Secret 3: Power of Place

In brief, you need to find different places to manage and produce different results. Let me give you an example.

If you are a writer, there's no way you are going to be able to work in an environment in which you are easily distracted. You must find a physical location which will help you single-mindedly focus on the task you are wanting to complete.

The trick here is that you can find *several places* for *several* tasks, and that way you can be far more productive in any given period of time.

Secret 4. Overcoming & Removing Mental Blocks

This secret is more to do with mindset than actions, but it's important to understand that you must, on a daily basis, be feeding and stretching your mind. Most successful business owners do this in several ways: through audio training, personal/life coaches, and other methods outside the scope of this article.

Above all, be open to the fact that you might well have some mental blocks, or perhaps even poor ways of thinking, which can have a massive impact on your ability to follow through on what you want to achieve.

This being the case, you need to be on an active, daily program of personal growth and development, identifying, challenging and changing negative thought patterns and immature ways of thinking. Whilst this isn't easy, if you class this as an essential part of your growth and value to others, you will ultimately see much more significance and consistency in what you can achieve.

Secret 5. Stilling the Mind

There are times of the day when decisions, sensory inputs and mental gymnastics can sometimes lead to overwhelm. Sleep is ultimately one way we leave behind yesterday's cacophony of information and experiences.

But you should also, again daily, practice being still. People will approach this in different ways, but whatever method you prefer, you should build it into your daily ritual so that you give your mind the maximum chance to restore its creative core and energy.

Secret 6. Finding Your Shower Moment

Related to the above is what many call the 'shower experience' or moment. Have you ever had an amazing idea when you've been in the shower? I know I have, and I've spoken to many people who can share similar stories.

The trick here is generate a sense of expectation that new, perhaps amazing ideas can come at any time, but again, you can tap into your unconscious mind more effectively if you program it to expect the shower moment to happen. Just make sure you have waterproof paper near by to scribble down your thoughts before they disappear once more into the blur!

Secret 7. Seeing into the Future

I've saved the best secret until last. Any entrepreneur will tell you that running their own business can be the most exciting and scary thing they ever do, and many would argue (and I agree) that it should surely be so.

Seeing into the future is really the idea that you are, in a real sense, able to shape the course of your life, in terms of what you do and what you want to get out of it.

There are many stories of people who have 'seen' themselves doing a certain task or action in the future, myself included.

If you have any unfulfilled dreams in your life, you can approach what you do with that in one of two ways: you can think that perhaps it's just a fanciful hope, or you can grow certainty within yourself that it can happen, and all that is required is for you to develop the right actions, habits and mindset to build towards that final goal.

Many motivational and success coaches will ascribe to this the term 'visualisation', but I prefer to use the term 'multi-sensory imagination

I cannot stress enough how important it is to get this the right way around.

Many business owners lose focus as to why they do what they are doing. They become stuck in the drudgery of the hard work that is needed in order to get to the end game, and all too often become blind to their original dream.

Those that do focus on the end goal, much more often than not, do achieve what they want, and much more besides.

In summary then, in order to achieve a high level of personal productivity and effective time management, you should start putting into practise what you have read above. And lastly, set yourself small, medium and large milestones, or goals, by which time you want to have achieved a certain part of the jigsaw puzzle that makes up your overall goal.