The Most Productive Thing You Can Do Today

You make 35,000 conscious decisions a day.

That’s 35,000 choices.

35,000 things your brain needs to weigh up, filter and act upon.

From what you’re going to eat, to what you’re going to say, to what you’re going to do - and none of these decisions are made lightly.

Each decision is run through a filter based on your goals, priorities and situation, meaning each decision contributes to a tiny amount of mental fatigue - but that tiny amount quickly adds up.

As the day goes on and as you make more decisions, the more mentally fatigued you become and the worse the choices you make.

This means as you go through your day, you’re more likely to make decisions that are easy and that negatively affect you, whether it’s grabbing Mcdonalds for dinner or skipping the gym.

Since the quantity of decisions you make is so impactful on the quality of your choices, if you want to be productive, you need to limit the decisions you make.

Luckily, there’s one habit you can build which will not only limit your decisions and save your cognitive functions but in turn, will transform you into a productivity machine that smashes their goals.

The Most Productive Thing You Can Do Today 

Imagine hitting the gym without following a plan.

You would walk in and have to decide what to train, what exercise to do, how many reps and how many sets to perform.

Once you finish that exercise, you have to decide what exercise to do next, how many reps and how many sets to perform.

By the end of your session, you’ve wasted a tonne of time trying to decide what to do and because you weren’t really sure what to do (because there are so many options) or how many sets and reps to perform, none of your sets were high quality and so the results you get are sub-optimal.

This is exactly what most people’s day looks like.

They wake up and have to make decisions at every moment about what to do, wasting time and energy making countless decisions.

And since decisions are fatiguing and we as humans are drawn to the path of least resistance, you end up avoiding the important work that actually creates results.

Whilst any important work you end up doing is done at a sub-optimal standard.

You end up being massively unproductive and never moving forward.

So what’s the solution, what’s the habit that you can build that’ll turn you into a productivity machine that smashes their goals?

Well, it’s a simple habit that only has 5 steps;

Step 1: Take 5 minutes every night and write down the daily actions for your goals

What tasks do you need to do to move you toward your goals? Maybe you need to finish crafting your offer or maybe you need to do some cold outreach or create content.

Whatever the tasks that move you toward your goals are, write them down (there should be no more than 3 of these - if there is, you’re messing up)

If you don’t know these tasks, figure them out.

Step 2: Write down the tasks that need to be done but aren’t needle movers

What tasks need to be done but don’t create progress? Write them down.

This is likely the majority of your tasks.

Step 3: Write down your habits and non-negotiables

Whether it’s working out, reading or whatever else.

What habits do you have or what things do you do every day that you consider non-negotiable?

Write them down.

Step 4: Write down your life tasks

Whether it’s work between 9am and 5pm, whether it’s an appointment, groceries or whatever else, write down all your life tasks.

Step 5: Schedule everything to an hour of your day

First assign the tasks that are set in stone - calls, work, etc.

EG. If you’re working a job from 9am to 5pm, schedule that.

Then go through these tasks in the order you wrote them down and assign them to an hour, assigning your most important tasks (that you wrote down first) to the earliest hour of your day.

You see, the most productive thing you can do today is to take 5 minutes and plan tomorrow.

You’ll limit decisions. You’ll get more done in less time and to a higher quality, whilst also being less stressed and less cognitively depleted - because you know what needs done and when you’re going to do it.

Instead of winging your day and worrying about how you’re going to fit everything in, take time to logically structure and organise your day - you’ll find time for everything, make more progress in less time and turn yourself into a productivity machine.

However, this is only one cog in the wheel of productivity, if you really want to maximise your productivity and get more done in less time, click here.

— Ross