The One GIANT Mistake Everyone Makes That Is Killing Your Productivity

The One GIANT Mistake Everyone Makes That Is Killing Your Productivity

How is that you’re busy all day, every day, and yet the things that really matter don’t seem to happen.

Here’s the one giant mistake that I see people making over and over again – and it’s killing your productivity.

(I know it’s true because I do it, too.)

Here’s what happens:

You sit down at your desk or workspace. You’re thinking about the big things, the important things, that need to happen.

And then you say to yourself,

“I’ll just start with a few easy things. I’ll just check some email (or the Slack channel or social media or the news….) Just to make sure there are no fires that need to be put out. Then I’ll move on to that big project.”

And the next thing, you know, it’s three in the afternoon and nothing of consequence has happened.

This idea that you’ll “do something little to warm up” works for exercise, but not for getting the things that matter done.

Your brain works best when it is rested and uncluttered, and for most of us, that’s first thing.

So I want you to start doing the most important thing first. Even if it’s just for 15 minutes.

Do the thing that’s going to make a difference to you 90 days from now, first.

Update that LinkedIn profile.
Revise your resume.
Bang out a few paragraphs on that book.
Send an email to someone with whom you want to build a relationship.
Mentor a younger person.
Spend 15 minutes in prayer, breathing, or meditation.
Stretch.

There are so many activities that you can do for just a few minutes a day that will, if you do them every day, will, cumulatively, make a huge difference between the person you are now and the person you will be 90 days from now.

Go ahead and write down the one that is coming to mind for yourself right now.

Now, you don’t have to give up the idea of warming up and then doing bigger things for everything. For example, it works great for clutter clearing. You think, “Oh, I can’t do the whole basement. Okay. I’ll just do this a little bit. Well, okay. I’ll just do this next little bit.” and the next thing you know, you’ve made huge progress.

The “starting small” idea also supports working out. You think, “Ugh – I don’t really want to work out. Well, I’ll just go on the treadmill for 10 minutes. Well, now I’ve started, I might as well do 20 minutes. Now I’m already kinda sweaty….I might as well hit the weights.” Excellent!

There are plenty of circumstances in which it makes a ton of sense to sort of trick yourself by starting small and then seeing where you end up. But productivity is not one of them.

If you are going to create a positive feedback loop on being productive, you need to get a positive result; a result that is meaningful. To get a result that is meaningful, you need to focus on the things that are most important.

The highest joy-producing activities.

The highest income producing activities.

The things that will make the most difference to you – and your life – 90 days from now.

Start spending 15 minutes a day – first thing – on your important thing, and I guarantee you amazing results.

Want some support?

That’s why we created Get It Done Lab: An easy, fun, 90-day productivity sprint that will help you buckle down and focus on what really matters in your life, family, or business.

There Is No Such Thing as a Big Decision

There Is No Such Thing as a Big Decision

There is no such thing as a big decision.

There are only little decisions.

And when you allow yourself to believe that something IS a big decision, you instantly psych yourself out, ammiright?

So you have a thought like…

“You know, maybe I want to quit this job….”

“Maybe I want to move…”

“Maybe I should leave this person that I’ve been with for all these years…”

And then you think, “Oh, but it’s such a big decision,” and you frighten yourself into inaction.

All of life is a series of little decisions, and sometimes we make a big deal about the last little decision, but really – that last one is no bigger than all the ones that precede it.

I remember before the first of my marriages (long story) when we were getting our pre-marital counseling from our very hip pastor, and he said,

“Here’s the thing – you two have been deciding to get married since you met. You have been deciding to get married since you first clapped eyes on each other. It’s been a million little steps. A million little yeses. Yes to this first date, and yes to this dinner, and yes to making up after this fight. Now, on the wedding day, we’re going to make a big fuss over this last little yes. Over this last little, ‘I do.’

But remember it is not a big decision. It is the latest in a series of small decisions. And as you stay married, you will continue to make little decisions every single day to stay married or to not.”

And anyone who has been in a long-term relationship will tell you, it’s true. You make decisions every single day to stay together, or to drift apart.

You make little decisions every day about your health, your job, your family, and your relationships, and those decisions shape your future.

If you remember that you only need to make a little decision and then take the next indicated right action, you might decide yourself into a new, better life.

Waking Up Wanting: How Doing Little Things Is the Antidote to Burnout

Waking Up Wanting: How Doing Little Things Is the Antidote to Burnout

If you’re like me, you wake up pretty much every morning thinking about what you want.

And then you spend the rest of the day talking yourself out of it.

Or psyching yourself out of it.

Or ignoring it because you spend every waking minute doing the things that everyone else needs you to do.

Sometimes you wake up thinking of what you want in a dreaming way….with a gentle feeling of longing.

Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have my own business and not have to launch out of bed right now and start hustling for someone else…

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to take a trip – to go somewhere special….

Gee, wouldn’t it be great to be able to spend time on this hobby or activity that I love…

Other times, your desire shows up as vicious self-criticism.

Ugh. I can’t believe I haven’t done XYZ yet…

I’m such a failure – I haven’t lost this weight or even started exercising….

I feel like a loser because I haven’t written that book yet…

This early morning self-punishing is a hard way to greet the day, don’t you think?

Other times you just wake up feeling sort of dead and empty.

I don’t even know what would make a difference for me….I’m just so tired of my life….

I’m so sick of going to the same office and saying the same things to the same people over and over again…

Between the needs of my family and the needs of my job, I’m too tired to even know what I want…

And when you repeat this pattern day after day, you wind up with that horrible hamster-wheel feeling.

Because burnout doesn’t come from working hard – it comes from working hard and feeling like it doesn’t make any difference.

So the antidote to burn-out is MEANING.

And a great clue to finding meaning in your life is to look to those things you wake up wanting.

If you look underneath your feeling of dissatisfaction, you may find some interesting questions:

Where is the joy in my life?

Where is the zhuzh? The energy and sparkle?

Where is my power to change things?

These are excellent questions. You may even want to use them as journaling prompts, hm?

Let us take a moment right now to agree that this strategy of “wanting something, then not giving it to yourself all day” is not creating the life that you want.

So let’s think of a new strategy.

We’re going to do this right now.

And here’s our new, easy strategy.

Ready?

1) Pick One Thing You Want to Change

There might be several areas in your life that you want to see changed or a number of things you want to do. Since the purpose of this exercise is to explore this new strategy, I want you to just Pick One.

Pick whichever one bubbles up first for you – big or small.

OK – have you chosen an area of your life you’d like to change?

Great.

Now write that down so you don’t start second-guessing yourself before we’ve even begun.

 

2) Think of One. Simple. Tiny. Easy. Step.

Write down one simple, easy thing you can do today that will help you make the change you wrote down.

Simple = this step isn’t complicated; you probably already know how to do this.

Tiny = this step will take less than 15 minutes and is easily affordable or free.

Easy = you might even enjoy doing this step.

And I don’t care how dumb it seems. Or how much you feel like it’s not going to help. Because we’re just experimenting, right?

See, it’s your ego that wants to make big moves. Your ego wants to make it an all-or-nothing scenario. Your ego wants to make these big sweeping decisions.

I’m here to tell you your life will change thanks to tiny incremental actions.

Maybe your Simple Tiny Easy Action is to spend 15 minutes cruising some job websites – just to see what else is out there. (Can you see how this moves the inner conversation from, “Ugh I should really quit this job but I can’t afford it blah blah blah,” to “I’m going to just do a little check on what else might be out there for me.” Much more manageable, yes?

Or maybe your Simple Tiny Easy Action is to spend 15 minutes dancing in your kitchen, just to feel the pure joy of moving to music.

Maybe you want to spend 15 minutes writing just 200 words of a book.

Maybe you want to spend 15 minutes reaching out to a friend.

Maybe you spend 15 minutes staring at a blank piece of paper. That’s OK. A little time facing white space never hurt a person.

And here’s the wonderful news: if you do your Simple Tiny Easy Action – your whole day will be different.

It’s possible that the whole trajectory of your life will change.

But – for sure – your day will change.

3) Repeat This Process Tomorrow

And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that.

This is how we change our lives.

This is why I wrote the book, “Start Right Where You Are: How Little Changes Can Make a Big Difference for Overwhelmed Procrastinators, Frustrated Overachievers and Recovering Perfectionists” (New World Library).

When people looked at my life and asked me, “Wow, how did you go from being a broke actor in Los Angeles who never had two nickels to rub together to being this prosperous business owner, thought leader, and author?” (hair toss, hair toss)

It wasn’t just one thing. It was a lot of simple, tiny, easy decisions. It was a lot of simple, tiny, easy actions in a lot of areas of my life.

And it’s not just me – I’ve helped tens of thousands of clients change their lives with this process, most recently with our breakthrough 90-day program, The Get It Done Lab.

 

Sam’s Get it Done Lab has helped me to blow past some serious creative blocks and fall in love with the process. The process is now lifting me rather than crushing me. – Beth Jaffe

 

I am super excited and happy about the shift that is already occurring in me with the little I have done already and… just the basic shift in attitude…really the most important question regardless…what do I *really* want? That’s what matters. – Jodi Johnson

 

 You can do the same. Starting right now.

Here’s the thing: Every day is precious to us. We do not know when our last day here is.

Do not wait to move forward on having the life that matters to you.

“Gnashing” is Such a Funny Word

“Gnashing” is Such a Funny Word

– a limited series about unconventional economics –

Want to see me wail & gnash my teeth?

Be the person who tells me that you reallyreallyreally want your life to be different, and then refuse to take any steps toward actually *making* your life different, because, you know… it isn’t a good time…maybe in a few months would be better….and you can’t really afford it…and your spouse isn’t very supportive…and you kinda sorta think that if you just keep doing what you’ve always done, you will somehow get a new result.

This.
Behavior.
Makes.
Me.
Go.
Bananas.

Here is what I know to be true:

If you are willing to take one tiny step toward what you want, the Universe will rush a thousand steps towards you.

If you are willing to do things differently, you will get different results.

If you are willing to get uncomfortable – and stay uncomfortable – you will find yourself in world of miracles followed by more miracles.

Now, I am not saying that entrepreneurship is for everyone.

Far from it.

(Of course, if it was really not for you, you probably would’ve opted out of this email series already.)

Most entrepreneurship courses out there are RESULTS oriented.

“How to Create Programs & Packages”

“How to Have Authentic Sales Conversations”

“How to Write Better Copy”

“How to Use Social Media When You Kind of Hate Social Media”

“How to Use Your Intuition & Self Care to Grow Your Business Without Going Nuts”

And all that is good.

I love practical, results-oriented training.

So I give you access to those teachings and more – done with my trademark flair : )

But more importantly, we are PROCESS oriented.

  • I walk with you, every step of the way.
  • I will review your sales page, talk you off the ledge when your best client quits and advise you on which book you should write next, and why.
  • I will dive into your wild, uncharted spiritual process and pray with you.
  • I will be 100% honest with you.
  • I will share the real “backstage view” of how I run my multi-six figure business from my cozy place by the beach.

And you will find yourself with a beautiful community of like-minded creatives who will cheer you on, ask you hard questions and give you a chance to share your gifts with them.

Sam’s Pro Club is not for everyone.

It’s not a quick fix.

It’s not cookie-cutter.

It’s a private, hand-crafted community: led by me, and inspired by you.

And it comes with a 30-Day Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Tuition Cheerfully Refunded.

CLICK HERE to take one tiny step

(Please….only you can prevent my teeth-gnashing…)

Thank you so much for taking this journey with me.

Yours,

 

P.S. Here’s what I know for sure: taking baby steps like this is the way to grow into your prosperous, sustainable life. Even just 15 minutes a day can take you there. But you’re going to need a supportive community, some solid training in entrepreneurial concepts and some good advice (both practical and spiritual) from someone who’s done it already. That’s what Sam’s Pro Club is all about – and you can get started for just $12.32/day (annual subscription). Check it out here– S.

“And the money has hit my account! I was able to walk my very first coaching client through her objections and got her to yes. Amazing. I just followed Sam’s script which removed 97% of the anxiety!! Thanks Samantha Bennett!” – M.C., current member of Sam’s Pro Club

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Inspiration & Good Advice

Inspiration & Good Advice

 a limited series about unconventional economics

I made a special (short) video just for you: the creative person who feels like they would like to make money from their creativity, but isn’t sure how to do that.

You know the world needs your good work.

And please let me know how all this is landing for you, OK?

 

Yours,

“After living on this planet for over 50 years I finally found [Sam’s Pro Club] the right group for business, productivity, personal satisfaction and creativity. Sam has addressed issues and answered questions that have kept me stuck for years!” – Regan Wilders‬, current member of Sam’s Pro Club

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What if It Was Easy to Succeed Doing Work You Love?

What if It Was Easy to Succeed Doing Work You Love?

– a limited series about unconventional economics –

Business is hard.
Sales is icky.
Marketing involves self-promotion – which sounds absolutely horrible.

These beliefs are not only erroneous, they are prejudiced.

What if we changed the vocabulary a little bit?

Business = Taking Your Work Seriously
Sales = A Sacred Exchange of Energy
Marketing = Making Terrific New Friends

So if I were to invite you to take your work more seriously, and engage in more regular sacred exchanges of energy with people who found you because you had put some effort into making some terrific new friends….that sounds OK, right?

Right.

EASY ACTION STEP:

Today, spend 15 minutes taking ONE easily affordable step to demonstrate that you are taking your work more seriously.

Here are some easy suggestions:

  • Order business cards (I like Moo.com, and you can get 25% off if you use my affiliate link: https://refer.moo.com/s/Samantha_Bennett9)
  • Add your professional designation to your Facebook page bio
  • Get listed in a professional directory
  • Search Instagram for hashtags that relate to your field & follow the influencers
  • Register for a conference related to your field
  • Practice answering the question, “What do you do?” with pride
  • Open a business bank account
  • Create a LinkedIn profile

When you start taking yourself more seriously, the world will, too.

And remember: The World Needs Your Art.

Yours,

 

“That’s 12k from drawing pictures, from selling things with weird animals printed on them. From little resin critters. From taking one little step forward every day (or most days, anyway). From getting brave and making phone calls. From occasionally spending an outsized amount of money on things that were not a guarantee. From asking for help. From panicking and staying committed anyway. From not giving up.” – V.G., current member of Sam’s Pro Club

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