and you will thank me later.
