In all seriousness, it’s a new thinking tool I’ve learned about two years ago that I want to share with you today that will change your productivity game.

AsianEfficiency Finisher’s Fastlane – Increase your productivity and focus

The Most Powerful Productivity “Tool” I’ve Discovered

Thanh Thinking Time

If there’s one thing that led to exponential growth in my personal life and at AE, it’s being young and Asian.

Hence, Asian Efficiency.

In all seriousness, it’s a new thinking tool I’ve learned about two years ago that I want to share with you today that will change your productivity game. It’s called Thinking Time.

This was something I learned from Keith Cunningham, a business coach who has a net worth of hundreds of millions. and My circle includes other entrepreneurs. As the name implies, it’s time carved out for thinking. It’s one of the most powerful tools you can have to solve problems and It is the reason I have had my greatest wins in the past 12 months.

For example, in the trailing year I’ve been able to:

Take two weeks to Tokyo, and then completely disconnect from all business. and When I returned, we generated more revenue that when I left.
My dad needs a business class ticket to Vietnam in order to see his parents if they become ill.
Each Saturday, I get a massage/cupping or acupuncture to take care myself.
Hiring my first executive assistant to assist me in the day-To-Day and You have the freedom to use your time.
These were impossible before I implemented Thinking Time. This tool took my Productivity Score to new heights (take the quiz to see what’s yours).

As you may have noticed, there are a lot more of my items on the list. “cost” money. Thanks to Thinking Time I’ve been able to leverage my time much better which resulted in making more money that I’m reinvesting in either myself or the business.

I am Asian Efficient and can achieve my goals quicker by being Asian Efficient. and Higher success rate. This is what I’ve been obsessed with all my life. How can I make things happen faster? How can I make sure that I get exactly what I want? How can you make my life more easy? and What’s more convenient?

Most importantly, what will make you happier?

Happiness is a key ingredient in productivity, which I love to say.

Happy people working

Here comes the real challenge: Optimizing is a process that requires a lot of work. your life: we ignore the time to think about what’s actually important on a regular basis.

As life gets busier, that’s when we need Thinking Time the most. That’s when we need to be able to take a step back and actively think about what we’re doing next and How to make adjustments.

I’m not talking about doing a weekly review and You can keep track of the following things by creating a checklist.

Thinking Time is a creative process that requires you to start from scratch each time. and All you know, question it.

Don’t confuse this with reflection. Lisa, a Dojo member, said it like this.

“Reflection is looking backward whereas thinking is about looking forward.”

Lisa, that’s a great comment.

You might recognize her from Escape Your Email. She used to spend 7 hours per day on email and After taking our course, she was able to free up more than 6 hours. Here’s her case study.)

When you’re going for a walk or sit still on the couch, that’s reflecting. You can let your imagination run wild when you allow yourself to be enlightened. your mind wander, that’s reflecting.

Thinking is very different. It’s when you try to solve a challenge or problem and To come up with a solution, you will need to spend a lot of time thinking. So you can think clearly and effectively, it is important to have a clear mind. your The brain works fast to solve the problem. It’s not about doing a Google search to find the answer. It’s about understanding. your Problem and It is possible to find solutions.

What you’ll often find is that the problem you’re facing is actually not a problem, but a symptom. This is something I’ll clarify with you on podcast episode 162 of The Productivity Show that’s coming out in about a month but here’s a simple example.

Many Asian Efficiency readers have procrastination issues. They just can’t seem to get started on important stuff even though they know they should be doing it. You’ve been there.

Procrastination and Urgency

They believe the problem is “procrastination” In reality, procrastination may be a symptom. It’s the symptom of a lack of clarity. You have complete clarity. your Goal andProcrastination is rarely a problem.

If it’s not lack of clarity, it’s usually related to energy. It could be a sleeping or diet problem. One client of mine blamed his procrastination and inability to achieve his goals. As soon as he told me that, I knew right away that procrastination wasn’t the real problem. I suspected “procrastination” This was a sign that there was something else.

I was able to find out that the man had poor sleeping habits. The guy was sleeping 4–5 hours a night and Every morning, I feel cranky. When you don’t get enough sleep, the most common symptoms of that are procrastination and Being easily distracted.

He reacted immediately when I said that we would be working on his evening ritual. “Thanh, why would I need to do this? This doesn’t help me get this important work done.”

He was open to the idea after explaining it to him. He established his evening routine and started sleeping on the right time. and getting a good 7–8 hours in every night. I checked again a few days later.-He had a profound transformation when he was there.

Procrastination wasn’t an issue anymore. He had the energy and will to tackle the important things he needed. focus on. We eventually got there because we didn’t address the symptom but fixed the root problem.

(And if you’re curious about how to get better sleep, we have an audio program on that.)

I could easily have taught him my favorite anti or the Eat That Frog technique.-procrastination technique, and It would have helped him. But it wouldn’t fix the real problem. It was a band.-Assistance solution

(As an aside-Note: As a teacher and coach, I will often give these solutions to people to give them momentum while we’re addressing the root problem at the same time. By the end of it they’ll have the real problem fixed and They can also learn new tools that they can use to treat the condition whenever it arises in the future.

Don’t get me wrong, the quick tactics and These techniques work. I still use them occasionally and then whenever I’m procrastinating and I have to do something. I’ll use one of the tactics outlined in our Finisher’s Fastlane Course as a band-aid.

In the back of mind, I also know that I either need to address the clarity around my work or look at what’s wrong with my energy. This is especially true if it occurs more than three times. That’s when the 3 Times Rule will kick in that we teach in our courses. When something happens more than 3 times, it’s a sign of a systemic error so we need to address it at its core.

I hope by now you realize that a lot of things you deal with on a daily basis aren’t really problems. These are symptoms. Thinking Time is a tool that helps you understand the symptoms. I have spent hundreds of hours with it. “problems” I thought I had weren’t really problems.

This powerful tool has made me feel like Neo from The Matrix. I can see with clarity what’s happening with other people and For me, it’s possible to take a step back and Determine the most productive and effective move for you going forward. It’s kind of like being able to catch yourself on a cognitive bias before it kicks in and derails you.

Reflection

If you think you have a problem…think again.

I’ll bet you my precious MacBook Pro that it’s not a problem but a symptom.

Clarity is achieved once you have it. and Confidence that you have solved the root problem is key. The hard part is finding a solution. It’s just the process of getting to the real problem is hard.

I’ll walk you through a process on this in episode 162 on our podcast The Productivity Show that’s coming out in a month. I’m also finalizing a mini-This course is offered in the Dojo, our private group and Training library will be available soon.

For now, here’s what you can do.

Write down 3 problems that you would like to be solved.
Accept the fact that each problem you list is just a symptom. It’s not the real problem but a symptom of something else.
Think for 15 minutes about the root cause. your problems. What is the cause of the symptom?
Keep questioning every assumption that comes up until you can’t anymore. That’s probably what the real problem is.
What can you do about the problem?
Try it right away. I’m confident that you’ll uncover a lot of things you’ve never thought of.

Subscribe to the podcast now to be sure to get the Thinking Time podcast episode. Open up your podcast app, search for “the productivity show” and Get your subscription now. In case you’re wondering, my favorite podcast app is Overcast.

Update: The podcast episode is now available.

Next week I’ll show you how I plan my week. This is a system I’ve been fine-As my role at AE has evolved from creator to chief executive officer, I have been listening for the past 12 months. If you’ve ever wondered how a CEO plans a week, stay tuned. It’s very atypical but you’ll get to see The behind-the-Scenes from my planning system that allows for time freedom and Every day, finish at 5pm (without stress).