Refueling the jets… Learning to Value Time Off

By the time you read this I am off on my 10-year wedding anniversary vacation trip through the South of France and Italy. In that honor I am republishing an article I wrote on high-performance productivity a few years back. Enjoy!

How does America regain its supremacy in the productive world?

How do YOU improve your personal productivity?

ANSWER: Go on vacation.

438 million. That is the number of vacation days Americans failed to take in 2007, according to Harris Interactive research group—more than any other industrialized nation.

Here is the result: America ranks No. 1 in depression and mental health problems. Americans are experiencing burnout, reduced productivity, diminished creativity, failed relationships, stress or stress-related ailments such as depression, heart disease or stomach ulcers in record levels.

Our entrenched puritanical conditioning, being valued on how “hard” we work, fear of being replaced or left behind, and our addiction to always being “busy” are actually not only destroying our mental and physical health, but also destroying our creative productivity.

This is especially true in our new global economy, where our advantage and future is read more »

Just joining us? Be sure to read Installment #1 and #2 and #3

WARNING: There is kryptonite all around you!

There are great traps you will have to overcome to execute and stick to your five-point plan each day. These are three great warnings to look out for.

WARNING No. 1—“Yes”

You will have to become a master at saying “no.”  This is one of the greatest distinguishing features of superachievers—not what they do, but more important what they don’t do. Their ability to keep the main thing, in fact, the main thing and not get mired in weeds of minor tasks is their genius. They major in the major issues and don’t major in minors, as many of the rest of us tend to do.

As Brian Tracy said, you need to develop “Won’t Power.” The power to declare and stick to all the things you won’t do, in order for you to stay focused on the things that matter the most to the accomplishment of your BIG hairy audacious goals.

WARNING No. 2—Being reactive instead of creative

Monitor and calculate your time between being reactive (reacting to communications, inquiries, requests and needs of others) and being proactive or creative—the time you are spending being productive and on target with your key priorities, not the priorities of others.

Think about it: email, texts, the phone… you are mostly reacting when you are on these devices. Don’t let them yank you around all day as if you were on the end of a string where someone else is your puppet master. Instead, be sure the lion’s share of your time is spent being creative and focused on YOUR few and high-value priorities.

WARNING No. 3 read more »

Just joining us? Be sure to read Installment #1 and #2

Here is a simple (but don’t let the simplicity fool you!) but PROFOUND plan to immediately multiply your productive output many times over your current rate.

I’m not talking about activity (more work, more time). I said productivity (results, money, accomplishment, goal attainment)… all the while, living much more stress free and carefree existence (more time for family, fun and hobbies!).

Let me outline a 5-point Superachiever Productivity Plan for you… this is what I do.

No. 1—Plan tomorrow today. Jim Rohn taught me, “Don’t start your day until it is finished on paper.” And the best time to do this is the day before.

This is an important and many times not so easy-to-keep discipline. The last thing I do before I shut down for the day, by routine, is to review and complete the plan for the following day.

The entire process takes less than 10 minutes. What you don’t want to do is wake up and then figure out what you should be doing—it’s way too late by then. Chances are the rest of the world will have decided what it wants you to do and it will control your day, instead of you. You will be reacting instead of creating.

Let me take you through that simple planning process, since the key to brilliant execution is always brilliant planning. read more »

If you want to know what we’re up to, be sure to read Installment #1.

After interviewing hundreds of superachievers, many of whom you have seen grace the cover of SUCCESS magazine, I have found about a half-dozen key distinctions of superachievers.

In this series I will outline one of the BIG strategies and a 5-point plan to dramatically increase your productive output, while significantly lowering your stress and schedule burdens.

Superachiever Distinction No. 1:

It’s NOT what the superachievers DO that separates them from everyone else…

I am constantly asked, “What do Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet and the like DO that makes them so successful, productive and wealthy?”

What’s supremely interesting is that what they DO has little to do with their extraordinary success. It has more to do with what they DON’T DO.

Steve Jobs: When asked what is the thing he is most proud of what he and Apple has created, this was his answer: “I’m as proud of what we DON’T do as I am of what we do.”

Warren Buffet: When asked for the No. 1 key to his success, this is his consistent answer, “For every 100 great opportunities that are brought to me, I say ‘NO’ 99 times.”

Isn’t that interesting?!

You see, saying “yes” is easy.

Yes I have a minute
Yes I’ll take the call
Yes I’ll take on that project
Yes I’ll come out for happy hour
Yes I’ll have another drink
Yes I’ll have dessert too

Saying “no” is much harder. And I have learned it is the master skill of the superachievers and read more »

On the CD inside our May issue of SUCCESS you will find two fantastic interviews. One is with our 1-on-1 expert Peter Guber, who I have written about before (read here).The other is with social media maven Mari Smith. During our interview I asked  Mari to follow up with her 10 most favorite social media marketing resources, and she generously followed through. Below is her list.

Additional articles on social media you might be interested in:

• 8 Shocking (and Hilarious) Social Media Gaffes
• No. 1 Skill for the 21st Century (Part 3 of 3)
• No. 1 Skill for the 21st Century (Part 2 of 3)
• Networking With New Media
• To Tweet or Not to Tweet: Expert Tips about Using Social Media
• Small Business and Social Media

Mari Smith’s Top 10 Favorite Social Media Marketing Resources
There are many online tools I use every day to manage my social media marketing effectiveness. In my recent interview with Darren Hardy for the May 2011 issue of SUCCESS magazine, I talked about many of these tools. Darren asked me if I would put together my top 10 list for readers of SUCCESS. Here they are!

1. HootSuite.com—a fantastic free online tool for managing multiple social media profiles, pre-scheduling updates for specific days and times, monitoring keywords and analyzing statistics. Plus, check and reply to saved searches, Twitter lists, trending topics, @ mentions, Direct Mentions and more. Also available as a mobile app, which provides an excellent way to pre-schedule your social updates on the fly. Paid version also available with additional features. (See also TweetDeck.com—an alternative tool to try that is equally popular.)
2. Bit.ly—the top link shortening service, ideal for Twitter but equally useful for Facebook and even email marketing to track clicks. Copy your long link and paste into your bit.ly account. Easily make custom links and track how many clicks you get. For example, this is a link to one of my most popular blog posts read more »