Let's ask; What if this was easy?

Welcome to the Self-Performance-Strategies (S-P-S) Newsletter

The Quick Strategy:

All things are difficult before they are easy.

- Thomas Fuller

The 2nd Strategy:

If this was easy, what would it look like?

Not going to lie; this is one of my favourite questions to ask myself.

There was a time not so long ago I would get frustrated quickly.

While I still get frustrated.

It doesn't happen as often.

But it was a struggle to overcome.

Small things would piss me off.

From technology not working to having a bad day playing sports.

Something would not go my way; I would get worked up, and then more things would again not go my way.

You've been there. 

You hit a spiral and slide down it fast.

One day I was listening to Tim Ferriss, and he talked about using a simple 9-word question to frame how he would approach things:

If this was easy, what would it look like?

For some reason, I was in the right mind frame.

That question hit right in the brain box.

The old cogs started to turn, and I thought.

"Could this work"

"Could this pull me out of frustration?"

Later that week, I played a reasonably competitive football game (soccer).

A few things went wrong early on, my touch was off, and I felt tired and slow.

I took a second and asked myself:

"What if this was easy?"

I instantly thought:

I would be playing with a smile on my face.

I would be light on my feet.

I would control and release the ball quickly. 

I would know what space to be in.

It worked.

It pulled me out of the frustration spiral.

Over the coming days and weeks, it became a mantra.

As frustration started to boil up, I would ask myself the question. From meetings, writing content, sales calls, or doing chores it became a framing.

Can I make this easier?

It eventually developed into a personal belief that there is always an easier way.

It's not always easy to find, but there is an easier way.

Thinking like this has helped me improve my results in many areas of my life.

It's a question that could help you do less and increase your results.

Ask yourself today:

If this was easy, what would it look like?

The 3rd Strategy:

5 simple strategies highly productive business owners use to make their days easier

Are you busy all the time but never seem to produce results? 

Creating success doesn't need to be an uphill battle. 

Most people fail because they're working harder, not smarter.

They look at email and check notifications when they should be doing high $$$ work.

You will make success in life and business easier if you use the following frameworks daily:

Know your best hours: 

You do your best work when you feel most energized. 

It could be early in the morning or late at night. 

Your best hour for one type of work may not be the best hour for another kind. 

E.g. I do focus work in the morning and creative work at night.

Allocate your energy: 

You have limited energy daily. 

Don't waste your high energy on low-value work: 

• Emails 

• Chores 

• Worrying 

• Notifications 

Do your most important work first to get the most important results. Put important in front of urgent.

Avoid choice overload: 

Too many options lead to procrastination. 

Indecisiveness is a serious time and energy killer. 

Each day have: 

• 3 key priorities 

• Plenty of slack 

• Time built-in for rest and reflection 

You do more by doing less.

Remove distractions: 

Drop the dumb shit you do that derails your days. 

They say it takes 15 minutes to get back into the zone after a disruption.

When was the last day you went undisrupted for a few hours? 

If you can't remember, you have work to do.

Create a runway to flow: 

Flow is essential if you want to produce high-quality work.

Have a process that allows flow to happen daily. 

You can use: 

• Music 

• Meditation 

• Journaling 

• Breathing techniques 

For me, it's a short journal session, music on and then go.

Simple shifts; big impact. 

You can make life easier for yourself. 

If you take a step back and spend time creating systems and processes that allow you to do more work in less time. 

A little work upfront will save your hours and help produce better results. 

Go make life easier.

Big love.

Make it a great one,

Stephen