The 4-Step System to Defeating Overwhelm.

(10x your productivity while saving 10+ hours per week)

read time: 6 minutes

*sigh* overwhelm.

The No. 1 Enemy of the Entrepreneur, Content Creator, and Student.

Whatever we decide to do in our lives, it follows us.

It’s a regular work day. Like any other, you reluctantly jump out of bed, do your typical morning routine, and get to work.

Then, the overwhelm hits you like a train.

Like a dark & stormy cloud in Florida, it comes out of nowhere.

As you look at your to-do list, the unchecked boxes all of a sudden begin to look more like The Great Wall of China.

“How the hell am I going to get this done?”, you say to yourself.

I know the feeling all too well…

As soon as I’d pick up my phone for the day, my hopes of not being overwhelmed would be crushed.

  • Messenger: 50 unread messages.

  • Email: 50 unread emails.

  • DMs: 15 unread messages.

Little did I know that I was making a major textbook mistake. 

As entrepreneurs & creators, we know that these are low-value tasks. They aren’t what is actually driving the business forward.

By the time I would get to the tasks that actually matter, I’d be too drained to focus.

The work would be low quality and I wouldn’t have the focus to complete them all the way through.

So why do we start our day with these low-value tasks?

The Paradox of Time-Management.

My poor time management and prioritization skills made the days longer, harder, and wayyy less productive.

In trying to give every single task, whether low or high value my full attention, I lost time for the things that truly matter.

  • impact through my content

  • family & friends

  • Being able to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

That’s when I decided to make a change.

The Secret to Defeating Overwhelm: Be Ruthless With Your Time

If we were to simply be more ruthless with our time and prioritize what matters, we would not only get better results in business but also have more time to spend on the things that matter the most to us. 

Case Study: Gordon Gekko in Wall Street

If you’ve ever seen the movie Wall Street, Gordon Gekko is a bigshot entrepreneur and stock trader that is ruthless with his time. 

It took Bud Fox (a small-time stock trader looking to get in with him) 50+ times to even get into his office.

Gordon prioritized the most important meetings first because that’s what made him his money. (and a bit of insider trading)

The moral of the story: Be ruthless with your time.

Since most people are not ruthless with their time, it is a major advantage.

Imagine you are able to get done way more than your competition, by working less.

It sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.

It’s not about how much time you work, but what you are actually working on.

You might be asking, “Matt, that sounds cool, but how can I actually do that?”

Let’s get into it!

The 4-Step System to Beating Overwhelm & Getting 10x More Done, All While Saving 10+ Hours Per Week.

#1: Eliminate Procrastinating (Get Things Done All At Once)

We’ve all done it before.

“I’m halfway through this new project, I’m going to take a break and come back later.”

One day goes by…then one week…then two…

Before you know it has been a month and the project still isn’t done.

Instead, get started and complete it all the way through. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just a drafted version will do.

Not to mention; You work faster & more efficiently when you build momentum through flow. (see my Flow State newsletter)

Action Steps:

  • Complete tasks from start to finish to avoid procrastinating, build momentum, and take advantage of the flow state.

#2: Build a NOT To-do List.

How many times do we fall into those nasty & seemingly unbreakable time traps? 

So many times I’d be having a productive day and then all of a sudden, Bam!

I find myself scrolling on social media, sifting through my inbox, or watching youtube videos on my desktop.

Having a NOT to-do list makes it clear your intentions for the day and the boundaries that you have.

  1. Identify time traps that you often fall into.

  • Scrolling social media

  • Checking emails

  • Watching Netflix

  • Watching Youtube

  1. Turn these into 'NOT’ statements:

  1. I do not scroll through social media until 4 pm.

  2. I do not watch youtube on my desktop until 4 pm.

  3. I do not look at my inbox until 3 pm.

Most of the time you won’t even want to do these at that time, they are only attractive when you’re supposed to be doing work.

Action Steps:

  • Identify your biggest time traps.

  • Create your NOT to-do list.

#3: Batch Those Low-Value Tasks.

Low-value tasks are a huge time waster, especially when done first thing every morning.

I used to constantly find myself…

  • Immediately checking my email first thing when I opened my computer.

  • Answering messages during lunch.

  • Answering messages while out at dinner. (terrible manners)

  • Checking my email while spending time with friends. (rude)

The trick: Batch these tasks.

Before you close up shop for the day, spend an hour going through all of these messages and emails.

Not only will you get them done faster, but since you are fully dedicated to them they will have your full attention.

This will result in:

  • better responses

  • better written messages

  • a lot of saved time.

I take this one step further: High-value tasks always come first.

You will never catch me answering messages or emails before writing content, service delivery, or recording videos.

Action Steps

  • Find your low-value tasks

  • Batch them into one block session at the end of the day.

#4: Stop Wasting Time on Meetings & Calls.

Most calls and meetings are pointless. 

I know it, you know it, your Grandma knows it.

Every entrepreneur and 9-5er has experienced the pain of sitting through meetings that really don’t need to happen in the first place.

With my video editing team, I don’t waste time in meetings.

Everything I need to communicate gets done through software and messages. (Keeps things simple and to the point)

Imagine if every time I needed a revision done, I called a meeting with my entire team. (Yikes! Even the thought of that scares me).

Be ruthless with your time.

If you need to have a meeting with your team, have it - but don’t draw it out too long.

Most messages can be communicated through: 

  • looms

  • slack/messages

Your time and your team will thank you for it.

The same principle goes for calls with friends & family.

If you’re a student (and honestly this goes for everyone), you call a friend to ask them for something and end up having a 3-hour conversation.

Treat every call like a call with your Dad; short, sweet, and to the point.

I personally cannot remember the last time I had a call with my Dad that went over 5 minutes.

Action Steps:

  • Avoid calls & meetings at all costs.

  • If a call is necessary - make it as short and to the point as possible.

See you next week!

Thanks for reading,

- Matt “Time Wizard” Harriman

One Last Thing! I Have a Gift For You.

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PS:

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help:

  1. Grab my FREE self-reflection guide to break your burnout & make consistent progress in life & business easy.

  2.  Book a 1-1 Strategy Session to gain clarity on your routine, habits, and systems.