I called up my girlfriend with a lot of excitement in my voice.
“Honey! I wrote these 6 letters…I never thought I’d write them,” I said.
“What happened?” she said.
“I wrote ‘T’ ‘H’ ‘E’ SPACE ‘E’ ‘N’ ‘D’ ” I said.
“Congratulations!” she replied.
I had mixed feelings because I knew there was a lot of editing ahead of me, but the first draft was DONE.
I had been trying, on and off, to write a screenplay for the last…10+ years.
I’d start…get excited, and then get busy and sidetracked.
But somehow, in less than 6 months, I went from “0” to done.
These principles can help with ANY project you have, business, creative or personal. Here are the 10 key things I did.
Tip 1: Just One Big Project
You can’t get 2 or 3 projects done in a quarter. I find I always get 60-70% of it done, and it just drags and drags and drags on.
You get ONE thing to focus on.
In my case, the words “Write a movie” are sitting at the top of a massive calendar. All my mentors know about this and I’ve planned my day around it.
Focus. Focus. Focus. That’s the number 1 tip. Don’t try to “start a business” and “run a side hustle” and “lose weight” and “start social media.” Pick one, the most important one. You can have a few other small things, but the number 1 gets your prime attention.
Tip 2: Work on it OFF-SITE
This might be unique to me, but it’s worked out well. I can’t write my masterpiece at the same desk I run LIFT Enrichment Zoom meetings. I like to have a “place” for everything. Beds are for sleeping. Couches are for movies, video games and relaxing. The dinner table is for dining. The work desk is for my business.
(Side note, I almost thought about getting two laptops, but that would be a pain to travel with.)
I take my laptop and work at a nearby coffee shop. I love the fresh air. I love getting out of the house. I love the high-quality cappuccino made in a $10,000 coffee machine.
I love that this “environment” is my new office for the next hour. Try this out if you’re stuck at home. Plus this makes home a different type of workspace.
Tip 3: Wake Up Early
For me, it’s typically that my alarm goes off at 7:00am and I am out the door by 7:30am and at the cafe by 7:45am. I have a bit more freedom in my schedule than most, but get up EARLIER if need be.
Quick intro: Fortunately, I run a $10M+ business that only takes me 2-3 hours a week to manage. If you want to know how I did it, just DM me “SOP” and I’ll send you my 20-page sales script used by my remote sales team to generate millions in sales.
Anyway, if you are an entrepreneur and have work hours, do this BEFORE the day starts. You’ll train yourself and the body loves habit and rituals. (And discipline.)
Tip 4: Get Dressed
It’s tempting to work in an unshowered state with your sweatpants. No one will judge.
(I live in Warsaw, Poland at the moment…so they might a little. It’s a fairly fashionable place.)
But I FEEL better and more productive if I do 3 things:
Drink water immediately.
Jump in the shower for a few minutes.
Put on clothes (laid out in my bathroom the night before).
And then leave.
I even decided NOT to shave. Because it just kind of takes up another 5-7 minutes and…it’s just a weird personal habit.
I do shave, but later in the day, after my workout, typically.
I’ve noticed my work session at the coffee shop is just more focused and better.
Tip 5: Bring a Kitchen Timer
Notice that I didn’t say to bring a “phone” timer. In fact, my phone is NOT even with me most of the time. It’s better to leave it at home.
I have a kitchen timer. I’ve turned off the volume, so it makes no noise. And it’s just a physical object that grounds me and doesn’t let me get distracted.
You can’t go on Safari or Instagram.
This also plays another key role later.
Tip 6: Track it All on a Spreadsheet
I have a Google Sheet and it lists every day. When I complete my 1 hour of work (with no wifi, and the same soundtrack) I log 1 hour for that day.
I’ve tried in the past to work 3 hours a day…and that worked for about a week.
Then I slacked off.
Then I got annoyed that I didn’t have “enough” time so I didn’t even start some days.
But 1 hour is good for 5 days (6 is better).
Then, after 2 consistent weeks I bumped up that 1 hour to a huge massive change of….1 hour and 15 minutes.
Then, after 2 more consistent weeks I bumped that up to….1.5 hours.
And if I feel “done” around 1 hr 20 min, that’s ok.
But you’d be surprised how much progress you can make on ANY project if you do it for 7.5 hours a week AND take weekends off. That’s 1.5 hours x 5 days.
But you gotta work up to that, start with 1 hour.
Tip 7: Create a Ritual
The ritual I have is I sit at the coffee shop, and it’s one without a lot of windows so I don’t get distracted by people watching, and order my flat white.
When it arrives, I set the timer and have it count up for about 15 minutes.
I take out a pen and journal and start to write down a few random thoughts.
I talk about yesterday.
I talk about what’s on my mind.
I reflect on anything (or anyone) stressing me out.
But I only do this for about 15 minutes, and the timer keeps me accountable.
After that, I play two specific pop songs to get me in a more creative mood. And I listen to one exact movie soundtrack…and then I write.
At 1 hour, I’m done. I pack up and go home. I track my progress on my sheet and reflect on what to write tomorrow. That’s it.
Tip 8: Learn to Fight “Resistance”
Resistance is the force that talks you out of working on what’s important.
It’s the goal of “making it perfect” versus “getting it done.”
It’s procrastination.
Steven Pressfield wrote a whole book called “The War of Art” about Resistance.
I had many moments where what I was writing felt “bad.” It felt clichéd or low-quality and with awful dialogue.
That’s ok, I just pressed forward.
I finished the scene so I could mentally move on, knowing I could fix things later.
I wrote past the places that were hard, and got to the “fun” stuff I wanted to write about.
Even writing this article had a LOT of resistance, including: feeling tired, feeling distracted by other priorities, a tax document I have to fill out, a workout I have to do…it’s all in my head.
But I just want to get to the end, run it through Claude for a quick edit, and send it to my assistant so it can go out on time.
Tip 9: Hire a Coach
After 5 months of working on this by myself, I DMed a semi-famous screenwriter…and found out she did 1-hour consultations.
I paid her and we’ve had two sessions so far.
I think because I knew I would meet with her, I made SURE I got to “The End.” I wanted to share the good news.
And it helps to have accountability.
I like the idea that someone who has done what I’m doing is waiting for my results.
It keeps me focused for some reason.
Tip 10: Big Projects are Just 90-Day Sprints
I hate annual goals…5 year goals…3 year goals…I find that no one does the work on them until it’s near the deadline.
Even one year is too far away.
6 months as well.
But 3 months puts some gas under the fire.
My first 3 month goal was to outline the project and get at least ⅓ of it written.
My current 3 month goal was to get to “The End.”
My next one will be to complete all edits.
90 days is soooo good in business and in life.
If you got value from this post, let me know 🙂
And if you want the SOP my remote sales team used to grow my business to $10M+ per year, DM me “SOP.”