Here are 10 things Nicole S. did to finally start leaving the office at 5 PM so she could be with her family:
1) Prioritize Ruthlessly
You can do anything. But you can’t do everything. Subtle, but a big difference. It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do it all. But that’s not how focus works. It’s better to finish 2 things than have 10 at 20%.
2) Own Your Schedule
What do you, me, and everyone else have in common? We have the same 24 hours. Like everyone else. So it’s about working smarter and stretching your focus time. This creates space for what you want to do.
3) Focused Work Blocks
When was the last time you worked for 1 hour straight on something without interruptions? If you could work for 1 hour completely focused on a single task, what could you achieve?
4) Automate
This alone saves hours. Use technology and hacks to handle repetitive tasks. Time is precious. Use it to be creative and work on things that excite you.
5) Delegate Effectively
You don’t have to do everything yourself. Smart delegation turns 1+1 into 3 (sometimes 5 or 10). Scale your output and impact through others.
6) Limit Decision Fatigue
Save your brain energy for complex problems and decisions. This can be as simple as planning your meals or the outfit the night before.
7) Streamline Communication
In a time of “always on”, don’t communicate more. Communicate better. Say “enough” to the back-and-forth boomerang game.
8) Say “no”
When you say “no”, you say “no” to one thing. When you say “yes”, you say “no” to a thousand things. Say “no” to merely good options so you can say “yes” to amazing opportunities.
9) Reflect and Adjust
Regularly review how you spend your time and adjust your strategies as needed. It’s a feedback loop of continuous improvement.
10) Get Help & Accountability
Surround yourself with a support network that holds you accountable. Whether it's a mentor, coach, or a peer group, having someone to guide you, provide feedback, and keep you on track is invaluable. Leverage collective wisdom and support to stay committed and reach your goals faster.
This isn't just theory.
These steps have revolutionized my productivity and the productivity of many others. And they can do the same for you.
Today I'm closing the doors to 5 PM Freedom.
Our goal is to finally get home by 5 PM without dropping the ball at work.
We’ll get crystal clear on the projects & tasks that put results on your whiteboard and truly scale your impact.
We’ll get quick wins & space in your calendar so that you can finally breathe.
Once we’ve nailed down what you should be doing, we’ll find ways to get them done faster without sacrificing quality (actually, we’ll improve the quality of your work).
And we’ll tie everything together by building a custom productivity system that works for YOU. This is the system you can use again and again to get consistent results.
If you want in before I close it down, reply “LET’S DO IT” to this email and I’ll enroll you.
Dan