To be more productive, cut out what's holding you back.

Most people fill up every possible hour, thinking they are “hustling” or “grinding” but instead are enchanted by ‘gurus’ promising their success from working 16h days. Here is some food for thought:

— Many people work hard for years but never get anywhere, they completely neglect their inefficiencies and end up in a perpetual cycle of mediocrity. Whereas some reach success in a fraction of time with a fraction of effort.

You are stuck in what I like to call “The Productivity Matrix” which falls under this ideology:

“Work more → Reach Goals”

I was stuck in this loop for a while, I felt unfulfilled and machine-like, with built-up creativity with no outlet.

In my teen years, I used to create music, sell beats to local artists (some with millions of streams), and create songs on streaming platforms. Then went on to explore fashion and sell graphics and t-shirts online.

As I shifted more heavily to entrepreneurship I lost those tendencies to think creatively, simply because the space doesn’t talk about it much, creating deep unfulfillment. If you are anything like me, you want to create an income using your mind.

Here is what I am striving towards in 2024:

Instead of:

• losing focus (from a lack of holistic goal-setting)

• Following the masses

• losing balance

I aim to create:

• Holistic work that fuels me

• A unique path

• Balanced life (that gets me further ahead)

Do what aligns with “you” so you can walk a path no one will follow.

Instead of “working” 16h days, aim to “play” for 16h.

People think they are productive but misconstrue productivity with filling up time. I used to fill up every possible slot in my calendar with “work blocks” leaving no time to innovate learn and create content.

4 Areas (that are worthwhile to spend time on)

After years of continuous struggle and effort, I realized that you have to prioritize your day into 4 different time blocks:

• creative

• productive

• Wellbeing

• Mind

Holistic improvement is the only cure to psychic entropy, it’s the cure to boredom and uncontrollable thoughts.

Creativity — spend this on:

• writing

• creating content

• exploring your research

Productivity — spend this on:

• outreach/engagement

• Communication

• Client Work

Wellbeing — spend this on:

• exercise

• meditation

• Journaling/Reflection

Mind — spend this on:

• Researching (YouTube, Podcasts, Books, Articles)

• Note-taking

• Analysing Data

You can spend as much time as you like daily. However, can act as a solid foundation and you can innovate from there:

2h creative

2h productive

2h wellbeing

2h mind

As mentioned make sure to make this your own, this gives you the ability to get the most out of your days. Don't overexert yourself with daily work. Keep one day a week where you just “think”. This is where you analyze information and prepare yourself for the week to come.

By using these 4 areas to spend your time on, you are holistically improving without getting burnt out through psychic entropy.

Instead of working 16h days without any creative thoughts, you become a machine.

Machines replace humans, so don’t act like one.

Think of the hare and tortoise story, instead of speeding ahead and running out of energy, conserve it and think strategically on the way. The hare can end up on the wrong path easily, the tortoise can self-correct and pivot.

How to Overcome the Grindset

Focus on compounding tasks.

There are some tasks you have to put a lot of upfront work into → newsletter, course, YouTube video, etc.

Some tasks are reoccurring that you have to maintain month on month → client work, communication, outreach, engagement, etc.

First, go through the process of elimination (I know you have probably heard this before but here I will give an extensive list of things you can eliminate)

• cooking/simplifying meals

• time traveling (aim to do it at home or closer)

• cleaning (aim to hire)

• Repetitive tasks (make a brief video course)

• Clothing (where the same outfit while working)

• Get rid of items you don’t use frequently

• Use Software to eliminate tasks (a whole separate topic)

• and more

This can eliminate 1-3 hours of work daily, you’re welcome.

Now give this a thought, if you could only work 2 hours a day what would you do?

Write that down. This adopts the 80/20 rule/Pareto principle

This will help you determine your lever-moving activities.

Everything outside of that aim to delegate or eliminate over time.

This is easier said than done but you will have to experiment and test what gives you the best results with the least amount of input that compounds over time.

Understanding this concept will get you miles ahead of everyone else. This is how you do more with less effort, by subtracting rather than adding. This will be a lengthy process, you will not be productive overnight but you will see incremental process over time that will compound on itself exponentially.

I hope you enjoyed my first letter my friends

Jay