The Manifestor's Manifesto

What is a work sprint (and how does it work)?

If there’s one thing that the pandemic taught us, it’s that the normal 9 to 5 work day doesn’t make any sense, at least in terms of productivity. 

If you’ve ever worked an office job, then you know that most of the day isn’t productive. That’s because the real “work” is often mixed up with a lot of other activities that get in the way. In any given work day, there are only a few hours of peak productivity. 

Distractions prevent you from being productive. 

Use that insight to get more done in your own life, even if - or especially - you work for yourself. 

Work sprints

A work sprint is a simple concept. It’s a period of focused activity on one task. Decide on a fixed time to work on a task. Define that task clearly and only work on that one thing. Remove all distractions. Give yourself a fixed period of rest when...

Not a goal, part of the plan

Exercise is important. 

You know this. Of course you do. 

But are you doing it? Or is it something you’re about to start tomorrow. Or next week?

Everybody knows you need to exercise, but for some entrepreneurs it’s one of the first things to fall by the wayside. 

We’ve all been there. You know exercise is key. Who doesn’t know that? But there comes a time when you’re busy with a project, so you let the workout slip that day thinking it’s nonessential in that moment. Then one day turns into a week, then another week.

And before you know it, you haven’t been to the gym in months. 

Or worse.

Look, I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. This is one of those things that we all know but we don’t all practice. But if you want to be more productive and successful, then you need to understand why exercise is essential.

...

Radical, Immediate, Public

To create lasting, effective change in your life use the RIP method. 

Do something radical, do it immediately, and do it publicly. 

This is a simple idea, but I’ll briefly explain each part. 

Radical

To create change do something that is radically different from what you’ve done before. There’s a time and place for slow and steady wins the race, but there’s also a time for making big, bold moves. 

Radical doesn’t mean “desperate.” It just means doing something big with the confidence that you’re going to pull it off. Habits have to take root at the level of your identity. When you make a big move, you’re telling yourself on a subconscious level, “this is me.” 

If you’re gonna start getting up early in the morning to work out, don’t ease your way into it. Don’t just gradually move the clock back. Be...

Reduce anxiety and increase efficiency

Some habit hacks require a major change in perspective to be effective. They can help you be much more productive, but they also call for a profound change on a deeper level.

Some habit hacks are easy and straightforward. This is one of them.

This is as simple as “do this → get your desired result.”

Because it’s so easy, you might think “what’s the big deal? How can such a simple thing be so life-changing?”

Which to my mind is even more reason to try it. 

Here it is: 

Set reminders for tasks that need to get done each day.

There are three reasons for why this is helpful. 

1-Reminders help productivity due to the Empty Brain is an Efficient Brain principle.

2-Reminders encourage planning

3-Reminders encourage time-blocking

1 - Empty Brain is an Efficient Brain

Your brain is a machine that is designed to achieve...

Don’t just quit→ start something new too

If you want to drop a habit, then you need to learn this simple truth. 

An old habit has to be replaced with a different habit. 

This may not make a lot of sense at first. 

If you want to stop a negative habit, that means you want to remove its effect on your life. Therefore won’t it be enough just to stop doing the thing? It’s tempting to think that you don’t really need to substitute something new.

However it’s not that simple. Here’s why. 

When you understand what a habit is and how it functions, then you’ll understand why it can’t just be removed in the same way that you cut something off with a pair of scissors. 

What is a habit?

A habit is a behavior that your brain has learned to use in specific situations to achieve specific goals.

In the past, your brain has learned that a certain behavior will...

3 ways to understand mindfulness

What is mindfulness?

It's something you've no doubt heard a lot about or have at least heard of. Even without looking it up, it sounds a little "woo woo.” 

Whatever it is, it sounds like something that involves a lot of meditation. And difficult poses. And yoga pants. 

Mindfulness is a big concept. And because it's a big concept it's been talked about a lot. And when big ideas get talked about a lot, it's easy to get lost. 

So I want to keep it simple. 

Real simple. 

And give you three easy ways to think about mindfulness and make it a part of your life. 

Here goes. 

What is mindfulness? 

Mindfulness means to empty your brain of everything but the thoughts and feelings you are experiencing right now.

Get rid or your worry. Get rid of what you're planning to do this weekend or this week or later on today. Stop thinking about whether or...

What is your why?

No...it’s not the title of a Cure song (forgive me). 

When you want to stop a habit or create a new habit, it’s important to remember the reason why.

That seems obvious, of course you need to be aware of why you’re doing something, right? 

But the reason is different than you might think. To achieve your goal, it’s crucial to think beyond whatever concrete reason you have in front of you.

Are you working out because you want to get fit? Because you want to be ripped? 

Are you hustling everyday because you want to make a million dollars? 

Are you burning the midnight oil because you want to own your own business and you want it to succeed? 

It’s important to have those concrete goals outlined. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s important. 

But if you’re going to make it - and I mean, if you’re really going to...

Focus to achieve flow

Focus your efforts on your weekly goals to achieve more and have less stress. 

Extra Bonus: when you discipline yourself to focus on one week at a time you’ll discover you’re able to do more than you thought. 

Get Real

Most of us have a mix of long-term and short-term plans. Everyday you’re confronted with tasks that are urgent and tasks that aren't. 

That’s the real world. That’s how everyone operates. Obviously you can’t eliminate that altogether. 

But…

You can change up your mindset. Fix your brain to where you’re only focused on the week’s tasks that are relevant for you right now, this week. 

How do I do that?

First, plan. Write down what your long term goals are. Next break these down into what you can get done this month, this week, today. 

Remember that note-taking is like having an extra...

Create positive habits with 3 steps

Have you ever tried to start a new habit only to find an old, negative habit that's returned? Do negative habits keep you from being productive?

Here's a simple formula to control your habits and create new ones. I call it the 3 R's.

The 3 R's are Reminder, Routine, and Reward.

When you understand these three things about a habit, you can stop it and replace it with a positive habit. 

What are habits?

First, let’s define what a habit is. The simplest definition is this: a habit is a brain-based response to an external problem.

Over time your brain has learned simple effective solutions to the issues that confront you in life. Your brain turned these into habits as responses to typical problems. 

Habits work on the “if/then principle.” If a certain problem or stimulus arises, then you apply a practical solution. 

If this, then that. 

Example

Some...

Hang out with people better than you

In an earlier habit hack, I talked about the importance of your environment.

Your personal environment is even more important to your success. 

In order to be your best, never be the best in the room.

You want your friends to be smarter, wealthier, and healthier than you.

It’s a paradox. 

If you want to be the best, make sure you’re not the best (in the room). 

Surround yourself with people that will challenge you to be the best version of yourself. 

Here are three reasons why you should never be the best in the room.

1 - Copy success

Surround yourself with the best and give yourself examples of success to imitate.

Everyone thinks they’re unique. Guess what? You are unique! That’s absolutely true. That’s one of the reasons why this habit hack is focused on creating your best self. 

But you still learn through imitation....