تصور هذا. صباح الجمعة تهرعين إلى المستشفى مع طفل مريض. شريكك يبكي وأنت تعاني من قلة النوم المزمنة. تلغي استشارتك الساعة 11 صباحًا مع عميل محتمل من الواضح أنه منزعج.
في 16:00. من المفترض أن تبدأ وظيفة تدريس جامعية جديدة تمامًا. لحسن الحظ ، يعطي الطبيب الطفل الصغير كل شيء واضحًا في الوقت المناسب تمامًا لتسرع إلى المنزل للاستحمام السريع. لا وقت لمراجعة ملاحظات المحاضرة الخاصة بك. تنجو من الفصل ، لكن هناك مليون مهمة تنتظر في المنزل. لا يمكنك الوصول إليهم لأن الأصدقاء قرروا "تسجيل الوصول" وهم يقيمون لتناول العشاء.
تزور صباح السبت مقهى للعمل على هذا العرض التقديمي لعملك اليومي. من المقرر يوم الاثنين. أنت على وشك وضع سماعات رأس عندما يبدأ شخص غريب محادثة. إنه عميلك المثالي ، لذا بعد 90 دقيقة تقول ، "آسف ، لا بد لي من المضي قدمًا." عند النظر إلى هاتفك ، تجد ثلاثة نصوص تقول ، "مرحبًا ، هل هذا الاجتماع يحدث؟"
لقد فاتك اجتماع فريقك الافتراضي بسبب نشاطك الجانبي ، لذا عليك إعادة الجدولة — سيتعين عليك انتظار إطلاق هذا المنتج. في المنزل ، تتجاهل الأطباق من وجبة الإفطار يوم الجمعة ، وتفتح الكمبيوتر المحمول ، وتقضي سبع ساعات في مكالمات البيع. كثيرًا ليوم الأحد ، تقضيها في إنهاء هذا العرض التقديمي. يوم الإثنين ، ستعود إلى 9-5 ، وتقدم أداء احترافيًا مدهشًا. لا أحد يكتشف سحابة الفوضى التي تدور حولك.
هذه هي الحياة بالنسبة لمعظم المحتالين الجانبيين:تنشيط ومليء بالضغط في نفس الوقت.
هل "امتلاك كل شيء" لا ينفصل عن الفوضى؟ نعم ولكن لا. بعض تم تضمين الفوضى في السعي وراء ذلك ، ولكن يمكنك تستطيع استعادة السيطرة. في ما يلي 12 سرًا من أسرار الكفاءة للأشخاص المشغولين مثلك الذين يقومون ببناء صخب جانبي أثناء أداء وظائف بدوام كامل وحياة اجتماعية وممارسة الرياضة والنوم و 47 من الرغبات الأخرى.
1. وضح الغرض الخاص بك.
القناعة الواضحة هي قوة لا يمكن وقفها. يوفر "السبب" الواضح ما لا يقل عن 80٪ من الدافع اللازم لتحقيق أي شيء. لسوء الحظ ، فإن الهدف الواضح نادر الحدوث بين المحتالين الجانبيين. يقول الكثيرون ، "أريد 1000 دولار أخرى شهريًا" ، أو "أريد ترك وظيفتي". ولكن عندما يأتي الأطفال المرضى والصفقات السيئة حتمًا لاختبار عزمك ، فإن عبارة "جي ، أود المزيد من المال" لن تنقلك إلى الجبل. يتطلب النجاح "رغبة ملحة" ، على حد تعبير نابليون هيل. والطريقة الوحيدة لإشعال تلك النار هي التواصل مع هدفك عاطفيًا المستوى.
قدم البشر تفسيرات منطقية للقرارات ، لكن عواطفنا لها تأثير غير مهم على صنع القرار لدينا أيضًا. لذا خذ وقتك في أن تكون عاطفيًا بشأن هدفك. اكتب وفكر فيه. المشي في الغابة والصراخ في الجزء العلوي من رئتيك. بمجرد أن يعلق "لماذا" في قلبك ، فإن الدافع الوافر سوف يروض الفوضى.
2. أنشئ قائمة "لن أفعل".
الأصل اللاتيني للقرار ، decidere ، يعني "قطع" ، وقطع غير الضروري لا يقل أهمية عن اختيار الأولويات. لا يواجه معظم المنجزون أي مشكلة في تقنين الأهداف الواضحة ولكنهم يتركون "الفرص" الممتصة للوقت تتسلل إلى التقويمات. كن قاسياً مع وقتك من أجل تنمية الأعمال التجارية أثناء الموازنة بين العمل بدوام كامل ومسؤوليات الحياة. الجوهرية يسمي المؤلف جريج ماكيون هذا "قوة الرفض".
اكتب قائمة بالأنشطة التي ترفض القيام بها والصقها على الجدران. ابدأ بزغب واضح ، مثل مشروبات ما بعد العمل. ثم قل وداعًا باكياً للأنشطة التي ، على الرغم من أهميتها ، لن تؤدي إلى أفضل حياة لك. قد تعني القسوة هنا تخطي حفلة عيد الميلاد أو إخبار أهل زوجك أن عشاء يوم الأحد لم يعد تقليدًا. عندما تختار بعناية الأنشطة التي ستضحي بها ، فإن آلهة الإنتاجية ستقويك بالشجاعة لتقول "لا" عندما يحين الوقت.
3. لعب الهجوم وليس الدفاع.
الملياردير كريس ساكا لديه لمسة ذهبية للاستثمار. اشترى في وقت مبكر Twitter و Uber و Instagram. ستعرفه من خلال فترة عمله على Shark Tank على قناة ABC وقمصانه الأنيقة لرعاة البقر. سر نجاحه؟ على عكس الرأسماليين المغامرين النموذجيين ، غادر وادي السيليكون ليبتعد عن التحفيز المستمر ، "مجرد لمس رسائل البريد الإلكتروني الأساسية" وتواريخ القهوة التي لا نهاية لها. “I was just reacting to everything, rather than actually going out and playing offense,” Sacca says. He moved three hours east to focus only on priorities he set, rather than every shiny opportunity.
You’re forced to play defense when your car breaks down, a client goes bankrupt or your child gets sick. But you can make a conscious decision to put the lion’s share of your focus on priorities that bring you closer to Goal City, and not let others control your time. Be unavailable; that’s playing offense. Yes, this means passing up exciting opportunities, but when you chase two rabbits you lose both.
4. Practice self-care.
The most neglected piece of any productivity plan is your most important asset:YOU. Best-selling author and business strategist Tony Robbins says that 80% of success is determined by your mindset. If the programming between your ears is delivering anxiety, doubt, fear and frustration, no amount of hustle or strategizing will deliver results.
One key to creating an optimal mindset is to invest in self-care:inspiring hikes in the woods, playing your favorite game, an excellent meal, time with close friends; whatever recharges your soul’s battery. You can’t do your best work when your mind and heart are overwhelmed. You wouldn’t constantly run an engine at the redline without oil, but Western culture applauds this same abuse when we inflict it on ourselves. Then we wonder why burnout strikes.
A word of caution:Brushing your teeth, taking your meds and reading self-help books is self-maintenance, not self-care. To accomplish more, prioritize compassionate activities that supercharge your spirit. For many entrepreneurs, this is the missing link in their success plan.
5. Leverage health hacks.
The standard disclaimer applies:this is not medical advice, talk to your doctor before you try any of these current favorites of some of the highest achievers in Silicon Valley.
- Bulletproof coffee: Your morning cup mixed with grass-fed butter and MCT oil from coconuts. It provides the fuel your brain needs to function at its peak until lunchtime, leading to the next hack.
- Intermittent fasting: Don’t put any food into your stomach for 16 hours in a 24-hour period. بسيط. This means lunch at noon, dinner at 6 p.m., and your bulletproof coffee in the morning. Benefits include fat loss, muscle gain and growth of nerve cells in the brain, which unlocks peak performance.
- Supplements: Nature provides loads of goodies. Ginkgo biloba may reduce anxiety and stress, and omega-3s can improve sleep and protect you from disease. Find the right cocktail for you.
- Cut sugar: It can contribute to—or increase the risk of—disease, potentially suppress or weaken the immune system, impair cognition, and increase stress.
- Sauna: Spending time in a sauna may trigger growth hormone production, improve physical endurance and improve cardiovascular health.
Take care of the vehicle that carries you through life and your work output will soar.
6. Play to your strengths.
Stop doing things you’re not great at. Yes, in a startup of one, you’ll need to tackle bookkeeping or mop floors. Essentialism author Greg McKeown calls these obligations the “slowest hiker” because they keep you from your destination. “Even activities that are ‘productive’—like doing research, or emailing… can be obstacles,” he says. They require energy better allocated to your strong suits.
Sure, you’ll feel proud teaching yourself how to code an app over three weekends. But you could outsource that to an expert in Croatia for $300. Sites like Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer are a side hustler’s best friend.
To be truly efficient, spend maximum time applying your unique abilities. Are you a strong writer? Then delivering blog posts via an email list will be a better marketing strategy than creating video. You’re an amazing photographer? Find your tribe on Instagram and start selling there. Do not mistake activity for efficiency. Play to your strengths and your results will multiply.
6. Be the early bird.
Time is the one shared asset no one can create. Take advantage of the productivity goldmine that is your early morning hours. At the moment we wake, our willpower and creativity are highest and our minds are free from phone notifications, external demands and noise. Rising late forces you to rush to work, skip a healthy breakfast that activates your metabolism, and robs you of the solitude that creates calm and joy.
Tackle your most important work during these golden hours. Productivity master Brian Tracy calls this “eating the frog”—striking your ugliest, most-likely-to-procrastinate-on task off your list first. This doesn’t need to be unpleasant; string enough morning wins together and you’ll crave more, no matter how wart-covered the task.
How do you own your mornings? Author Robin Sharma suggests:
- Exercise: Start with 20 minutes to activate healthy brain chemistry.
- Reflect: Journal or meditate to create a productive mindset.
- Inspire: Read or listen to books in order to lift your spirit.
8. Understand the maker’s vs. manager’s schedule.
In 2009, Paul Graham, co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator, wrote an essay entitled, Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule . Read it, and you’ll have a lightbulb moment about work rhythms. The Manager’s schedule is comprised of one-hour chunks, where you run from one task to the next. But the Maker needs clear, half-day sessions to excel. A coder or a writer can’t do great work in an hour; he can barely get started.
Side hustlers are Makers and Managers at different times, but tend toward managing. A business only succeeds by creating value, and creation is easier in those Maker periods. Wise entrepreneurs schedule Maker time first thing each morning, leaving frenetic Manager work for late-day.
Tim Ferriss simplifies this to the dictum:“Make before you manage.”
“Even token efforts allow me to reassure myself with ‘Don’t worry. You did produce something today,’” Ferriss says. First, understand which work belongs to each domain, then prioritize Maker time each week.
9. Always be shipping.
Planning is crucial, but over-planning is poison. Another hour of research, one more self-help book, a deep dive into the analytics—these are excuses to avoid action, a.k.a. procrastination. The antidote to “preparing to start syndrome” is to set yourself deadlines to “ship” regularly:Post the article, call the client, record the video, release the app, eat the frog. Author Seth Godin admits shipping is dangerous because it exposes us to criticism, failure and financial loss. His response? You can’t spend life curled up in a ball. “You’re going to ship anyway… why bother indulging your fear?”
Set regular, non-negotiable shipping goals that leave you not quite enough time to finish. Why hurry? Because according to Cyril Northcote Parkinson, author of Parkinson’s Law , “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” You don’t need as much time as you think. Light a fire under yourself to ensure you’re getting in front of customers. That will provide valuable feedback about your strategy, and keep you motivated to keep going.
10. Overlap your efforts.
Always follow the “two birds with one stone” approach. This could mean getting paid for the same work multiple times, reusing blog content on multiple platforms or choosing a side hustle that complements your day job.
Brian Dean has built a thriving SEO training company, Backlinko.com, by producing quality blog posts. When he wanted to start marketing through YouTube, he didn’t create new content, he converted existing blog articles to video. This is working smarter, not harder. For you this might mean using your company’s data in your side business or sharing clients. Hustling as an interior designer? Take a job in a furniture showroom where you’ll meet a stream of clients. Just be sure to get written permission from the boss. Get rewarded for the same work more than once and your productivity multiplies.
11. Mind the analytics.
You can’t hit a target you can’t see, so you set goals. By extension, you can’t reach your goal without tracking progress. Analytics is the art of pulling valuable information from raw data. Your analytics can reveal how website visitors or app users are behaving and which features generate sales. But analytics become most powerful when applied to yourself.
You can track any metric. Simple ones include how many gym sessions or alcoholic drinks you had this week. Prioritize metrics tied to your main goals. If you market your side hustle through social media, create a spreadsheet that records your engagement rate, comments and clicks to your website from social networks. Does your business rely on a lead funnel? Then monitor leads, sales calls made and conversion rate to sales.
There’s also hidden power in analyzing your mindset. Any free daily mood tracking app will reveal which activities promote productivity and happiness—and which hamper you. Only when we analyze results can we evaluate our strategy. If you’re on track, the rosy picture will generate serious motivation.
12. Adjust your sails.
When he was a general in World War II, Dwight Eisenhower said, “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” The same is true off the battlefield:No business or life plan stays intact once we start executing. The process of planning is indispensable because it forces us to anticipate outcomes, setbacks and the resources we’ll need to succeed. But reality will always surprise us.
In your side hustle, you adapt or it dies. Tracking analytics shows us reality, but this information is valuable only when used to alter strategy. As you cross the gulf between your present and your desired future, be willing to navigate around reefs and storms, always pointed toward the port where fortune awaits.
* * *
The colossal test of building a business while working full-time and trying to have a semblance of a personal life can energize you like nothing else. One day you’ll look back on this struggle as the most beautiful chapter of your life. But the road to your most exceptional life is littered with boulders, and you’ll need every advantage to stay motivated. These 12 secrets are no magical shortcuts, but they will roll some of those stones out of the way.
