The first rule is getting shit done is to be really choosy about what you do.

You definitely can’t do everything.

At the moment, I’m building two 6 and 7 figure businesses and planning a third. I write two newsletters and stay active on social media. It looks like I’m doing a lot but here’s a list of the things I used to do and let go of to make space for my priorities:

hosting a podcast
participating in any sort of committee work
pro bono work
hosting a webinar series
writing books
my own accounting
worrying about what some big names in my fields think about me

Behind every person who looks like they’re doing it all is a long list of what they aren’t.

And it’s super important to emphasize that while I don’t have a partner at home to make my meals and tend to the children, my kid is a teenager and he pretty much wants nothing to do with me. For the first 13 years of his life I didn’t have the bandwidth to do as much as I can today.

It’s ok to pace yourself.

The second rule is to prioritize your priorities.

Say your priority is to write a book. Cool! You’ll need long, solid, silent blocks of time to write.

This means you might choose the pay-what-you-can silent retreat center for a long week rather than the NOLA Mardi Gras extravaganza your friends are going to.

Even if social connections are one of your priorities. Book writing could fall higher for you, for a short period of time.

I can’t think very far head into the future (sometimes I can’t even think about tomorrow cause I’m so busy dealing with today) so I plan quarterly priorities. That way, I’m not sacrificing something (somewhat) important for too long. There’s always a time to reconsider and readjust.

But for that quarter, your top two or three priorities take precedence over other competing demands or dreams or distractions. When a little devil pops on your shoulder and tells you to ditch the writing and go for margaritas with your bestie, you’ll need to remind yourself that you have a bigger focus right now.

The third rule is to find out what rules you.

You’ll need a system that cues your brain focus on the priorities you’ve elevated. So the trick – and I think this is the biggest key to massive focus and productivity – is to figure out what rules your actions.

For me, it’s my calendar. I do whatever it tells me to do. So I know I can book time on my calendar for book writing and ain’t nuthin gonna pull me away until that window on my calendar is over. And before I get up, I book the next spot on my calendar when I’ll focus on this priority again.

Other people are ruled by their to do list. Those people need to break down their priority into tasks that can be checked off, one by one. When they finish one task, they make a mini to do list of the next things they’ll tackle when they sit back down again.

Some folks are driven by other people’s expectations. That means their motivation to sit down and work, even when they don’t want to, will be stimulated by the fact that others are waiting on them to finish.

Some are ruled by deadlines and can’t really put in the effort until the deadline gets close. Ok. No prob. Set deadlines.

Are any of these resonating with you? Or does something else drive your actions? Write back and let me know.

If none of these seem to rule you, listen to this podcast episode by Jay Shetty on 10 Ways To Get Things Done Even When You Don’t Feel Like It. Maybe you’ll recognize yourself here.

Find out what drives you. Use it to structure your energy around your selected priorities. Set the other stuff aside temporarily. Get sh*t done.