10 Rules That 10X'd My Productivity
How to shut out the world for 90 minutes and get shit done (deep work)
Eight months ago, after a year of planning, I made the leap from 9-5 to Solopreneur.
No more steady paycheck
No more boss defining my role
No more sales team driving leads
My monthly income, decisions, and client work…
100% of this was now on me!
It’s a feeling that empowers and overwhelms.
“Nobody is coming to save me if I’m not productive or have a slow month in my business.”
Becoming a Solo CEO forced me to get serious about:
Productivity
Energy management
Getting into flow state
As a LinkedIn ghostwriter, my monthly income is determined by attracting clients (with my content) and writing high-performing content for clients.
My Monthly Income =
My Monthly Writing Output
This is when I got serious about learning how to shut out the world and write for 3-6 hours a day.
My Deep Work Strategy as a Solopreneur and Writer
You can get more done in 4 hours of focused work than 99% of people who work distracted 8-hour days.
More money
In fewer hours
Higher quality output
The first step: stop believing more hours = more success.
The second step: set up your work environment for Deep Work.
How to Design a Work Environment for Deep, Focused Work
Here are 10 productivity rules that help me:
Write 5,000+ words a week
Build a 6-fig creator income
Manage 7 & 8-fig founder brands
Work when I want from where I want
The challenge is creating *and following* your own rules.
Block 2x 90-minute deep work sessions in my calendar. If you’re just starting out and want to build a writing habit, aim for 1x 60-minute blocks every day or every other.
Phone on DND. This is my biggest distractor. Social media, email, notifications, distracting myself with YouTube. Put the phone on DND, or even better, in the other room when you write.
No Meeting Mondays. One of my favorite parts about Solopreneur life is autonomy. I now look forward to Mondays because I blocked it for writing. Choose a “no calls” day and stick to it. This is deep work day.
Prep the Page. I learned this from Dickie Bush who is a prolific online writer and entrepreneur. Stop writing from a blank page. Use one of your deep work blocks to “prep the page” and outline ideas. When you sit down to write, no need to waste 20 minutes figuring out what to write.
Say No to Coffee Chats. This depends on where you are in your career. In the beginning, say Yes to a lot of coffee chats to attract opportunities and learn how to network. Later on, learn how to say No gracefully. It buys back a lot of time and energy for an introverted writer like me.
Noise Cancelling Headphones. This will literally change your life. Life is noisy, especially in coffee shops where I like to write. AirPod Pros allow me to drop into deep focused work and stay there.
Deep Work Playlists. The right soundtrack helps me get into Flow State and write for hours without stopping. My mentor introduced me to Hans Zimmer movie soundtracks. Alpha Brain Waves playlists on Apple or Spotify also do it for me.
Refill Your Creative Reservoir. If you are only writing (output) and forget to refill your creative well, step away from the keyboard and refuel. Listening to podcasts, audiobooks, YouTube, and books gives me tons of ideas when I’m on empty.
Go Analog When Possible. My best writing sessions happen when I write 2-3 topics at the top of a dot journal, then write 50-100 hooks or Tweets that later turn into full pieces of social media content. Don’t sleep on analog.
Create Accountability. The easiest thing to do is create rules and fail to follow them. Give yourself accountability. Things that help me: writer communities, slack groups, working with a coach
Final Thought
Making money in the attention economy is not about how many hours you sit in front of a screen.
It’s about building systems that help you deliver the highest quality output (social media posts, newsletters, emails) in the fewest hours possible.
Don’t sleep on the skill of deep work.
Thanks for reading The Solo CEO. If you’d like to get these sent to your inbox, join the 1,500+ other people getting smarter weekly.
👉 If you enjoyed reading this post, share it with friends. Click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack.
Three ways I can help you grow:
Work with me to build your personal brand and attract more customers on LinkedIn and Twitter. Apply at FinGhost.io
Build your brand and create content faster with my favorite social media tools Taplio (LinkedIn) and TweetHunter (Twitter)
Reach thousands of founders, creators, and digital entrepreneurs by sponsoring this newsletter. Apply for future consideration here
Great tips mate, love an analog approach too
Love this ! Thank you for these tips. As a solo CEO I find it invaluable.