A simple productivity approach to break free of hustle culture that constantly tells you to do MORE, BETTER and FASTER. Let’s slow it down instead.

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Let’s be honest: If you were to take a time audit of your eight hours (okay, 10 hours) in the office, how much time is spent on actual work?

I’m not talking about meetings. Or emails. Or meetings that could’ve been emails.

Actual work.

Most of our days are spent being pushed and pulled in numerous directions, with tons of distractions … and probably loads of busywork, too.

I realized shortly after leaving corporate life just how much time is spent on random filler. Every single day.

And as I transitioned into the role of a stay at home dad with an emerging content-creation, online coaching business to build and run, I had no time for “fluff.”

But, I had to learn this lesson the hard way.

Because I tried following the advice of hustle bros like Gary V or David Goggins who want us to constantly work more, faster, better.

And it led to even more burnout. Which hampered my ability to show up as a good dad and my business suffered, as well.

Over time, I learned a better way. One that prevents the burnout while still getting things done.

And I got there by embracing these three seemingly counterintuitive principles:

1. You can get more things done by committing to doing fewer things

2. Block out distractions so you can produce those fewer things with higher quality

3. Create better systems and rituals for everything else

Here’s why this works …

This simple productivity approach has unlocked so much more time in my day

But the funny thing is that I’m also more productive than ever before.

And (at least I think) I’m also producing some of my best work. It feels like I’m making more meaningful and impactful content than ever.

Learn the principles and you’ll finally feel like you’re in control of your time, energy and production.

And yes, these approaches still work if you’re in an office, or working from home.

Let’s dive deeper into each one.

Yes, you can get more things done by committing to doing fewer things

Back in my sports reporter days, we had our lead story: The most important story of the day.

The one that took the most emphasis, focus, attention and (oftentimes) the most time to coordinate and pull together:

The biggest game of the night.

That huge trade between teams.

The star player got injured.

The coach who was fired.

I can guarantee you have a lead story that you must accomplish every day. That should be your first and biggest priority, not “when I can finally get around to it.”

What are the most important tasks and projects of your day?

“Free yourself from the constraints of the small so you can invest more meaningfully in the big.”

— Cal Newport, Slow Productivity

I can guarantee that when you start your workday, there are 1-2 major priorities (again, not meetings). Identify those.

You can do that by asking yourself three questions:

1. What is the impact of urgency? (Does it have a deadline or is it tied to a key goal?)
   
2. Do I have to do it? (Can it be delegated, or does it require my specific skills?)

3. What happens if it’s not done? (Will it cause negative consequences or block other important work?)

Your biggest priorities of the day should be able to meet all of the above criteria.

Now you have your assignment.

It’s time to attack it with a deep focus.

Block out distractions so you can produce those fewer things with higher quality

Productivity is all about saying “yes” to the biggest priorities … and accomplishing them with higher quality … by saying “no” to things that do not serve you.

Read that again.

In order to ensure better quality of your work, you’ll need to say “no” to distractions.

Schedule when you are going to work on your lead story (or major task) of the day.

Block out 1-2 hours (or whatever makes sense for you) to work on that major priority. 

This is called implementation intention and it’s a powerful way to stay on target with your goals.

Follow this simple formula used by James Clear (author of Atomic Habits): “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].”

In other words:

• I will work on this power point deck at 8:30 a.m. from my office.
• I will write this research study at 10:30 a.m. after my morning meeting.
• I will work out at 5:30 a.m. in my garage.

And then make sure that’s the only thing you’re focusing on by blocking out any and all distractions.

No “open door policy” while working deeply on your focused task.

Avoid checking your email or phone.

Remove as many notifications as possible.

Your job is to get locked in on one thing.

That’s how you end up in a flow state and can really deliver the quality that is required.

When you start doing amazing work at your own pace, it solidifies and proves your systems to your clients, coworkers, manager, even yourself.

One task. Focus.

Create better systems and rituals for everything else

Where this can go wrong is when we focus solely on the big rocks (lead story) and the “little things” start to fall through the cracks:

• We missed the emails we were supposed to send.
• The appointment we were supposed to schedule.
• The online subscriptions we were supposed to cancel before we had to pay.

People start getting frustrated as you start to let them down.

I get it.

Those little administrative tasks can be annoying as fuck.

They’re like damn mosquitos pestering you throughout your week.

Create a backlog system for the mosquito tasks

I’m a big fan of creating a game and systems out of things (if you haven’t figured that out by now).

These little mosquito tasks are no different.

As these smaller to do list items come across my desk, I immediately ask myself:

Can this be solved within the next two minutes?

If so I’ll usually knock it out right then and there.

If not, then I create what I call a “Backlog” and the task goes to a running list of action items.

Once or twice per week (or whatever frequency works best, maybe that’s daily for you) I schedule a block of time to crush as many of these smaller things as possible.

This works because those smaller items are not being ignored.

But you are not letting them distract you from the big rock tasks that require deeper focus.

And you get a rush of dopamine for smacking those mosquito items in rapid succession like that.

Create rituals for the more personal, self-care style things

Great job getting things done.

But you still need to make time for you.

And all that personal care stuff can easily get pushed to the side when you’re trying to power through, get shit done, raise tiny humans and just … exist.

That’s where rituals come into play.

I have a morning ritual of walking, mobility, reading, and coffee before my kids get up.

My workout ritual is a midday transition from my focused, creative work into my more administrative, process-orientated work.

At the end of the day, I have a shutdown ritual of playing video games to unwind before I pick up my kids from school.

My bedtime ritual means hitting the pillow with a good book at 9:30 p.m. and then lights out at 10:00 p.m.

No one is coming to magically manage your time for you, my friend.

You’re going to have to get real intentional with your priorities, actions, systems and rituals to make this work.

Figure it out.

Run your day to day life through these principles

Where can you gamify, systemize and ritualize your life?

You don’t have to do it exactly like I did.

But hopefully you noticed some areas in your life where you can unlock a bit more focus and efficiency.

Helping you develop productivity systems like these are one of the focal points of my new community which I’m calling the LevelUP Life.

Paid subscribers get exclusive access to my digital mini-courses that explore my proven frameworks for time management, better health, and exploring personal growth.

You also receive two essays from me per week, along with access to me in the community chat along with more time-efficient strategies to free up more room in your life to do things you enjoy.

All from someone who’s been in your shoes before.

I’ve worked in corporate offices, I’ve also been a stay at home dad, juggling two kids while managing my own business.

Productivity wasn’t a cool topic to optimize or a trend to explore. It was a necessity.

And now it’s my passion to help you navigate this fast-paced life with tools to help you slow down so you can find more time to do things you actually enjoy.

I hope you found this useful. If so, I’d appreciate it if you sent this newsletter to one person you think would benefit from my writing today.

And if you’re new here and enjoyed this newsletter, I’d be honored if you subscribed for more at this link.

And as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “simple productivity” and I’ll answer any questions you have to make this work for you.

Until next time,
Pete