Mindset, Getting Shit Done, and Pre-Thinking

Friday, I sent out a list of software I use on my laptop. If you missed it, you can subscribe here.

Several of you asked what I install on my desktop. And a couple of you wanted to know what else I used, as in websites and browser extensions.

More on all of that later, in other posts and emails.

Today, I want to talk about productivity.

But not in get-more-done-in-less-time variety.

Nope. More to the point. Most of us get in our own way.

I admit – I have a gift. Maybe it's a talent or skill. I don't know what it is, exactly.

But know that it gives me an advantage.

I know how to get out of my way and accomplish a LOT. When I feel like it 🙂

I call it, “Getting shit done,” but I think that title has already been taken.

A small team built a replica of Noah's ark.

See, I use tools to make everything I do go faster. But if you don't have the right mindset, you can have a shop full ‘o tools and Noah still can't build his ark (but these guys did).

Now, I'm NOT trying to get all metaphysical on ya. I don't mean mindset in the hokey entrepreneurial Tony Robbins way.

I mean getting down to business: I want to accomplish this, here's how I do it, and I get it done.

Three things help:

1. A comfortable environment
2. I need to be relaxed
3. I need to have “pre-thought”

I'm not one of those who can go to a coffee shop or library and work. I can go there to research, read, de-compress, and “pre-think.” That IS work, but it's not creative. I'm talking here about creating assets that I can sell or use to get more business.

I need my office to really get down to business. I have whiteboards, headphones, music, and all the tools on my desktop PC, readily available.

I also need to be well-rested and relaxed. This means I needed to get 7-8 hours of full-on sleep the night before. Interestingly, my best “creative productivity” comes later in the day, usually after I work out.

The body is tired, but the brain is ready to fire on all cylinders. I've listened to great music, worked my ass off, sweated a lot, and purged my body of negative thoughts.

(Some of my best workouts come when I'm upset about something.)

Plus, I'm usually super-relaxed by this point.

Last, the pre-thinking.

“Bill,” you may ask, “what does that even mean?”

It means I literally use my subconscious to do the “work” before it gets put down on digital paper (that could mean typing or talking, in front of a camera or not).

I won't go into the pre-thinking process I use just yet. Look for that in a later post/email.

Giving 110% and Other BS You Tell Yourself

One of my pet peeves is when somebody says, “I always give 110 percent.”

I call bullshit.

Nobody, except maybe elite athletes, ever gives near even 100 percent. And that's for mere seconds, nothing long enough to sustain a business venture!

Usain Bolt runs the 100 and 200 meter sprints. He keeps up his speed for the entirety of each race.

But he runs 20 seconds (or less) at a time.

If he were to run a 400, it would take him 6x as long to run as the 100, which is over four times the distance.

Why?

The physiological reason is ATP production. Or rather, the turnover rate of ATP production.

The body simply cannot make enough of it to sustain 100 percent effort over more than about 30 seconds.

And that's for elite athletes who have more talent, more favorable genetics, and more conditioning.

Us mere mortals could give max output for 20 seconds before we started to falter.

And that's at 100 percent.

There is no such thing as giving more than 100 percent.

Now, you may think you can give 110 percent. But you can't. It's impossible.

What you're really doing is rationalizing your circumstances.

We all want to think we're giving 100 percent at all times.

And then our circumstances change and we give more.

So, DUH!, we must be giving more than 100 percent.

Problem is, we almost never get anywhere near 100 percent in our every day lives.

And especially if you consider periods of hours and not seconds.

There is nothing wrong with this.

After all, most of modern life is a marathon, not a sprint. Most of us in the “civilized world” need not be concerned with outrunning lions or tigers or bears.

What's this got to do with marketing or business?

Everything.

And nothing.

How's that for ambiguity?

I think Seth Godin said it best in this post:

We often talk about trying, about effort and 110%, but it's mostly glib. The fact is, very few of us try our best, at the maximum, ever.

Usually, what we do is, “try our best under the circumstances.”The trick: don't redefine trying. Redefine the circumstances.

It's almost impossible to reliably increase your effort, to put more try into the system.

On the other hand, “the circumstances” are merely our narrative, the way we're choosing to see the world. We can redefine the narrative about our circumstances with a wave of the hand.

This moment, this interaction, this customer… these are the perfect circumstances, the most urgent, the highest leverage. The one we have right now.

Work with that. 

Do you see it? It's not the effort but rather the story you paint inside your own head. We can't always give 100 percent. But we can almost always give more.

And that's the key. Give more.

Want to beat your competitors? Give more.

Want the best reviews? Give more.

Want to win more business? Give more to your existing customers.

Hope this helps. I gave you 70.6% on this one.

Six Productivity Tips That Will Make You More Productive Online

6 productivity tips to make you more efficient online

Below is a presentation I delivered last night (after SO MUCH heartache dealing with a laptop whose hard drive is slowly going “kaput!”) about some productivity tips that you can use to get more done online, whether it's for business or personal use or for your career (i.e., J-O-B).

I shared things like:

1. a much better Windows clipboard manager,
2. a tool to use that lets you “forget” all your passwords (a handy password manager called LastPass),
3. how to download YouTube videos (even ones you don't own),
4. a few ways to eliminate the noise from your Facebook newsfeed,
5. a neat headline generator, and
6. a nifty automation tool that is brain-dead simple to set up and use

I share a lot more productivity tips like this in the Slackerize Newsletter, including tips that help you in your “offline” world, like cooking, cleaning, exercising, and getting the most from your mind, body, and spirit.

Sign up to get them delivered once a month to your inbox.