This is the secret strategy to insane productivity

This is the secret strategy to insane productivityThis is the secret strategy to insane productivityWhenever we talk about the secret to productivity, we tend to hyper-focus on tactics.Thats not to say tactics arent part of it - because they are. But its important not to lose sight of the strategy in the process.Whats the strategy?Move from beginning to end quickly and effectively.Thats the definition of being productive.Most people arent productive because of these reasonsThey try to do too many things at one time.They fall victim to distraction.They overbook and under-allocate the hours in their day.But here are the real reasons people arent productive.They get lost in the weeds and forget what theyre truly aiming for.They spend far too much time ideating and not enough time working.They dont know what is dependent upon what what needs to be finished first, second, third, fourth, etc.Understanding the true pitfalls of not getting things done is the first step toward actually putti ng practices in place that will move you from where you are to where you want to be.So, whats the secret to insane productivity?Its understanding what you need to do - before you start to do it.Dont take this the wrong way As BGO creative director fruchtfleisch Beeching would say, You cant steer a stationary ship.You have to get started in order to really understand how to improve at all.What Im saying is, along that journey you can do yourself a tremendous service by preparing for your work sessions by clearly understanding what it is you need to do, and how youre going to do it.We waste a lot of energy when we sit down and have to ask ourselves, OK, where do I start? Instead, you should spend the night before answering that question, so that by the time you sit down the next day to work, you already know I need to finish these two reports, I need to research this strategy, I need to create this document, and I need to send this e-mail.The more you can plan your trajectory ahead o f time, the less time you will waste along the way figuring out where youre flying to and how youre going to land.You have removed that ambiguity.That allows you the freedom to actually get things done.This article originally appeared on Inc Magazine.