12 Hacks to Be 99.9% More Productive That Cost Nothing

About this video

Martell shares 12 productivity hacks he says he uses despite ADHD, claiming they helped him become a millionaire by age 27, sell three companies and build a $100 million business empire. Hack one is increase cycle time: learn to type with all 10 fingers, use hot keys, increase mouse speed and play audio at 1.5 to 2x, plus automate with tools like Zapier and AI — inspired, he says, by a copywriter who was 10 times more productive than two others. Hack two is a stop-doing list based on what he calls the 90/10 principle: 10% of your work drives 90% of results, so stop doing energy-draining things from the last 6 months. Hack three is create urgency by setting deadlines sometimes 2 weeks early and working in 90-minute blocks with a Pomodoro Timer of 25 minutes on and 5 minutes off. Hack four is commit to others, as he did on his third attempt at writing his book by hiring a ‘book CEO,’ a writing partner and an editor. Other hacks: schedule time to recharge instead of working 100-hour weeks, wake up early — he says he gets 4 hours of deep work from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. — eat that frog first, follow your energy flow by doing creative work in the morning and meetings after 11:00 a.m., create stakes to run away from (he describes aiming to lose 30 lb in 90 days by entering a fitness competition), add a carrot reward, honor your schedule under Parkinson’s law, and turn off all phone notifications.

Key takeaways

• Increase cycle time: type with all 10 fingers, use hot keys instead of a mouse, and listen at 1.5 to 2x — he says one copywriter doing this was 10 times more productive.
• Make a stop-doing list using the 90/10 principle he describes: 10% of your work drives 90% of your results, so cut tasks from the last 6 months that drained your energy.
• Create urgency with earlier deadlines — sometimes 2 weeks early — and 90-minute calendar blocks broken into Pomodoro sessions of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes off.
• Commit to others to stay accountable: on his third book attempt he hired a book CEO, a writing partner and an editor rather than relying on solo morning writing.
• Protect focus by following your energy flow and turning off notifications: he says he does creative work before meetings that usually start no earlier than 11:00 a.m.

Episode details: published September 17, 2024 · 21:14 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: How to Build a Business From $0 to $1M (the easy way) · Next: The only skill you need to become a millionaire [Buy Back Your Time] →

All Dan Martell videos · Dan Martell profile · Dan Martell (official site)