Traditional medicine

Raising the bar on how to work more efficiently. Raising the bar

Book summary

About the book

Imagine your personal effectiveness growing every day.

In this book, productivity expert Jason Womack explains why working more hours is the wrong path to productivity. Instead, you should clarify your habits, adopt new attitudes and be proactive.

Raising the Bar contains the most effective techniques for achieving goals and managing time. In this summary, you'll learn what aspects of life are draining your motivation, and how to take your ambition to the next level.

Who should read this summary?

For everyone who strives for self-development
Coaches and team leaders
For everyone who wants to get the most out of their working time

About the author

Jason Womack

Jason Womack is a renowned speaker and trainer for company directors, managers, office workers and entrepreneurs. He has conducted more than 1,200 productivity workshops and seminars around the world, sharing his wealth of experience on how to improve productivity at work.

Learn to make the most of your life potential

Have you ever wondered if your workday is as productive as it can be? Are you really doing your best? Hardly.

The reality is that we all suffer from chronic inefficiency in our daily activities. First, remember how many times a day your colleagues distract you from work? It may seem like there’s nothing special about it — just think, chatting for ten minutes with a colleague — but if this happens six times a day — you’re already wasting an hour of time.

As a rule, we are all very far from using our full potential. But what to do about it? Fortunately, this book has the answer to this question.

Read this summary and you will learn how to start using your own potential.

From this book you will learn:

why life is a marathon, not a sprint;
why you need to carefully evaluate the people you work with; and also,
how to maintain the required level of motivation.

Maintain a good pace of work and value your time

What things have you put off today? We all put off tasks in one way or another, promising ourselves that we will definitely return to them as soon as we have more time. However, time does not appear, and the list grows and grows. This greatly hinders the achievement of your goals, but it can be combated by maintaining a good pace.

So, how to find “your” pace? It all comes down to the concept of balance: make sure to move fast enough to stay motivated, but not to “rush” so as not to run out of steam by the end of the day. If you can find a middle ground that suits you — that’s your pace. And once you have identified it — stick to it!

The author had to go through certain difficulties to get to this point. An avid athlete, he once ran the Wildflower Triathlon and found himself running the first mile in just six minutes, even though his normal pace was eight minutes per mile. And of course, after running five miles, he became exhausted and was forced to slow down. This would not have happened if he had run at his own pace from the start.

Working at your own pace is a great way to make the most of your time. But there is another way to make the most of the time we have.

How? Just appreciate his!

Look: 15 minutes is only one percent of the day. So we have plenty of time to complete the necessary things. When a writer has to wait 15 minutes for something (for example, before a business meeting), he has time to write a thank-you note, review his schedule for the next three weeks, book a hotel and rent a car for the next trip, check his voicemail, and outline an article.

Next time you have 15 free minutes, think about how you can make good use of them. And those waiting times that seem so inconvenient can turn into windows of opportunity throughout the day during which you can accomplish and cross small tasks off your to-do list. This, in turn, will clear your mind so you can take on more important tasks, which, as we will see below, is vital.

Eliminate all distractions, including people — and you’ll be much closer to your goal

Remember that feeling when you're reading a book, then your thoughts wander and you suddenly find yourself reaching the end of the page with no idea what you just read? It seems like there is always something to distract yourself with! But if we want to understand the content of the book, as well as achieve our goals, we must fight distractions.

Distractions constantly loom over us and keep our attention from focusing on the present moment, sometimes to a much greater extent than we realize.

One day, a new client who came to executive coaching asked the author a question: “Where do we start?” The author placed a stack of paper in front of her and asked her to write what she was thinking about on the first sheet. Then he asked her to put the sheet aside and write the next thing on the second sheet, and so on.

Almost everything she wrote were tasks she needed to accomplish, from hiring a new employee to organizing a summer camp for her daughter. After four hours, she managed to figure out more than 500 things that needed her attention.

This way, it's easy to see how many unfinished tasks are draining your energy and distracting you from your real goals. Crossing these things off your to-do list is an important step toward becoming more productive at work.

But it’s not just business or errands that can distract you—people can do it just as well. How much time do you spend with people who limit your thinking?

Try writing down all the people you spend most of your time with and evaluate how they affect your productivity and focus. In a couple of days you will see which people truly inspire you. These are the people you should aim to spend at least an hour or two every week or every month. This will help you stay motivated and mentally clear.

Monitor your productivity and always remember why you do what you do

We may try our best to complete our entire to-do list, but there are still a few dangers that can cause you to waste time without even realizing it. For example, how often do you take time off from work to chat with a colleague? Over time, these gaps add up to each other.

So how do you deal with them? We need to track, analyze them and change the situation.

One of the author’s clients decided to count how many times he was interrupted from work by his colleagues over the course of two days: 27 times! Can you imagine how much this threatened his productivity?! Having calculated and realized how much time he was wasting, the client decided that something needed to be done about it.

Try doing this calculation for yourself—how much time you spend away from your desk, or how many times someone asks you to “take a moment.” Most likely, the results will shock you!

Monitoring your productivity on a daily basis is incredibly useful, but it cannot be your only tool. It is also very important that you constantly remember why you are doing what you are doing. Regularly ask yourself what your true purpose is — this will help you stay on track.

You can start with the excellent wording “in order to...”. For example, “I work so I can send my kids to college.” Record these statements somewhere so that you can see them every day, so that they inspire you and remind you of yourself.

Collect feedback, listen and never stop striving for better!

No matter what we think about it — no one can truly change the world on their own.

Luckily, the world is full of people you can learn from and take inspiration from as you move forward. All you have to do is just ask them!

But before that, remember the last time you heard constructive criticism from someone. From the boss? From your spouse? What exactly were they saying?

If you can't remember, it may be a sign that you need to listen to people more carefully. One way to improve your listening skills is to seek feedback more often and actively look for ways to get it. Don't wait for it to come on its own!

A great way to get more feedback is to create a mutual aid program of sorts. Here's how it works: Think about who you could meet with once a week for the next two months. During these meetings, tell your partner about your current projects, listen to feedback, and then ask your partner about his projects and offer to give him feedback as well.

This is a great way to make sure you are constantly growing. But if you are serious about self-development, it is also important to ensure that you never rest on your laurels, even if it seems very attractive.

Once we take on a job, then do it for a long time, we tend to do it in the most comfortable way possible, assuring ourselves that we know the best way to complete the task. But if you want to achieve more, never allow yourself to act within your comfort zone — expand your boundaries and take action!

One way to do this is to instill a beginner's mindset in yourself. Take the example of the author's mentor, Jim Polk. Even though he is an experienced pilot with hundreds of flying hours under his belt, he still practices the basic lessons he learned when he first learned to fly.

So, the main idea of the book:

Setting clear goals, eliminating distractions, and learning to value your time will help you become more productive. Your ambitions will become achievable if you set your sights on them and surround yourself with people who inspire you.

Practical advice:

Make the most of your waiting time!

If you have a few minutes to spare, write a short thank you note to a colleague or someone who has recently helped you. Not only will this help you stay productive, but it will also help you live in the present moment and focus your attention on what you are grateful for — which is a great boost of energy! So make sure you always have a piece of paper and an envelope handy — just in case.

Jason Womack

Raising the bar. How to work more efficiently and think bigger

All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet or corporate networks, for private or public use without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Legal support for the publishing house is provided by the Vegas-Lex law firm.

This book is well complemented by:

How to get things in order

David Allen

Work less, accomplish more

Kerry Gleason

At the peak of possibilities

Robert Posen

Preface

Throughout my career as a business coach, I have helped successful people become even more successful. And they succeed! They really are getting better, but not without the help of a great coach like Jason Womack. The book “Raising the Bar. How to Work Smarter, Think Bigger, and Get More Done is based entirely on his experience in improving performance and coaching executives. Jason's recommendations will allow you to achieve more significant results, and the use of his methods and tools will provide a significant increase in personal effectiveness.

If you still have doubts about whether this book is worth reading, my recommendation is clear: continue reading!

Three reasons (out of many) why I love this book

First, Jason begins by examining the biggest obstacle to success and change—the obstacle that lies within ourselves. Most people, especially those who have already reached certain heights, are convinced that the line of behavior that ensured success in the past will allow them to achieve it in the future. I call this the fallacy of a successful person. To overcome it, you need to very carefully analyze your behavior pattern. According to Jason, this means “identifying your own role in making the best.”

Second, Jason devotes a separate chapter (nine) to the role of positive and negative focus, a basic concept that often gets overlooked. Dramatic improvements in efficiency are not always a byproduct of gaining new knowledge or doing more work. Much more often this happens by eliminating the distractions that prevent us from working on the most important tasks (Jason calls them MIT - Most Important Things).

Finally, each chapter provides ideas you can start experimenting with now. Jason puts extremely useful tools at your disposal to improve your productivity. The exercises provided in each chapter will help you focus on improvement and accelerate your progress to the heights of success.

The valuable information you will find in the book is applicable in all areas of life. This is a kind of strategic plan that anyone can use to increase personal effectiveness. Jason's simple, doable steps and practical ideas will help you get the most out of everything you do.

Life is wonderful!

Marshall GoldsmithNew York Times bestselling author of Mojo. How to get it, how to keep it and how to return it if you lost it" and “Jump over your head! 20 habits you need to give up to reach the pinnacle of success"

Rated the book

I didn't really like the book :(

Firstly, there are so many platitudes that wander from book to book on self-development. The book gives the impression of being deeply derivative :(

Secondly, the book is somehow very fragmented, made up of “shards”. It seems like some posts/notes from a blog were collected and somehow put together into a book.

The author worked as a GTD consultant for D. Allen for 6 years, so it’s clear where his ideas “grow” from. But if GTD is a rather harmonious and logical system of time management and self-organization, then this book doesn’t even smell like a system: (Moreover, if you don’t know in advance what GTD is, then you won’t get a clear idea of this system from the book: (

Thirdly, the book is short, but the author managed to squeeze a lot of “water” into it. Mainly in the form of a description of his personal life - his daily routine, his sports activities, etc. Everything is written rather dryly, no image of a “lyrical hero” :))) does not appear before my eyes, so for me personally, reading all these details of someone else’s life was mortally boring :(

On the plus side...

1) The “fragmentation” of the book is not only its drawback, but also its strength. The book is even oversaturated with some small “tricks”, secrets, subtleties (etc.) of self-organization.
A connoisseur will probably find 2-3 new “chips” in this “scattering”. For a beginner, most likely, such a variety of advice will only disorientate. He will start using EVERYTHING at once, and it will hardly be of any use...

For example:
- What do you manage to do (important, primary) before 10.00?
- What do you manage to do (100%) in 15 minutes?
- Why/why are you doing what you are doing (at the moment)? etc.

operating time = goal X (methods + energy) - interference

Jason Womack also writes that there are only 4 resources for self-organization: time, energy, tools/methods, and focus (i.e., the ability to tune out interference).

And I counted quite a few such “coincidences” in the book :) M.b. That’s why it was a little boring for me to read the book - everything was already familiar...

Conclusion:
- for a novice time manager it is better NOT to read, because the book is very chaotic
- for an experienced time manager - read!
- for an advanced :)) time manager - look diagonally, find a couple of “chips” for yourself

Rated the book

If you remove all the “water” from a book, its volume will be reduced by 70 percent.
Jason Womack's book is not the only one that suffers from an excess of unnecessary verbiage. But most other books are more logically structured; this one resembles carefully mixed Italian pasta. Personally, while reading, I had the feeling of wading through the jungle while simultaneously walking in circles. Constant repetitions, constant references to numbers of previous chapters (“remember how in Chapter 5 we talked about the role of a social network?”), constant announcements of future chapters indicating their numbers. Once again, “In THIS chapter you will learn...” and then water-water, then “THIS chapter will show you...”, again water-water and... the end of THIS chapter, bewilderment and the question “what was that? »

Some interesting things come across. There are, as sergei_kalinin already noted in his review, interesting questions for coaching. There is an idea “that you can do it before 10 o’clock in the morning”, there is a rather interesting chapter on feedback, and a couple of practical tips on networking.

But these are all individual peppercorns in a large bowl of spaghetti, consisting of approximately stories about yourself, repetitions of platitudes and beliefs “please read on. I’m preparing to finally talk about when I’ll finally tell the point.”

I travel the world consulting with individual clients and speaking to large groups of executives on the topics of productivity and staying on track. I teach them how to manage their professional goals using the same approach. In this chapter, I will share with you the strategies and tips that will help you work more effectively, get more results, and consistently achieve greater success, faster than ever before.

I follow a proven rule: allocate 15-30 minutes to complete each action. It is these periods of time that allow you to stay focused, minimize forced breaks and work efficiently.
Let's say you have the following items on your to-do list:
Plan a training session for high-potential managers scheduled for March 7–12.
Discuss staffing in the context of next year's budget.
Solve staffing issues.
Try writing the same list of tasks for the next week, but use verbs that denote smaller actions, for example:
View feedback from past year's leadership development training participants.
Analyze the existing staffing table and the current year's budget.
Call Sam in HR and set up a 90-minute recruiting meeting.
I like to surround myself with people who are verbs. Why? Because during a meeting, on the phone or in a casual personal conversation, this is the kind of person who will think and say: “You know, Jason, this is a great idea. So what do you intend undertake? The book you hold in your hands is a direct result of the influence of my mentor Jim Polk, who asked me this question at one time.
For several months I discussed with him this book (noun), which at that time was solely in my imagination as an idea. Finally, one morning over breakfast at the Emporium, Jim said to me, “Enough talk about what you’re going to do.” do with the idea of writing it? This question changed everything. The book “Raising the Bar. How to Work More Efficiently, Think Bigger, and Get More Done” was released only because I formulated in the form of verbs what I was used to thinking about in the categories of nouns. Doing things with verbs allowed me to accelerate this mission.
If you're working with (or for) a verb person, try the following five-day experiment. At the end of each day, present him with a short list of what you done. Try not to use only nouns that refer to projects or activities you have worked on. Instead, clearly indicate and emphasize which actions you took to perform the corresponding task. For example, instead of saying, “I did XYZ thing,” say, “I met with Pat from XYZ Company and made a deal, which we worked on for about a month."
An action-oriented person will understand the importance of the bigger picture and appreciate the fact that steps are being taken every day to accomplish the relevant task.

Working with verbs and nouns: it’s your turn

Are you ready to try an experiment? Take a piece of paper and think about both working styles. Even if you prefer one of them, it is extremely important that you learn how to use both methods easily, effectively and efficiently (if you consider yourself a responsible person and strive to develop your strengths, as well as achieve certain goals in your professional and personal life).
Set the timer for 15 minutes and during this time try to fill out a blank sheet of paper by hand. On one side, list all the tasks you are thinking about—in other words, nouns. It could be anything: an upcoming meeting, an upcoming trip, a book you read, etc. When you have completed one side of the paper, take a break and reflect.
After 15 minutes, turn the page and for each item on your list, indicate what action you are willing to take as soon as possible (24 to 96 hours) to begin completing the corresponding task. Even if it is quite large (for example, your promotion at work, your life goal, a vacation somewhere on the islands, or choosing a college for your child), still indicate only one action that you are absolutely sure you can execute in the coming days. If you frame the work ahead in terms of action, by the middle of next week you may well find that you have made significant progress on your most important tasks! This is what happens when you take full responsibility for doing the work more efficient, think bigger and keep up more!

Make the most of limited resources

In Chapter 2, I talk about the importance of maintaining an optimal pace when setting and achieving goals. In particular, I warn readers not to try to go too far and too fast; At the same time, I strongly recommend monitoring when forward movement becomes too slow. For now, however, it's important to tell you something about your most valuable resources, as well as the limitations you may face when trying to make the best even better.
You probably know the following short dialogue between Alice and the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll's book Alice in Wonderland.

- Tell me, please, where should I go from here?
-Where do you want to go? – answered the Cat.
“I don’t care...” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter where you go,” said the Cat.
- ...just to get there somewhere- added Alice.
“You’ll definitely end up somewhere,” said the Cat. “You just need to walk long enough.”

I guess you're not like Alice. And you know where you are going. That is why the more clearly you define your destination, the easier it will be for you to make decisions about actions on the way to it. Having made a decision, you need to allocate your limited resources as efficiently as possible, that is, the four most important components of productivity: time, energy, focus And tools.
All these resources are limited - sooner or later they are depleted and need to be restored. The way you use them completely determines what exactly you can do throughout the day.
Without a doubt, you have already used one or another time management method. Whether it's prioritizing your daily task list or dividing your planner into time blocks, these time management techniques are likely nothing new to you!
By now, you've probably figured out when your energy levels are highest and lowest throughout the day. Most people know what time of day is most productive for them - morning, afternoon or evening.
Suppose you can focus at your MITs and avoid distractions to complete the most important tasks planned for the day.
And lastly, you probably have your own tools or a productivity system you use to make important tasks easier for yourself.
Now, as you read this book, you have the opportunity to analyze the four components of productivity in the order that I describe them below. This will allow you to more clearly define your role in improving the best, in particular how to work more efficiently. In my coaching programs, we always start with tools because they are the foundation of performance.
Tools. There are many systems, apps, and tools available to help you become more productive. Do you take the “I’ll buy this now and see if it helps me later” approach? Do you have folders on your shelves? Have you already downloaded most of the productivity apps available on the web? Have you attended seminars and trainings in the hope that you would find the “magic key” to time management and increased productivity?
Of course, knowing how to harness the full potential of these tools will help you significantly improve your effectiveness. If you have a journal or notebook nearby, open it to a blank page. If not, just grab a blank piece of paper and a pen. Write today's date at the top and below: "At this stage, I use the following tools and systems:." (Keep this list handy because we'll need it later.)
In a moment, I'll explain how you can save time and make the most of the resources you have, whether it's paper, digital, or a combination of the two. For now, suffice it to say that mastering one or two new features of the tools you use will allow you to develop a more competent approach to completing the tasks you face.
Attention. You are able to be interested and concentrate on something specific for as long as you can - but only until something distracts you. I mean the period of concentration, taking into account the fact that each person has its own limits. Some people can sit and concentrate on something for several hours, while others get up and leave within minutes.
Think about how many times over the past 24 hours someone distracted you from work or you simply forgot about what you were going to do. (Has something like this ever happened to you: you go from one room to another to get something, but while you are walking, you completely forget what you were going for? That's how quickly we sometimes lose focus!)
The stability of your attention determines what you can do in a certain period of time. Analyze various areas of your life: personal interests, work, family, health, finances, career, leisure, etc. And answer the following questions: where do you think you will be in some time, from six months to a year and a half? What will you do? Who will you spend more (or less) time with? (By the way, this is the best time to set goals; it's short enough to feel momentum and long enough to see meaningful change.) I devote Chapter 9 to the topic of focusing your attention and how to make the most of it to improve your performance. the best.
Energy. You can either be a morning person or a night owl. (Do you have a spouse or boss with the opposite qualities?) Depending on this, at certain times of the day you are either the most or least capable, which you know very well. The most powerful step you can take is to analyze what time of day and where you work best to understand when to tackle important projects. Aligning your tools, focus, and energy is one of the most effective ways to save time while working.
Time. I advise you to somehow highlight the following sentence for yourself: “There are only 96 segments of 15 minutes in a day, and there are only 168 hours in a week.”
Did this fact make the same impression on you as it did on me? When I realized that the time available to us was so limited, I began to use it in a completely different way.
I suggest you do the exercise. Set the timer for 15 minutes. Right now. Come on, go and do it. And then continue reading this chapter. When the time runs out and the alarm sounds, think about this: that period of time was about 1% of your day. How well were you able to focus during this period? Were you able to concentrate on reading page by page? (If yes, then you should have read 15 to 20 pages.)
Keep a timer handy over the next few days. I firmly believe that time is the most limited of the four resources (time, energy, attention and tools) and that in many cases it is the resource we have the least control over. Therefore, time must be objectified—by which I mean that you must be able to watch it pass. In Chapter 3, I'll introduce you to specific techniques that will help you manage, control, and make the most of your time.
Did you notice that I first listed these resources in one order, and then talked about their impact on productivity in another? I have a very specific reason for this.
I've spent many years studying productivity and time management. Over the years, I have often encountered people who lament, “I wish I had more time,” or “I don’t have one more hour in the day.” When I first talk to a client on the phone, I ask them the following four questions (in this order) to better understand what they do and what aspects of their job I need to focus on in my coaching program. These are the questions:

1. What tools and systems do you use to do your job?
2. How do you focus all your attention on the goal you set for yourself at each stage of work?
3. When do you have the most energy to be productive and stay in a positive, proactive state?
4. When do you have time to work consistently with maximum focus and motivation?
The point is, if you analyze these four resources in this order, you will be able to use your time blocks more efficiently, perhaps even getting more done with less time, energy, and effort.
So why did I ask you to set the timer for 15 minutes? This is about 1% of the time that makes up the day. (Remember, there are 1,440 minutes in a day, so 15 minutes is about 1%.) I'll go into more detail about this in Chapter 3. Here, I just wanted to show how little time it may take you to move forward with the task. important work. As my colleague Michael Stanier teaches, “More great things!” . One thing I know for sure is that when you learn to use your tools, attention, energy, and time to their full potential, you will be able to accomplish more important tasks.

Move on

By clearly defining your objective goal (perhaps your perfect day!), you automatically begin to improve the status quo and can continue moving in the right direction. When you think about what you want to achieve, talk to someone about your dreams, analyze your efforts, and write down your goals, you are much closer to achieving them. Focusing on a specific direction is very important for two reasons: it allows, firstly, to see more opportunities and, secondly, to narrow the focus of attention. The more you can see where you're going, the easier it will be to find ideas and data that will move you closer to achieving the results you want. Remember the words of Abraham Lincoln: “A goal duly set is already half achieved.”
But how do you choose the “right” goals, whatever they are - personal or professional, short-term or long-term - and how do you implement them and celebrate success in achieving them? You've, of course, heard about the method of increasing personal effectiveness, which consists of setting SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. However, it doesn't always work. It is all too easy to make excuses and justifications for why goals and objectives are never achieved. Here are the most common obstacles to achieving them:
What if setting goals doesn't accomplish anything? Do you know anyone who says that? As a rule, this happens in cases where people set the bar too high and take on very ambitious goals that are difficult to start with. As a result, these people work on them, worry about them, think about them, work on them again - and realize that for some reason (and there are usually several!) they cannot “just do it.” As a result, they never manage to finish what they started.
Will setting goals limit my range of capabilities? Some people prefer to rely on luck; in other words, without specifying their goals, they live in the moment and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. “Of course I would like to know about the next promotion if I were offered one. If not, no big deal; some other opportunity will arise.” I heard this remark from a participant in an open seminar that I conducted at a non-profit organization.
Fortunately, there is a compromise option. For those who have set some goals in the past but never achieved them, it's time to start over. For those who enjoy the surprises life presents, I advise them to continue living and working the way they are used to doing it. But you must realize that in order to make the best even better, you will need something - and you need to start right now.

Start with what you have

I often ask my clients to do the following: Hand-write a long, unorganized list of personal goals they have set for themselves, and note which ones have not yet been completed. As a rule, people include promises, projects, tasks, ideas, etc. in such lists. Most often, the list is quite long. (The longest list I've ever seen had over 400 items, one line each.) As with the previous exercise, set aside 15 minutes without distractions so you can focus. and then answer the question: “What did I promise but never did?”
I believe that if you have a clear picture of the work you have to do (I use the word "work" in the broadest sense here, as I explained earlier in this chapter), you will understand the importance of improving your productivity techniques.
How do you start your day? So what exactly should you do? Here's my advice: start with what you have. Chapter 1 is about how to work smarter and take personal responsibility for doing better. Now it's time to determine when you are in your best shape.
You undoubtedly know what can cause your entire day to go differently than you would like. In order to change the situation, I propose to conduct another five-day experiment. At the beginning of each day, ask yourself the following questions:
Did I wake up refreshed?
Is my mind already overwhelmed with thoughts of what I have to do today, this week, this year?
Are there people in my life whose thoughts alone make me feel stressed and anxious?
In the morning, can I definitely, or at least more or less clearly, imagine what I can do during the day?
As you ask yourself these questions and search for answers over the next five days, take note of the days when your mornings began unproductively and left you depressed. You don't need to track everything that happens to you; just pay attention to what you can use to your advantage. By knowing what can ruin our day, we can remove those obstacles so they don't lead us astray as much as before.
Below is the “I'm At My Best When...” challenge that I give to all of my clients, whether they are high school students planning to go to college or people who are no longer working but volunteering in their local communities. Most of my listeners are senior executives; I provide coaching sessions with them when they are trying to get promoted in their organizations. I also work with startup founders to help them grow their ideas into full-fledged businesses.
Here's the advice I give to all clients: take advantage of the blessing of your own attention! Take a break right now and make a list of things that can happen throughout the day that will help you work more efficiently.
When are you at your best? How do you define this? It is human nature to return to a natural state of balance (often referred to as “homeostasis”) when doing everyday things. Understanding your own habits and routines plays a vital role in increasing your overall level of productivity and achieving your goals. By focusing on what you can control, you have one important key to success (although it's not always that easy, as you'll see below).
Knowing when you're at your best, focusing on that, and doing everything you can to maintain it all takes initiative and discipline. In reality, performing at your peak may involve a significant change in behavior patterns, but I assure you that this process will result in a significant improvement in your quality of life.
How do you know when you're at your best? Take three simple steps:
1. Take a blank sheet of paper.
2. Write at the top: “I’m at my best when...”
3. Under this phrase, list 5 to 10 actions that you can take to spend your day productively. For example: “When I have a hearty breakfast” (and this depends only on you) or “When my boss is in a good mood” (and this is no longer in your control). Below you will find some examples to help you create such a list.
Starting your day by focusing on what allows you to be at your best will enable proactive, productive changes in your life. Some of my clients call this method “the recipe for a great day.” Post your list where you can see it immediately when you wake up in the morning and throughout the day.
Review it in the morning for the next five days. If you haven't done anything yet that will improve your day, take a moment right now and try to do it. Prepare yourself for success.
During the first days of the experiment, make conscious attempts look at the list every morning and complete at least one point from it as close to the beginning of the day as possible. Making this practice a habit speeds up your reaction time, improves your mood, and reduces stress levels both at work and at home. Think about when during the day you can use these simple new skills.
Here are some “I'm at my best when...” items taken from other people's lists. You can use them or include other options in the list.

I'm at my best when...

I sleep well at night and have a hearty breakfast in the morning.
I arrive on time for business meetings.
I establish contact with clients before meeting them in person.
I make a list of tasks and desired results for the coming day.
Ready for meetings and presentations.
I have everything I need to organize my travels on my computer or smartphone.
I give credit to other team members and tell them that they did a good job.
My electronic device (e-reader, smartphone, laptop) is fully charged and ready to use.
Now take some time to determine which habits will help you stay in the best shape. When you start focusing on them, you will strengthen them many times over and thereby increase the likelihood that your every day will become more productive. This and that means working more efficiently.

Chapter 2
Improvement and optimal pace
How to create and reinforce habits that increase productivity

After reading the first chapter, you learned the role that you yourself have to play in improving the best. Now ask yourself the following important question: “What does it mean? for me work more efficiently?
When searching for an answer, don’t forget these words: stability, consistency And pace. These are three important factors for guaranteed change. If you want to improve your productivity levels, you need to understand how they work together.
When meeting with a client for the first time, I ask him this question: “Are your working methods working for you?” By this I mean: are you getting the results you need? Do you put things off until later, only to realize that you simply don’t have any free time? "How works your system of work? is the question I encourage you to ponder this week. Let it occupy your thoughts for a while. You may have many different answers, some positive and others not. You'll end up thinking about your purpose and the personal and professional goals that are still on your list.
Resilience has a lot to do with professional development and personal effectiveness. For our purposes, let's look beyond the traditional meaning of the term and look at it from this perspective: “Resilience is the ability to maintain a certain pace or maintain a certain level.”
Review the sustainability of your work practices and behavior. Will you be able to keep them like this for a long time? Can you continue to work at the same pace over a longer period—say, several years or decades?

Look at the to-do list of a verb person - you will see: he clearly outlined what he has to do. Each item on his list begins with a verb denoting an action (big or small).

Perfect day

I recommend sketching out your ideal day. Sit down at your desk, set a timer for 15 minutes and write down what you see as your ideal day. Start the description with the part when you are full of energy and most efficient. Are you usually energetic in the morning? Or do you consider yourself a night owl?

It all starts with you

Start at the beginning: tell your story of how you got from where you were to where you are, and where you'll be going next. It's better not to put it off until later; take some time right now to identify your role in making the best.

Work more efficiently

In the workplace, people usually feel as if their workload is constantly increasing. Many of you are faced with increasingly serious and complex tasks, and there is less and less time and resources to complete them. How do you use such a limited resource as time?

I often ask my clients to do the following: Hand-write a long, unorganized list of personal goals they have set for themselves, and note which ones have not yet been completed. As a rule, people include promises, projects, tasks, and ideas in such lists.

Start with what you have

What to do before 10 am

Has this ever happened to you: looking back on the past day, you think: “I just didn’t have enough time!” or “Where did it go?” And it always feels like at the end of the day there is more work than there is time left for it. Job responsibilities take up the entire day, from dusk to dawn.