deepstash
Beta
High-leverage activities: how to identify your energy multipliers
High-leverage activities are energy multipliers
Everyone's levers will be different. But when used, they can turn a relatively small amount of time and energy into significant results.
Examples of high-leverage activities:
- Automating part of your work
- Creating and publishing original content
- Joining a public speaking club
- Taking a writing workshop
- Mastering a critical tool
- Building metacognitive processes
- Learning a new language (such as coding)
- Looking for a great coach or mentor
- Shortening unnecessary long meetings
- Investing in personal and professional relationships.
13 SAVES
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
6
Key Ideas
Personal Productivity Curves
A lot of the internal things that affect our productivity are out of our control. Our energy, focus, and motivation follow their own path or “productivity curve” throughout the day.
Energy curves
We’re naturally more energetic and motivated at specific times of the day. Researchers call this our Circadian Rhythm. Every person’s rhythm is slightly different, but the majority follow a similar pattern.
- Waking up. Our energy levels start to naturally rise.
- Around 10 am. We’ve hit our peak concentration levels that start to decline and dip between 1-3 pm.
- Afternoon. Our energy levels rise again until falling off again sometime between 9–11 pm.
90 Minute Cycles
We work best in natural cycles of 90-120 minute sessions before needing a break. When we need a break, our bodies send us signals, such as becoming hungry, sleepy, fidgeting, or losing focus.
If you ignore these signs and think you can just work through them, your body uses your reserve stores of energy to keep up. It means releasing stress hormones to give an extra kick of energy.
4
Key Ideas
Don't waste valuable energy
We can't waste valuable energy on mindless activities while putting off what matters most for later.
In business, wasting energy means working on low-value tasks, and thinking b...
Cut out the optional
Being overwhelmed may be the new normal, but taking on too many responsibilities may be watering down our overall impact.
Bring back your focus to what matters most. Work on the projects that are the real game-changers. Delegate the discretionary work and eliminate unnecessary meetings.
Design an action plan
Running a thriving business means understanding how to organize your work by importance and knowing when to delegate.
- Find your sweet spot. When you consider taking on a project, see if it aligns with your purpose and the organization's broader goals. Ask yourself if you're the right person with the right skillset.
- Automate. As your company grows, use automation tools for low-level work. It also allows your employees to make more meaningful contributions.
- Set boundaries. Learn to say no to low-level tasks. Set your own limits about what you'll take on.
10
Key Ideas
Habits define your energy levels
Tine is not the basis for productivity. Energy is.
Having all the time in the world won’t help you if you’re exhausted for most of it. Having good habits help in keeping yo...
Sleep is the foundation of our energy
Poor sleep means you will start to underperform.
Research says 7-8 hours are pretty much mandatory if you’re going to stay cognitively sharp in the long-run.
Napping benefits
Even if it may feel lazy, napping has a range of cognitive benefits.
This is particularly true if you’re doing a lot of learning since the short burst of sleep can help with memory.