In all seriousness, it’s a brand new pondering instrument I’ve realized about two years in the past that I wish to share with you at this time that can change your productivity sport.
AsianEfficiency Finisher’s Fastlane – Increase your productivity and focus
The Most POWERFUL Productivity “Tool” I’ve Found
Thanh Considering Time
If there’s one factor that led to exponential development in my private life and at AE, it’s being younger and Asian.
Therefore, Asian Effectivity.
In all seriousness, it’s a brand new pondering instrument I’ve realized about two years in the past that I wish to share with you at this time that can change your productivity sport. It’s referred to as Considering Time.
I realized this from numerous individuals akin to Keith Cunningham (enterprise coach with internet price in lots of of thousands and thousands) and different entrepreneurs in my circle. Because the identify implies, it’s time carved out for pondering. It’s some of the highly effective instruments you’ll be able to have to resolve issues and I attribute my greatest wins of the final 12 months to it.
For instance, within the trailing yr I’ve been capable of:
Go to Tokyo for 2 weeks, fully disconnect from the enterprise and once I got here again we generated extra income than once I left.
Purchase my dad a enterprise class flight to Vietnam so he may see his dad and mom after they received sick.
Each week on Saturday I both get a therapeutic massage/cupping, acupuncture or a float tank session to deal with myself.
Rent my first government assistant to assist me day-to-day and unlock time.
None of those had been potential earlier than till I began implementing Considering Time. This instrument took my Productivity Rating to new heights (take the quiz to see what’s yours).
As you may discover, a number of my issues on the checklist “cost” cash. Because of Considering Time I’ve been capable of leverage my time significantly better which resulted in making more cash that I’m reinvesting in both myself or the enterprise.
Being Asian Environment friendly provides me the chance to achieve my targets sooner and with larger success fee. That is what I’ve been obsessive about all my life. How can I get issues finished sooner? How can I assure that I get what I would like? How can I construct one thing to make my life simpler and extra handy?
And most vital of all, what’s going to make me happier?
As I prefer to say, completely happy individuals are productive individuals.
Pleased individuals working
And right here comes the large problem if you begin optimizing your life: we ignore the time to consider what’s really vital frequently.
As life will get busier, that’s after we want Considering Time essentially the most. That’s after we want to have the ability to take a step again and actively take into consideration what we’re doing subsequent and how we must always make changes.
I’m not speaking about doing a weekly evaluation and following a guidelines of issues it’s a must to monitor.
Considering Time is a really inventive course of the place you begin from scratch each single time and query every little thing you already know.
Don’t confuse this with reflection. Lisa, one in every of our Dojo members, put it like this:
“Reflection is looking backward whereas thinking is about looking forward.”
Effectively stated, Lisa.
(You may acknowledge her as one in every of our star college students of Escape Your E mail. She used to spend 7 hours/day on e-mail and after taking our course, she freed up over 6 hours. Right here’s her case examine.)
While you’re going for a stroll or sit nonetheless on the sofa, that’s reflecting. While you let your thoughts wander, that’s reflecting.
Considering may be very totally different. It’s if you attempt to clear up a problem or drawback and want lengthy pondering time intervals to give you an answer. That you must be in a distraction free surroundings so you’ll be able to let your mind go on the drawback at full pace. It isn’t doing a Google search on methods to do or repair one thing. It’s about actually understanding your drawback and developing with methods to resolve it.
What you’ll typically discover is that the issue you’re dealing with is definitely not an issue, however a symptom. That is one thing I’ll make clear with you on podcast episode 162 of The Productivity Present that’s popping out in a few month however right here’s a easy instance.
Loads of Asian Effectivity readers come to us with procrastination issues. They simply can’t appear to get began on vital stuff despite the fact that they know they need to be doing it. Ever been in that state of affairs too?
Procrastination and urgency
They suppose the issue is “procrastination” however in actuality, procrastination is a symptom. It’s the symptom of an absence of readability. When you’ve absolute readability round your aim and/or imaginative and prescient, procrastination not often manifests itself.
If it’s not lack of readability, it’s normally associated to power. This may very well be a eating regimen or sleeping drawback. One time I had a consumer who blamed his persistent procrastination for at all times lacking his targets. As quickly as he advised me that, I knew straight away that procrastination wasn’t the true drawback. I suspected “procrastination” was a symptom of one thing else.
After digging deeper, what I discovered was that he had poor sleeping habits. The man was sleeping 4–5 hours an evening and at all times cranky within the morning. While you don’t get sufficient sleep, the most typical signs of which are procrastination and getting simply distracted.
Once I advised him that we’d work on his night ritual, he instantly pushed again. “Thanh, why would I need to do this? This doesn’t help me get this important work done.”
After explaining to him the pondering behind it, he was open to attempting it out. He put his night ritual in place, began sleeping on time and getting a great 7–8 hours in each evening. Just a few days later once I checked-in with him, he was a modified man.
Procrastination wasn’t a difficulty anymore. He now had the power to tackle the vital stuff he wanted to focus on. We ultimately received there as a result of we didn’t deal with the symptom however mounted the basis drawback.
(And when you’re interested in methods to get higher sleep, we’ve got an audio program on that.)
I may have simply taught him the Eat That Frog tactic or my favourite anti-procrastination approach, and it could it have helped him. However it wouldn’t repair the true drawback. It was a band-support answer.
(As a aspect-notice: as a trainer and coach, I’ll typically give these options to individuals to offer them momentum whereas we’re addressing the basis drawback on the similar time. By the top of it they’ll have the true drawback mounted and new instruments they’ll use at any time when the symptom comes up sooner or later.)
Don’t get me incorrect, the fast techniques and strategies work. I nonetheless use them each now and then at any time when I’m procrastinating and I must get one thing finished. I’ll use one of many techniques outlined in our Finisher’s Fastlane course as a band-support.
Behind thoughts, I additionally know that I both want to handle the readability round my work or have a look at what’s incorrect with my power. Particularly if it occurs greater than 3 occasions. That’s when the three Instances Rule will kick in that we train in our programs. When one thing occurs greater than 3 occasions, it’s an indication of a systemic error so we have to deal with it at its core.
I hope by now you understand that a number of belongings you take care of every day aren’t actually issues. They’re signs. After spending lots of of hours on Considering Time, I can let you know that each one the “problems” I assumed I had weren’t actually issues.
Now that I’ve this highly effective instrument, I really feel like Neo in The Matrix. I can see with readability what’s taking place with different individuals and myself, I can take a step again and analyze what the appropriate, productive transfer goes ahead. It’s type of like with the ability to catch your self on a cognitive bias earlier than it kicks in and derails you.
Reflection
When you suppose you’ve an issue…suppose once more.
I’ll wager you my valuable MacBook Professional that it’s not an issue however a symptom.
After getting readability and confidence that you’ve discovered the basis drawback, developing with an answer is the simple half. It’s simply the method of attending to the true drawback is difficult.
I’ll stroll you thru a course of on this in episode 162 on our podcast The Productivity Present that’s popping out in a month. I’m additionally finalizing a mini-course on this within the Dojo, our personal group and coaching library, that can come out quickly.
For now, right here’s what you are able to do.
Write an inventory of three issues you’ve that you just wish to have addressed.
Settle for that every drawback you wrote down is a symptom. It’s not the true drawback however a symptom of one thing else.
Spend quarter-hour serious about what the basis trigger is perhaps for one in every of your issues. What’s it that generates the symptom?
Maintain questioning each assumption that comes up till you’ll be able to’t anymore. That’s in all probability what the true drawback is.
What are you able to do to handle the true drawback?
Give it a strive proper now. I’m assured that you just’ll uncover a number of belongings you’ve by no means considered.
If you wish to be sure to get the podcast episode on Considering Time, subscribe to the podcast proper now. Open up your podcast app, seek for “the productivity show” and subscribe proper now. In case you’re questioning, my favourite podcast app is Overcast.
Replace: the podcast episode is now dwell.
Subsequent week I’ll present you the way I plan my week. It is a system I’ve been nice-tuning during the last 12 months as my work has modified at AE from creator to CEO. When you’ve ever puzzled how a CEO plans per week, keep tuned. It’s very atypical however you’ll get to see the behind-the-scenes of my planning system that enables me to have time freedom and end daily at 5pm (with none stress).
