That’s how long an average worker is productive each day…
That’s a yield of 36%.
64% Waste
Imagine a production line that was operating at 36% yield.
Where 64% of the inputs were wasted.
That’s the average workday.
The average life.
It’s not just routine jobs either.
In fact, someone sitting answering phones all day is certainly far more productive than most professionals.
Pretend Productive
When I was on Wall Street I wasted a lot of time.
Reading the newspaper cover to cover.
All over the news, staying “informed…”
People standing around half the day talking about how busy they are.
Constantly switching from one task to another.
It seems normal when you’re paid to sit there all day, but no-one paid only for results uses their time that way.
“Don’t confuse activity with achievement,” as I often quote coach Wooden.
Better Just Check Email…
Our brains are addicted to novelty.
Heads so full of cats many of us struggle to focus on any one thing.
Just picking up our devices on average 58 times a day like an OCD washing their hands can burn 37 minutes.
Half of those pickups happen within 3 minutes of the last!
Which of course sets in motion a whole chain of wasting time.
Excessively checking email?
That little ding interrupting every task?
Online swimming in clickbait…
And there goes 64% of your day.
64% Lives Wasted
Coincidentally, some 64% of people are disengaged in their jobs.
And want to be avoiding most the day.
Which is why they’re still there…
Wasting much of the day, never working towards something better.
But just wasting time isn’t what holds most professionals back.
That’s something far more sinister.
Resistance
We avoid what’s hard.
Terrified of getting it wrong, fussing over useless details we burn hours on low-value tasks.
The high-value tasks that really matters we say I’ll get to that later.
These things that make the most difference to our winning…
Like making that hard call.
Or nailing that tough project.
Well, it’s easier to seek distraction.
Bury ourselves in busy-ness…
Rather than drive those things that massively move the needle.
Yet no matter why we waste time…
Training Focus…
Is the answer.
It’s a waste of time to even discuss.
Focus is just training.
Like lifting weight. Or running laps.
Conditioning our minds to be stronger.
Here is my second favorite tool from the Focus Tools Masterclass, The House of Flow, in 5 minutes:
And here’s a 25 min track with more intel on it:
P.S. You can listen here to previously published tracks from this Masterclass.