“I don’t know how you do it.”
That statement, which I get a lot, makes me cringe.
I know it’s meant as a compliment, and I do appreciate it.
And I get why people say it. After all, I produce all these podcast episodes, I’ve written lots of books, I deliver plenty of speeches, I give away free eBooks, I made 400 videos for the courses I prepared for the Ron Paul Curriculum, and so on.
But it makes me cringe, because I know the real truth.
If you’re a longtime listener of the Tom Woods Show, you may recall an episode I mischievously titled, “My Productivity Secret.”
Aha, people thought: now I’ll figure out how he does it all!
Well, I confess: that was my one and only clickbaity episode title.
Because in that episode I said, in effect: “Want to know how I’m so productive? It’s easy. I work all the time, I allow myself no hobbies or innocent pleasures, and I sacrifice everything that’s dear to me. Oh, and I’m a nervous wreck.”
That, I regret to tell you, has been the secret to my productivity.
Is that what you want for yourself? I sure hope not.
It certainly isn’t what I myself want. Today I’m a gratefully recovering workaholic. I’ve finally restored balance to my life. I’m not always juggling a dozen projects. I don’t reproach myself for relaxing. I now enjoy vacations instead of resenting them.
I just watched video 3 in the Virtual CEO series I’ve been telling you about, and I have resolved to act on one of the key action items.
The presenter, an extremely successful Virtual CEO in his own right, said – and I believe it – that if you can get distractions under control, you can find the equivalent of an extra one to two hours per day.
And do I ever have distractions. I get social media notifications on my phone, I have text messages coming in, and I’m embarrassed by how many times I’m looking at email each day.
He pointed to a recent news item about an exclusive hotel – rooms there go for $1000 a night – where one of the amenities is a special switch that prevents all Internet or cell service from functioning. People pay top dollar to avoid distraction so they can be at their most productive.
Think of all the times you’ve said that you just don’t have the time to do something you truly want to do: maybe learn a new language, or read a particular book, take up an instrument, spend more time with a special person, pursue a hobby – whatever.
Now think of how even one extra hour per day would change your life. With even one extra hour, you could do that thing.
This is appealing to me, because over the past year or so I’ve finally shaken my workaholism and I’ve come to cherish my leisure time. Before April of 2015, I don’t think I had read a book for pleasure in over five years. I used to play chess competitively. Until February of this year, I hadn’t done that in 15 years. These are positive changes for me.
But there are plenty of other things I’d like to do, too (like learn to play piano, for instance) and with an extra hour, I could do them.
So enough is enough. The distractions are coming under control. That video was the kick in the pants I needed, because it got me thinking: what could I do with even a single extra hour each day? I couldn’t get that exciting question out of my head.
Maybe one of his other 20 tips (aimed mainly at people who’d like to have their own virtual business that they can run from anywhere) will do the same for you. Have a look:
Today on the show it’s business cycles, and tomorrow it’s how government has screwed up farming. The hits just keep on coming.