Remove distractions to focus on important goals.
Chris Hemsworth went from scrawny to HUGE within 9 months:
Elon Musk disrupted ‘impossible’ fields and made WAY better products than everyone else:
MrBeast is the most popular YouTuber (and he’s only 25):
Christopher Nolan made some of the best movies in Hollywood (yep, I’m biased):
What do all of these guys have in common?
Clarity.
They know exactly WHAT they want and WHY they want it. As a result, they have broken and set new records.
Question is:
How do we develop that same level of clarity? By decluttering your mind. Here’s a quick summary:
- Eliminate Procrastination
- Fuel Yourself (eat, train & sleep amazing)
- Clear Your Mind (declutter & remove negativity)
- Achieve (identify important goals & create a plan)
Let’s dive right in, starting with…
Step #1: Treat Procrastination
Most people can’t stick to a new habit, accomplish their goals, or get anything worthwhile done.
Why?
Procrastination.
We either go all in and burn out within weeks. Or we come up with excuses like:
- I need the perfect environment
- I don’t feel good today; I’ll start tomorrow
- I don’t have all the equipment to start right now
Been there, done that. It will not yield results. Instead, follow this system to kickstart (and stick to) any habit you want:
- A strong why. Why do you want to build this habit? Make the reason strong. Write it down and place it somewhere you can see every day. This will remind you for the days you want to quit.
- Start incredibly small. So small that you can’t say no. And slowly increase over time. Example: never exercised? Walk outside for 10 minutes 1x per week. Then 2x per week. Etc.
- Dedicated environment. Have a specific, distraction-free place for your habit. Example: work outside your home, exercise at a gym, etc.
- Track progress visually. Progress is motivating. So buy a calendar, hang it and cross off each day as you stick with your routine.
Reread this habit building system and understand it. You’ll need it for the remaining steps.
Step #2: Exercise
If your health is whack so will be your focus.
You can’t think clearly and work progressively if you are eating like shit and not exercising. You just can’t. Maybe you can, but it’ll be SO much harder.
Fuck that. Just exercise daily.
You’ll not only feel more energetic, productive and less stressed out, but you’ll also sleep better, eat better, work better and look better.
To start, apply what you’ve learned from Step #1:
Start small, make it easy and gradually increase.
For example, walk outside for 10 minutes 1x per week. Then 2x per week. Then 3x per week. Etc. Then slowly add in weightlifting. This is where the magic happens.
Exercise will give you the energy and clarity you need. But it’ll be rendered useless if you don’t get…
Step #3: 7-9 hours of quality sleep
What do the top performers have in common?
They get quality sleep every night.
Why?
Because sleep is where change happens. Your emotions are rebalanced, stress simmered, creativity sparked, and physical and mental growth occur, just to name a few.
After all, you’re spending 1/3 of your day sleeping. Why not do it right? Here’s how:
- Bed for sleeping only. No texting, scrolling through social media, watching TV, doing work, etc. Only sleep.
- Leave phone outside bedroom. Why? Because you’ll subconsciously feel an urge to check your phone if it’s right next to you.
- Shutdown 30 minutes pre-bed. Any routine that you do every night for at least 30 minutes before sleeping works. This primes your mind for sleep. Example: shower, brush teeth, apply creams, meditate, sleep.
- Sleep/wake same time every day. Including the weekends. This will set your circadian rhythm.
- Optimize. Lower AC (at least 68 degrees), install blackout curtains (to remove all light), and no caffeine after 12 pm.
If you exercise and sleep well, I promise you’ll see massive changes in your life. So build those two habits FIRST before proceeding to the next step.
Step #4: Declutter surrounding
Clutter leads to procrastination.
We feel the need to fill empty spaces with meaningless shit. Look at your car, home, bedroom and phone. It’s probably filled with junk.
This will drain your mental energy. So remove shit you don’t need. Here’s how:
- 1 month rule. If you haven’t used or worn something for 1 month, toss it. As a result, your place will be…
- Minimalistic. Every single possession should serve a practical function that is used daily. Apply this to your digital world…
- Minimize technology. Your phone is a distraction. You can use it during leisure time, but not when you’re getting shit done. Example: no phone at the gym, while you work, at bed, etc.
Once you’ve decluttered your surroundings, it’s time to declutter your inputs…
Step 5: Remove negative inputs
Inputs influence thoughts. Thoughts drive behavior. Behavior yields results.
It all boils down to what information you feed yourself. That said, remove negative inputs, like:
- Porn
- News
- Dark movies
- Social media
- Profanity-filled music
- Negative people (including blood relatives)
And anything else that stresses you out or makes you unhappy.
By now, you’re exercising and sleeping well every day. You’ve decluttered your surroundings and removed negative inputs. As a result, your energy, productivity and clarity have skyrocketed.
Now you’re ready to start prioritizing…
Step #6: Identify important goals/problems
Often times we are working on things that aren’t important. It may seem important and you may feel productive, but the ship has sailed nowhere.
Why?
Because you don’t have a compass. A means for direction.
Important goals and problems give you that. Get a life compass by following these steps:
First, list out all of the problems you want to fix in your life. Example: financial freedom, spend more time with family, work less, fill up free time, get in shape, etc.
Then, narrow down your problems list to the two largest (one personal and one professional). Example: Personal – Get a fit body. Professional – Make more money.
Finally, make the goal/problem as specific as possible. Instead of “get a fit body“, it’d be “I’m going to lose 10 pounds so I can fit in my M jeans“. Instead of “make more money”, it’d be “I’m going to make $2,000 a month so I can move out“.
Your direction is set. You know what you need to work on now. But it won’t mean a damn thing if you aren’t progressing…
Step #7: Plan & execute
Goals determine your direction. Systems determine your progress.
We spend too much time setting the perfect goal and not enough with the system. If you want to consistently progress forward, you need a well-designed system. Here’s how:
- Set a day, place and time. When and where will you do the activity? Example: I will workout for 30 minutes on Monday-Thursday in Gold’s Gym at 5pm.
- Environment. Remove all distractions that don’t align with your goals. Example: if you want to eat healthy, remove all junk food from kitchen. If you want to read more, turn off your phone and go to a quiet place.
- Start small. Then increase over time. Example: I’ll do cardio for 5 minutes every day this week. Then 10 minutes next week. Then 15 the week after.
- Measure progress. By tracking and measuring:
- Track your progress with visual cues. Something that you can see and check off daily. Calendar or an app works fine.
- Measure your progress so you know you’re improving. Time, reps, # of clients – any unit that’s measurable for your goal.
Create a plan, use this system to stay consistent and you’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish.
Takeaway
The most important part to decluttering and prioritizing is consistency.
Starting a habit and sticking to it. Understand this to strategically eliminate procrastination and get the ball moving.
First thing is to take care of your health: eat, exercise and sleep amazing. Once your health is in check, replace negative inputs with positive ones. Finally hyperfocus your attention on 1-2 goals, create a plan and get to work.
Then you’ll realize that your success is built on the little things you do every day.