I’m going to give you all some unconventional advice here. And that is that you need to start procrastinating more. On its face, this doesn’t make a ton of sense. In fact, it’s the opposite of what you’ve likely been told.
However, I started thinking a lot more about this after attending and speaking at PIMDCON23 hosted by Peter Kim in LA.
So much of the messaging there from myself and other speakers was geared towards helping other doctors get started – whether that meant starting in real estate investing or entrepreneurship. And getting started really is the most difficult part.
As I listened to more people talk about how they began, a trend started to emerge in my mind. They procrastinated.
Start procrastinating and get more done
That seems like an oxymoron.
But it’s not when you use procrastination to your advantage. And what I mean by that is that we need to start procrastinating on the things in our lives that don’t matter or aren’t as valuable. And we need to procrastinate those things so that we can spend more focus and energy on the big things that are really going to move the needle in our lives.
I really believe that that statement is so powerful I’m going to repeat it. We need to procrastinate the unimportant things so that we can spend more focus and energy on the big things that are really going to move the needle in our lives.
This is advice that I still need to take as well. In fact, I think everyone does this to a degree. But some are more prone to others. And it impedes progress massively.
Prioritize your time and energy
Too often we (including me) give equal time and energy to every task in our planner. But that is 100% not how it should be. Why should I spend equal time doing something I don’t enjoy or doesn’t bring me closer to my goals as I would on something that does?
Saying it aloud like that makes it sound ridiculous. But we all do it every day. I just spent 15 minutes agonizing over an unimportant email. That’s a small example but it’s wasted time.
And wasted time like that adds up every.single.day. And it can bulk up so much that by the time we get through with the unimportant, we have no energy for the “extra” stuff that actually can move the needle in our lives…things like a small push on the real estate flywheel to move towards financial freedom! Or even just opening a personal finance book to start educating yourself.
And sometimes you even need to procrastinate all work
Because built in recovery time is necessary. Being busy all the time is actually counterproductive. We need time to recharge to give our all to our audacious goals that are going to deliver us the perfect life.
How can we do this?
For me, the key is prioritizing my “to-do” list.
My biggest anti-productivity flaw is that I love getting through a to-do list. Which means that a lot of times I do something just because it is on the list even if it doesn’t move the needle or is completely unimportant.
I combat this however by prioritizing my tasks and actions. In any given day, there are things I need to do, can do ion I get to it, or ignore completely.
Further, I set time limits for less valuable tasks. Valuable tasks like writing a blog post, analyzing a real estate deal, self-education, or time with Selenid and the kids has no time limit. But, for other things, I set strict time limits to keep myself in check. Once the 10 minutes I allotted to a task is up, that’s it. I move on.
So, that’s the moral of the story
Start procrastinating…you’ll be more productive than ever!
And if you are looking to get started on or optimize your journey to financial freedom, here are two great places to start:
- Check out my best-selling book, Money Matters in Medicine!
- Watch my Masterclass Webinar on The 12 Steps to Financial Freedom for Physicians here!
What do you think? How do you prioritize your tasks? Does this help or limit your productivity? Let me know in the comments below!
