Welcome to the magical world of intuitive productivity, where you get things done with the flow of life, rather than swimming upstream and banging your head into a million different walls.
We all want to be more effective in our lives, and do more of what matters. But for many of us, we struggle with having way too many things to do, and so we spin our wheels and never really get anything important done.
It’s very fashionable right now to be “productive” and to get more stuff done. With this trend has come thousands of different systems and methods for organizing your day and life. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s nearly impossible to stick to any of them. Why? Because you are a unique human being, with a unique life, and a unique inner world. In other words, you must design your own system.
To be clear, there ARE helpful systems out there to learn from. And there are some incredible productivity experts who really know what their talking about. But after over 20 years of trying literally hundreds of productivity and planning systems, here’s what I know to be true:
There is not and will Never be one “best” productivity system. The productivity system you use in your life today might not suit your life next year. The productivity system Tony Robbins offers might work great for him, and not for you. The productivity system offered by Dr. Benjamin Hardy might be a smashing success for a few of his students yet not for others.
The reason for this is because life is not a linear process. Nor is it 100% logical. As much as we would like every aspect to fit neatly within the confines of little check boxes and goal charts, the reality of life just does not work like that. And that’s why various productivity systems and tools can be challenging to stick to.
Productivity systems and tools can also become huge, complicated time drains. If you’re spending five hours a day in notion building out little widgets and doo-dads for your business, but you haven’t hit your sales targets, that’s a time drain.
The Getting Things Done system is another example of time-draining systems. If your day comes to a screeching halt five times an hour so you can create a task file to remind yourself to do something tomorrow, yet you never actually get around to doing those things, that’s a time drain.
Does this mean we abandon productivity tools and systems altogether? Absolutely not. It’s important to have some semblance of a planning system. But it’s far more important to take massive action on a daily basis and do what matters most. The trap of productivity systems is they can become time-sucking to-do lists that scatter our focus.
Enter Intuitive Productivity
Intuitive Productivity is the art of swimming downstream with the flow of life, and doing what the present moment is asking of you, while using your productivity system as a gentle oar when necessary to propel the ship forward.
Here’s the truth. There’s no shortage of things to keep us “busy”, but the list of things that are truly impactful in our lives is really short. If you took an honest look at all the things you’re busy with most days, you’d see that there are really only two or three things that drive the needle towards the goals you want to attain.
Productive vs Effective
Organization systems can act as a sieve for the details in life we might otherwise miss. But the way people use them nowadays, they become distraction mechanisms. We become addicted to having a mile long list of little tasks we can check off instead of doing the big scary things that really make a difference (guilty as charged, btw).
So let’s clear the air right now. Productivity is not the same as being effective. If I spent the rest of my life checking off the “get groceries” and “check inbox” tasks, my life would not grow or change much. Who cares how much busy work we can get done and check off each day? What I care about most is the ultimate end results of doing these tasks.
Where are all these little tasks taking me? If it’s not to my desired destination, it’s time to stop scattering energy, and get focused.
Getting Clear on Your Life’s Aims
Step 1 – Write down your key aims for this season in your life.
On a piece of paper, write down your key aims. The things you really want to have, be, and do in this season of your life.
Step 2 – Choose which of those things you are going to focus on for this year
Of your list, choose a couple things that would create a major transformation in you and in your life.
Step 3 – Take daily actions towards achieving those things.
This is the simple process of being effective in one’s life. The productivity systems and tools should serve to help you with step three. And following step three is very simple.
Intuitive Productivity Made Simple
To use intuitive productivity in your life, you will need some tools and systems. More importantly though, you will need some mindset shifts. Intuitive productivity is 1 part systems, 1 part mindset. Here’s how it works….
Mindset Shift #1 – A commitment to the 20%.
Take an honest look at the list of things you intend to create, and now think objectively. What are the KEY actions that will drive you to the finish line? For example, if you want to write a book, your 20% will be WRITING! Not finding a publisher, not finding a book agent, not googling “how to publish a book”…you need to sit your ass down and write. That’s your 20%.
If you want to build a six figure business, your 20% will be SELLING!
Be ruthlessly committed to cutting out all the bullshit in your life that takes away from the 20%. Stop wasting time on the little trinkets and add-ons that try to pull at your attention, and dedicate yourself to the 20%.
The Intuitive Productivity Framework
Mindset Shift #2 – Daily Mediocre Action. You are not mediocre, and neither is your work in this world. However, when we give ourselves permission to not do things perfectly, we end up getting more of the important things done. Don’t try to focus on “being organized”…focus on being prolific and action oriented.
Tool #1 – The simple three. Write down the most important tasks you want to get done the following day. Then block off some time to actually do those things. Even if you just get one of them done, you are being effective.
Tool #2 – Asana for everything else. I use Asana to map out and plan any major life projects or goals. This acts as a sieve for anything else that isn’t my 20%. I open this a few times a week only after I’ve done my important work.
Tool #3 – Notion for note taking and organizing. I do enjoy notion, and it has replaced Evernote for me. I use notion as a place to organize swipe files, book notes, ideas, and also as a sort of systems hub for my business. I open notion up a few times a week.
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Where the “Intuitive” of Intuitive Productivity Comes In
The intutive process comes into play on a daily basis. I’ve found that sticking to rigid plans and systems creates disharmony in my body and life. It becomes counterproductive to go against my intuitive hunches and plow through with what my ego had planned for a day.
So here’s what has worked much better for me:
How I Use Intuition & Systems to Be Effective In My Lie
Step 1 – I have a rough outline of what I want to get done the night before.
Step 2 – I sit down and get to work first thing in the morning. I notice where the energy is flowing and where it isn’t. If the energy isn’t flowing somewhere, I change course.
Step 3 – I remain adaptive and in flow with the present moment. If there are some days when I feel like I’m pushing a rock up a hill, it means what my ego had planned for me is no longer working in this moment. Time to take a step back and let go of plans.
Step 4 – I step into the present moment fully, as if there were no past, and then I see what’s feeling most important and exciting right now.
Step 5 – I take appropriate action
There are two mainstays that do not change in this equation.
The first mainstay is that I sit down every morning to do some sort of work. That is something I do not compromise on.
The next mainstay is that I step fully into the present moment. The present moment contains all the information and guidance I will ever need. So I bring myself here now, and allow the present moment to provide me my marching orders.
Conclusion
It’s far more important to commit to your 20% and start taking massive action than it is to figure out the “perfect” productivity system. And make sure whatever productivity system you do choose serves as a tool for honoring your 20%, not as a distraction from it.
Doing things this way moves you out of “busy” and into Effective. It also shifts you from wishing to achieving.
Love,
Brenda
