How to Milk Your Day for All It’s Worth

Four tips for getting the most out of your daily gift of 24 hours

Time is the great equalizer of us all. The wealthiest person only has 24 hours each day. The poorest person has the same amount. What leads to our success or failure, our happiness or misery depends on what we do with our daily dose of time.

Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of each daily gift of 24 hours.

Get adequate sleep

An occupational hazard of those seeking to be the best they can is to give up hours of sleep each day in order to get more done. As counterintuitive as this may seem, getting enough sleep is foundational to being as productive as possible through the conscious hours of each day.

So how much sleep is enough? The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7–9 hours of sleep for adults 18–64. Peter Diamandis recommends at least 7.5, but strongly encourages 8 hours a night. Studies have shown that peak performers from violinists to athletes consistently get more sleep than most of us.

2. Exercise

My personal goal is to exercise at least 4 days out of seven. My routine includes three sets of push ups, sit ups or planks and squats or lunges. I try to mix in a half an hour on the elliptical and occasionally a neighborhood run. Usually I can do any of these in about 30 minutes give or take. This simple routine helps get the body in peak state, giving you the ability to bring more energy to the rest of your efforts throughout the day.

3. Write down three things you will do BEFORE you spend any time in email or social media.

I learned this trick from Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary. He shared it at a workshop I attended some months ago. He credited it to someone else that he learned it from. Here it is: When you wake up in the morning have a small post it note pad and pen by your bed. Write down the three things that would be most valuable for you to complete that day. Make sure you get those done before you look at your email or do anything on social media. These two things can sap your focus and consequently your productivity for the day. Taming these diversions will be a major coup in your personal productivity for every day.

4. Work in Focused Effort Sessions

The human mind is easily distracted, but powerfully creative when focused. Darren Hardy calls these “Jam Sessions.” This consists of putting yourself in a completely distraction free environment. (Think of the boy in the bubble). If you have an office, close the door. Unplug or turn off your phone. Close your email software. Don’t give in to the habitualized tendencies to do a quick email check or any other distraction for up to 90 minutes. Instead, focus on the highest priority item you wrote on your post it note, until you get done or for up to 90 minutes, whichever comes first. If you finish it, or get it to a point where you can’t work it further at this moment, go on to the next item.

When you get to 90 minutes, STOP. This may be the hardest part of a focused effort session, especially if you’re making progress. You feel enthused and excited and want to keep working. Ironically, you will be more productive, if you stop and take a break for at least 15 minutes. Go disengage for at least 15 minutes. Go outside. Take a short walk. Go visit with someone (as long as you’re not interrupting their focused effort session). Then go back to work.

I bought two digital timers for this purpose; one for my work office, and one for my home office. If you can establish focused effort sessions as a way of life, you will see tremendous progress in your most worthwhile pursuits.

Mastering the above four steps will give you tremendous boosts in your personal productivity, and help you get the most value out of your 24 hour daily gift.

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