The Pro Letter #7
5 ways to accomplish anything, get out of default mode, consistency, and a question for you.
Hello, and welcome!
I’ll share with you a favourite quote, productivity tip, and life hack. There’s also some extra bits including; 5 ways to…, a borrowed idea, and a question for you.
You know the power of habit, make this a weekly one.
Enjoy!
Illustration by @deprocrastination
‘Find ways to remove that "or" choice’
5 ways to accomplish anything
‘It is both this simple and this hard’ - James Clear
More wisdom from the king of habits, and the above quotation is spot on when it comes to ‘the process’ of accomplishing anything.
Much of what makes us successful is quite often a very simple concept, but yet hard to execute.
But why do we find the simplest of solutions so difficult to implement?
Personally, it changes day by day.
One day, you believe it’s all figured out, you have all the motivation the world has to offer, you are ready to complete a million tasks at once. The next day, the mere thought of throwing a breakfast together seems strenuous.
We need to seek longer instances of a focused state, and learn to minimise the damages of what the world chucks at us. Everything and everyone wants our attention, remember to audit this regularly!
Here are James Clear’s 5 ways to accomplish anything;
Decide what you want to achieve
Try different ways of achieving it until you find one that works for you
Do more of what works, do less of what doesn’t
Don’t stop doing it until it stops working
Repeat
The Big 3
Quote
‘Your life should be lived by design, not default’
This is possibly the most influential and motivational quote I’ve seen. It screams such truth, and needs to be painted on billboards and foreheads everywhere.
How often do we find ourselves in auto pilot, continuously completing tasks in a default state?
Sometimes it’s necessary for certain mundane aspects of life, otherwise those tasks like washing dishes or doing laundry would be excruciating.
Default mode is easier, and it does a great job of catching us out at every opportunity. We almost have to fight back, and have greater awareness of when we lose sight of what’s within our control.
Remember to step out of default when it matters and start taking back control. The important parts of life need your conscious input.
Design your life, don’t let it simply happen around you!
Productivity Tip
‘Be intentional with your actions’
Have intent.
Some important questions to ask yourself;
Why are you doing that thing in the first place?
What do you want or need to achieve from the action?
Therefore, what is the overall intention?
Don’t mindlessly stagger through tasks, dive straight in with purpose. It’s easy to lose track in the middle of a meeting or a project and the goals are completely lost.
Simplify tasks/meetings/projects. Don’t start without knowing what needs to be different when it ends.
In the end, you’ll find more efficiency and better outcomes.
Life hack
‘Encourage feedback, you should want to know the blind spots’
Always want feedback!
Like with this newsletter, I always encourage feedback. I want it to be better week on week. If there’s blind spots - I definitely want to know!
On that note, feel free to leave some feedback on this newsletter.
Was that subtle enough? Sometimes it doesn’t need to be. Just like now, I’ve outright just asked you for feedback.
It’s that simple. (cue the tumbleweed of no responses, now I’ve said that).
Don’t be afraid of receiving feedback. It’s essential for growth and adjusting what’s necessary. Those blind spots are blind spots for a reason. We’ll never see them ourselves.
We all want to be better, and the key is feedback from others.
A borrowed idea
Chris Williamson on consistency;
Chris has a great podcast on finding your purpose, maximising human performance, productivity, fitness and psychology. Have a listen here.
A question for you
Reading on productivity/self improvement/habits etc. is one thing,
but what is one learning you have you recently implemented?
See you next week.
Keith,
ProductivityPro
PS.
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