One productivity tip that replaces all the rest

Ernest Hemingway woke up and immediately sat down to write. That's how he toldG. Plimpton. Ernest Hemingway, The Art of Fiction No. 21 / The Paris Review on her daily routine: “When I am working on a book or a story, I get up as early as possible every morning and write. At this time, no one distracts, at dawn it is usually cool, and I warm up at work.

This personal rule of Hemingway led me to the main productivity tip. It helps us take steps towards our goals every day.

What is the advice

Let's not drag this out. Everything is extremely banal.

Do the most important thing every day first.

Sounds simple. Nobody does it.

Like Hemingwaywho has written an impressive number of amazing works in his career, you will be able to make amazing progress every day if you just start with the most important tasks.

Why are we not heeding this advice?

Most people do other people's tasks, not their own.

I think part of it has to do with how society educates us. At school, we are given assignments and told when to take exams. At work, the manager sets a deadline for each task and expects a specific result from us. At home, we take care of everyday life and try to take care of children and a partner. A few years of such a life - and we get used to responding to the expectations, instructions and needs of someone else, and not our own.

Not surprisingly, as soon as we wake up, we open email, check our phone, and look for assignments life has prepared for us today.

I consider this a mistake. The tasks that others assign us may be urgent, but this urgency rarely means importance. Things that really matter are driven by our hopes, dreams, creations, and businesses.

Does this mean that we should ignore the challenges that family members, leaders, or society set for us? Of course not. However, we must learn to allocate time for our own plans, and not for someone else's.

Why the Ultimate Productivity Tip Works

We often think that being productive is about doing more and more. more tasks every day. It is not true. Productivity means consistently doing important things. Whatever you work on, the truly valuable things can be counted on your fingers.

What makes us productive is the ability to maintain a constant average speed in several directions, and not a maximum speed in all at once.

That's why this productivity tip really works. If you focus on the main task every day, you will always move along the path of progress that is important to you personally. I don’t know about you, but for me this is a weighty argument. I often have days when I spend a lot of time checking the fourth, fifth or sixth thing off the list, but never get to the most important thing.

It is not necessary to start an important task in the morning. Although, in my opinion, this approach has its additional advantages.

First, our willpower is usually much higher at the beginning of the day. At this time, we are full of energy and are able to throw all the resources to fulfill our plans.

Secondly, my experience tells me that the closer the hands of the clock get to the evening, the more likely it is that in my diary an unexpected thing will happen. This means that the likelihood that I will spend the day as planned decreases. Doing the most important task in the morning helps to avoid this.

Third, our brains hate unfinished projects. They lead to inner tension and stress. When we start something, we want to finish it. And the earlier you start, the more real the prospect of bringing everything to the finish line.

How to put the advice into practice

Starting the morning with the most important things sounds like a good idea for everyone. For everyone except owls. What if you love a good night's sleep?

While I was studying the daily habits of hundreds of writers, artists, and musicians, I noticed an important trend: there is no trend.

There is no one and only way to become successful. Owls do just as much amazing work as larks. Whatever your regimen, try to make time for your own goals and protect it.

For me, the morning is the best time to work. Your schedule may be completely different. The phrase "Do the most important thing first every day" really means "Give yourself time and find an opportunity to work on the most important thing every day."