MIT

Have you ever wondered what the one thing most productive people on our planet do to become super productive each day is?

Before I dive into the very secret, let’s discuss why we constantly feel unproductive and incomplete. Though we can list hundreds of reason why we are not productive, it all boils down to 2 things:

1.    Lack of tracking

2.    Lack of completion of important tasks

And the solution is simple. Write down a to-do list each day and do it.

However, the secret lies not in just writing a long to-do list and putting a check mark after completing each task, “Because not all tasks are created equal” even if you complete them.

So the secret to becoming super productive is to know what tasks are most important and complete them before you start working on other tasks.

This concept is widely known as MIT (Most Important Tasks). All you have to do is write down your three Most Important Tasks for each day, either on the night before or first thing in the morning, and then work on those three things until completion before you start working on the other tasks.

I learned this concept from Zen Habits a few years ago, and when I started applying this to my work, it changed how I felt about myself. I went from a master procrastinator to a most productive person.

After practicing this concept for a few years now, I can say that the key to mastering MIT is to know what kinds of tasks qualify as MIT, and how to identify them.

Following are the rules you can apply to Identify your MIT’s each day:

1. MIT must be from your immediate life goals or professional goals and on completion, they move the needle forward.

2. MIT are the tasks which give high returns to your time (Example: – As an author and speaker, the best use of my day comes from writing content which has a lifetime value. So the MIT for me are: creating a module for my courses, writing a chapter of my book, writing a blog post and writing content for my speech).

3. MIT are the tasks which will take you 60 to 90 minutes to complete. (I apply this rule to remove the noise from smaller tasks).

4. MIT are the tasks in which you will produce or create (Example: – If you are an entrepreneur, creating a marketing plan, sales strategies, brainstorming product ideas and building relationships will be your MIT.

5. MIT are the tasks which will give you a sense of completion and fulfillment at the end of the day, even If you have not done anything but MITs.

6. MIT are the tasks which are solely under your control, and you don’t need anybody’s help or assistance to complete them.

I am sure if you follow the above rules to set your MITs, you will get more things done in a day than in a week. And If you want to become a productivity superstar, then you should include the following best practices to make it even more efficient:

Following are some of the best practices to make MITs even more effective:

1. Write down the MIT the night before each day. There is two strong reason to do this: one; you will not be under pressure to pick the urgent tasks over an important task and two, you might be more creative and efficient in completing the task next morning because I already directed your mind to think about the task you want to complete. (If my MIT is to write the next day, then I will even decide the topic to write about, so my mind is engaged and filled with thoughts about the topic and most times, I am more efficient in writing).

2. Keep a Journal for your MIT. Capture how you felt when you performed each task. Did you feel focused, efficient and creative? Was there any challenge you faced? Was there any distraction from people and how was your energy level? If you capture all these details, it will help you to optimize your routine while performing your MIT and make you more efficient.

3. Create the habit of completing your MIT – To form a habit; it must become an unconscious routine. To become a routine, you must create consistency at what time you work each day, the place you work from, and resources you will work with. When you create a habit of completing MIT each day, I can guarantee you that you will become a productivity superstar in no time.

So the next time you beat yourself up saying, “I am a Procrastinator,” “I am lazy” and “I cannot get things done,” you’d better start setting your MIT and complete them before you do anything new. Remember to focus three to four hours a day on finishing your MIT, and this will give you 20 hours of peaceful time which will make you feel super productive.