The Concept That Changed My Life

(and how to use it to become unstoppable)

Hey Everybody! Welcome back to the Modern Productivity Letters.

I just wanted to give a warm welcome to all the new readers from Jay Yang’s Sunday Storypreneur Newsletter (linked here) which I had the opportunity to be featured in this past Sunday.

If you haven’t heard of Jay Yang, he is a young entrepreneur & content creator that shares insights on how he grew his personal brand to 150,000+ followers and lessons on how to become a compelling storyteller.

Make sure to check out his stuff: Jay Yang’s Instagram.

Let’s get right into this week’s letter…

It’s an average day. You sit down, open your computer, and get to work.

Everything is going smoothly.

All of a sudden, BAM! You pull out your phone. You’re hooked like a fish on a rod.

1 hour goes by…2…3…4…

You still haven’t made a dent in your to-do list.

I know that dreadful feeling all too well…

I used to spend countless hours being unproductive instead of getting what I needed to do done.

That is until I discovered this…

The Concept That Changed My Life.

I came across a video from Andrew Kirby titled, “This Graph Changed My Life”. Instantly captivated with curiosity, I had to check it out.

You’re probably wondering, “Matt, what was this magical graph?”

In the video, he explains that the graph demonstrates how small decisions add up to determine where you end up in life.

So that begs the question…

How can we overcome procrastination and set ourselves up on a positive trajectory?

The Death Trap of Unproductivity (Instant vs. Delayed Gratification)

You may have heard of “instant gratification” or “delayed gratification” before, but what actually are they?

Instant gratification is anything that rewards your mind right away.

Social Media
Watching Netflix or Youtube
Playing Video Games

The reason these things are so addictive is because of how it affects our minds.

versus…

Delayed gratification is anything where you do not receive the reward right away.

Working on your business
Making content for your personal brand
Studying for a test
Starting that new project

When you put something like scrolling social media up against working on your business, your mind will always naturally choose social media.

It’s simply more comfortable.

In a nutshell, this is why we procrastinate.

How The Domino Effect Works

The decision you are making right now to read my newsletter matters.

As James Clear says,

“Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”

Imagine there are two lines of dominos: one is made up of instant gratification tasks while the other is delayed gratification.

If you knock over one domino, the rest of them fall.

Because you chose to be unproductive all day instead of work…

You didn’t get anything done.
Because you didn’t get anything done, you are slowing growth toward your goals.
Because you are slowing growth toward your goals, you might not hit them at all.

Because you chose to be productive and get work done:

Not only did you get what you needed to do finished…
But because you were productive, you are speeding up growth towards your goals.
And because you are speeding up growth towards your goals, you will hit them faster & build momentum.

Use the Domino Effect to Kill Your Procrastination.

You might be thinking, “This is cool in all, but how can this actually change my life & kill my procrastination?”.

Every time you’re about to fall into the Death Trap of Unproductivity, remind yourself about the domino effect.

It could be as simple as having a wallpaper on your phone or a sticky note on your desktop monitor.

Let’s be honest here. The dirty truth about procrastination is…

No trick, hack, or rule will save you.

The key is to just start.

You don’t have to do a lot, but just get started.

If you want to learn more about beating procrastination, the first edition I ever wrote of the Modern Productivity Letters covers exactly this.

Access that letter here → How to Stop Ruining Your Life By Beating Procrastination Forever

I hope you got value from this letter!

If you did, let me know by responding to this email.

Until next week,

Matt “Domino Effect” Harriman

PS:

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

Grab my FREE self-reflection guide to break your burnout & make consistent progress in life & business easy.
Book a 1-1 Strategy Session to gain clarity on your routine, habits, and systems.