I am noticing a pattern that keeps showing up lately during conversations I am having with many agents. Since this seems to be so prevalent, I thought we could talk about it today as it's likely something many of our great agents in action are experiencing. Even though a simple, and even a common topic, it's one that is (in many cases) costing you $10,000's and even $100'000's in lost income opportunity. Ultimately, this shows up in our lives many ways. Sometimes, it's having more month than money left at the end of each month...day to day lifestyle choices, it poses restrictions on us to give to others, not taking much needed (well deserved) vacations and so many others. What is this villain? It's our ability to know what to do with our time each day and some long-standing myths or lies that are encouraging this to continue. I thought we could really dissect what I believe is the underlying cause behind this.
The Three lies robbing your productivity.
Lie #1 Everything Matters Equally
All things do not matter equally. Not tasks, not possessions and even people matter equally. Not everything matters equally, and success isn't a game won by whoever does the most. That is exactly how most people play it on a daily basis. THE SIMPLE TRUTH IS THE PERSON WHO IS MOST FOCUS WINS EVERY TIME. They are better because of time on task. It's time on task over time. Achievers always work from a clear sense of priority. Instead of a to-do list, we all need a success list - a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results. So, go small, go extreme, say no, and don't get trapped in the check off game. The check-off game never produces a winner. Sometimes it's the first thing you do; sometimes it's the only thing you do. Regardless, doing the most important thing is always the most important thing.
Lie # 2 Multi-Tasking
What's ironic is employers often advertise to find self-proclaimed multi-taskers.
A thought: Multi-Tasking is probably one of the biggest lies out there. If doing the most important thing is the most important thing, why would you try to do anything else at the same time?
4000 - The number of conscious thoughts on an average day. Most people have an interruption of thought. (Every 14 seconds.)
43 - Average number of interruptions in the workplace daily. (Every 11 min)
28% - Loss of efficiency due to those distractions.
End result: In a five-day work week, you are losing more than one full day of production due to distractions. We wonder why we're stressed out and not getting ahead as fast as we feel we should based on the time we're putting in. You have only so much time and energy, so when you spread yourself out, you end up spread thin. You want your achievements to add up, but that actually takes subtraction, not addition. You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects!
Lie #3: A Disciplined Life
When we buy into the lie that everything matters equally, we end up multi-tasking because there is just too much to do, and when multi-tasking doesn't work, we end up saying things like " I just need more discipline in my life." The trick to success is to choose the right habit and bring just enough discipline to establish it. How much discipline is required to build a new habit? We suggest 66 days, you can force yourself to get to 21 days, 66 days takes commitment. Don't be a disciplined person. Be a person of power habits and use selected discipline to develop them. Build one habit at a time and stick with the discipline long enough for it to become routine. Remember, it's not just one thing, it's ONE Thing at a time.
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