Beat Out 99% of People Through Becoming Ultra-Focused.

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It’s 5:00 am.

You just sat down to get started on work for the day.

As you stare at the screen, your mind already begins to wander. 

You desperately try to force yourself to focus but nothing is happening…

10 minutes go by…30 minutes…60 minutes.

You look at your list of sh*t to do and it hasn’t gotten any smaller.

You finally decide enough is enough and give up to doom-scroll social media.

This was me about 3 years ago. If you’re anything like how I’ve been in the past, you struggle to get & stay focused.

The Key To Success is Focus

After countless hours of researching successful people, I’ve found that there is one trait that they all have in common: an unmatched ability to focus.

It’s clear that the key to success is focus, but how can we use this for ourselves?

They all use something called ‘the flow state’ in their work to maximize their productivity and get amazing results in life & business. 

What Even is the Flow State?

You hear a lot about it, but in order to use it for ourselves we need to understand what it actually is.

Being in the flow state means you are completely focused on the task at hand.

In basketball, this phenomenon is known as “the zone”.

It’s 1992 and you’re watching Micheal Jordan & The Bulls play the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals.

The Blazers are up on the scoreboard and the Bulls call a timeout.

All of a sudden, something lights up in Jordan. The game starts back up…

1 Three-pointer…2…3…4…5…6!

The cameras zoom in on Jordan.

He shrugs, seemingly surprised by what he had just had done.

This is the flow state at work.

And if you're able to use this “magical focus state” consistently, you can get 10x more done, easily beat out your competition, and change your life forever.

So…

Let’s get right into it!

4 Steps to Flow State

Step #1: Clarity

Going in without a plan is like going in blindfolded.

Identify what your ‘needle-moving’ tasks are. These are activities that move you directly closer to your goal.

These are what my tasks look like as a content creator:

When I sit down to do my focused work, I will most likely be working on one of the following: 

• writing content

• recording content

• designing content

• editing content

After you build your small list of tasks, you’ll never sit down to work and ask yourself “What should I work on?” again.

Step #2: Become Undistracted (Protect Your Focus!)

It takes around 10-15 minutes to get back into flow after getting distracted.

The simple mistake of scrolling social media, checking your email, or going down a youtube rabbit hole will immediately kill your flow state.

That’s why we must protect our focus like our life depends on it.

Here are some things I do to make sure I don’t get distracted during my precious focus time. 

• Get up early when no one can distract me.

• Put my phone in the other room to get rid of the temptation.

• Use Bose headphones with noise cancellation to keep distracting noises out.

• Listen to brain.fm focus music to keep me zoned in. (shameless plug → use code ‘mattharriman’ for 20% off)

Step #3: Add Time Pressure

Now you know the basics of the flow state…

Here’s where we take it to the next level. 

This step is what’s going to allow you to do leaps & bounds over your competition.

Anyone who’s ever been in school or had a job can relate to the feeling of being stressed over a deadline.

No matter how much work it was, you would still manage to get it done because you ‘had to do it’.

We're going to use a Productivity Law we used last week in this letter: Parkinson’s Law

In other words, you accomplish tasks in the time that is given for you to complete them.

Action: Tell yourself to come up with 50 pieces of content ideas in 60 minutes.

Even if you don’t hit the goal, you will still make more progress than if you didn’t set the intention.

Step #4: Practice

Just like working out, you won’t be able to lift the heaviest weight when you first start.

Focus is a muscle that needs to be trained. 

When I first started training my focus, I could only go for 30-45 minutes at a time.

After 3 years of practice, I can now confidently work for 2 hours without taking a break.

And…that’s a wrap!

Really hope you enjoyed this week’s Modern Productivity Letter.

Have a great rest of your day,

Matt “Flow State” Harriman

PS:

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

1. Apply for my program where I help ambitious entrepreneurs become ultra-productive to smash through their revenue goals & outwork their competition, all while saving 10+ hours per week.

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