How to Schedule Busy Days

Below is my system for staying productive all day, every day. It allowed me to sell over $100M in my B2B sales career, then build a 7 figure coaching business working an average of 40 hours/week. Most importantly, my nights and weekends are free to spend with my family. Here's are the 3 simple steps I take every single week: Step 1: Complete a Weekly Plan & Scorecard at the beginning of each week On Monday mornings (or Sunday evening), I print and fill out a Weekly Plan & Scorecard. On this document, I write down all the important tasks and action items I aspire to get done that week in no particular order. I then rank each task in order of priority, typically prioritizing RGA's (Revenue Generating Activities) for my business. I originally took this scorecard from a book called the 12 week year, then adapted it to include a "Rank" column, which allows me to prioritize each action item. Prioritizing the Action Items allows me to know where to start every day, and prevents me from getting overwhelmed. If you want to download the adapted Weekly Scorecard I use, you can find it here: https://lnkd.in/gvADT_QR Step 2: Daily Task Blocking in Calendar Whitespace At the beginning of each weekday, I fill up all the whitespace on my calendar for that day with high priority tasks taken directly from the Weekly Plan & Scorecard. This ensures that the most important tasks for the week get done first and eliminates daily decision fatigue. The key is to put the specific tasks on your calendar so there's no empty space. If for some reason any tasks on the calendar don't get completed for that day, I move them to the next day in any open whitespace. Step 3: Weekly Scoring At the end of each week, I score my performance using the simple formula: Tasks Completed / Tasks Written Down = Score % My goal is to score 85% or higher each week, although admittedly there are many weeks where I fall short. If there are any tasks that didn't get completed that week, they get moved to the following week. I rinse and repeat this process every single week. This ensures that I SHOW UP every single day, and stay productive throughout the entire work week. Additional keys to success include: 1. Taking short breaks when you feel mentally drained. Stretching, a short walk, and standing desk do wonders to change your state. 2. Minimize the number of daily meetings on your calendar (4 or less is optimal) to stay focused and ensure you have enough whitespace to get deep work done. 3. Give yourself an hour lunch to break up the work day. Every day I have lunch with my wife, and that's also on the calendar. 4. Do one thing at a time 5. If you have an unproductive day, forgive yourself. Every day is a fresh opportunity to get it right! In today's training video, I share how to use this exact system in detail. You can find the full training here:

Sometimes I look back at my time in the Air Force and wonder how I got everything done . . . how did I get kids to soccer, stay credible in the airplane, do laundry and grocery shopping, and focus on my role as a commander and leader. The reality is that there were often times where I felt overwhelmed by multiple competing priorities . . . there just didn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get it all done. The only way I could keep my head above water was to get serious and deliberate about prioritizing. I didn’t always get this right, but here are a few ideas that can help with prioritizing tasks and making the most of your time: 1️⃣ Identify Your Goals/Priorities: Clearly define your objectives to focus on tasks that align with your priorities. 2️⃣ Prioritize Tasks: Conduct a thorough analysis of your daily tasks. Determine which tasks are urgent and important, and focus on completing those first. {I didn’t know about the Eisenhower Matrix then, but I find it highly effective now for prioritizing tasks.)   3️⃣ Delegate Responsibilities: Trust others to handle tasks not directly related to your core responsibilities, freeing up time for priorities. 4️⃣ Set Realistic Deadlines: Break down larger tasks into smaller steps with achievable deadlines to maintain steady progress. Micro/quick wins are also good for motivation. (I personally enjoy crossing items off of my to-do list.) 5️⃣ Learn to Say No: Be selective about new commitments to avoid overloading your schedule (sometimes easier said than done, and it’s helpful to have an accountability partner on this). 6️⃣ Block your Schedule: Consider setting aside specific blocks in your schedule for strategic thinking. Creating this space ensures that you are actively working toward your goals and objectives and not just getting bogged down in the weeds. 7️⃣ Review and Adjust: Regularly reassess your schedule and priorities to ensure they align with your goals, adjusting as needed. (I use a high tech sticky note and review/re-write at the end of each day). Whether you're a business professional, military member, entrepreneur, or student, effective time management is key to maintaining productivity and reducing stress. #Prioritization #ProfessionalDevelopment #PersonalDevelopment

⏲️ Time management techniques that actually work I'm a fan of Lenny's Podcast, and I´m always searching for effective techniques to optimize my time.  So today, I'm sharing Lenny's Newsletter's article, "𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸", which offers a pragmatic and proven approach. Here's a summary of the 10 productivity techniques and how I'm using them☝️: 𝟭. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼-𝗱𝗼𝘀: Instead of a to-do app, schedule tasks directly in your calendar. Plan your week on Sunday evenings. ☝️ The new Notion Calendar is excellent at pulling my open tasks into the calendar so I can drag and drop them through the day and commit time to them. 𝟮. 𝗧𝘄𝗼-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲: If a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately instead of adding it to your list. ☝️The procrastinator in me hates this one, but I've been more intentional with it. 𝟯. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮 "𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿" 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁: Track items you're waiting on from others to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. ☝️ My tasks list in Notion has a waiting-for field to track who I need a response from. 𝟰. 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝟯 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Write down 1-3 most important tasks each morning before starting work. Do the hardest one first. ☝️ This one has been a game changer: visualizing 3 things that I'd be excited to accomplish throughout the day, writing them down in front of me, and ripping the page off at the end of the day is an excellent fix of dopamine and productivity. To make sure I get to those tasks, the following technique is equally important. 𝟱. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: Schedule and fiercely guard blocks of uninterrupted focused work time. It takes 30-60 minutes to get into deep work mode. ☝️ I'm blocking my first 2,5hs at the office for deep work and getting most of the 3 daily priorities done. No meetings, no email checking, no notifications. A quick refresh with french press ☕ at the end. 𝟲. 𝗡𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: Push meetings as late in the day as possible to protect your peak creative hours in the morning. ☝️ You won't get 5) without 6). 𝟳. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗗𝗼 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗯: Keep notifications off and remove distractions by physically separating yourself from devices when needed. ☝️ Multitasking is a hoax. 𝟴. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗰: Convert meeting requests to email conversations when possible to save time and maintain focus. 𝟵. 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁: Use services like Double or Athena to delegate low-impact tasks. ☝️ AI tools? 𝟭𝟬. 𝗦𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻: Filter requests through your priorities, communicate tradeoffs clearly, and evaluate future commitments as if they were happening tomorrow. ☝️ Be intentional to avoid getting dragged into things you don't need, https://lnkd.in/gXfPDM93