How to Be More Productive

5 Systems To Boost Your Productivity

October 29, 2022

I’m writing you from Puerto Escondido, Mexico.

It’s a beautiful little beach town, and I’m excited to be soaking up the sun, getting to surf whenever I want, and enjoying delicious food and culture.

Travel is a core value of mine, and being able to do it regularly is one of my favorite parts of what I do.

But my life as a founder didn’t use to be like this. 

There’s a quote floating around social media that sums up my experience quite well.

“I quit working 8 hours a day for someone else so I could work 16 hours a day for myself.”

The reality is many founders and entrepreneurs leave a job that they hate and end up building another “job” that makes them equally as miserable.

And maybe it doesn’t start out that way, maybe the passion project is initially extremely fulfilling and life-giving. 

But the surmounting pressures of keeping a business going become overwhelming.

It happened to me when I was building my first business. And the impact it had on me was close to devastating.

Fortunately, through the help of mentors I was able to distill operating systems that would ultimately change my life.

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to be sharing 5 core systems I use to lighten the load of running successful businesses.

These systems allow me to work when I’m at my absolute best, and also allow me to prioritize what matters to me most. 

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In 2011 I was running a business that was running me into the ground. 

I was working hard to please customers, my team, investors…and was ruining my health at the same time. 

I had no time for the things I cared about. 

Needless to say, I wasn’t happy with the life I had built. I knew something had to change, but I wasn’t sure what.

So I did what I always did when I wasn’t sure what to do next - I sought guidance from mentors.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege to learn from some pretty amazing people. People like:

  • Tobi Lutke - Founder & CEO of Shopify

  • Dave Morin - Employee #20 at Facebook

  • Alex Hormozi - CEO of Aquisition.com

  • Alex Lieberman - Co-Founder of Morning Brew

I took what I learned from these incredible founders and entrepreneurs and have distilled it into 100 or so core operating systems.

These operating systems have allowed me to build four new businesses while prioritizing the things that matter most to me.

Here are 5 that will help you increase your productivity:

System #1 - Plan Your Day in Advance

“An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing.” - Dale Carnegie

Planning your day is essential if you want to maximize your productivity and avoid wasting time.

If you don’t have a plan, you’re susceptible to distractions and working on things that don’t help you move your business forward.

This leads to burnout.

I’ve found that when I make a plan the day before it helps me save time and accomplish the most important tasks.

I can roll right out of bed and into what I need to accomplish.

This also pairs well with what I’m going to share next.

System #2 - Pick a Morning Routine and Stick To It

"Our brains are hardwired to be more alert in the morning, providing a mental boost to help you focus and concentrate and giving you the energy you need to get through the day…" - Dr. Ayish 

As a founder, your most valuable time of the day is the morning.

You must harness your natural potential for creativity and productivity during this window

Start the day with a morning routine that energizes your mind and body:

  • Sunlight

  • Meditation

  • Exercise

  • Cold Shower

  • Block off 3-4 hours for deep work

  • No meetings, no social media

  • Produce and create

System #3 - Leverage Tools to Slash Your Hours

We all have things that we “have” to do each day.

But just because they’re non-negotiable, doesn’t mean they have to be time-consuming.

Odds are, there are tools you could use to increase your daily efficiency by 50% or more.

I recommend that you take note of everything you do in a day that either: 

  • Takes more than 10 minutes to do

  • You repeat more than once

Because there are probably tools that could help you with the task.

Here are some of the tools I use:

  • Freedom - Blocks or puts time limits on websites

  • Grammarly - Automatically proofreads your content

  • Notion - Workspace for staying on top of tasks, building company wikis, and housing templates 

System #4 - Always Be Optimizing

“If you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.” - James Clear

The nature of growth means things change. I'm working on different projects now than I was a year ago. 

That means I'm creating new systems to increase my output.

Take time every 30 days and review your systems and plans. 

Adjust as needed.

System #5 - Replicate Yourself

Imagine if you could duplicate yourself, how much would you get done in a day?

As a founder, your time is your biggest asset, and you should be devoting yourself to needle-moving tasks.

I use a Growth Assistant to essentially double my output every day. 

Essential tasks still get done, but I’m able to focus my creative juices and energy on things that allow for massive leaps of growth.

If you’ve never worked with a Growth Assistant before, I have a connection that does all the vetting and hiring for you.

Just reply to this email if you’d like an intro (costs $3.5k per month).

If you’re looking to hire someone yourself, I recommend using this framework in your job description:

  • The role overview

  • What they will be doing

  • What skills they need to have

  • Why they will love working with you

There you have it, 5 systems for increasing your efficiency and productivity.

If you’d like to discover more ways to increase your output, I’m holding a free workshop “3 Systems For 10xing Your Productivity” this Thursday at 4pm EST.

In the workshop, I’ll reveal how you can build your business faster while working less. 

There will also be a Q&A time at the end where you can ask me any of your burning questions about systems.

It’s going to be a great time, and I hope you’ll join me.

Let's win together 🥇

Matt

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:

#1: Join my (free) Productivity Workshop in 5 days here.

#2: Build your clarity, systems, and growth with 1:1 coaching here.

#3: Promote your brand to 26,308 subscribers by sponsoring this newsletter (Booking into March 2023)

#4: Follow me on Twitter for more operating systems, marketing tips, and community-building systems.

P.P.S. Here's a pic from Puerto Escondido. If you've never been, I highly recommend you visit.

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