One genetics and more about routines and habits.

One of the things I’ve lamented is how much of my life I’vewasted living a life of obligation rather than a life of intention. If you don’tplan your day, someone will plan it for you. Let me take it a step further.

.. ifyou don’t write your life script, someone will write it for you. You will either choose yourlife, or you will live a life that is chosen and defined by others.  Change your routines, change your life People who manage to get a lot accomplished each day aren’tsuperhuman; they’ve just grasped and implemented a few simple routines andhabits. There is a lot of research that would suggest that the greatest performers have thegreatest routines. What makes genius is less about genetics and more aboutroutines and habits.

Having routinesand rituals in your life provides a steady framework in which creative advancesoften transpire. They open up time and space for recovery and renewal. Thesustaining power of routines and rituals comes from the reality that theyprotect and preserve their energy.

We must addroutines to our (personal and professional) life, which reduces the amount of(limited) determination necessary in order to preserve a state of uninterruptedattention.  As journalistMason Currey, who researched and catalogued over many years the routines andhabits of famous writers, thinkers, and creatives said: “ There is a popular notion that artistswork from inspiration – that there is some strike or bolt or bubbling up ofcreative mojo from who knows where…but I hope my work makes clear thatwaiting for inspiration to strike is a terrible, terrible plan. In fact, perhaps the single best piece of advice I can offer to anyone trying to docreative work is to ignore inspiration.” I read recentlythat David Brooks, in a New York Timescolumn on the topic of crafting systems, habits and routines, summarized thismore candidly: “ Great minds think like artists but work like accountants.

” Be your best, eliminate the rest Data and thought leaders of our day would say that the high-performersof our day go a step further. They let go of things that are working if they are NOT the bestthings. What that simply means is that they are able to let go of thingsthat take up a lot of energy, time, and resources that may be good, and evenprofitable, but are keeping them from the best things. Even good things can bethe enemy of the best things. The reality is that you probably won’t let go of old things andembrace the new, best things if you stay attached to what has been hijackingyour energy. Consider a child who has to get rid of the tricycle if he wants toride a two-wheeler.

Consider the snake that sheds its skin to make room for thenew one. You can’t have both, the old and new, because beneath the old is abright and glistening new, ready, and waiting. I’m reminded of the story of Steve Jobs, after coming back asCEO of Apple. During histime away, Microsoft had taken over the world. Apple barely had a pulse. But Steve Jobs comes back. He findsout that Apple had manufactured dozens of different Macintosh desktops, laptops, and servers in a dizzying collection of variations, as well as manyother ancillary items, few of which made a profit.  He keeps asking the same question over and over again, “ ifI want to have my nephew buy something, which one does he buy?”  Ultimately, Jobsaxed more than 70 percent of Apple’s hardware and software products.

Jobs wiped the slate clean. Jobs brings all his senior leaders into a room after assessingthe landscape of Apple. He goes up to a big white board and draws atwo-by-two matrix. Four quadrants. Across the top he writes personal /professional, and across the side he writes desktop / portable. He proclaimsthat “ if it doesn’t fit into these quadrants, then we are going to cut it out.

” Focus on what you are going to be the best at, and eliminate therest. Produce high-quality work Prolific writer Adam Grant uses the followingequation that drives a law of productivity.  High-Quality Work Produced =(Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus) In essence, he groupshis work into a focused and uninterrupted rhythm; where he maximizes hisconcentration and intensity when he works, and he capitalizes on the results heproduces per unit of time spent working. The type of work generating theresults you want in your life requires enhancing your performance by relentlessfocused work.   As an aside, doing less shouldn’t be translated as being lazy. Don’t give in to a culturalpitfall that values personal sacrifice over personal productivity.

There’s a bigdifference between being productive and being busy. Instead of measuring thequantity of work you do, measure results in terms of the amount of time thatyields the greatest return. Eliminate workfor work’s sake. The deception of multitasking  You can’tmultitask.

We believe wecan multitask. The most common ways that we multitask:·     Watchinga football game while your kids are trying to talk with you·     Meetingwith colleagues while responding to emails·     Beingon a date with your significant other and checking social media on your phone You can’t multitask. Let me say it, again.

You cannot multitask. Neuroscience shows us that you’re incapable of multitasking. Multitasking means you’re doing more than one thing, and you’re not.

Whatyou’re doing are one or two things with less efficiency than if you were doingone thing at a time. I’m not busy; it’s just not a priority. Busy isn’t busy. Busy is a lack of priority.

We can become addicted to busy. Busy is aDECISION. If you want to do something really badly, you MAKE the time.   If you aresaying you are too busy, see where your time is being allocated.

Are you toobusy watching Netflix and binge-watching shows? Are you spending too much timeputtering around with frivolous stuff? Busyness manytimes is a proxy for productivity. Without clear criteria or indicators of whatit means to be productive, we associate busyness with productivity. In otherwords, doing lots of stuff in a visible manner.  Say “ no” to manysmall things to say “ yes” to a few big things. The barrier to a meaningful lifeis not a lack of commitment, but over-commitment. Just because you’re busydoesn’t mean you’re doing the rightthings.

Just because you can do something does not mean you should do something. Conversely, youalso need to not do the things everyone else is doing. Do the things that giveyou the highest return on investment of your time and energy. Energy isespecially important to manage well. Your energy is indiscriminate; it will beallocated wherever you put it. The reality is that energy is a finite resourcethat is rarely managed well. Some would saythat your energy is your most precious commodity. Regardless of who you are, you have only a finite amount of it.

In reality, managing energy, not time, isthe fundamental currency for high performers. Your performance is grounded inthe management of your energy. People tend to do lots and lots of busywork to avoid the difficult andcritical stuff. A betterstrategy is to do the difficult stuff right away and eliminate everything else. “ Doing somethingunimportant well does not make it important, neither does the fact that ittakes a long time.

“~ TimFerriss Chances are ifyou aren’t doing something, it’s not a priority. Be honest with yourself.   Try thisexercise: Next time you want to use the words “ I’m too busy,” instead, insertthe words “ it’s just not a priority.” The next timeyour son wants to play catch up with you, say, “ Sorry, it’s not a priorityright now for me to play catch” or to your daughter the next time she asks foryou to spend time with her, “ Sorry honey, it’s just not a priority right now.” See how thatfeels for a moment.  See how yourpriorities quickly shift. Prioritize whatis important.

Don’t use busy as the default crutch in your life. Mary Jean Arianwrote, “ Gift from a Hair Dryer,” andsomehow, it kind of captures what a precious thing life is and to prioritizethe people that are important to me: “ Comb and dry. Comb and dry.

‘ Soon, I won’tbe able to do this anymore,’ you say to yourself knowing that the littlestraight bob must inevitably yield to grown up coiffures and ugly curlers. Whatwill she be like at 14? Where will her hair be blowing then–at 16 and 18? Doyou suppose boys will love to watch her hair blow as you do now? And some of themwill feel it on their faces. And one of them will marry her and her hair willbe spread under the veil, and then, spread out on his pillow. “ And oh, you hate him a little and wonderwhere he is at this moment, whether he’ll be good to her. They will grow oldtogether. And the gold-brown hair will be gray. And you will be gone.

And then, she will be gone–this very hair, that now your fingers smooth. And all thetears of the world swim for a second in your eyes as you snatch the plug out ofthe socket suddenly, and gather her into your arms, burying your face in thewarm hair, as if you could seal this moment against all time.”? Schedule yourvalues. Prioritize what is most important to you. Good time management doesn’tmean you do more; it means you do more of what really matters most. Thedifference between the values you hold and the life you live equals, ormatches, the frustration you experience. Identify and hold fast to yournon-negotiables, which means they go on the calendar first.

Invest your best inwhat matters most.