Posted by Summer might be drawing to a close but the start of the new school year in September can make it feel like the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.
Of course, there are also a lot of people who might feel like they’re on the home straight and just want to coast until the end of the year!
Obviously, that’s not the mindset that I have, so this week I want to share the various systems that I’ve developed over the years that have helped me optimise my productivity, maximise my discipline and honed my general health and wellbeing, so you can make the most of Q4 and really end the year on a high.
Finding freedom
The majority of my followers want to learn about property investment and real estate so they can become a better investors, and create wealth. Simply put, they want to be able to live life on their own terms. That doesn’t mean they’re in it just to make big money though.
Nobody wants to die the richest person in the graveyard and so the idea, as far as I’m concerned, is not just to create money: it’s to create freedom. Not just financial freedom, though – I’m also talking about freedom of time and freedom of purpose.
For me, freedom means I can afford to do the things that I want, both financially and in terms of available time. I want to be able to go after the stuff that holds particularly strong or deep meaning for me. That’s what freedom means for me and that’s what I work towards, every day. I do this by using systems to optimise my productivity, discipline and wellness, starting with my body.
Your health is your wealth
I’ll never get tired of telling people that ‘your health is your wealth’. It’s something that really can’t be overstated: if you want to be more successful and productive, you have to start with a strong body and a strong mind.
I watched my father die at 45 years of age, and health was not a priority for him. So, whilst my obsession with my own health and fitness could be attributed to many reasons, the most important one is the simple fact that I have five kids. I know what it’s like to lose a parent and I would hate for that to happen to my children, especially whilst they’re still so young.
That said, it’s not the only reason. From a business perspective, I think that being physically fit means you’re sharper mentally, allowing you to make better decisions. You’re able to cope with stress better and often I find that you’re more creative.
You are what you eat
So it’s important to watch what you’re consuming… and I don’t just mean what’s going in your mouth. What are you consuming mentally? What content you’re watching, what are you following online?
If you’re looking at a lot of social media, other peoples’ glamorous lives, big houses and exotic holidays – just stop it. Unfollow or mute those accounts, because they’re not going to make you feel good, and you have to remember that most of it is exaggerated for likes.
Similarly, if the news headlines are stressing you out, remember that those headlines exist to get clicks (or sell copies, if you’re old-school). How much of what you read is in your control? Why are you getting so stressed about situations that you can’t directly influence?
Look instead at what you can control – your reactions, your own behaviour – and focus on that instead.
What works for me
In my own life, I’ve got systems and routines that I’ve been honing for some years now.
You have to start your day right, so I try and follow the same morning routine every day. Whilst I’m no robot, consistency and discipline are personal values of mine, and this is the lifestyle I try to maintain for peak success and productivity.
I’m up at 5am (or thereabouts) every day. In order to do that (and lose out on any sleep), I go to bed earlier than a lot of people – I try to be in bed by 10 o’clock and asleep at the very latest by 10.30, so that I’m getting at least six and a half hours sleep. Ideally you should be getting seven hours, or if you can, eight.
You have to make rest a priority – without it, both your body and brain are going to suffer. Good sleep is part of your daily recovery system – especially if you exercise a lot. Try not to scroll through your socials once you’re in bed, and if you can, don’t eat too late.
I try to stop eating at 6pm, so that once I’m in bed my body can recover from the day without wasting energy on digestion. Alcohol will impact your sleep as well so if you like a couple of glasses of wine at night, remember that whilst it might help you fall asleep very quickly, it won’t give you good quality rest.
Priming your mind
Of course, it’s all very well working out and eating well, but it’s also important to prime your mind. I meditate for 10 minutes every day (try the Calm app or similar to get started), and it really sets me up for the day. I also read a page of The Daily Stoic, a piece of stoic wisdom or philosophy from people like Marcus Aurelius – that might not be your thing but I find it fascinating. It’s a quick thing, it only takes about 90 seconds to read, so it’s easy to fit in.
I have a five-minute journal which I fill out every day with how I’m feeling or what kind of a workout I’m going to do, and I have another journal that I write more deeply in, where I keep a list of the values that I try to live by and what my main goals and ambitions are.
It’s too easy to wake up in the morning tired and groggy, to just roll into the day and let it hit you. If you go in primed and ready, you’re saying ‘okay, yes, what do I stand for and what do I need to get done?’, and you start off on the right foot, meaning you’ll be making decisions from the right place.
You could also try shocking your system with cold water. I don’t mean you have to jump into a barrel filled with ice every day (although that’s really good for you), but instead put the water in your shower to the absolute coldest and jump in – not to get it over within 10 seconds, but to have a normal length shower. After all, it’s important to do things that make you feel uncomfortable!
Planning out your day – take care of your big rocks first.
Finally, you need to properly plan your day so you can identify your priorities. One thing I’m guilty of is having big to-do lists, but the reality is that if you have a big to-do list, you have no priority. It’s really important to identify one thing that if, if you achieve it, makes everything else easier.
Stephen Covey, in his book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, talked about taking care of your ‘big rocks’ first. Think of the time in your day as a jar and those small, annoying tasks that you have as little grains of sand. As something goes up in importance it gets bigger, from pebbles to stones, until finally you have those things that are really important to you, represented by big rocks.
If you fill the jar with sand first and work up in size order, by the time you get to the rocks, there’s no space left. However, if you put in (take care of) your big rocks first, everything else can then fit in around it.
Eat the frog
The other thing that I try to do is identify what I call ‘the frog’. Mark Twain said “If you have to eat a live frog, do it first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.”
So, if you’ve been putting off a task because it’s unpleasant or it’s going to require a load of thinking and just seems like a lot of work, tell yourself to eat that frog! If you can get that off your list then the sense of relief is fantastic.
I hope that’s been helpful – you can take a listen to Episode 150 of the podcast for more hints and tips to maximise your productivity. Don’t forget, if it’s freedom you want in your life, you’re going to have to work at it, so why not start right now?
Good luck!