How to be Super Productive Every Day

The most frequent question I get from people is, "How do you have time to do all that?" which is then often followed up in hushed whispers of "He must be a workaholic." The obvious implication is there's no way someone can accomplish a lot and still have a life.

WRONG! Wrong, wrong, wrong..... wrong, wrong.

The main reason that I can accomplish all that I do (with regards to how much time it takes) is I DON'T WASTE TIME! Of course, I have my lazy days. And, once in a while, I am really running low on fuel and I hit the wall, usually after something has kept me up late. Occasionally, I get a terrible migraine that ruins my whole day. And then, there are times when I do fall prey to a case of the lazy-procrastinitis disease.

However, as a general rule, I don't waste time. At almost every time of day, I have something that I am reading or studying. While I drive, I listen to something that increases my knowledge, which helps me further my goals and productivity. Even when the television is on, I'm usually reading or working on some project.

"That's all you do is work then!" Nope. When I choose NOT to work, like when I spend time with my wife or kids, I don't work. I spend time with them. We don't lull away the hours in front of the one-eyed-brain-killer (that's the TV for those of you who have spent too much time in front of it).

When I hear someone say, "I just don't have time to... [choose one: start a business, write an article, create a product, manage a blog, read my Bible, spend time with my family, help others...]", a little further investigation reveals the same thing 99.9% of the time. They have plenty of time to waste, just not "enough time" for anything worthwhile.

In my opinion, the primary time stealer responsible for corrupting our schedules is PES (Passive Electronic Stimulation). I don't know if PES is an actual term or not. If it isn't, I just made it one because I don't want to type it again and again.

What is PES? It is television and movies, electronic games, Instant Messaging, social internet sites, internet news sites, internet pornography, gossip, scandal or Hollywood voyeurism, email, etc.

It would be adequate to stop the list right there because the two primary ways that people waste away their time are listed. They are television and internet.

I don't find one person out of 500 who says "I don't have time" and doesn't spend an hour or two or more A DAY watching electronic entertainment in some form or another; or they "surf" the internet or engage in something casual and non-productive on the computer. And that's the "productive" people! The unproductive people spend 4-10 hours or more A DAY in these activities. UNREAL!

With that said, if that's how you want to spend your time, so be it. It's your time. Just don't let me hear you whine about not having enough time while your personal and financial goals lay by the wayside. Be honest and say, "I am choosing to turn my brain to mush by wasting my time on passive electronic stimulation instead of pursuing worthwhile goals for me and my family." Go ahead, stand up for your choices. It's your life. Spend your time doing the things you want to do - just be honest about it.

Do you find yourself in these following statements?

- I don't have time to work out of my home and get out of debt. There are at least 20 hours of football each week that I must watch.

- I just do not have the time to study and educate myself about my business. I have Instant Messaging to do, email to check, and FaceBook to keep up with.

- I wish I could, but I don't have the time to exercise or pray or go to church. I stay up until midnight every night watching movies, the news, or the latest Hollywood gossip.

Based on my experience, I estimate that even disciplined people probably waste 1-3 hours a day on PES. The average person probably wastes 3-6 hours, while an alarming number of people waste 5-10 hours a day on passive electronic stimulation.

And, this doesn't even mention the impact of PES on your brain - inability to think abstractly, loss of cognitive skills, decline in ability to communicate both personally and professionally. There are most likely all kinds of other negatives that I don't even know about. Any business owner can tell you that it is difficult to find employees who are able to write and communicate well. That business owner will tell you that those skills are scarce today.

Now, I'm not a doctor or researcher, but my gut tells me that PES is primarily responsible for this dramatic decline in communication skills. I also believe that it has negatively impacted our country's productivity. It doesn't take a genius to observe these things because they are so evident in everyday society.

OK, so now what? I have written all of this to encourage you to honestly think about the PES in your life. Get away by yourself and take a good look at how much time you waste on these types of activities. Don't bother justifying or defending yourself. Just be honest.

After you evaluate it, think about what you could accomplish using that PES time to pursue financial peace or spiritual fulfillment. In the end, if you simply WANT to invest that much time in PES... THEN DO IT! But don't bemoan some false lack of "productivity opportunity" and claim "I don't have time". Don't look at parts of your life that need improvement and deceive yourself by saying, "I don't have time to fix that".

Oh, by the way... reading my blog - http://www.gbrentriggs.com - does not count towards PES. :)