{"id":58625,"date":"2024-10-20T16:07:44","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T20:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com\/?p=58625"},"modified":"2025-04-21T19:30:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T23:30:26","slug":"how-to-be-more-productive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com\/how-to-be-more-productive\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be More Productive (3 easy steps for when you feel lazy)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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How many times have you told yourself you\u2019ll start working out five times per week, eat less processed foods, or commit to finding a side hustle, only not to follow through when you get tired?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve worked with my mentor, BJ Fogg, Stanford professor and author of the bestselling book, <\/span>Tiny Habits, <\/span><\/i>where we developed three easy steps you can follow to be more productive, even when you don\u2019t feel like it. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Step 1: Be Willing to Fail<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Successful people aren\u2019t luckier than others. But they do try more things, and they\u2019re willing to fail.<\/span><\/p>

For example, my good friend Tim Ferriss was rejected 26 times before a publisher finally accepted his idea for <\/span>The 4-Hour Workweek<\/span><\/i> (which later became a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller).<\/span><\/p>

Almost anyone who\u2019s been successful has a similar story of failure before triumph.<\/span><\/p>

But the difference between average and productive people is that average people are blindsided by failure and give up when it strikes.<\/span><\/p>

Productive people, on the other hand, actively seek out failure because they know success is on the other side.<\/span><\/p>

BJ and I sat down and talked about how we can use failure and \u201cmotivational waves\u201d to our advantage so when other people tire out, we can have a system to follow through.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How you can start using this right now:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Make a list of everything you need to get to accomplish your goal<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Set up those pieces in a way that makes failure impossible<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here are a few examples of what that might look like:<\/span><\/p>\n

    BJ wanted to drink more tea. So he bought all the tea, an electric kettle to boil water, and set everything up in easy reach on his counter. Even when he felt like drinking something else, it was right there, so it was a no-brainer to brew some.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    I was trying to form a gym habit. I\u2019d get up in the morning planning to go, but after a few minutes, I decided not to. I discovered that if I put my gym clothes and my shoes next to my bed, I would put them on first thing and instead decide I might as well just go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Chandler Bolt of The Productive Person wrote 365 thank you notes last year by pre-stamping and adding address labels to batches of 50 cards. By keeping the cards close by, he was able to make it easy to write and send the cards with or without motivation.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Sometimes, you might need to place restrictions in order to accomplish your goal. I spoke to <\/span>Elizabeth and Jonathan<\/span><\/a> in a recent episode of my podcast, and found that they were overspending on subscriptions despite already being in debt:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    [00:19:40] Elizabeth: Like I said, we\u2019ve tried to get out of debt many times, and we never get out of debt ever. That\u2019s why it keeps accumulating. It just keeps getting worse.<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:19:52] Ramit: Eating out. What else?<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:19:54] Elizabeth: I would buy a lot of movies online.<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:19:59] Ramit: What?<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:00] Elizabeth: Like at $5 a pop, digital movies.<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:04] Ramit: What?<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:05] Elizabeth: That was something else I like to buy.<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:06] Ramit: Wait, hold on. You have $185 a month in subscriptions. I presume that\u2019s like Disney plus, Netflix, all that stuff, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:13] Elizabeth: Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:13] Jonathan: Mm-hmm.<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:13] Ramit: So you\u2019re buying on top of those.<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:15] Elizabeth: Yes, I am. I stopped. Jon made me stop, so I did stop.<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:20] Ramit: What\u2019d you say, Jon?<\/span><\/p>\n

    [00:20:21] Jonathan: Can we really afford that? You need to stop. It all adds up.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    They were spending $185 monthly on entertainment subscriptions alone when they really should have been allocating money to pay off their debt.<\/span><\/p>\n

    As well as canceling their subscriptions Elizabeth and Jon can add payment blocks to their cards to prevent them being set up again, which helps to prevent relapses. It can be easy to forget what subscriptions you have, but there are apps like Chargebee that monitor them for you. By using these apps you can be sure nothing slips through the cracks and you wind up paying for something you don\u2019t need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    In this case setting up the pieces so failure is impossible might be stopping these subscriptions, but also placing payment blocks on cards to prevent setting them up again. That makes it much easier to avoid a relapse into making payments for things you don\u2019t need. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Step 2: Focus on the Fundamentals and Forget the Hacks<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Do you know what most productivity \u201cexperts\u201d hope you\u2019ll never find out?<\/span><\/p>\n

    The tips they spout and the apps they sell are total BS. The experts themselves don\u2019t even use them!<\/span><\/p>\n

    When was the last time you downloaded an app that you were sure was going to make you more productive, used it for less than a day, and then forgot about it?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Was it this month? This week? This morning?<\/span><\/p>\n

    What about the last time you killed the afternoon\u2019s productivity reading articles like \u201c100 Successful People Teach You How to Be More Productive\u201d instead of actually getting things done?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Honestly, are you doing that right now?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Consider this: you\u2019re playing a basketball game against LeBron James. You have the best shoes, the most expensive pair of athletics shorts, a fancy headband, and the best jersey in the world. And he has no shoes, ripped shorts, and a dress shirt. Who would win?<\/span><\/p>\n

    It sounds ridiculous, but we play a similar game against productivity every day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The tools don\u2019t matter as much as we think.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Novices LOVE to focus on productivity hacks, apps, and tools. It\u2019s easy \u2014 and frankly, more fun \u2014 to play with shiny new things than to do what works.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Usually, the fundamentals \u2014 things like a calendar, pen, and paper \u2014 work as well as (if not better than) some app. Take a look at a sample of my calendar system.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    See how it\u2019s not a super advanced set of apps? I purposely make it easy on myself so I can follow through and easily update things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    EXECUTION is more important than the tactic itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

    How you can start benefiting from this right now:<\/span><\/p>\n

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    1. Decide ahead of time and map out your schedule for the week either, on paper or in a simple calendar system<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Set an alert in your calendar or on your phone to review this every week. Keep thinking ahead, and you\u2019ll never be caught off guard or pressed for time<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Make sure you\u2019re checking this calendar at the start of each day, and actually stick to what you said you\u2019ll do<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Step 3: Develop Laser-Guided Focus<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Something else BJ and I have spoken about is \u201ccompeting motivations\u201d \u2014 sometimes even our best efforts to be productive are thwarted because something else comes along.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Sometimes these are external distractions: an emergency comes up, we have family demands, and work gets busy.<\/span><\/p>\n

      But just as often, we cannibalize one goal by shifting focus to another. The result? We don\u2019t make much progress on either.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Developing focus and being able to put some ideas (temporarily) on hold is a skill that near-guarantees progress on what matters. Let me show you what I mean.<\/span><\/p>\n

      One of my close friends, Noah Kagan, a former employee of Mint, Facebook, and the founder of AppSumo, showed me the power of having laser-guided focus \u2014 he was able to start not one, but two multimillion-dollar businesses that still see year-on-year growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      He does this by setting one big goal at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Here\u2019s how you can do the same right now:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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      1. Pick your number one goal. Is it earning more money? <\/span>Starting a business<\/span><\/a>? Finding your <\/span>Dream Job<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Grab a pen and paper and write it down. Really, do this now. This isn\u2019t a silly \u201cthought exercise.\u201d We\u2019re doing this to commit ourselves to one course of action and follow through<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Keep this paper to hand as a constant reminder of what you\u2019re working towards. This simple act alone will keep you from getting constantly distracted by the things in your periphery<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        The Ultimate Guide to Habits: Peak performance made easy<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        When a successful person says they\u2019re going to do something, whether quitting smoking, writing a book, or losing weight, you know they\u2019ll get it done. Can you say the same for yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n

        Maybe not. Perhaps you start something, hit a hurdle, give up, and come back to it a year later to do the exact same thing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        If you really want to get things done you need a system that helps you stick with the things you start, even when you\u2019re feeling lazy. That\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve developed: a system that\u2019s helped me write a New York Times best-selling book, build a multimillion-dollar business, put on 40 pounds of muscle, and live a Rich Life.<\/span><\/p>\n

        What it really did was help me filter through millions of possibilities to focus on the biggest goals in my life. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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        Here are a few things you\u2019ll learn in the Ultimate Guide to Habits:<\/span><\/p>\n

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        • How to set goals in the \u2018right\u2019 way, instead of just thinking of something you want and \u2018trying\u2019 to make it happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • How to make any habit last forever, and why relying on motivation alone is a loser\u2019s game: that includes what to do when you fall off track.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • How to use these changes in your behavior to live a Rich Life in a way that\u2019s sustainable in the long term. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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          Are you ready to achieve any goal you want with less effort? Download our FREE Ultimate Guide To Habits below.<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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