We are going to have a lot of productivity talk here at Create Freedom, because the easiest way to build your business up quicker is to become more productive when you’re working (or have your employees become more productive).
Today I want to share one change I’ve made in 2018 that has allowed me to double the amount of work I get done each week.
I have to give credit to the book Deep Work by Cal Newport for helping me with this, as it has been an absolute game changer.
In Cal’s book he talks about the importance of getting into a deep work session where you have absolutely no distractions.
This is probably something you’ve heard before, but the way Cal went into depth on the topic really opened my eyes to how I could improve my work sessions.
I’ve since made a number of changes to my work day that have helped big time with productivity, but today I’m going to share what’s made the biggest impact…
The Big Change I Made
Waking up early and getting right into deep work mode or “focus time” first thing in the morning.
I’m not a morning person at all.
I could hit the snooze button for an hour if I let myself, and it’s something I did back in my early 20’s.
Even somewhat recently I used to mess around in the morning checking all of my social media, making a big breakfast, catching up on some educational YouTube videos and calling it “working”.
It would be 2 or even 3 hours sometimes before I actually got into any real productive work.
And yeah, I often got quite a bit of work done throughout the day, but looking back at it the amount of work I truly got done was about half of what I can get accomplished now with my new morning routine.
Waking up early and getting right into a focused work session has done wonders for my productivity and business.
Why does it work so well getting right into deep work right in the morning?
I think there are a few reasons why pretty much everyone would benefit from waking up early and getting right into focused work sessions…
If you get up early enough most of the world is still sleeping and there a lot fewer distractions.
There aren’t many people posting things on social media, there often won’t be breaking news to distract you, and friends and family won’t be texting you.
The world just feels quieter early in the morning.
Not only are there fewer distractions from the outside, but our brains are usually “less busy” early in the morning.
You don’t have to think as much about things that need to get done at home, you don’t have to worry about your busy schedule in the evening, and you don’t have things from earlier in the day weighing on your mind.
In general, there is just a lot less going on in your head first thing in the morning.
Lastly, and maybe the biggest benefit I’ve seen from crushing a bunch of important work first thing in the morning is the feeling it gives you for the rest of the day.
It feels great getting a bunch of important work done early in the day, and brings your mood up in general.
Have you ever been putting something off for a while, but once you get started the ball just keeps rolling and you cruise through the task?
This is sort of what happens when you start off with a deep work session in the morning. You feel great about what you’ve accomplished and you’ve got the ball rolling for the day.
Next thing you know you’ve banged out a bunch more work with ease.
Even if you aren’t a morning person, I recommend trying this strategy out if you’re looking to increase your productivity.
Drink your cup of coffee in the morning (or whatever you do to wake yourself up), put some headphones on, lock your door, don’t let your family or officemates distract you for any reason other than a complete emergency, and get to work.
Give it a try for a week and let me know how it goes for you. Morning person or not if you do it right I think your productivity for the week will skyrocket.
Dan Garner
Kevin McClelland
