5 HABITS

OF

INSANELY
PRODUCTIVE
PEOPLE

JASON FERRUGGIA
THE PROBLEM

W e live in The Age of Distraction, and its

becoming harder and harder to get shit
done. This causes massive amounts of
depression and frustration.

But it doesnt have to be this way. You dont have to be out

of control and overwhelmed. I was once there, myself.
Couldnt make a decision or get anything meaningful done if
my life depended on it. Then I set out on a course to change
my situation.

It took several years. I had to read a shitload of books. And I

had to spend many hours with productivity masters. But I
was able to make drastic changes. I did so by forming five
essential habits.

I nearly failed out of every school I ever went to. Im now

able to run multiple successful businesses. If I can increase
my productivity to the point where I get done in four hours
what used to take me 12-16, I know you can too.

This guide is based on lessons I learned from guys like Seth

Godin, Harry Beckwith, Tim Ferris, Leo Babauta, Greg
McKeown, Keith Ferrazzi, Steven Pressfield, Dale Carnegie,
Jason Fried, David Heinemheier, Craig Ballantyne, Bedros
Keullian, Alwyn Cosgrove, James Altucher, Jeffery Fox,
Vincent Peale, Chris Guillebeau, Sean DSouza, Gary
Vaynerchuk, Mark Cuban, Bruce Lee, Mark Ecko and many
more. Oh, and Jay-Z. Yes, the Jigga Man.

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THE ANSWER

IDENTIFY HAVE DAILY

THE ROUTINES
ESSENTIAL AND
RITUALS
WORK LESS
PLAY MORE

FOCUS ELIMINATE
ON DISTRAC-
YOUR TIONS AND
PASSIONS CLUTTER

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 Identify
the Create products, services
or art for a specific audience,
1
Essential and then define that audience. Dont try to please
or create a product for everyone. Exclude.

When you know your audience and your mission

it makes you much more productive. Doubt and
You have limited time and resources. Trying to do
second-guessing are no longer part of the
everything is a surefire recipe for failure.
equation.

Take a look at your day, your week, your month

3-5 Things
and your year. Identify the things that are essen-
tial in helping you get closer to your goals. Think
long and hard about this. Determine what is
worth your time and pays you a huge return on Limit your to-do-list to 3-5 things, MAX. Then cut
your investment. out everything else.

This is scary. We all have the fear of missing out.

We think we should be doing everything and
Simplify trying to be everything to everyone. But thats
flawed thinking. Its impossible to keep up, let
Everything alone thrive, when you attempt that.

The ability to simplify whatever you are doing is To accomplish more you have to do less.
crucial. It builds trust. Albert Einstein said that if
you if cant explain it to a six year old you dont Read that again and let it sink in.
understand it well enough yourself.
In my business there are a million things I could
Bruce Lee said, simplicity is the key to do.
brilliance. Its also what people desperately
crave. Check stats, run split tests and micromanage my
team. I could have Google alerts set up and read
Do fewer things better. Apple is a master at this. every single thing of importance to my industry
that pops up every day.

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I could respond to all blog comments and tweets
and Facebook questions all day. I could have a Be the Best
bigger store and offer more products and
services. I could do more seminars, live events Ask yourself, If I could only do one thing what
and videos. would it be?

And the list goes on and on. But to grow my If I or my company could be the best in the
business there are only three things that matter. world at one thing what would it be?
Everything else doesnt make that much of a
difference. It isnt essential. Focus on that. Let all the other stuff fall by the
wayside.
Cut out more stuff. Dont add.

Develop
Meaningful
Relationships
Few things are more important than being a
master networker and connector. Your ability to
develop and maintain meaningful relationships
correlates with your level of success.

Make the time to seek out people you want to

know and spend time with. Surround yourself
with people who are living like youd like to and
who are doing things you want to be doing.
Always make time in your schedule to be around
people who make you better.

And, like Keith Ferrazzi implores, you must

always follow up. This should go without saying,
but the majority of people never follow up.

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 Have
Daily Meditate
2
Routines This is the first thing I do when I wake up in the
morning for 30 minutes. Ive been doing it for

or Rituals
years and its increased my ability to focus and
deal with stress.

Caffeinate
The most successful people all have rituals or
Without high quality coffee my productivity and
routines they follow each day. Thats because
creativity suffer. Its a crucial part of my routine.
doing so allows you to be in control. Being out of
control is what ruins you.
Give Gratitude
Having a routine forces you to be productive and
eliminates a great deal of wasteful, unproductive I spend five minutes writing in my gratitude
time. journal. I list things, people and opportunities
that I am grateful for. This gets the day off to a
One thing that makes a huge difference is using great start. It forces me to realize that no matter
timers to keep your routine on track. You allot a how bad things can get at times, theres always
certain amount of time to task #1 then, when the something to be thankful for.
timer goes off, you move on to task #2. You must
be very rigid about this and go about your day
like a cyborg. That is if you really want to get a
Read
ton of work done in a short amount of time. The old clich is true- the difference between
you today and you five years from now will be
To give you some ideas about what should or the people you meet and the books you read. The
could be part of your daily routine I will share other is that there is an inverse relationship
mine. between the size of your library and the size of
your bank account.

Reading life-changing books is crucial to your

growth. You have to make time for it every day.
And as soon as you finish one you start the next
one.
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Most Important Daily Document
Task (MIT) Review
Next up is focusing on my most important task. After I read a great book I go through all my
For me that usually involves writing for 60 highlights and type them up in bullet form on a
minutes. I block out all distractions and do only one-page document that I laminate. Each day I
this, and see it through to completion. pick a different one out and review the notes.
This helps to reinforce the lessons learned.

Walking
University The Second Half
When I finish my MIT I go for my daily walk.
of The Day
During this time I listen to a podcast that will help After all that I take a break, train, and get outside
better me in some way or at least add some for a while. The important stuff is done. When I
entertainment and laughter to my day. return to work later I can focus on the second
and third most important tasks or anything else
that has popped up.
Answer Questions
/Write Programs But the morning ritual is the most crucial part of
the day and what matters.
When I get back from my walk I dedicate a
specific amount of time to answering questions
in my various levels of coaching programs. And
writing new workouts or strategic life plans for
people Im working with.

Process Inbox
to Zero
I dedicate a small block of time to email in which
I force myself to process my inbox to empty. This
is crucial. Going into an inbox full of 379 emails is
crippling and overwhelming. Deal with it immedi-
ately then delete it (or file it away somewhere if
necessary).

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 Eliminate
Distractions
and Clutter
A clean desk with one or
two pictures, a computer, maybe
3
a notebook and a phone (?) is all you need and
want. It should be sparse and Zen like. That will
increase your ability to focus.

You cant get meaningful work done if youre

Unplug
distracted. The first step toward a productive
workday is to cut physical and mental clutter.
Before you start working you should turn off the
And never, ever multitask. It doesnt work. Its internet and your cell phone. Theres no way you
code for wasting time or fuckin around but can complete a task in short order if you are
not getting anything done. answering emails, calls, texts and tweets every
two minutes. Not to mention logging into YouPorn
Focus on one task and do only that one task until to check out the latest Big Booty updates.
its completed.
Eliminate all distractions.
Clear Your
Workspace
I use the Self Control app for Mac. I set it to
block access to email, social media, stat check-
ing sites, blogs I like, and anything else that
You can't work in a pile of papers, with books would distract me. I cant access them until late
stacked, office supplies scattered everywhere, in the morning. Then I get in, do what I need to,
and knick-knacks and pictures covering up every and reset Self Control until tomorrow.
inch of your desk.
There are other apps like this for Mac and PC.
If you're doing that you need to stop right now. Google that shit. I cant recommend it highly
Stand up and doing a Raging Bull move and wipe enough.
all that shit onto the floor.

This environment is not conducive to

productivity.

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Master Email Dont
Email is a huge time suck. To have it work more Micromanage
effectively for you learn to keep each communi-
If you have employees you can fall into the trap
cation clear and concise. When you want
of micromanaging. If you dont have them you
someone to do something write it in terms a five
can still fall into this same trap if you hire some-
year old could understand. Use numbered lists or
one to do something for you.
bullet points. Write in crayon if you have to.

Give them ownership over the tasks and let them

But for the love of all things good, keep it short
figure it out as they go. You dont hover over the
and sweet!
cable guy when hes in your living room, telling
him exactly where each wire goes. So dont do it
Copy and paste this into your email signature to
with anyone else youre paying to do something.
let people know you dont have time to fuck
around:
Its a huge waste of time for everybody.
--------------------------------------------
Q: Why is this email five sentences or less?
A: http://five.sentenc.es

Thanks to Tim Ferris for introducing me to that.

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 Focus on
Your
Passions
Its done and its going
4
to market. You can perfect it later.

Just Say No
Opportunities present themselves every day. But
The Ultimate Warrior once said, Passion is my if you say yes to something youre not passionate
fucking passion! I ran through a wall after about youre saying no to something else. Its
seeing that YouTube clip. short-term reward versus long-term happiness
and fulfillment.
If youre not doing work youre passionate about
chances are pretty good youre phoning it in. Or If its not crucially important to you and not
at least not doing the best job you could do. something youre passionate about just say no.
Everyone deserves to be excited to go to work
each day. As Greg McKeown says, If you dont prioritize
your life someone else will.
Make it Your #1 Powerful words.
Priority to Create
Great Work Be a Quitter
Many of us have stuff on our to-do-list that has
Determine what that is for you and let nothing been there for weeks, months, and maybe even
get in your way. Dont do busy work, dont check years. Delete or erase that shit right now. Theres
Facebook; just get the task completed. And make a reason you keep procrastinating on it. Youre
it great. Like fucking amazing. Something you not passionate about it. And just seeing it on your
can be proud to put your name on. list causes you stress and maybe even makes
you feel like a failure for not being able to finish
Follow Seth Godins advice and set a ship date. the task.
Thats the date when the product or service has
to be ready. Dont worry about it. It wasnt important enough
for you to do. Move on. Its weighing you down.
No matter what. Even if its not perfect.
In cases like this, the smartest move is being a
quitter.
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Fuck Opinions work, know when to change course and move
on. Learn from your mistakes and start the next
If youre passionate about it, thats all that
passion project.
matters. Most people ask fifty different friends or
colleagues for their opinion on something before
Not everyone will agree with you and not every-
pulling the trigger. Those who know how to get
one will like you. Thats okay. The only thing that
shit done follow the ready, fire, aim, mantra.
matters is following your passion.
Make a decision and stick with it. See it through
If youre doing meaningful work that will help
to fruition based on your passion. If it doesnt
people in some way, youre on the right path.

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www.jasonferruggia.com Copyright Jason Ferruggia
 Work Less,
Play More
Set Boundaries
5
We pride ourselves on working harder and
longer than everyone else. Its a badge of honor.
Have a set time when your workday begins and
Its a way of impressing people. Always grinding.
ends. After that youre off the clock. Turn off the
Always hustling. Always stressed-the-fuck-out.
computer. Silence the cell phone or turn that off
too. Enjoy the time with your friends and family.
But thats an operational flaw. Not something you
Show them the respect they deserve, while giving
should be proud of.
your self a chance to recharge for tomorrow.
The most successful people I know work smart-
er; not longer. Theyre always doing cool stuff.
When youre out having fun with them theyre
Let People Know
present. Theyre in the moment and loving life. Youve got to condition people to know that you
Not checking emails 24/7 and worrying about dont work at XYZ time/hour/day. You dont
tomorrow. return emails or phone calls after a certain time
(or whatever rules work for you). If you dont do
I have friends who make well into the seven that early on they will come to expect it. Then
figures, and if you hung out with them on a theyll get pissed off when you try implementing
Saturday youd never have a clue. They dont fit this later down the road.
the clich. Theyve turned off. Which is precisely
why they are so successful.
Have Hobbies
Work cant be your hobby. Its very important to
schedule in time for creative activities like
drawing or playing an instrument. Not only does
this impact your ability to think more artistically
and see things more clearly, it also makes you
interesting.

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Whos more interesting to talk to at a cocktail Just a word of warming
party? The guy who works 24/7 and has little else
hes capable of discussing? Dont try to change everything at once. Leo
Babauta has said that there is a 100% failure rate
Or the guy who plays the piano, speaks multiple when trying to develop multiple habits at once.
languages, is incredibly well read and has a Pick one and spend 21 days making it a habit.
long-standing undefeated streak in chess? Then move on to the next.

It also puts Parkinsons Law to work for you. And dont get down on yourself if you screw up
Having classes and lessons scheduled for your from time to time. There are plenty of days when
hobbies makes you work more efficiently. If you my daily ritual goes to shit and that I hardly get
know you have to be at martial arts at 6:30pm on anything done. But I force myself to get back on
Tuesdays and have a guitar lesson on Thursdays track the next morning.
you wont putz around at work. Youll be forced to
work smarter and faster so that you can fit Live Steven Pressfield says, the battle begins
everything in. anew each day.

Most people think they dont have the time for Weve got to constantly strive to get better.
hobbies. But thats a lie we tell ourselves. We
really just have poor time management skills.

Scheduling the hobbies is a great way of instant-

ly improving this common problem. And it helps
you get shit done.

Thats a Wrap
I hope you found this information useful. But
more than that, I hope you implement it. I hope
you start to form some of these productivity-dou-
bling habits immediately. And when you do
please give me a shout on Twitter to let me know
how its working out for you.

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