3-2-1: On Leisure As Productivity, Efficiency VS Effectiveness, And How You Can Work 20 Hours A Week
3-2-1: On Leisure As Productivity, Efficiency VS Effectiveness, And How You Can Work 20 Hours A Week
Wisdom Wednesday #10
Hey fam,
It's time for your weekly dose of wisdom (now delivered in the morning?! What is this sorcery?!)
Here's 3 Idea-bites from me, 2 quotes from others, and 1 big-idea to think about this week.
3 Idea-bites From Me:
Stop Trying to be more "productive". Start trying to be more "effective". Delete the word "productivity" from your mind. It is a bad word. "Productivity" orients you toward putting in more hours — which mostly results in useless busy work that only gives you an illusion of progress — leading to linear growth at best and stagnancy at worst. "Effectiveness" however, will lead you toward getting more out of each hour—toward actually getting results and making impact. This is the only way to achieve exponential returns.
Walking toward a destination you've set will get you there faster than sprinting towards one you haven't. If you are living before the 21th century, "work harder" is pretty good advice. But now that you’re in it, with it’s bountiful cornucopia of 10X and 100X tools at your disposal, it's more of a crutch for bad strategizing and planning than anything else. Set “good enough” goals. Create systems to meet them. Constantly reorient yourself toward them. Automate, adapt, and revise as necessary. And whatever you do: do not keep sprinting toward a destination you have not defined.
At the start of each week ask: "is this a growth week or a maintenance week?" You will lose interest, motivation, and energy if you never relax and recuperate. Even if you're a freak with insane amounts of energy: going non stop will sacrifice your health at best, and waste effort going too far down an outdated direction at worst. Add this question to your weekly planning for a far more effective (see what I did there? :P) month.
2 Quotes From Others:
"Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing."
— Peter Drucker"You get paid for bringing value to the marketplace, and if you’re not very valuable you don’t make much money.”
— Jim Rohn
1 Big-Idea From Me:
Stop Believing You Should “Work Harder”. It’s Why You’re Stuck.
The world has changed so much since the personal computer that the common wisdom is now more harmful than helpful.
Willpower, hard work, and "hustling" are borderline dumb.
While enjoyment, passion, and leverage reign supreme.
Why? because when you grow up with an infinite supply of drugs at your fingertips available 24/7/365—social media, TV, video games, pornography, sugary/calorie dense food/drink, and all the rest— it is literally impossible to maintain habits that are good for you if they are unenjoyable to do. You’ll just ignore all the painful stuff you should do, in favor of all the pleasurable stuff you want to do.
Human brains were forged over millions of years to seek the path of least resistance; to get the most reward for the least amount of pain. And you can never change this no matter how hard you try.
Even if you have exceptionally high will power—which you probably don’t given that will power is a muscle few who grew up in the 2000s had much opportunity to strengthen—you will waste at least 50% of your energy every day battling yourself to do all the things you don't want to do but know you should.
(And being in that position is actually lucky. Many are so overwhelmed by this problem that they are dragged all the way down in to addiction and depression, unable to make any progress toward their goals, dreams, or vision for their life.)
So:
STOP trying to work harder. STOP trying to convince yourself to do things that are way too hard. STOP bullying yourself for bad behavior and ignoring good behavior. STOP constantly comparing yourself to some ideal perfect version of you that will never exist. STOP relying on will power, playing with fire every day to make the right choice. STOP using stress, anxiety, and deadlines as your motivator to make progress.
START using your own vices and weaknesses to your advantage. START rewarding yourself for good behavior and ignoring bad behavior. START accepting where you are now and strategizing incremental improvements. START relying on systems, engineering your life so that the path of least resistance ends up being the thing that’s good for you. START using rewards, enjoyment, and pleasure as your motivator to make progress.
The 21st century human being needs 21st century strategies. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. It can be done. Many people figured it out. I’ve read all their shit and used them on myself. And Ive helped many others do it. Now i’m on a mission to help everyone else do it too.
Want even more details on this? Don't fret! I'll be posting a bonus newsletter on Friday with my top 5 strategies for How I Got 3 Promotions Then Built A Business All While Working 20 Hours A Week.
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That's all for today!
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Catch you next time,
Matt