The Real Secret to Being Productive (not a 2nd brain)

Procrastination is a tricky little bitch.

It’s a force of nature that’ll blow your house down like the big bad wolf.

Fighting against it is a battle for your life.

I recently read The War of Art. It explains exactly why we struggle to do hard things.

Things that make us better people and more aligned with a higher purpose other than entertainment and pleasure.

Entrepreneurs, creators, and highly ambitious knowledge professionals like us often procrastinate by succumbing to low-value activities instead of the hard meaningful ones.

Overcoming procrastination means you have to be so fucking aware of how your mind will deceive you into doing easier things.

This monkey mind will literally do anything else than the activity that makes you a better person:

• Scroll social media for ideas.

• Play video games to unwind.

• Binge on YouTube to learn stuff.

• Check your emails for no good reason.

• Engaging on social media to build an audience.

• Learning from a course (but never applying the skills).

• Find new tech on Amazon because you need an upgrade before you film videos.

It will convince you with all its might that you're being “productive”.

In the book, Steven Pressfield calls it, RESISTANCE.

Resistance will disguise itself as procrastination via low-value tasks.

Back in October 2012, when I started creating content, Resistance had me by the neck.

I was excited to start a personal brand and create content.

So what do I do?

I grabbed a domain name, spent two weeks straight building a website, created a logo on Canva, refined my bio 1M times, asked a bunch of beginner questions, and talked about how I was going to make money online.

I barely created any content.

The result?

• $0 made

• A burnt-out mind

• A mediocre website

• Slow audience growth

• Minimal progress towards creating good content.

I didn’t understand leverage, prioritization, and the things that actually moved me forward toward my goals.

Like I said, Resistance showed up in the form of procrastination.

I was afraid of being judged.

I was doubtful of my ability to write

I was scared to speak on camera.

Sure, setting up a profile banner initially is important but I spent TOO much time on it.

My perfectionism kicked in. I spend a ton of my mental resources on low-value activities. I wasted time on some obscure ideal that didn’t exist.

I was basically a snake eating itself.

What does it mean to be productive?

Productivity is about getting important things done, not racking your brain over a perfect setup.

Our minds will easily gravitate towards an easy task vs. doing what we’re supposed to be doing.

• You don’t need another app.

• You don’t need AI to optimize your workflow.

• You don’t need a complex system to get things done.

• You need to stop getting distracted.

Distraction and procrastination are causing your lack of productivity.

We need to reevaluate what we really want and filter decisions through that lens.

Real productivity is doing what you can with what you have.

I used to rely on videos to learn about Notion, Obsidian, Todoist, and other “productivity” apps that are supposed to help you get things done.

But honestly, there’s too much extra work involved in managing these tools.

What emoji will I use for my Notion page?

What cover photo will I use for the Morning Routine template?

How can I organize my folder structure so it’s aesthetic and logical?

These are the thoughts that crossed my mind, as I attempted to be productive.

Do you see the pattern here?

Productivity YouTubers rely on trapping you in shiny object syndrome to keep you watching.

None of the guru's advice works.

• Ali Abdaal

• Tiago Forte

• Thomas Frank

They overcomplicate systems that aren’t sustainable for most people.

They turn into more things to manage.

They have great videos but they’re keeping you on the “productivity” hamster wheel to get views and bank off of your attention.

The solution?

Stop researching and just use Apple Notes, pen and paper, or simple Notion pages if they don’t stress you out.

If you’ve seen The Matrix, these apps and videos are basically the woman in the red dress – distractions programmed to keep you from your Truth – the most productive version of yourself.

Why simple is effective

Even multi-passionate creatives need to focus on one thing at a time on a micro-scale.

Trust me, I have an ADHD-like attention span when it comes to self-improvement topics of interest.

I want to explore and get good at everything, but here’s the truth:

• Your quality of life increases when you sacrifice temporary comfort often.

• You make more progress faster when you ruthlessly deny the temptation to multi-task.

• You gain more time when you engage in deep work first thing in the morning (on one project).

• You gain more energy from completing one hard task vs. many small ones.

I struggled for years with focus.

But recently I’ve come across very few methods that I’ve adapted to fit my unique style of work.

Maybe it can work for you too.

The two methods I’ll show you are called

1. Warren Buffett’s 25/5 Method

2. Cal Newport’s Timeblock Planner

Why do they work?

They’re packed with 4 amazing benefits:

1. They eliminate excess that’s keeping you from high-leverage activities.

2. They help you identify those high-priority projects.

3. They make it clear what activities are low-value.

4. They constrain your focus so you can direct your limited energy to get the greatest result.

Let’s get into it!

The 25/5 Method

First, write your top 30 goals you have in your personal and professional life.

Nothing is off the table (life is short).

Rank them in order of importance. This is essential.

Now with your list, circle the top 5 goals.

These are the only goals you will work on for the next 6 months minimum. Preferably longer if you have big ambitions.

The other 25?

Forget them completely.

I know. It’s hard but they are ultimately distractions.

That’s not to say you can’t come up with a new list after your top 5 are complete.

Do this with intention and your focus will skyrocket.

So far I’ve been making more progress on my top 5 than I ever have.

If you’re curious, here are my top 5:

1. Develop my offer

2. Grow my YouTube channel

3. Grow my newsletter

4. Save for moving

5. Develop enlightenment-like focus

Everything else in my life is on maintenance or temporarily sacrificed.

We have such limited quantities of energy.

It needs to be directed like a laser.

The Timeblock Planner

This method has been the most helpful in my day-to-day life.

I used to randomly choose things to do, often getting little to nothing done.

Since using the Timeblock Planner, I’ve spent far less time getting distracted by social media and complete more of my to-do list.

First, get a notebook or a time block planner like this (the one I use).

Each day the night before your day starts, fill out the

• When: times you plan on working

• What: single activity you work on

• How: details of the task (more on this below)

For me, it’s usually 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (breaks included).

Block out every minute of your day. Write the activity you will do during that time.

As you can see, I plan out my breaks and meals as well. I write any details of the activity using numbers (i.e. (1), (2), etc.)

In the to-do section (or if using a notebook, the left page), I’ll write other to-dos that come up or ideas I have during the day.

It’s okay if changes come up. You can correct and adapt as you go about your day.

Here’s an example of the previous 2 days with changes and edits:

When something comes up or you go over one task into another, simply redraw the box to the right according to the new time that the activity lasts.

Cross out the old times and continue about your day.

Hopefully, this is helpful!

You can get a bigger-picture explanation and why this works so well from Cal, the man himself in his podcast, article, and video.

Lastly, if you like nicely organized notebooks. I’d suggest picking up Cal’s planner designed specifically for this practice.

I may just pick one up after I finish up with my current one.

There you have it!

These tips have helped my ADHD brain stay more focused lately and I'm sure it can work for you if you give it an honest effort.

Try it right now and let me know how it works.

Best of luck my friends!

P.S. I’ve decided to open up 5 spots for coaching.

I want to be able to serve you on a more personal level.

If you need help with the following:

• Getting in shape with minimal time and effort

• Being more productive at work or on your business without any extra effort or complicated systems

• Getting comfortable speaking on camera even if you hate public speaking

We may be a good fit!

Let’s schedule a chat and I will help (no strings attached).

If not, no worries, check out the resources below!

See you next time!

Resources:

• Strategy Call (limited time): 25-minute insight-packed call with Brand Marz on achieving your health, creative, and professional goals.

• The Essentials Workout Plan: a simple, minimalist workout plan to help you start your fitness journey and stick to it long-term.

• Speechify: emails, articles, ebooks, and more are read to you at up to 4.5x speed ($60 off link).

• Content OS: set up a content creation machine to systemize your weekly workflow.

• Hypefury: schedule unlimited tweets and save your ideas in a clean dashboard while saving 4 hours per week.