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Brilliantly Productive

Introduction… [Welcome Genius!] “Busyness” is practically a disease today. We all cram as much as we can into our seemingly limited time. Yet being busy isn't the same as getting things done. Haven't you had a day where you felt like you didn't have a minute to spare, yet you still felt like you didn't accomplish anything? Nearly everyone has. And there are many reasons for this, but the most important is a failure to prioritize and focus on the tasks that will really make a difference. These are some of the common symptoms of busyness without productivity: • You're constantly worried today about how busy you're going to be tomorrow. • You're regularly annoyed that the people around you never seem to be as busy as you are. • You spend your evenings (usually right before sleep) thinking about all the stuff you didn't get done today. • You find it hard to pay attention during conversations because you're too busy thinking about all the things you must get done. • You eat in your car. Snack on the move, or skip meals altogether. If that sounds like you, try the ideas on the next page to free up time in your life and get things done before moving forward into the rest of this guide…

1. Prioritize. Decide what the most important tasks are to accomplish today. If you don't choose what you're going to do today, you're choosing to let the world decide your priorities for you. Dictate the direction of your day by deciding before the day even starts. 2. Notice how you're wasting time. Many times, we intentionally avoid doing what we know we should be doing. We don't want to make that difficult phone call or work on that report we've been dreading for weeks. * We are all excellent at inventing other things to do that don't really have a lot impact. Notice the things you do when you don't want to do what you should be doing. It might be cleaning your desk, checking email, or getting coffee. When you notice your 'stalling' behaviours, it's easier to catch yourself and get back on track. 3. Keep you to do list short. A good idea is to make a list of everything the really needs to get done, and then just focus on getting the top 3 or 4 things done today. That might not seem like enough but imagine what your to do list would look like today if you had been doing this exercise for the last 2 weeks. * The Pareto Principle suggests that 80% of your work can be completed with 20% of the relevant actions. Focus on the most important stuff and you'll be amazed at how much you can get done. 4. Eliminate the excess from your life. Avoid spending your time on activities that are optional unless you genuinely enjoy it. That means you shouldn't spend your free time on that charity or club that doesn't really matter to you. Strive to eliminate as many of the non-meaningful activities from your life as possible to leave room for the meaningful things.

5. Limit yourself. If you only allow yourself a limited amount of time to work on something, you'll be forced to do the most important tasks first. The fear of not getting done in time will increase your efficiency. 6. Measure yourself. At the end of the day, ask yourself how busy you were. Ideally, you should have a full day, but you shouldn't have an endless list of tasks to complete. Life should be full, but it shouldn't be busy. If you're too busy, it's likely that you're either spending too much time on things that don't really matter to you or you're spending too much time on tasks that aren't productive. Prioritize your day and your activities, stick to those items, and you'll enjoy getting more done in less time I guarantee it. Just remember, everyone receives 24 hours each day. There’s a reason why some people are accomplishing much more than you are and are still able to be on time for all their commitments. (Maybe they’ve already read this book?) The truth is you probably do have plenty of time to accomplish everything you need to do each day, but you just need to focus at a higher level. That’s why I created this guide. What you’ll learn on these pages will help you make the most of your time by prioritizing, removing distractions, and learning how to focus. You have all the time you need, if you’re willing to make the necessary adjustments to yourself and your life. You have 24 hours each day. Ensure that you’re using them wisely!

Before we really dive in let me share with you what I’ve found to be the most powerful productivity tip of all time – So here goes… Always do the most important thing first. How simple was that? So here’s why it’s so important to do your most important task first: 1. You consistently get the most important things done. Of course, if you do the most important thing first each day, you consistently get the most important thing done. How many people can say that? Everyone else is avoiding the most important thing because it’s often the least pleasant. You don’t have a lot of competition when you’re willing to do the tough things. You’ll leave everyone in the dust. 2. Only a few things really matter. No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, most of the things you could be doing don’t matter a whole lot. When you do the most important thing first, you’re sticking with what matters and avoiding what doesn’t. 3. Willpower is at a maximum earlier in the day. Your ability to do challenging things is greatest in the morning. You’re fresh and your willpower is at its highest level of the day. Everything you do saps a little of your willpower, so do the most important thing first. Leave the easier tasks for later in the day. You’ll need less willpower to complete those easy things, so save them for those times you have less willpower to spare.

4. Your focus and energy are greatest earlier in the day. After you’ve been up for an hour or two, that’s about as good as it’s going to get. Do you know anyone whose focus and energy are best at 2:30 in the afternoon? Do your most important work when you’re at your best. Each task you perform takes a little out of your resources. Avoid putting off your important tasks. 5. Focusing on the most important task become a habit that can be used in every part of your life. This is a powerful habit to create. Imagine how much you will accomplish over the next year if you spend the first part of your day doing the most important thing. Contrast that to how you live your life right now. It’s easy to visualize the positive change this shift would have on your life right. 6. You can enjoy the remainder of your day. When you get the most important work done early in the day, you’ll have more time left to enjoy your life. When you spend your time on things that don’t matter a lot, you must spend more of it to make any progress. Most of us make the mistake of putting off the most important tasks of the day, because they’re often not enjoyable. However, you’re at your best earlier in the day. When you do the most important task first, you’re ensuring that it gets done. You can’t run out of time if completing it is your highest priority. Getting the most important thing completed each and every day is one of the best ways to guarantee your success. Begin building this important habit. Maybe start by reading just one page of this book each morning and applying what you learn throughout the day, it will take your life to a new level of accomplishment. Let’s Get Started…