Today we’re diving into pillar number three of becoming a productive entrepreneur:

Killing your distractions.

We’ve previously discussed the importance of prioritizing systems over goals and the benefits of being an early riser. Today, we tackle a challenge we all face—distractions that hamper our productivity. From incessant notifications to social media black holes, distractions are productivity killers. But don’t worry; I’ve got five solid tips to help you stay focused and achieve more. In this episode, we’ll explore how planning the night before, cutting out social media, creating boundaries, establishing a productive workspace, and incorporating play into your day can dramatically boost your efficiency. Stay tuned to learn how to regain control of your time and accomplish what truly matters. Let’s get started!

Alright. Today, we've got pillar number 3,

the productive entrepreneur. We've already talked about

pillars number 1 and 2 which are systems

over goals and the early bird gets the

worm. You can go back and listen to the last couple days of those

Tuesday and Wednesday for those

episodes. Today, we're talking about pillar number 3,

killing your distractions. We all know the

feeling. You've just getting setting out, buckling down,

and starting to cross things off your to do list. And let's face it. We've

all got to do lists 15 miles long, and they

just keep growing. But today, you're finally in the

right mindset and you're ready to take off getting stuff done.

Geared up to knock out that list because,

like, we need that feeling of relief and satisfaction that

we're gonna get at the end of a full and productive day. Next thing

you know, the phone buzzes a text message. Then the

laptop dings. It's a new email. Your phone lights up with a

Slack message. Somebody walks into your office and asks a

question. Your phone rings again. It's not a work related

call. You need a cup of coffee. Gotta go to

the bathroom. You're starting to get hungry. Before you know

it, the whole morning is gone and you really don't have anything

done to show for the time you've put into the morning.

Unfortunately, distractions are one of the main killers of productivity.

We've got so many things coming at us on a day to day basis,

minute to minute basis. So many things that are trying to

steal our focus and prevent us from doing what truly

matters. And while we're busy taking care of those

distractions, we're not getting anything done. So

how can we eliminate the distractions and keep after the most

important stuff? I've got 5 tips for you to,

help get rid of distractions of distractions

and keep you on track. Number 1

is to lay out your plans the night before. Making

plans the day before is really helpful in helping you to

stay focused the next day. You don't have to plan out

every single little thing, but making choices

about simple things that might be distractions during the day. So

for 1, you could choose what you'll wear the next day. You could choose

what you'll eat for lunch or where you'll eat for lunch. You can choose how

you'll go about getting to work, maybe the route you'll take. You

can make so many decisions the night

before that will take away from the

decision distraction on the morning of. Because when you're tired in

the morning, decisions are harder to make and they can take

up too much of our thought process. It's little things.

Like in the book Atomic Habits, he talks about that Making

as much as you can in your life habit and good habit

so that you don't have to think about it and use up that brain space.

You can also set a rough schedule for yourself. So you you

might decide that you're not gonna check your email or answer your text messages until

you've completed at least 2 important tasks. So between 8 and 10

AM, buckle down and focus on the work. Put your phone

in the other room. Put your laptop or your computer on do not disturb

mode. Whatever you gotta do. If you're out on the job site, leave your

phone in the truck. Whatever it is you need to do, make so

no distractions can be anywhere around you.

And then that that will help you to

stay focused on the work. Number 2 is to cut out social

media. There is it's been estimated that people

spend an average of about 2 and a half hours a day on

social media. Now, it's great if you're

actually dealing with customers,

but most people are not. It's a productivity

killer. K. Social media might be necessary for some

businesses to make sales. But when you're constantly checking notifications,

you're taking time to respond to the Karen on

the Internet who is posting stupid stuff, you're endlessly scrolling

pictures on Instagram, watching TikToks or whatever it is.

Those things do not help your business. K. Social media is

a black hole and it is a major time suck.

So kick that to the curb. Set a time slot for

yourself to do social media. Between 11

AM and 11:30, I'll do all my social media for the day

or whatever it is you gotta do. Turn off all biz

nonbusiness related notifications during

business hours so that you don't get distracted.

Number 3 is to create boundaries. In any given workday, you've

gotta take important calls, and there may be some line of

communications that are necessary to your workday, but there's others

that aren't necessary that you can set to the side. So give

yourself periods during your day when you don't need to check

your phone, your emails, your Slack messages, any of

that. It can be the early portion of the morning that a lot of

entrepreneurs do, like, set aside

between 6 and 8 AM where you get your productive work

done and then go from 8 to 10 and do your

emails,

and that and that helps you to stay more productive. That way

you're not bouncing back and forth. Choose the rhythm that works best for

you, but make sure you stick to it. So

hard to do. I know it is. Tip number 4

is create a productive space. So if you're working at

home or in an office, you need a place where you

can feel productive because productivity produces

productivity. So in other words, if you tend to be productive

in a particular space, your brain will automatically

be productive when it gets in that space again. You associate that

space with productivity, and you're able to keep coming back to that and

be more productive. So the couch is used for

entertainment. So don't sit there to do your work and make your calls. The

bed is used for sleeping. Don't don't go

take phone calls there or send work messages.

Keep things in their place. Don't try to do your

work on your couch or at the kitchen table because then

when you sit down to do those things, you'll think that you

need to work. It's hard to separate the work and the personal. So

keep those productivity spaces for productivity and have a

place that you can be productive and

not do other things. And then when you leave that productive

space, you can leave the work behind and go

do those other things. Number 5, last of

all, it can't all be work.

Now, there's a few successful people who can

just truly be all work and no play, but most of us are not

geared that way. And we're not meant to be geared that way.

Okay? So many people understand that it is

super important to take time to play. And it's also easy

to forget that. And there's a

psychiatrist, Stuart Brown, who wrote a book called Play, How

It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, he wrote

that the truth is that play seems to be one of the most

advanced methods nature has invented to allow a complex blame

brain, not blame, to create itself. Play

opens up a person for creativity and it takes off our heavy

workload. Even some workplaces like Google have

built areas at Google headquarters for people

to play in, for people to be creative in, to have their

own creative space. Those places

relieve stress which raises your productivity

levels even further. Doctor Brown said also

in his book, there is a kind of magic in play.

What might seem like a frivolous or even childish pursuit is

ultimately beneficial. It's paradoxical that a little bit of

nonproductive activity can make one enormously more

productive and invigorated in other aspects of

life. So incorporate these five things

into killing your distractions and you will be more

productive. Too long, didn't listen, make

plans the night before, cut out social media, create

boundaries, create a productive workspace, and don't make

everything all work all the time. You

got this. Do good work.