#128: Self-Propelled Productivity [Podcast]

The power of momentum is hard to overestimate. A productive person is likely to remain productive, and the opposite is also true. We can intervene in our own lives.

What if there was a way to turn yourself into self-propelled productivity machine?

Tip of the Week:

This week I;m going to encourage you to “Slack”. It just might make you more productive. Try the Slack app now.

Spiritual Foundations:

Here's a question I get from readers and listeners every now and then: “If God's will is always healing, why am I still sick?”

The short answer is I don't know. There are many explanations that sound good, and yet for every one there is a scripture that seems to disprove it. Think you don't have enough faith? Then what do you do with the man who didn't even believe Jesus could help his son… and then Jesus just healed the boy, despite the father's lack of faith? Think you have sin in your life that you have to get cleaned up first? Then what about the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery, whom Jesus forgave and spared from physical death?

Then there are interesting passages like the one where Jesus prays for a blind man, and the man is not instantly healed. He reports to the Lord that he can “see men like trees,” implying that he could see a little, but imperfectly. So what did the Lord do? He prayed again! If that formula is good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me. And I am not so arrogant as to assume I might not need to pray more than twice.

In short, this is an area of mystery. I believe we must be comfortable living with mystery. I know that God's promise is that he will heal every one of us. I also know that it seems that some of us (myself included) have not yet been healed. The danger lies in becoming bitter or angry with God, distorting or maligning his personality because he won't do what we want, or even presuming that we know what he should do and when. The danger on the other side lies in just deciding that God is not going to heal, and that contrary to his word, it must not be his will.

Here's the shocking truth: not everything that happens in this world is God's will. That may freak you out a little, but it's true, and I can prove it. The Bible says that God is not willing that any one should perish. But people perish every day. Therefore, it is clear that not everything that happens is God's will.

Since I am not able to answer this question with any authority, I return to my “short” answer: I don't have an opinion on this, and I can't be forced to express an opinion I don't possess.

Feature Presentation: Self-Propelled Productivity

You can set up your productivity routine to work just like a self-propelled mower – a lot of grass gets cut without a lot of pushing required. Here are a few suggestions to give your productivity its own momentum.

1. Wake up earlier than most people and accomplish your most difficult  or dreaded tasks before others are even awake.
2. Block out the first 3-4 hours of your day as your un-interruptible “productivity zone”.
3. Refuse all inputs until after Noon.
4. Learn your own weaknesses and “trick” yourself into succeeding (gym clothes ready for next morning, working out first thing, setting my clock intentionally fast.)
5. Find someone to kick your rear end for you. (Rick Raddatz story)

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Question: Do you use any tricks to automatically make yourself more productive? Click here to leave your comments.