If you were to visualize a productive life, it would look something like this. BEING UBER-PRODUCTIVE The new entrepreneurs are expected to be fast. Fast to learn, fast to do, fast to decide. After all, entrepreneurs succeed when they do things faster and better than a large corporation. That means being uber-productive. This year I experimented with uber-productivity. I made a new year resolutions a year ago. Not so naive about my self-discipline any more, I did not kid myself that I would just do it. I had to “pre-do” to make sure that I actually do it. Let me explain. "PRE-DOING" YOUR GOALS When I set a big goal, like change my life, or be more productive, I normally failed. Predictably so. Until I started using a tool, well familiar in the startup world. You can call it beta testing. Or just “pre-doing.” When a startup company launches, they are usually so far from achieving their goal that they have to launch before they are ready. Otherwise they would never launch. Their money would run out, the team’s enthusiasm would drain and the investors would lose interest. That’s why a startup launches a beta, something that looks like their product and almost works, but not quite. Same idea goes for some Kickstarter projects - they pre-sell something that is not quite done yet. So “pre-doing” works for companies with small resources and a lot of enthusiasm. Why couldn’t it work for people with little patience and a lot of optimism about life around New Year? That was me last year. So I wanted to “pre-do” my goal of being uber-productive. PRODUCTIVITY TEST IN VILLAGE, THEN IN CITY I started by doing what I do best - visualize what I will do. I visualized a productive live for me in a series of infographics (see above). That was the pre-doing part. Then I followed the graphics like a mind map. I went to an Indian village (Indian, not Native American) with limited internet access, put the graphics on my walls and followed them like a map. I worked. And did nothing else. It worked. So I “pre-did” my goal for 3 months. But village life made it easy to be productive - other than snakes and lizards there weren’t many distractions. So the experiment had to continue in a more mind-grabbing place. A metropolis. There I went for another 7 months. As life distractions piled on, I had to make additional graphics to stay focused. But after life again was minimized to its bare and beautiful necessities, the last 3 months I spent like this. And as I write this, I can say that I have “pre-done” my last New Year resolution, so next year looks promisingly productive. We Really Have About 9 Years Is it worth it to go through this just to be productive? After I deducted everything that one has to do in life, like sleeping, commuting, working and eating - I put a number on the time we all have left of our lives to do what we want. 9 years. Even still in my twenties, I am in a hurry to make those 9 years count.

1. how to have a
SIMPLE LIFE
as an entrepreneur
let go of the consume less
past
say no,
when you
mean it
turn off
the phone
let go of
perfectionism
sever unhealthy
relationships
have an alter-ego
(to deal with complicated things)
purge your
belongings
wear minimalist
clothes
move closer
to where you want to be
walk more
by Anna Vital
run slowly,
and you will get there faster

2. how to
GET UP EARLY
by Anna Vital
plan an exciting
schedule your
most important
plans for
the morning
breakfast
to look forward to it
so you are excited to
get up and do it
sleep in total
darkness
melatonine, the sleep
hormone, is produced
in the dark
turn off the
phone
(you know why)
read a book
(not online)
you can’t browse
away from it
drink
water before
going to bed
it is relaxing and
rejuvenating
choose a
blanket
that keeps you warm
best sleep is between 62-70 F (16-21C)
put the alarm
across the room
can’t hit the snooze button

3. by Anna Vital
first thing successful
“eat
the frog”
people do in the morning
visualize
work
out
real work,
no email
talk to
customers
Steve Jobs:
Mark Twain,
“Tackle
the hardest
problem on
your plate.”
ask
myself
Tony Robbins,
“Visualize
how you
will make
your day.”
Funders and Founders
Barack
Obama,
“ I do it
just to
clear my
head and
relieve me
of stress.”
David Karp,
“Don't check
your email
and do
real work.”
Craig
Newmark:
“Customer
service.”
“Every morning
I asked myself:
'If today were
the last day of
my life, would I
want to do what
I am about
to do today?”

4. HOW TO
WORK FAST
S
have a one
track mind
keep
an average person has
70,000 thoughs per day
which is
49 per min
don’t stop
don’t
question
if you get stuck
for more than
30 seconds,
move on
lights
bright
listen to
music
background music
helps finish tasks
faster
.
increasing light levels
from 300 lux to 2000 lux
improves productivity by 8%
(most offices work at 300-500 lux)
anything you do
in the first 15 minutes
keep your
make
write short
1st draft
in 15
minutes
(let it be bad)
140-character emails
do
use a
timer
if you can’t
hack it in
15 minutes,
you can’t do
it at all
otherwise you don’t know
what you are saying
by Anna Vital
desk clear
it will clear your mind
10000 lux is full daylight
(not di
direct sun)

5. how to
THINK FASTER
by Anna Vital
say,
“Yes, and...”
- first principle of
improv
comedy
relax
your jaw,
your mouth may talk
on its own - body
intelligence
if the other
side is silent,
let the silence be,
don’t feel like
repeat
you have to fill in
something
several times
while you are
thinking
work with
the 1st thought
that comes to mind - it is
there for a reason
listen to
your gut,
it thinks faster
than your brain
visualize your
knee jerk,
follow
the
now produce a
“mind jerk”
least
effort
principle

6. headphones
for noise cancellation
mirror
to remind self
who one is
blackout curtains
to sleep well
light
for productivity
dress
to feel official
bed
for resting
book
for reading
before bed
alarm
for keeping
track of reality
Funders and Founders
chair
to think in
drawers
to hiding
gadgets
tea
for hydration
by Anna Vital