There’s a feeling you get at the end of the day when you know you’ve crushed it.

You’ve accomplished everything you wanted, maybe more, and now have time to relax, recharge, get a good nights sleep, and head into another victory tomorrow.

Those are the good days.

On other days though, you don’t even know what went wrong.

You spend all day ridiculously busy, yet feel you’ve accomplished nothing. That increases the pressure on you to get more done tomorrow. You feel overwhelmed by everything that needs your attention. What's worse, you can’t get to sleep quickly because you’re up worrying about what a stressful day tomorrow will bring.

What is the difference between those two days?

What can possibly account for the drastic change in how you feel at the end of day one vs. day two?

More important, how can you recreate that feeling of crushing it? Maybe not every day, but at least a hell of a lot more than it happens now.

If you could replace just one stress-filled day a week with one where you didn’t waste a moment, focused your effort on only important tasks, removed that sense of overwhelm, spent time with friends and family, worked on a favorite hobby, read a book, spent time learning, and had time to recharge before bed, what would that be worth to you?

Unfortunately, there’s a tremendous amount of bullshit out there on how to be productive. There are a million “life hacks” that will supposedly turn you in a super-producing money-machine that has a perfect marriage, perfect job, perfect children, and live a perfect day.

God knows I’ve tried them all:

1. Wake up early
2. Meditate
3. Plan your day
4. Create a vision board
5. Eat protein within 30 minutes of waking
6. Drink a gallon of water a day
7. Focus on one thing
8. Diversify your learning

By the time I get all that shit done, not only am I confused, there’s no time left to do real work!

The thing is, if you pluck out any one of those productivity tips, they make sense. And, they probably worked for someone at some point in their life. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with them.

What’s missing is the purpose behind them.

Being productive requires more than a life hack or two. It requires purpose in action.

Let me explain.

For years, I’ve tried being an early riser. I wanted to start my day at 6am, knocking out my most important tasks, exercising, and being ready for the day before the rest of the world had their first cup of coffee. And for years my success rate was exactly 0%.

Sure, I understood the benefits of getting up early. Logically, I knew that having more time to work during the day would allow me to get more done. But when that alarm clock went off at the crack of dawn, my reptile brain wasn’t having it. Sleep was safer. Sleep took over, and I woke up at 8:30am...

My problem? Lack of purpose. 

Without a reason to rise early, it was too easy to justify the extra sleep. Without a vision for what my life would be like, it was too easy to “try again tomorrow.” Without a plan for my day (that was aligned with my goals, vision, and purpose), all my projects and tasks could wait until later, when I felt like it.

But that’s not how you get shit done!

Look, I’m not trying to tell you to get up earlier. It’s not for everyone. It’s not for most.

What I am trying to tell you is this: Human excellence requires purpose. Mastery requires purpose. Productivity requires purpose.

Otherwise, you’re doing a lot of work and getting nothing accomplished.

If you're a high-achieving Creator or Entrepreneur looking to achieve personal excellence and business mastery, start by finding and living your purpose.

It all starts with purpose.

About the Author

Michael Mehlberg

HUSBAND, FATHER, ENTREPRENEUR, BUSINESS STRATEGIST, AUTHOR, FITNESS NUT, ORGANIZATION FREAK, PRODUCTIVITY JUNKIE

I help high-achieving entrepreneurs live their passion and achieve their dreams by consistently saving time, getting productive, and being more efficient and organized.

Subscribe to my free, short, 60-second newsletter for tips, tricks, links, products, and other discoveries to becoming a more purposeful, passionate, and productive human.