Bryan Ward – Get Shit Done

My GET IT DONE System in a Nutshell Part 1 of 2
By Bryan Ward, Husband, Father to 4, Inc. 500 Entrepreneur and Founder of Third Way Man
Bryan Ward – Get Shit Done
II used to be the WORST procrastinator.
I’m talking a whole ‘nother level of dysfunction… as in waiting so long to change my watch after daylight savings time that it synced up again six months later ’cause I’d never changed it.
Yeah. As such.
It used to be that I blamed it on being a “creative type.”
What’s the real reason? This was something that I had struggled with for many years. (More on that later).
I tried every productivity program you can imagine.
I have just read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” Stephen Covey
I have read “Getting Things Done” David Allen
I tried it day-Planners, ticklers files, productivity apps and every other time management tool under the sun.
But I was still frustrated, procrastinating and nothing-To-Show-For-It-All mess.
I’ll be sharing my breakthrough system for busy dads in the pages that follow.
To get you started, here’s the crown jewel of my system, my daily action plan, captured on one sheet of paper.
It’s embarrassingly simple… and it has absolutely changed my life.
Thanks to this one piece of paper, I…
* Grew a client’s company 10X from $20K to $200K per month in sales in 6 months
* Cofounded a health supplement company and grew it from nothing to $33M in annual sales in 5 years, earning a spot on the Inc. 500 and 5000 list two years in a row
* Spent over $1M a month (profitably) on Google AdWords
* Wrote copy that brought in over $3.3M in sales
* Generated over $1.2M in affiliate commissions
* Sold over 240,000 books online via paid advertising
…all while working roughly 6 hours a day (sometimes more, sometimes less).
Given my distractibility, and laziness, and the fact I have a wife and four kids, age toddler to teenager…
…I needed a system that was simple, effective… and Bryan-proof.
After many years of trial-And-I made an error and finally got it right.
Here’s my favorite part… Here’s my daily one-page action plan

(See, told you it was stupid simple…)
Now, I will break it down one at a time so that you can see all the powerful elements.
Part I: The Core
This is The Core.

What is the Core?
Simply put, it is the. “legacy-grade” Work that SHOULD be the core of your day:
The big, bold actions that change the game and create legacies…
…the work that builds empires…
…the work with the potential to OUTLIVE you.
For me, that means…
* Writing content

* Writing sales copy

* Creating and refining the vision

* Selling products and services

* Brainstorming new products, collaborations, and strategies

* Finding talent
You will notice that CORE work is first before FTA. (I’ll unpack). “FTA” In a second
These are my FIRST THINGS every day at work.
BEFORE my meetings.
BEFORE I pick the phone up.
BEFORE reading the reports.
And, most definitely, BEFORE I check email.
This is not just because I am at my best creatively and productive in the morning but also because it allows me to place my flag on every single workday.
To say to each and every distraction… to every person who would happily derail me, “this day is MINE, not yours.”
Also, notice that there are only three action items.
It is by design. A minimum of three hours should be spent on each task. I actually prefer to do ONE task for three hours. This will allow me to work more efficiently.
So… that’s the first piece.
If you do nothing else but block off your morning to do CORE work… your life will change DRAMATICALLY.
But that’s not the end of the story. You’re a dad, after all: your life is busy, and complex, with multiple demands…
…which leads us to the next part.