Productive enough, successfully lazy entrepreneurs and outsourcing

Read time: 5 minutes

Last week: I wrote all about how to hire like a boss. You can read that (and all past issues, here).

Off the back of my cultish weekend away for Foundrs, I had a packed week for Heights where we're setting up a partnership with the High-Performance Podcast (which I love), and set up a productivity supper club at Soho House with 24 journalists, and the world's leading Productivity Youtuber, New York Times Best Selling Author and Heights megafan, Ali Abdaal. ​

Productivity is a hot topic - so whilst only 24 journalists could make it to the event - I thought it would be fun to deep dive a bit on how to be successful - through a productivity lens this week - with a bit of help from Ali - let's get into it.

Feel Good Productivity

The key insight in Ali's book is that when you are having fun and feel good - productivity kind of just takes care of itself, hence the title. We always have stuff to do and that can be exhausting, of course, but in reality, the more we can approach work with lightness and air, the more likely we can get through the tasks and overcome the one thing that gets in all our way; procrastination.

How To Beat Procrastination:

I suffer with this as much as the next person, tbh. In fact, on one great procrastination binge, I came across one of the best Ted Talks ever, by Tim Urban (one of my favourite people on the internet) - with over 70 million views - Inside the mind of the procrastinator - is incredible lols. Anyway, Ali's main tactic is to commit to just starting something for 5 minutes. Every time you notice the procrastination kicking in (as mine has been writing this week's newsletter when I just want to prepare for Glastonbury), you just need to start for 5 minutes - and you tend to start to force yourself into some kind of gentle flow and typically keep going. Well, I took his advice and here I am right now, writing these words, fair play Ali. Just start. Just 5 minutes. Go from there.

Immersion

On the theme of just making it fun - he always picks music to accompany his work. For him, he chooses soundtracks so he feels like he's on an epic adventure. Typically, I'll choose classical music. What's your choice? The idea for productivity is you want to immerse yourself in a productive cocoon - so music is one important part, so is removing what you don't need (for example your phone) and making sure you timebox the work - it's almost impossible (according to studies) to focus for much longer than 45 minutes so setting out on one thing at a time really matters.

Rules and Habits

The more good habits you can build around your work, the more productive you'll become - and for those of us who take productivity seriously - our calendar is our best friend - everything goes into it.

It all starts with knowing what you want to do - both of us use intentional.io - as our to-do list - it's beautiful and simple and keeps us on track with what we said we'd do - but it's important to be intellectually honest about the tasks at hand, or rather the types of work 👀

For Ali, there are only 2 types of work - deep work and shallow work.

Deep Work - 45 minute chunks, important stuff - single focus, no context switching. To achieve this, he uses an online clock called ​Toggl​ to keep him accountable because if he switches a screen or task he has to reset it, so he feels too guilty (I am going to start trying this as I am painfully distractable - thanks ADHD!)

Shallow Work - these are like, your admin, basic tasks that don't need much thought, take a few mins here or there and really you want to bunch these all up together into the same 45-minute chunk.

What you want to avoid desperately is doing important work (like me writing this newsletter) with checking WhatsApp and other notifications (like I've been ironically doing - always room for improvement) - just do what Ali says, not what I do! 😜

Be Sincere, Not Serious

Ali referenced the great philosopher and spiritual teacher, Alan Watts, who said "We should make plans and think ahead with sincerity, not with seriousness. Seriousness is not the same as sincerity. Sincerity is focusing on the task with enthusiasm and youthfulness while giving your best without worrying excessively about the result! When you are serious, you don't enjoy, you don't laugh".
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This is an important point - you want to be reliable, sincere about doing what you commit to, but you don't want to do things so seriously, life is meant to be fun and even the most boring plans can be too - if you put your mind to it. Sincerity gives space for a lightness, an enjoyment, and it can relieve stress from the situation - so you are more likely to get sh*t done.

Environmentally friendly

It's your job to make your environment productive - we covered some things above - but you need to manage your own energy. Sometimes working alone is the most productive thing on earth. Sometimes going into the office around people is better. For those that want to try working with others but don't have an office - a coffee shop does well, but both Ali and I really love the bizarre and amazing phenomenon called 'Body Doubling' - the best platform we've found for this is called ​Flown​. You work online with strangers, commit to the tasks you are going to work on and get it done, and hold each other accountable. Not tried it yet? It will blow your mind how much this works.
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Productivity Concluded

To wrap up, here's your checklist of products, tools, and things to try.

• Try Ali's book for the deep dive Feel Good Productivity​
• For daily energy and focus - try Heights (code at the bottom)
• For To - Do lists - try Intentional​
• Tracking time on tasks - try Toggl​
• Working with others online & getting stuff done - try Flown​

Most of all - don't take yourself too seriously. It's just work. Take Alan Watt's advice - be sincere, not serious.

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LinkedIn of the week: Almost 1k reposts - how to make your team a powerhouse​

Podcast of the week: How to sell your company to private equity​

My Tweet of the week: Time is the currency of life. RT it here.​

The Story of the Laziest but Most Successful Entrepreneurs: Richard Branson, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Tim Ferriss

In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, where the mantra often seems to be "hustle harder," there stand a few remarkable individuals who have defied this norm and achieved extraordinary success with a seemingly lazy approach. Let's explore the intertwined journeys of Richard Branson, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Tim Ferriss, who have all embraced the art of strategic laziness.

The Visionary Adventurer: Richard Branson

Richard Branson, the charismatic founder of the Virgin Group, has always been a rule-breaker. From an early age, Branson understood the value of delegation.

He didn't believe in micromanaging his myriad ventures. Instead, he surrounded himself with talented people and trusted them to run the day-to-day operations. This freed him to focus on big-picture ideas and indulge in his love for adventure. Whether it's kite surfing or space travel, Branson's life is a testament to the fact that success doesn't require constant grinding but rather strategic thinking and a balanced lifestyle.

The Algorithmic Innovators: Sergey Brin and Larry Page

Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the minds behind Google, took a different yet equally effective approach. At Stanford, they developed a search engine that revolutionized the way we access information. Their success was built on automation and efficiency. The Google algorithm did the heavy lifting, sorting through vast amounts of data with minimal human intervention.

Brin and Page mastered the art of delegation early on, assembling a team of experts to manage operations while they focused on innovation. Their relaxed work culture, complete with flexible hours and creative freedom, showed that fostering a stimulating environment can lead to groundbreaking achievements.

The Productivity Hacker: Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferriss, the author of "The 4-Hour Workweek," brought a fresh perspective to the world of productivity. Ferriss’s philosophy revolves around eliminating the unnecessary and automating the mundane. He applied the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) to identify the tasks that truly mattered and discarded the rest.

By outsourcing and using technology to handle routine work, Ferriss freed up his time for what he valued most: learning, travel, and personal growth. His concept of lifestyle design emphasized that success should enhance life quality, not detract from it.

The Rule of 3 for Success without the Grind:

1. Delegation and Trust: All three stories highlight the importance of trusting capable individuals to manage tasks. Branson, Brin, and Page delegated effectively, allowing them to focus on strategic growth.
2. Automation and Efficiency: Brin and Page’s reliance on algorithms and Ferriss’s emphasis on automation demonstrate the power of using technology to work smarter, not harder.
3. Balanced Lifestyle: Branson’s adventurous spirit and Ferriss’s lifestyle design philosophy underscore the significance of a balanced life. Success isn’t just about financial gain; it’s about enjoying the journey.

Key Takeaways:

• Work Smarter, Not Harder: Identify high-impact activities and focus on them, while delegating or automating the rest.
• Prioritize Balance: Ensure that your pursuit of success includes time for personal well-being and enjoyment.
• Innovate and Inspire: Create an environment that fosters creativity and innovation, leading to sustainable and fulfilling success.

Reflective Questions:

1. What tasks can you delegate to focus more on strategic thinking and innovation?
2. How can you incorporate automation to enhance efficiency and free up time?
3. What steps can you take to ensure a balanced lifestyle that aligns with your personal values and goals?

1-1 Coaching with Dan

In my goal to help more entrepreneurs/people who are looking to level up their careers, I've just started taking 1-1 consulting calls (only 1 a week)

Why book a call? Some of my expertise/success:

I've built 5 startups. 1 win, 1 fail, and 3 still going.

E Commerce: Heights — with revenue over $10M a year.

Community: Foundrs, one of the UK's top founder communities

Podcasting: Kindling Media - bootstrapped media company that makes the UK's top business podcasts, like Making Money and Secret Leaders, with over 50M downloads.

Health/Mental Health: Managed to overcome burnout, insomnia, depression & anxiety in pursuit of success as I talk about in my interview with Steven Bartlett on Diary of a CEO​

Angel Investing: I've invested in over 85 startups

Coached & Mentored: Certified coach & done lots of mentoring

Personal Brand: Have grown to 100k on LinkedIn and X (Twitter) in the past 12 months

So if you're interested in booking a session with me to talk all things business or building a personal brand, book for 30-minutes or 45-minutes. (limited spots).

Science of Success Vault

I'm building a vault of valuable tools, resources, and one sheets that I hope help you succeed.

These will be stored in the ever-growing 'Science of Success' vault — you can always access that here

Want to take your success (even more) seriously? 👇​
🧠 Fuel your brain and feed your gut, try Heights here (use code 'SOSDMS' for 15% off your first month of any subscription

🎧 Check out my podcast Secret Leaders here​

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