A few years ago, this quote from Marcus Aurelius gave me a kick in the ass: “Get busy with life’s purpose, toss aside empty hopes, get active in your own rescue—if you care for yourself at all—and do it while you can.”
Since then, I’ve been on the lookout for ways to build my days around getting the right things done while enjoying life in the process.
Below are some of the best strategies I’ve found and used.
Plan, Plan, Plan
If we want to get things done, it’s good advice to start by jumping in. But if we want to get the right things done, it’s good advice to start by planning.
Brian Tracey said, “Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1000 percent Return on Energy!”
Robert Greene’s 29th Law of Power is “Plan All the Way To the End”.
Stephen Covey’s 2nd Habit in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is “Begin With the End in Mind.”
There are variations, but the message is the same: Planning saves time. Planning creates success.
Be Humble
It’s arrogant to think we can put things off until retirement. Who’s to say we’ll make it there? Who knows if we’ll still have the ability?
Our lifespan is insultingly short. We quite literally don’t have time to put things off. We have to start now.
Eliminate Ego
Speaking of humility, The Office actor and producer B.J Novak said anytime he found himself in a career just for the money, he knew it was time to get out.
In my own life, only once I stopped letting my ego run the show (chasing bigger checks, sucking up to my boss), was I able to get anything of value accomplished.
Don’t Stress
If thinking about an activity causes you stress, stop yourself. There’s no need to stress. Just make the smallest amount of progress and call it a day. The next day, do the same. Then the day after that, and so on. It all adds up.
Tackle the Hardest Thing First
It’s been said that an hour in the morning is worth two.
Get up at a decent time each day and do the hardest thing first. Not only does this give you a better chance of getting that thing done, it also makes the rest of the day seem like a breeze.
Forget About the Outcome
Steven Pressfield said it best: “The amateur and the addict focus exclusively on the product and the payoff.”
If It’s Not a Clear Yes, It’s a Clear No
For decades, the furniture company Vitsoe has made the 606 Universal Shelving System—and nothing else. Why? Because the 606 Universal Shelving System was the only product that met their high standards.
Eliminate the inessential.
Use Strategic Procrastination
Ever notice how once you complete your to-do list it fills right back up?
This is a law of life: we can’t get it all done. When we accept our limits, we free ourselves to pursue what’s most important to us.
It’s not how much but what you get done that matters.
Take One Step Today
“Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole,” Marcus Aurelius told himself. “Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen. Stick with the situation at hand, and ask, ‘Why is this so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?’ You’ll be embarrassed to answer.”
Do The Thing, Or Nothing
Prolific writer Raymond Chandler credited his production to “two very simple rules: a. You don’t have to write. b. You can’t do anything else.”
He would write by making himself too bored not to.
Give 100%, 10% of the Time
Every morning at 6 am, James Patterson would lock his office door at the J. Walter Thompson ad agency and write for two hours. At 8 am, he would open his door and carry on with his role as creative director.
Even while juggling other responsibilities, we can be 100% committed.
Don’t Plan It
Here’s how I used the opposite approach to my first strategy by not planning:
I used to make plans to exercise, penciling cardio and strength training into my calendar. It looked good on paper, but I never got around to actually doing any of it. It wasn’t laziness—I just couldn’t find the time for it.
So I decided to take a different approach. I thought of the things I did each day that didn’t require planning. Things so natural and automatic that it would never occur to me not to do them. Things I’ve yet to go a day without doing. Things like eating, or sleeping, or brushing my teeth. These are the activities that all the other activities have to work around.
I mentally categorized exercise as an essential activity (which it is) and stopped planning it. It would just be part of my after-work routine, and that was that. And this strategy seems to be working. I’ve maintained the same routine since starting it in December of last year.
Set a Stop Time
When his editor joked that he should increase his daily word rate, John Steinbeck wasn’t amused. “I like to hold the word rate down because if I don’t, it will get hurried and I will get too tired one day and not work the next. The slow, controlled method is best.” He would not “permit himself the indiscipline of overwork. This is the falsest of economies.”
Let the Effort Be Enough
Perhaps the advice that’s helped me most to get my writing done is from Steven Pressfield. Detailing his daily writing routine, he answers the hypothetical, post-writing session questions:
“How many pages have I produced? I don’t care. Are they any good? I don’t even think about it. All that matters is I’ve put in my time and hit it with all I’ve got. All that counts is that, for this day, for this session, I have overcome Resistance.”
All that counts is that he did his best.
Lean Into What You’re Putting Off
Generally, the greater the urge to procrastinate, the more important the task. That’s why when it comes to taking a shower, we don’t procrastinate.
If you find yourself procrastinating to do something, good. You’ve found something worth doing.