be uncommonly productive - chrometa

8/3/2019 Be Uncommonly Productive - Chrometa

1/61

PART 1

PART 1 - Cai & Rai

TheUncommonLife.com

Kent Healy

Uncut,

unrated,

andde

finitely

uncomon

15 unbreakable, paradigm-bending principles for

slaughtering stress,

taking charge,

and doing more than commonly possible

Be UncommonlyProductive


2/61

PART 1

Kent Healy Email me Other Parts Newsletter Blog | 2

Sorry,wearetoobusymoppingthe

floortoturnoffthefaucet.[Actualgraftion anofcewall]

...Its me to break the cycle

before you break your neck.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttps://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


3/61

PART 1


Hey Chrometa lover!

Were excited about helping you become uncommonly producve. We created Chrometa to act

as your very own personal mekeeper, so that you can leave the busywork to us, and focus your

aenon on more challenging, valuable, and rewarding tasks.

Being producve while eliminang stress is necessary for a fun and fullling life. This is some-

thing we feel very passionately about at Chrometa - taking out the busywork of reconciling your

me, while also showing you exactly how youre spending it, so that you can get more done

while actually working less.

Were thrilled to team up with Kent Healy to provide this uncommon, paradigm-bending guide

to help you slaughter stress, take charge, and do more than commonly possible.

Since you enjoy Chrometa, we know youll also enjoythis book. Your me is important we hope this book,

coupled with Chrometa, will help you nd more of it

in abundance.

To a producve life,

- Bre Owens

CEO & Co-Founder ofChrometa
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://wwww.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.chrometa.com/http://www.chrometa.com/http://wwww.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttps://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


4/61

PART 1


Dedication:

To the vivacious and industrious cit izens of the world.

E verything and anything great ha s been the result of yourcommitment to product ive

thinking and doing.

- KentJoin me and other uncommoners

theuncommonlife.com
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttps://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


5/61

PART 1


Contents:PART 1: Contain & Refrain- This PART is about taking full control of your lifewhat-

ever its current state. Well restrain any exisng chaos, stress, and disorder while reig-

ning a sense of passion, purpose, and poise. The goal is to put you at the helm of your

ship as you lay the rock-solid foundaon necessary to enable all other producvity ps,

tools, and systems.

1.Manage your me fanacally

2.Only do what maers And most things dont maer

3.Procrasnate strategically

4.Set and enforce personal policies

PART 2: Ordain & Ingrain In this PART well dive deeper into the many things that

consume your me and aenon while exploring highly praccal ways to capitalize on

the control you gained in Part 1. Well ingrain new knee-jerk habits that keep you in

the drivers seat so you can go from where you are to where you want to be with speedand grace.

5. Become technologically competent and curious

6. Simplify everything

7. Handle tasks and projects dierently

8. Timebox everything

9. Master your email

10. Own your phone

PART 3: Maintain & Sustain In this PART well ensure that all of the skills weve

learned to this point are both upheld and amplied. Without a strategy for ongoing

sustenance, peak performance is merely a ash in the pan. Sustainable producvity

requires specic habits, lifestyle choices, and uncommon systems all of which we

explore here.

11. Always seek automaon

12. Delegate and collaborate

13. Culvate and raon your energy

14. Design your environment15. Schedule non-negoable me

Conclusion

PART 4: Retain & Ascertain In this PART I oer a very comprehensive index of more

than 50 powerful producvity tools you can start using today. Youll wonder how you

ever lived without them. These tools will help you retain the new skills learned in this

series while simultaneously maximizing your me and eort. As Ive always said, eort

gets you started, but only the right tools, techniques, and skills can spawn extraordi-

nary performance and uncommon results.

16. Comprehensive resource and tool index

This

bok


6/61

PART 1


Introduction

A bi hiy im...

It took 23 years to noce my unusual obsession about geng things done

in the most ecient way possible. Why so many years? I assumed every-

one else shared the same obsession. But the more I interacted with otherindividuals and businesses, the more quesons I received about my me

management techniques and the more I realized that I was, in fact, the ec -

centricbut nonetheless, a rather producve one.

My obsession began at a young age. Five, to be specic. Like many children,

I had choresa lot of themand not surprisingly, I was reluctant to do

them. In youthful fashion I aempted to reduce my work by complaining

and compromising. But my taccs of manipulaon were useless against thisunrelenng adult legion and merely prolonged the tasks I loathed.

I then redirected my eorts with a new queson:

How can I get this done faster

so I can do more of what I want?

Nothing profound, but very liberang.


7/61

PART 1


I am far from alone in asking this queson, yet I remain alarmed by the

number of people who dont give this concept the aenon, curiosity, and

diligence it so deserves. Instead, I see the opposite: people slogging through

daily rounes and obligaons only to perpetuate me-drain and frustra-

on. And few things pain me morebecause I care deeply about this topic

and helping others get more from their lives, their me, and themselves.

Why ad hi?

I wrote this book for one primary reason: to help you do more and enjoy

more. But lets clarify one thing: Producvity should not onlybe about

geng more done. The goal is about doing more of what is most im-

portant (which is admiedly a maer of both praccality and subjecvity).

Regardless, this goal requires a high level of eecveness and eciency

and thats where this book comes in.

I have included many highly praccal pieces of advice (including candid,

no-holds-barred Q&A subsecons) as well as suggesons and links to prod-

ucts and services that can will help you do more without cloning yourself,

because thats cost-prohibive (I checked).

Takig i bak...

Perhaps the most disheartening sight in academia and the working world

is the number of people who blame their lack of spare me and unhealthy

levels of stress on some unwrien decree that arms, Its just the way life

is.Well, it can denitely seem so.

We are oen so surrounded by ineciencies

that we eventually accept themas a customary part of our lives.

But dont succumb so easily.


8/61

PART 1


Ineecve habits and systems cost us in more ways than the obvious.

Here are some:

Starng work earlier and earlier (A sliding scale down a slippery slope)

Leaving work later and later (The slippery slopes matching bookend)

Having to decline social opportunies (Hello self-created solitary connement)

Having to decline good business opportunies (Its dicult to measure this loss)

Poor quality performance and results (The curse of the majority)

Passing on me with loved ones (Ill take three relaonships on the rocks, please)

Passing on personal me such as exercise, leisure acvies, etc. (No rest for the wicked)

Passing on strategy sessions (Which ironically encourages what wed like to avoid)

Increased stress and decreased health (R.I.P. fun and creavity)

This list is painful to write and read. Each of these points marks the be-

ginning of many fatefulbut avoidablecompromises.

It seems that with each passing year, demands increase which weigh more

and more on our schedules, our professional lives, our personal lives, our

happiness, and our energy. But this is one ght we cant aord to lose. The

minutes of our lives should be both passionately cherished and defended.

As I always tell my clients...

Stress may be a fact of life,

but it doesnt have to be a way of life.

When it comes to producvity, our greatest limitaon is most oen our

strategy. This, remarkably, is good news.

Why? Because strategy can be adapted and scaled. It may not be easy, but

its very worthwhile. While there is no single silver bullet to eradicate ev-

ery demand of daily life, there are many ways to decrease these demands

while also decreasing the me necessary to complete them.

Thats where I come in.


9/61

PART 1


Why m?

I usually have enough acvies underway to coerce a speed junkie to raise a

white ag. Accordingly, Ive experimented with many techniques, systems,

and tools to help me do more and enjoy the process. I share these strate-

gies, ps, tricks, and tools in this book.

Given my past and my fanacal interest in the ROI of everything that con-

sumes my me, energy, and aenon, I have found myself heading opera-

ons for each of my business ventures, which, not surprisingly, I have come

to enjoy.

With that said, wring this book never appeared on my list of projects with

deliberate intent. This ebook became a pet project aer publishing a blog

post tled, 10 Ways To Be Uncommonly Producve. Below is an excerpt:

On New Years Day I chose a theme: Adventure over comfort and con-

venience. This involved seng some rather challenging goals consid-

ering the limited me I have available. To my surprise, however, pursu-

ing these addional goals only boosted my producvity. Now at the

end of the rst quarter, Ill share some of the things I have learned that

will hopefully help you do more of what you want as well.

To add some context, below are some highlights of things I have

done in the past 60 days:

Traveled to: San Francisco, Dominican Republic, Boston, New York,

Beijing, and Singapore (working and sightseeing at each) [In the 60

days following this blog post, I travelled to London, France, Switzer-

land, Hungary, Mexico, and Croaawith none of these trips ini-

ated for business reasons.] Finalized a 10,000 word ebook tled, Maxims for Mavericks (get a

free copy here)

Processed over 3,000 emails

Read 3 non-con books

Personally rebranded and designed TheUncommonLife.com

Managed Cool Stu Media Inc., my publishing company
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/10-ways-uncommonly-productive/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/choosing-adventure-over-comfort-and-convenience/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/choosing-adventure-over-comfort-and-convenience/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/choosing-adventure-over-comfort-and-convenience/http://www.maximsformavericks.com/bloghttp://www.maximsformavericks.com/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.coolstuffmedia.com/http://www.coolstuffmedia.com/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.maximsformavericks.com/http://www.maximsformavericks.com/bloghttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/choosing-adventure-over-comfort-and-convenience/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/choosing-adventure-over-comfort-and-convenience/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/10-ways-uncommonly-productive/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


10/61

PART 1


Travelled to give speeches

Managed The Lost Boys Project, LLC, my real estate company

Posted several new arcles to TheUncommonLife.com and

MaximsForMavericks.com

Wrien several guest arcles for YoungEntrepreneurCouncil.com

Exercised 4 days a week (on average)

Took 3 weekend trips to San Clemente to visit friends and family

Took a full-me student load at USC (essays, speeches, and mid-

terms), maintained my posion on the Deans List (and recently grad-

uated Magna Cum Laude)

All while preserving my sanity (well, most of it) and planning my

upcoming desnaon wedding in Europe. We oen underesmate

what we can accomplish in a month or two or even a year. We each

have our less-producve days, including me, but with the right strat-

egies we can do more, see more, and enjoy more each year.

The ideas and strategies that followed owed eortlessly. The problem was

keeping the content brief enough for a blog post.

As I regreully removed many key thoughts and techniques, I vowed to

share the missing elements and details in a more comprehensive and

(very) praccal guide. And now, you have that powerful guide in your pos-session.

So, in respect to our beloved topic, enough talk.

To an uncommon life,

- Kent

[email protected]
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.thelostboysproject.com/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.maximsformavericks.com/bloghttp://www.theyec.org/http://www.usc.edu/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com%20?subject=Reading%20your%20book%2C%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productivemailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com%20?subject=Reading%20your%20book%2C%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productivehttp://www.usc.edu/http://www.theyec.org/http://www.maximsformavericks.com/bloghttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.thelostboysproject.com/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


11/61

PART 1


1.

Manage your

time fanatically

Ivi yu

Ive never been a fan of the saying:

The day got away from me.

The day never goes anywhere. It shows up faithfully

and stays putevery single day.

We get away from it. Were the unfaithful ones.

Tyler Tervooren

Assume you had to record every acvity you engage in from dawn to dark

to include on an invoice. Now imagine sending this invoice to yourself as

you ask yourself two indispensable quesons:

1. What is the grand total ($$)?

2. What is the hourly rate?


12/61

PART 1


If youre like most people, youll likely struggle to answer these quesons

for two reasons: First, many have diculty recalling the numerous tasks

they engage in on a typical day. Second, the majority have no idea what

their me is worth. Together, these two condions encourage mindless

roune and, of course, a lot of ineciency.

A lack of clarity here leads to substanal wastea waste of personal me,

money, energy and countless other resources. And any form of waste is cost-

ly, but a waste of me? Well, thats just vain, not to menon irreversible.

Ive always found it intriguing how people direct more aenon (albeit,

sll not much) to tracking their dollars and cents than they do accounng

for their scarce and dissipang minutes of life.

Highly eecve individuals realize that me is more valuable than skill,

money, and almost any other resource because with enough me, you canhone skills, raise capital, nurture relaonships, and summon what is re-

quired for an exceponal life.

Why is this concept of invoicing yourself important? Put simply:

When we place a value on our me, we become aware of how

we spend itwhat were doing and how we do it.

Im sure youll agree: most people complain about never having enough

hours in the day but squander their minutes doing trivial things because

they have not appraised their personal me. Being fanacal about our me

brings the details into focus details you cant aord not to know.

So, its me to take an inventory of your daily minutes. Invoicing yourself

is one of the most revealing and objecve ways of

assessing your current situaon and the level of your

producvity so you can idenfy when and where

change should take place. Ive given you a head start

by creang this template invoice for you to use. En-

joy, and dont hold back.

Q: What did you nd most interesng about invoicing yourself?

Email me.

Yu a

awayaqui

m

maia

hig, bu

yu an

iv m

im.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/11/Invoice-Myself-Worksheet.xls.pdfmailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=My%20experience%20in%20Invoicing%20Myselfmailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=My%20experience%20in%20Invoicing%20Myselfhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/11/Invoice-Myself-Worksheet.xls.pdfhttps://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


13/61

PART 1


A miu i miu

Even as a full-me college student, I only did schoolwork on weekends dur-

ing a few rare occasions (and this was usually because of business com-

mitments during the week). If me is used wisely, then many tasks and

projects need not dominate your life.

Lets take a closer look at my college experience as an example. Like a typical

day in the oce, college is lled with daily interrupons and most students

(and workers) have absolutely no idea how quickly these minutes add up.

And worse many do not appear to care (the obvious counter-perspecve of

this chapter).

For arguments sake, lets assign some common college interrupons a con-

servave duraon for a student with four classes:

Moving from class to class: 5 minutes before and aer each classes X 4 classes = 40

minutes

Waing for professors (this could also be seng up/ preparing for lecture): This

varies, but on an average day with 4 classes lets allocate a total of = 15 minutes

Running into friends (unplanned): 3 X 5 minutes = 15 minutes

Eang: Lunch 25 minutes and snack 15 minutes: 40 minutes

Travelling to and from campus: 10 minutes each way: 20 minutes

Teachers rambling (non-important lecture me): 15 minutes

The grand total? 145 minutes or 2:25 hours! This is A LOT of me. And

I connually saw student aer student allow these minutes to slip away,

wring them o as unavoidable or non-important. But to me, these min-

utes spelled opportunity. Below are six personal examples of how I became

fanacal about using these down-me minutes:

1. If walking, driving, eang, or standing waing, I was listening toan audio book. Somemes class texts were available through Audible,itunes or other online music stores. If not, I listened to many other non-

con audio books in my iphone library. With ear buds in, one click of

the buon on the cord and I was immediately listening to where I last

le o.

2. Took advantage of my commute me (20 miles) by riding the bus(this allowed me to read and work). 30 minutes each way adds up fast.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.audible.com/http://www.itunes.com/http://www.itunes.com/http://www.audible.com/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


14/61

PART 1


3.Minimized my on-campus travel me by purchasing a skateboard.This alone cut my walk me by 75%, saving me roughly one hour per

week.

4.Found the best student advisor in mydivision and booked a Skype meeng (I

was usually traveling away from campus)with her the moment I was eligible to reg-

ister for classes each semester. This gave

me the most available opons to cluster

my classes together on two days as op-

posed to four or ve. These two days were

long, but I eliminated a lot of wasted transional minutes that would

have occurred over a full week.

5.Kept assignments and class notes in easy-access folders on my com-puter for quick retrieval when I had 5 or 10 minutes. Learn to create

shortcuts to commonly accessed folders by dragging selected folders to

the le sidebar of the Finder or My Docs window.

6. The instant there was a down moment in class (happens morethan you may think), I would Google the current term/subject to sub-

sidize my notes. I would also periodically communicate with business

partners via Skype chat and email to avoid doing so later. If you can

control the urge to squander me chang socially, or playing games

like solitaire or vising sites like Facebook, You Tube, etc., a laptop is a

very ecient tool. Programs such as RescueTime,LeechBlock, and Stay

Focused can aid your self-discipline by disabling certain programs and

websites during set periods of me.

And nally, while in class my goal was exceponally clear: work. There were

other opportunies to socialize, but for me, the classroom was not one ofthem.

To minimize studying later and to free up

me to do other things when class ended,

extracng every ounce of value from each

class period was imperave (more on this in

Chapter 13 engage at your peak).

Pduiviy

i abu

idig im;

i abu

makig im.

Th abiiy makim wh hdu

a add i

h ga idi-

a diii

ad uu ucs.

Sud ,

hig ha

away ad

u abu highy

acmihd

ad duiv

i hw hy u hi

a im.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.skype.com/http://www.rescuetime.com/http://www.proginosko.com/leechblock.htmlhttps://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfojihttps://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfojihttps://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfojihttps://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfojihttp://www.proginosko.com/leechblock.htmlhttp://www.rescuetime.com/http://www.skype.com/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


15/61

PART 1


This book series, for example, was wrien enrely in my spare meall

60,000 words of it. In fact, as I write these words its 6am and Im on a busi-

ness road trip from San Clemente to Phoenix (and yes, a business partner is

driving the car. Typing and driving not such a great idea).

But the message here should be clear: Most people grossly underesmate

what they can accomplish in small increments of transional minutes,

down me, or o-hours.

Th magi miu

Is it really important to obsess about the details? Rather than give my opinion,

Ill let you make the call. Heres how a short segments of minutes add up

Per Day Per Year Per 5 Years Per 50 Years

10 mins 2.53 days 12 days 126 days



1 hour 15.2 days 76 days 760 days

2 hours 30.4 days 152 days 1,520 days

When asked, most people cannot accurately idenfy where their me

goesespecially segments of 5 to 10 minutes. This is alarming. When the

result is two and a half days lost in a single year, I hope its sobering enough

to make you fanacal about maximizing your minutes.

Everyone has 24 hours in a dayno more, no less. As the table above shows,

mismanagement of minutes leads to a squandered life.

When you use your computer, for example, do you know how much of your

me is spent in Word, Excel, Internet Browsers, or specic websites? Its

eye opening to nd out. I use Chrometa and RescueTime for detailed re-

ports that track how I use my me while on the computer. These programs

can also send you reminders and even disable certain programs to help you

stay on task. In defense of minutes, this is absolutely priceless.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.chrometa.com/http://www.rescuetime.com/http://www.rescuetime.com/http://www.chrometa.com/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


16/61

PART 1


Away ek maximum fiiy

If you dont have the utmost respect for your me, you may as well stop

reading now. There is a good reason this chapter appears rst in the series:

The willingness to manage your me fanacally

precedes any increase in producvity.

Producvity occurs only where there is a deep appreciaon for me. Its my

hope that in the last few pages I could cajole you to appreciate why mastering

me management is well worth the aenon and eort. To be frank, unl you

place an extremely high value on your me, you wont recognize where change

needs to occur and then follow through with new acon. Why? Because

The way we use our meis directly related to how we value it.

How we use our me says everything about our priories, our level of self-

respect, and our understanding of the nite nature of life itself. I know more

people than I care to admit who fool themselves into believing they are

making things happen because they are constantly

in moon. Yet the reality is that being busy and be-

ing producve are two completely dierent engage-

ments. Remember, its all about geng results, not

just showing unwavering dedicaon to daily minua.

Make both eecveness and eciency an unquenchable aspiraon. Is there

a beer way to perform this process/get the result? In most cases, there is.

We oen do things out of habit or tradion, not reason. This has to stop.

Only a deep concern for your me

inspires maximum eciency and eecveness.

When we realize that ulmately its not just the companys payroll on the

line, but our me/life, the value of a minute increases. To be most produc-

ve, we rst must be willing to scrunize our acons and priories on a

semi-consistent basis to avoid falling into me-abusive habits.

Remember, your me is worth much more than money. Spend it wisely.

Th

a bt

way d

i idi.

Thomas Edison


17/61

PART 1


Candid Q&A:Q: Honestly, applying this rst chapter seems exhausng. I need me to

relax at the end of the day. Are you suggesng that I should be working

every moment of the day?

No. That would be unhealthy and unsustain-

able. But, change does require more eort

upfront. I need me to relax is the most

common excuse that keeps people stuck

where they dont want to be. Relaxing is nec-

essary and me well spent, but the real un-

derlying issues here are threefold:

1. The amount of me people think they need to relax is more than necessary

2. Wasted minutes throughout the day peck away at personal me (waste =

more waste)

3. Poor quality relaxaon does not allow for opmal rest and recuperaon

I know work can be ring. Without some R&R we cant move forward.

Butby allowing even one of the three issues above to exist, were

merely stopping to catch our breath, leaving us trapped by the mo-

mentum of the same cycle wed like to escape. Herein lies the seem-

ingly paradoxical dilemma:

We need energy to work on our time management skills, but we also

need to hone our time management skills to have additional energy.

In other words, its takes me and energy to make me and energy.

The only soluon, then, is to invest the me upfront to jump o the

current trackseven if it is a lile uncomfortable in the short term.

The silver lining of a busy life is that it forces us to reexamine our com-

mitments, scrunize our strategies, and seek maximum eciency.

Make a commitment now to manage your me fanacally (o hours

included) and you will nd the me to experiment with new systems,

tools, and techniques. If you dont, youll always be too busy and too

far behind.

I yu

d hav

im

m a

ak, giv i a

buy .

Iy bi had.


18/61

PART 1


Q: When is the best me to start experimenng with new habits, sys-

tems, and tools? Should I wait for a beer, less chaoc me?

Waing only intensies current problems. There will never be a per-

fect me to start. It took me months to dig myself out of the bait-ball

of bad habits and ineecve systems I created during the inial years

of my rst business. But going through was the only way out. This pro-

cess is not as exhausng as it sounds. Mastering your me pays huge

dividends. Each lile victory is energizing, not draining. So, if not now,

when?

Q: What should I do if I just cant nd the me to experiment with dier-

ent strategies and habits?

The topic of me management is misleading. Many people think that

eecve me management strategies will miraculously x their lack

of me, but lack of me is NOT most peoples problem. For many, its

a lack of movaon.

Everyone wants a new, quick-x that will double their output (hence

the explosion of pharmaceucal neuro-enhancers and energy drinks),

but they oen overlook the fact that producvity fundamentally de-

pends on atude, habit, and lifestyle. Without a deep-set drive to

test, queson, and confront your behavior on an ongoing basis, all oth-

er techniques are useless.

Change and experimentaon do require me and eort, but they are

also the only exit o the hamster wheel. With enough movaon, you

will always nd enough me, defeat any bad habit, and discover the

approach that works best for you.


19/61

PART 1


2.

Only do what

matters -

and most things

dont matter

Suma wa huma. Yu a.

Im going to cut straight to the chase: When everything is a priority, noth-

ing is. As much as wed like to, we cannotdo it all. There is always a point

of diminishing returns. Yet, it amazes me to see how many people sll try

to do everything. Tsk, tsk. Drive without clear priories always, yes always,leads to one of the following:

1. Burnout followed by health issues

2. Poor performance followed by poor results

There is a reason Superman is a comic character. But Im not poinng n -

gers either. These two outcomes happen easier than one might think.


20/61

PART 1


In the early days of my publishing company, Cool Stu Media, Inc., yes

was my favorite word. There was always enough me and energy avail-

able for one more commitment. Or so I thought. Unfortunately for me, 24

months later I collapsed with migraines and a deated spirit.

I fastened the hatches and latches and

didnt leave my house for two weeks. It

was bad. Any healthy human being knows

it becomes quite dicult to live with no

incoming groceries. Towards the end, my

pets food looked very appezing.

Nevertheless, I emerged with an enrely

new philosophy and perspecvewhat

has eventually evolved into the strategies in this book. One of the most

important lessons? Only do what really maersand most things dontmaer.

The most producve people are not those who merely do more,

but rather, those who do the right thingsand do them well.

A common misconcepon about me management is the belief that as

long as we ll our schedule and remain busy, weve used those minutes

eecvely. If were not fanacal about howwe use our me (Chapter 1),we will ll our days doing trivial things in ineecve ways and worse, we

wont even realize were doing it.

Th miiy mat m ha

h majiyTake a look at most big projects, job responsibilies, and even school

grading rubrics and youll nd that the majority of how the end result is

accomplished and assessed comes down to just a few key things.

In other words, about 10 30% of the components beget 70 90% of the

results (more on this concept shortly).

I hi hihy

i mbad,

yu wil awayid hig il

vy miu yu day

y id u ha

h majiy yu

f w a

ut wa im.


21/61

PART 1


Even more interesng is that its oen the projects lile components that

usually absorb the most me. This realizaon is either frustrang or liberat-

ing. It depends wholly on the extent to which you apply the following.

This concept is not about disregarding the details either,

but rather quesoning, and perhaps reevaluang,

these details to determine which ones are most important.

Why? Because not all details are important. By pretending they are (you

know who you are), we waste a lot of me.

If you have been following the topic of producvity at all over the past ve

(or 20) years, you will have heard about the 80/20 Principle, a.k.a. Peretos

Law.

In 1896, Italian economist and sociologist, Vilfredo Pereto wrote a con-troversial dissertaon tled, cours deconomie polique, which suggested

that 20% of society retains 80% of the total wealthan idea seldom before

considered. Obsessed with this theory, he noted its occurrence in almost

every aspect of life. In one example, he notes that the peas in his garden

also obeyed this inherent disparity whereby 20% of his garden peas pro -

duced 80% of his harvested crop.

But this is about much more than wealth distribuon and pea soup. Con-sider the following esmaons and variaons:

20% of the world produces 80% of the worlds waste

20% of a companys products produce 80% of their income

20% of your monthly expenses consume 80% of your income

Lets get more creave

20% of the carpet in a room gets 80% of the foot trac

20% of your wardrobe gets worn 80% of the me

20% of the surfers get 80% of the waves (and the rao applies to nearly every sport)

And the raos can be skewed even further: 90/10, 95/5 and even 99/1.

90% of your aenon is given to 10% of your social network

95% of your incoming emails come from the same 5% of sources

99% of the typical black & white NY Times best-selling non-con book is blank.

Therefore, the informaon, the ideas, and the value, is contained on only 1% of

the surface area.


22/61

PART 1


In the context of producvity, heres the boom line:

80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs.

20% of the causes create 80% of the consequences.

Or in other words, the minority maers more than the majority.

Take closer look at your life, your day, and outcomes if you dare. Youll

nd that at least 80% of your results ow from 20% of your eort and me.

Thus, here are the money quesons:

What 20% of my acons lead to the majority of my results?

What 20% of sources are creang 80% of my stress?

And nally How much aenon and eort am I giving to the

20% of things that really maer?

I cannot stress the importance of these quesons enough. I strongly recom-mend you write them down and refer to them regularly.

Discover the points of maximum return and avoid the points of minimum

return (life is full of these). To paraphrase blogger Sco H Young, most proj-

ects are a test of minimizaon. The goal is not to aain perfecon in all

areas. Its about establishing minimums to both reach your goals and nd a

comfortable tradeo between eort and rewards.

Ugy i a alay

I try to sck to my priories and focus on the vital 20%, but I get inter-

rupted by unforeseen res that come up that I must aend to.

I hear this far too oenand its rarely true.

We love to respond to urgent things that

arise because we feel like were doing some-

thing important. But the importance we feel is oen inated. We act under

the false impression that immediacy trumps strategy and the result leads

to dropping everything that was a priority only minutes ago to address this

new urgent issue.

So here comes the bold claim: 9 out of 10 mes urgency is a fallacy.

Ugy i

ju a mia

ai uaiy.


23/61

PART 1


Dont overreact. By responding immediately to seemingly urgent things we:

Assume that we are the best and only people to address the is-

sue, which may not be true.

Assume that the worst is yet to come, which clouds our judgment.

Act with emoon rather than strategy. Emoonal responses can

lead to more chaos.

Interrupt our current workow and sacrice our cherished priories.

Train people to rely on us to solve problems. By stepping in im -

mediately, people will develop expectaons about your involve-

ment in the future, rather than considering how they can help. Au-

thor ofThe 4 Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss, writes, My contacts

now know that I dont respond to emergencies, so emergencies

somehow dont exist or dont come to me. Problems, as a rule,

solve themselves or disappear if you remove yourself as an infor-

maon boleneck and empower others.(See Chapter 4 for more

details on this concept.)

Be sure youre only responding to whats important, not what is urgent

somemes they are the same, but many mes they are not. And its im-

perave to know that there is a big dierence.

Why is this concept so important? Because immediacy creates interrup-ons and interrupons are very, very costly even if we think its just 5

minutes.

Why i NEVER ju 5 miu

Claiming something just takes 5 minutes is one of the most common

perpetuators of me abuse. Each and every taskno maer how big orsmallhas two inescapable costs built into it:

1. A start and stop interval of transional methe me on both

ends of the task required to mentally reengage/focus

2. Opportunity costdeciding to take one acon means simultane-

ously deciding not to do something else. This should always be con-

sidered because, as we discussed in p #1, the minutes add up fast.


24/61

PART 1


Eecve and ecient people rely on ow, a state of concentraon and im-

mersion with the task at hand. Interrupons spoil this process.

Periodically, I keep an admiedly neuroc journal of every single thing I do

for 3-days to examine paerns and possible ineciencies (Its far too easy

to allow unexamined habits to slowly steal precious me).

Aer a recent self-intervenon, I realized that one of my greatest sources

of wastefulness was transional methe minutes spent: a) deciding what

to do next and b) geng into a state of necessary ow/focus to perform

the task well.

To address this, I increased the number of things I meboxed (seng de -

nive start and stop mes) and clustered like tasks to minimize delays

in reengaging to unrelated tasks that require a lot of focus. These subtle

changes made a noceable dierence (more on these later).

Some common examples of 5-minute distracons are: Checking email,

logging into Facebook, texng with friends, tweeng, surng the Internet,

checking the TV guide, perusing gossip magazines, vising the black hole of

YouTube, text chang (Skype, AIM, Facebook chat, etc.) and so on. Each

may serve a purpose (personal or business related), but there are always

costs involved and most of these things, lets be honest, are downright non-

producve.

Alas, here are 10 ps for eliminang these lile 5-minute distracons:

1. Decide rst thing in the morning (or the night before) what youmust complete and determine the ideal order of execuon. Its surpris-

ing how the process of deciding what to tackle next can eat away at

your working day and invite senseless distracons and task favorism

(see Chapter 3).

2.Place a Post-It Note on your screen and other places you see fre -quently with quesons such as, Is my current acon bringing me clos-

er to my goal? The more you ask these quesons, the beer you will

become at recognizing beeline behavior. Download reminders here.

3. Change your work locaongo somewhere out of your usualroune. A quiet park, private room, or coee shop (one where others

wont recognize and interrupt you).
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/11/BUP-Productivity-Questions.pdfhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/11/BUP-Productivity-Questions.pdfhttps://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


25/61

PART 1


4. Install the Yelling Robot app to your computer (Mac only). This app of-fers customizable verbal and text-based commands which appear at ran-

dom to ensure youre not mucking about.

5. Turn o or move your phone out of reachsobasic, its grossly underesmated. The reality is you

do not always need to be connected to the world

for an immediate response (remember, urgency is

a fallacy).

6.Disable your Internet for specic periods of me. This is one coldturkey with big benets.

7. Disable computer applicaons that tug at your aenon. You canuse RescueTime to do this as well.

8.Disable auto-sign-in on communicave plaorms such as Facebook,gmail, AIM, Skype, etc.

9. If youre a writer, simplify your workspace by removing buons,images, and other programs from your computer screen. Check out

WriteRoom and iA Writer (MAC) or JDarkRoom to make your screen

black and show only text.

10.Timebox your tasksallocate a set amount of me for a giventask with a mer before you must move on to other things. The im-

pending deadline increases focus (more on this in Chapter 8).

Rigig awas

In our hi-tech, fragmented world even the most driven go-geers among us

oen contract an undiagnosed strain of A.D.D. Myself included.

Are Brad and Angelina sll together?

Yes, Ill be the rst to admit that maintaining focus (on what really maers)

is dicultbut its not impossible. Catching yourself in the act of distract-

ing or nonproducve acvies is vital. Hence, hence

Yu g

m

wha yu

mau.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.rescuetime.com/http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/products/writeroomhttp://www.iawriter.com/http://www.codealchemists.com/jdarkroom/http://www.codealchemists.com/jdarkroom/http://www.iawriter.com/http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/products/writeroomhttp://www.rescuetime.com/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


26/61

PART 1


One of the greatest and most common barriers to peak pro-

ducvity is not recognizing our own me-wasng tendencies,

habits, and acvies. There is no cure without awareness. Even

a passionate willingness to be more producve is very quickly

drowned out by an inability to see where change needs to occur.

If youre eyebrow isnt furrowed, please reread the previous statement.

There are many me-wasng counter-measures in this book, but perhaps

the easiest and fastest way to become more aware of what youre doing (or

not doing) is by asking key quesons throughout the day.

Quesons are shepherds of the mindthey lead, guide, and determine

our thought paerns and our focus of aenon (which leads to acon and

then results).

I suggest creang pop-up reminders on your computer and phone (can be

done with most calendar programs) and placing the following quesons on

paper in places you look at oen:

Am I being producve or just acve?

Am I invenng things to do to avoid what is most important?

What would be a more eecve way of accomplishing this? If I had only 1 hour or 1 day to complete this project, what would

I do dierently? Would I do it at all?

Am I the best person to handle this task? Is this the highest and

best use of my me?

Am I making the best use of the resources around me?

What is the one goal, if completed, that could change every-

thing?

How can I do this once and only once?

How is my current acon seng the stage for future systems,

habits, and results?

NOTE: These quesons have been carefully and purposely tweaked to culvate a pro-

ducve frame of mind. But reading through these now is not enough to get the full

value. Grab some paper and write these down now or download these quesons print-

ready here. This is one thing you will never regret.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/11/BUP-Productivity-Questions.pdfhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/11/BUP-Productivity-Questions.pdfhttps://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


27/61

PART 1


Bagai, diai, ad

h i vau

This one may sng a lile: We oen fail miserably in determining the wor-

thiness of some acvies. We drive 10 minutes farther to a supermarket

selling breakfast cereal on special. We belligerently cut across three lanes

of trac to perform two wheel-screeching u-turns to pump gas at a staon

that saves us four cents per gallon. We cut out from work early to return a

library book to avoid a 4-dollar late fee. And we spend hours as a coupon-

hunter all in the name of being frugal.

But each acon has mulple repercussions

many of which are very easy to overlook.

Money is not the end-all be-all, but because its quanable, lets exam-ine the me-money relaonship. Consider the age-old axiom of pinch-

ing pennies. The intenon of pinching pennies is posive: to develop

awareness of small expenditures, assess their importance, and recognize

how the lile things add up. Fair enough.

But taken literally, and applied to an extreme, the benets have a converse

eect because while were safeguarding pennies, were marginalizing our

me when we should be concerned about the dollarsthe things that re-ally maer.

I used to spend hours perusing numerous shops, making special trips to

specic department stores, and scanning newspapers looking for clothes

on sale before I purchased anything. I later realized that this was a very

poor use of my me when considering the opportunity cost.

The me I spent bargain-hunng would likely save $20. Totaling my me

spent shopping and searching, this meant I was valuing my me at less than

$2.50 per hour (far below minimum wage)!

This hourly gure of $2.50 was, of course, an unconscious evaluaon. Only

aer experimenng with the concept of invoicing myself (see Chapter 1),

did I see the actual numbers and reconsider the value of my me. Now, as a

result, I have a much dierent perspecve and allocate my hours very carefully.

Tim i y a

vauab a yu

did i i.

Cho wl.


28/61

PART 1


By not spending me worrying about some extraneous details, I was ac-

tually saving myself me and money by engaging in acvies that were a

higher priority and yielded a much greater return on me invested.

Th 4 Fa Sigiia

We do a very job good convincing ourselves that everything is important,

but the boom line is self-evident: if youre doing things that dont get you

closer to your goal, its a waste of your me.

Before you launch a spirited debate, I am aware that some acvies serve

a purpose in intangible ways.

In other words, immeasurable factors also fuel measurable results. While

some outcomes in life are clearly visible (account balances, weight, bodily

appearance, sales gures, etc.), many are not happiness, inspiraon, cre-

avity, and peace of mind, to name a few.

So, now for the money queson: How do you determine what does mat-

terwhat is worthy of our me and what is a priority? The answer is

simpler than you may think. I use a 4-part analysis. When assessing a task

(whether or not to do it or how much me to invest in it), it must rst t

within one of the following four categories:

1. Income: An acon that contributes to business/personal rev-

enue (short term or long term).

2. Growth: An acon that contributes to my personal growth

intellectually, physically, or it provides a precious life experience/

adventure.

3. Happiness:An acon that contributes to my ongoing peace of

mind. This may be entertainment, service, or R&R.4. Legacy:An acon that contributes to my friends, family, com-

munity, or the greater good. This may be a short-term or long-

term result.

It is certainly possible that some acons may not materialize in ways origi-

nally expected. For instance, if I qualify an acon based on income and the

outcome fails to add to my business revenue or growth, I learn from it and

move on.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.maximsformavericks.com/blog/immeasurable-factors-fuel-measurable-results/http://www.maximsformavericks.com/blog/immeasurable-factors-fuel-measurable-results/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


29/61

PART 1


The important thing is that each new acon item can be clearly catego-

rized based on our best esmate and intenon. I have found that very few

things are worth doing if they are not quickly and easily categorized in one

of the four groups above, but be sure to develop a system that works best

for you.

NOTE: There should be a healthy balance of acvies in each of these four

categories. Focusing only on income may lead to burnout, for example. And fo-

cusing primarily on happiness may not provide sustainable income in the short

term. Find the right raos for you.

Gtig h m d a m

Most people think of priorizaon as deciding what is most important.

But this leads to overwhelm because from that frame of reference, toomany things appear important. And to make maers worse, our tendency

is to mentally juggle everything at once. But a very large part of priorizing

is deciding whats notimportant: what youre notgoing to immediately

focus on.

Once I idenfy which of the four factors of signicance a task ts within, the

next step is deciding what to tackle rst and what to set aside. Somemes

the esmated potenal return of each item (reward) is obvious enough

that making the call is easy. Other mes, I need to allow the cream to rise

to the top...

With my to-do items in front of me, I reexamine the list with the assump-

on that I can only accomplish 50% of the items by the end of the week,

thus forcing me to carefully choose what to take on.

When push comes to shove, the biersweet benet is that

were forced to drop, decline, or temporarily ignore certaintasks, acvies, projects, and obligaons.

This can make the selecve process easier and more obvious. If I sll have

a long list, I simply repeat this process.

The remaining items are my most important tasks. The rest are not forgot-

ten or ignored; they are simply less important at the current me so they

are moved to my longer-term or someday list (more on this in Chapter 3).


30/61

PART 1


W a u bigai -w a a ud hm

I would love to spend me on other things, but I have too many obliga-

ons weighing me down that I cannot ignore.

Hold on. People are too quick to label many of their acon items as obliga-ons when they have, oen unknowingly, created the responsibility in a

reversible way. In other words, we fossilize the impression in our minds

eye of what we must do or have to do because we can no longer imag-

ine not doing it (oen due to fear).

This is dangerous territory because we become enslaved to habithabitual

thinking, repeated acon, and outdated systems. And worse, we connue

to do what doesnt maer. But very few things in life are genuine have

tos. We oen have more choices than we inially believe. Its fear of an

uncertain transion and outcome that keeps people stuck and bound to

false obligaons.

Do you really have to meet with your assistant or colleague every

single morning?

Do you really have to respond to every email immediately?

Do you really have to take every incoming phone call?

Do you really need to agree to babysit your sisters kids for a week?Do you really have to join three extracurricular clubs at school?

Really? ... Do you? Challenge yourself, your obligaons, and your commit-

ments frequently. What you think is necessary may not be.

For arguments sake, lets say youve woken to nd yourself in a hospital

bed in which you are told you must remain for two weeks. This would cer-

tainly inhibit your usual weekly roune. But if this meant you absolutelycould not do something, would life sll move forward? Would you, or other

people relying on you, nd an alternave path of acon? 99% of the me,

the answer is a resounding yes. But what, then, does this say about your

obligaons? Are they really as binding as you think?

Why connue to do the things that

are not the best use of our me?


31/61

PART 1


Sadly, we dont oen lash back unl we peak in frustraon or depression.

But its no surprise why we eventually snap. We pile on commitment aer

commitment without being honest with

ourselves and severing es to tasks,

projects, and relaonships that have

dwindled in importance because tough

decisions and conversaons would be

involved.

Face the music. Its me to make some (major) changes.

Pduiviy av h bd

We have to be bold and brutally honest in assessing our acons and com-

mitments. If you think this is going to be easy, youre wrongespesciallyat rst. Sorry, but its the truth. The good news is the more oen we con -

front our reality, the less extreme our counter-measures need to be.

The result of being bold may require dramac changes to your current life-

style, but those changes could wind up creang more freedom to do more

of what is most important to you. And, consider the alternave: a sense of

overwhelm, stress, discontent, or worse, a dull but tolerable existence. For

what? Life is too short.

Stop doing inane things with your me, and eliminate obligaons that are

weighing you down. Somemes it may not be a maer of completely eras-

ing the obligaon from your life, but nding a beer way to execute them.

The key is consistently seeking a beer way to perform, achieve, and live.

We must rst believe there are other opons available before

recognizing themand other mes, we must proacvely create

previously unforeseen opons.Many things in life are more ex-ible than we believeespecially for those bold enough to poke,

prod, and propose alternaves.

But this p is only as eecve as your priories are percepble. You must

develop a good feel for the acvies that yield the best return for you per-

sonally.

Only do what maersand remember, most things dont maer.

Puaig -

why bigai

ad ifiii

ha hav be gad-

ahd i u

iv bi .


32/61

PART 1


Candid Q&A:Q: What if details I dont think are important are important to others?

Interact with others and a dierence of opinion and importance will

inevitably occur. In these instances, honestly assess the relaonshipand weigh the benets and drawbacks of upholding your opinion. Just

keep in mind: the process of changing priories will almost always cre-

ate some fricon in the interim. What maers more, however, are the

long-term rewards.

Q: Wont declining or ignoring certain things piss people o?

Yes. But this is primarily due to exisng expectaons that had them be-

lieving you would already do something before conrming it with you.

However, once you can produce new or beer results in other areas

and adopt new consistent behavior, others expectaons will adjust.

More on this in Chapter 4.

Q: How do I stop interrupons in the workplace when I am not in control

of things?

You probably cannot eliminate every interrupon, but you can mini-

mize them. Many changes you wish to see in the workplace come

down to two things: communicaon and expectaonsadjustments

in these areas take me and pracce.

It is important to know, however, that our behavior (obvious and

subtle) trains others how to respond to our future acons and sug-

gesons.

Here are some miscellaneous ps to avoid interrupons and trivial

work:

(Disclaimer: I am aware that some or all of these ps are not applicable to

every work environment, but there are always measures that can be taken

to reduce senseless acons. Its part of your job to nd them. If you feel frus-

trated aer many creave aempts, it may be me to look for a new job.)


33/61

PART 1


1. Work with headphones ineven if you choose not to turn themon. This makes it slightly more dicult/awkward for others to interrupt

you with mindless babble.

2. Post a sign on your door or hang a note across your cubical en-trance reading: In an eort to be most producve I have blocked o

the next hour to immerse myself in deep concentraon. Thank you forunderstanding.or a variaon thereof. The great thing about this ref-

erence to me is that its not permanent and it also never states when

the hour is over. If you sll need valuable face me, you can get it on

your schedule.

3. Create an email auto-responderthat sets expectaons for a slight-ly delayed response. The message could be similar to the sign men-

oned above: In an eort to be most producve I only check email

periodically through the work day. Your email is important to me and I

will respond as soon as I can. Thank you for understanding.

4. Suggest non-interrupve communicaon tools that provide acompany or group message/bullen board in the cloud, project man-

agement soware plaorms (such asWunderlist, Producteev, orFlow),

real-me inter-oce instant messaging. Such tools can eliminate meet-

ings, phone calls, and walk-by conversaons that interrupt your ow.

5. Propose alternaves.When you feel a task might be fruitless, in-stead of complaining, condemning, or declining the task, oer an al-

ternave with a plan about how you will provide measurable results to

track progress. Building on this point, present all alternaves/sugges-

ons:

o In sandwich form: Boom bun: How the idea helps you. Meat:

How the idea helps your boss. Top bun: How the idea helps your

company.o By starng with very small requests to prove their worth when

the downside is minimal. Then slowly work in bolder ideas.

o Add a built-in deal expiraon date so your boss can easily termi-

nate your new iniave if he or she is unhappy with the results.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.6wunderkinder.com/wunderlist/http://www.producteev.com/http://www.getflow.com/http://www.getflow.com/http://www.producteev.com/http://www.6wunderkinder.com/wunderlist/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


34/61

PART 1


And nally, a word of cauon: If you are successful in minimizing in-

terrupons and increasing spare me or me spent doing more im-

portant and enjoyable things, dont broadcast this to your colleagues.

Quietly connue your mission.

Should you feel inclined to share your success, oer ps and insights

about the systems and tools that work for you, but avoid boasng

about a surplus of me because others will gladly ll that me or start

rumors about how youre not working hard enough. Even though me

invested has nothing to do with dedicaon or producvity, many work

cultures sll use the clock as a measuring sck. Be creave, however,

and you dont need to play by those anquated rules.

You may also enjoy Jason Frieds TED.com presentaon, Why work

doesnt happen at work.

Q: Boxers or briefs?

Briefs. And what does this have to do with producvity?

Q: So, is this p really about doing less? That sounds kind of lazy.

Yes and nosaid like a true lawyer, I know. While this p calls for ceas-

ing to do many things, it is simultaneously about replacing inecien-

cies with more of what really maers. In other words, its not about

pung in less eort. Its about making fewer commitments, deciding

what to decline, and what to stop doing so you have me to do what is

most important to you.

NOTE: For more informaon about the tools menoned in this secon (and

all others), please reference the Tool Index in Part 4 ofBe Uncommonly

Productve.
http://www.kenthealy.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/work-does-not-often-happen-at-work-jason-fried/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/work-does-not-often-happen-at-work-jason-fried/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/uncommonly-productivehttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/uncommonly-productivehttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/work-does-not-often-happen-at-work-jason-fried/http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/work-does-not-often-happen-at-work-jason-fried/https://plus.google.com/b/106721409501656004940/http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Uncommon-Life-3634825?mostPopular=&gid=3634825http://www.facebook.com/theuncommonlife.comhttp://www.twitter.com/kent_healyhttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/bloghttp://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1100670088328&p=oihttp://www.theuncommonlife.com/mailto:kent%40theuncommonlife.com?subject=Reading%20your%20Be%20Uncommonly%20Productive%20bookhttp://www.kenthealy.com/


35/61

PART 1


2.

Only do what

matters -

and most things

don't matter

Suma wa huma. Yu a.

Im going to cut straight to the chase: When everything is a priority, nothing is. As

much as wed like to, we cannotdo it all. There is always a point of diminishing re-

turns. Yet, it amazes me to see how many people sll try to do everything. Tsk, tsk.

Drive without clear priories always, yes always, leads to one of the following:

1. Burnout followed by health issues

2. Poor performance followed by poor results

There is a reason Superman is a comic character. But Im not poinng ngers either.

These two outcomes happen easier than one might think.

In the early days of my publishing company, Cool Stu Media, Inc. yes was my

favorite word. There was always enough me and energy available for one more

commitment. Or so I thought. Unfortunately for me, 24 months later I collapsed with

migraines and a deated spirit.

Congrat s on reading thi s far. I know it seems strange and sometimes frustra t ing to read about

product iv ity when the top ic is about doing. It a lmost

appears counter-product ive. B

be uncommonly productive - chrometa

Documents