The Productivity Habit That Rules Them All
Learn the one habit that serves as an anchor for all other productivity habits
No one cares how busy you are or how long you work. They only care about the results you’re able to produce.
That’s the reality for entrepreneurs.
Despite this, many entrepreneurs spend their whole day rushing. Or worse, we spend the whole day feeling scattered and overwhelmed. That’s not a good formula for success. In fact, the more hectic your workday feels, the less likely you are to succeed as an entrepreneur. Why?
As a psychologist and productivity coach for entrepreneurs, I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty. It’s not the hard workers who succeed in business. Rather, it’s the entrepreneurs who slow down to think. Let’s examine why.
Slow is Fast: The Power of Planning
In the world of entrepreneurship, slow is fast. If you want to make rapid progress, rushing around like a chicken with your head cut off will never get you there. You’ll just find yourself increasingly buried in overwhelm.
If you think about it, you’ll recognize the truth of what I’m saying. Being “smart” really just means you’re able to anticipate what’s coming next. It means you are able to anticipate the actions that will get you more of what you want and less of what you don’t want.
Intelligence is the ability to project your mind into the future, create a mental simulation, and adjust your current activities to elegantly sidestep time wasting traps while propelling you toward the victory you have envisioned.
This is what it means to be human. It’s what separates us from the animal kingdom. The ability to project your mind into the future is your greatest superpower. Are you using it? Or do you let stress push you into a rushed state of busy work day after day?
Here’s my challenge to you. Try on a new mindset for 30 days. If you like it (and I know you will) you can make it a core part of your mental operating system as an entrepreneur.
Here it is in a nutshell. Whenever you feel rushed or busy, use that as a cue. It’s a cue telling you it’s time to slow down and think. Rather than using brute force to accomplish your goals, shift your focus to the anticipation machine sitting between your ears. Slow down to plan.
To help you with that, I’d like to introduce you to a core habit every entrepreneur should be using. It’s a simple planning tool. You can download an editable version of it here.
This tool is designed to start your day off right. It is designed to help you form one simple habit that has the power to dramatically increase your productivity.
So, what is it? It’s a daily startup sequence.
How it Works
A daily startup sequence is a guide to help you start your workday off right. It serves these three basic functions:
- It reminds you of the core success principles you want to bring to your work.
- It prevents you from getting caught up in doing things before you’ve spent time planning.
- It lowers your stress by removing any sense of scattered overwhelm.
The more time you spend enriching your mental map of the future, the more you’ll achieve the kind of results others can only marvel at. This daily startup sequence is a foundational element of that planning process. It’s a powerful way to start building the planning habit into your daily routine.
An Anchor for all Your Habits
Here’s why the daily startup sequence serves as a foundation for all other productivity habits. It’s an anchor. Let me give you an example to explain.
On Monday evening, you sit down to read a few pages from the business book a colleague recommended. You are immediately struck by the power of one simple concept you find in those pages. And you know it could have a transformative impact on your business success.
Tuesday goes by quickly, and you remember to apply the mindset you learned from that book. It helps in so many ways. By Wednesday, the idea has begun to fade. You spend the day putting out fires and rushing to meet the daily demands of your business.
Within a week, the concept has faded from awareness. It is no longer influencing your daily actions. It’s still buried somewhere in your memory, but there’s no trigger to retrieve it.
The daily startup sequence can be the trigger.
If it’s a new habit of mind that can boost your productivity, then it belongs on your daily startup sequence. Remember, the daily startup sequence is simply a guide that walks you through a few reminders to yourself and a quick planning process for starting your day off right. One of its key features is the ability to link new habits to it.
So long as you never skip your daily startup sequence, it becomes the mother of all other habits. Because any other new mentality, habit, or idea you want to bring to life can be placed on your daily startup sequence as a reminder to yourself until it becomes second nature.
Use this tool to become the master of your destiny one day at a time. This free download serves as both an example and an editable template to get you started quickly.
Grab a copy of this tool now. Use it as a daily prompt to help you invest in the power of planning and foresight. Your future self will thank you.
Dr. Todd Snyder
Psychologist and Productivity Coach for Entrepreneurs
P.S. I love entrepreneurs. We are the creative problem solvers of the world. And yet, our talent for seeing new opportunities can derail us from making meaningful progress.
If you’re like me, this may have been a struggle that held you back for a long time. In a word, the problem is distractions. The daily startup sequence is your antidote. Click here to see a short video where I show you what’s on the daily startup sequence and how it can keep you focused on your most important goals.