Not getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity

A few days ago, I had the cool idea to create a referral program for this newsletter, something like the Morning Brew has.

So if you refer one person, maybe you get an “Insights & More” sticker… for three referrals you get a fridge magnet… for five, you get a coffee mug, because nothing motivates action like a free coffee mug.

I found this idea addictingly attractive, much like the idea of having enough money in the bank to live off interest alone.

So I started to fantasize:

“All I really have to do is get one person to refer me to four others… and then two of those four to refer me to eight others… and then four of those eight…”

Pretty soon, I figured, my list would exceed the total number of atoms in the known universe.

But in spite of this geometric growth potential, I won’t be implementing this referral program now, and probably not ever.

I’ll tell you why. Maybe it will help you to get more value out of your time, and save yourself the stress and frustration of going down blind alleys.

I recently started a 4/4 value/time system for new ideas.

I rate each idea on a 1-4 scale for its possible value. 1 is no value or doubtful. 2 is certain but small. 3 is large value. 4 is “should have done it already.”

And similar for time. 1 is “ongoing project without clear scope or timeliness.” 2 is weeks or months to complete. 3 is hours or days. 4 is “can do it now.”

So every idea that springs out of my head now gets evaluated on these 1-4 scales.

The referral program got a 1/2. The value is doubtful. The time to implement it would probably be on the order of weeks.

So no to the referral program, but that’s ok. I’ve got lots of other ideas, including some that warrant a 4/4.

The bigger point being, you have to be willing to let things not get done.

The fact is, and I’ve seen this in my own life, it’s possible to achieve transformations very quickly.

But in order to do that, you have to focus on the one or two things that really make a difference. The way you get the energy and time to do those things regularly is to kill off cool but distracting ideas.

So there you go.

Use my 4/4 system. Or come up with your own. But figure out which things you can leave undone today, and most likely, forever.

And then watch as your success starts to bubble and mushroom to unseen levels… like money in the bank that compounds faster than you can take it out.

And if you need more ideas to help with your productivity:

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