How to get things done?

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SUMMARY

How to get things done?

In the “How to get things done?" video, Muralidharan Jayaram Discusses the challenges of work in the 21st century.  Muralidharan Jayaram, a partner at Citrines, is known for creating powerful programs such as "Extreme Persuasion" and "The Secret Code to Sell Anything." His passion is to help business owners, entrepreneurs, leaders, and sales professionals learn how to persuade and influence like pros to increase their revenue by 10x. Muralidharan identified a common problem: people start the day with specific tasks but end up jumping from one task to another, leading to a pile of unfinished tasks and trivial accomplishments at the end of the day.

He went down the rabbit hole of productivity research, tried different productivity systems, and created his own. However, this only aggravated the problem of doing trivial tasks instead of essential ones. Muralidharan realized that it was the mindset behind the productivity system that was the problem, not the system itself. He identified three challenges: mindset, environment, and ability.

The first challenge is the industrial revolution mindset, where the more tasks are done in a shorter period, the more productive you are. This mindset leads to doing trivial tasks that don't move the needle.

The second challenge is the 21st-century environment, which is custom-built for distractions.

The third challenge is the ability to focus, which has vanished, becoming a handicap. Our educational system is still stuck in the industrial revolution era, and people are not taught how to handle 21st-century distractions.

Muralidharan is determined to help individuals overcome these challenges and change their mindset to one that will lead to success.

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Full Transcript of this Episode:

Hey there, my name is Muralidharan Jayaram and I'm a partner at Citrines. You might know me as the guy behind some very powerful programs like Extreme Persuasion and ⚡The Secret Code to Sell Anything⚡. I love to help business owners, entrepreneurs, leaders, and sales professionals learn how to persuade and influence like pros so that they can 10X their revenue in no time flat.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had this problem that you start the day with a specific task to do? And then you jump from that task to another task to another task to another task and by the end of the day you find that you're drowning in a lot of unfinished tasks and projects and all this leading to unreached goals and unfulfilled dreams.

Not just that. Have you ever had this problem too that you do a lot of tasks on a specific day but at the end of the day when you look at those tasks they are all trivial tasks? None of those tasks actually move the needle. Actually, you have wasted your time, precious time.

Me too!

Me too I can relate to that hundred percent. Initially, for a long time, I thought there was something wrong with me. I am the only guy on this planet and perhaps in this universe that cannot stay focused on a task and get it completed. But soon I realized that my friends, my colleagues, my relatives, all of them were in the same boat. And what shocked me later was everyone on this planet had the same problem. It is a universal problem.

Well, I had two options now. One, it’s ok, it’s a universal problem. Why should I bother? I can go with the flow or I can change. A little small voice inside me told me to change. Why? Because I owe it to myself, to my family, to my company, and to the world to which I can actually contribute.

So I did what any sane person would do. I went down the rabbit hole of productivity research. I read all the books on productivity. I read all the books on time management and I tried different productivity systems. Right from simple to-do lists to the most complex productivity systems which are high-tech in nature. I even created my own productivity system, with carefully curated apps, tools, and methods to suit every need of mine. So I could handle anything that life threw at me.

Now let me ask this question to myself. Did this solve the problem? Sadly, no! In fact, it further aggravated the problem. I found myself doing more and more trivial tasks rather than actually doing things that actually matter. Okay! So that puzzled me, that puzzled me for a long, long time. I needed to find the answer. Why is it? Is there something wrong with my productivity system? Or is there something else?

Then one day, like a lightning flash, it hit me. Perhaps it's not the productivity system that's a problem. It is the mindset behind the productivity system that's the problem. It is the mindset that actually built the productivity system and the mindset that's actually using the productivity system.

Let me share with you some of my research findings. Actually, there is a threefold problem.- a three-headed monster. Each head of the monster representing one challenge.

The First Challenge

The first challenge is that of a mindset. What do I mean by a mindset? Let me explain. We are living in the 21st century and we are knowledge workers. Correct? Unfortunately, we are approaching productivity and the productivity system, and getting tasks done through an industrial revolution mindset. What do I mean by that? We believe that the more tasks we can do on a particular day, the more productive we are. And that kind of mindset is definitely a mindset that will lead you to do trivial tasks that actually won't move the needle. So mindset that built the productivity system and also the mindset that's using the productivity system is wrong. It's coming from the wrong paradigm. Let me explain this a little more. Back in the days during the industrial revolution era, a factory worker had tasks. And those tasks were repetitive tasks. And if you can get a lot of these repetitive tasks done in a shorter period of time, then what happens is you get that marginal increase in the bottom line. That's where this whole concept of productivity came. But in the 21st century, we are not factory workers. We are knowledge workers. Our tasks are different. One task differs from the other tasks. The difference is between the difference of a night and a day. Okay. So this industrial revolution mindset will not cut it, it will not help us. That's challenge number one.

The Second Challenge

Challenge number two is the environment. The 21st-century environment is way different from the industrial revolution era. The 21st-century environment, our world has been carefully custom-built for distractions. We are living in a Distraction Economy. What do I mean by Distraction Economy? These big tech companies want to steal your focus and attention and direct it to their apps and the ads they show in their apps so that they can make money. So you're surrounded by distractions. And what is the sad truth is that we have not been taught how to handle 21st-century distractions. You're not being taught. No, me. Why is that so? Because our educational system is still stuck in the industrial revolution era. That's another problem.

The Third Challenge

The third problem is the ability. What do I mean by ability? People's ability to focus has vanished. Our inability to focus is becoming our handicap. In addition to that, people's capability to think deeply has also gone away. People are not thinking deeply anymore where very few of them actually are capable of thinking deeply. Third, people's ability to think in long term has also vanished. And long term thinking is crucial for any kind of success. And the fourth, most alarming of them all is people's ability to stay on a task that requires long focus has vanished. So book reading which requires long focus is vanishing. Very few people read books anymore. They have piles of unread books. They buy a lot of books but then there are piles of unread books in their cupboards or almirah.

Well, these are the three major problems which we have faced. And unless you address these problems, you'll not be able to have a good productivity system. I had to find a productivity system that will actually work in the 21st century. I had to find a solution.

So I went back to the drawing board and re-looked at the whole strategy of productivity. With the new mindset.

And this is my solution. You have to make three changes. These are the three changes I want you to make.

The Change No. 1

If you want your productivity system to work like a charm in the 21st century, the change number one is that you need to redefine what productivity means to you and productivity system should do for you. What I mean by that means that your productivity system should be your friend who will prod you and encourage you to do the tasks that actually matter. That will actually move the needle, not the trivial tasks. The tasks that will help you to reach your goals and fulfill your dreams.

Two, your productivity system should help you to free yourself from all those worries of unfinished tasks. So that you can be present in the moment. That's very important if you want to enjoy life.

Third, your productivity system should not cramp your style. It should be your go-to buddy for spontaneous fun. You should be able to grab opportunities that life suddenly throws at you. And if you want to be aware of those opportunities, you should be present in the moment. And you should have permission to be spontaneous.

The Change No. 2

Here's the second change that you need to make. You need to focus on the stuff that actually fires you and you're passionate about. And you're competent to do it. Because between the intersection between what you're passionate about and fired up for and your competence lies your zone of contribution. You'll be able to contribute greatly to yourself, your family, to your company, as well as the world, If you stay in this zone. So all other tasks, either you eliminate or you delegate to someone who's good at that.

The Change No. 3

And here's the change number three. Your productivity system should help you to revitalize yourself. And that is so important in this 21st century. We're living in a highly stressful world. If you look at leaders, most of the leaders are working more than 65 hours a week. And many of them, because of smartphones, are engaged in work for 70 hours a week. And that's a lot of time spent on work. And if you spend so much time on work, then it will eat up the other areas of your life. And you will be in total imbalance. That's not a good place to be in.

So take a hard look at the kind of time you are spending on work. Your productivity system should help you to revitalize, to encourage you to revitalize. Here is a simple rule for you to remember. The more you grind, the less you shine. It's like squeezing a lemon. You cannot keep on squeezing and squeezing. If you do that, you will end up with a shriveled up lemon, which nobody wants. Same thing with work. If you overdo it, you'll get exhausted. It will completely drain your energy and will result in a burnout. And a burnout can lead to health problems. And of course, throw your productivity out of the spin. Your productivity system should help you to revitalize by making you focus on these three areas.

The First Area

The first area is recharge and relaxation.

Your productivity system should encourage you to recharge and relax. How do you do that? It should help you to sleep, at least 7-8 hours a night. It should provide you-Me time, No work time. Me time. And it should provide you with time to connect with people that matter. Your productivity system should help you to connect with the right people, When you connect with the right people, you will feel energized and motivated, and enthusiastic. And that's so, so, so important.

The Second Area

Your productivity system should help you in this second area. And that is to lead an active life. So how do you lead an active life? An active life is full of fun and fitness, time for exercise, sports and so on that can actually enjoy. Also, it should provide you, with Tech-time off, away from cell phones, and screens, so that you can have the dopamine fast, which is so much required. Number three, it should provide you with time for mindfulness. Peace. Calming yourself.

The Third Area

Okay. Now let's go into the third crucial area, where your productivity system should help you to focus. Your productivity system should help you in this specific area, Which is self-reflection and growth. How do you do that? It should provide you time to pause and ponder. It should provide you time to reflect and recharge. It should provide you time to reinvent. And it also should provide you time to contemplate and refine.

If your productivity system covers all these areas, then it will be robust and you will lead a balanced life of tremendous success that everybody will envy.

A Task for You

Here's a task for you. What you need to do is go back to the drawing board, and take a hard look at your productivity system. Are you running your life and work through an industrial revolution era mindset? If so, you need to stop it now. Use all the principles, techniques, methods, and suggestions, I have given you in this video. Go back to the drawing board and redesign your productivity system. And use the productivity system with a new mindset, a mindset suited for the 21st-century era. We are living in it.

The Results we got

Now, let me share with you the results I got. The results were jaw-dropping. I was shocked by the kind of productivity I enjoyed. I taught this to my clients and they too are enjoying tremendous productivity. Trust me on this.

Your Immediate Next Action

Do the first step. Go back to the drawing board and take a hard look at your productivity system. And begin to redesign it today. So, until next time.