Smart is The New Skinny: The Art of Doing Everything

The other day I saw this old issue of Fast Company lying around the office and took it home to indulge in a little bed side reading.  I have to admit, I am not the most productive person outside of my 9-5p (or 9-9p if you work in advertising), mainly because I love to do many things at once, hence makes it hard to concentrate in the 2-3 really important tasks.

So stumbling upon this article was great timing, considering I have some pretty hefty goals coming up.

The article featured Pharell and a slew of highly successful people, all providing insight on what they do to stay productive.  Some surprised me (lack of sleep) and others were pretty obvious.  Regardless, it was a great read to stay motivated and FOCUSED.

Here are the main takeaways from the article, which you can also read here.

1.  You can sleep when you are dead.

Other than two outliers that were night owls, most woke up between 5-6:30am and went to bed after midnight.  Yikes.

2. Routine is key.

Alexa Von Tobel, CEO of LearnVest, has the same routine where she works out in the morning and eats the same thing for lunch every day.  That way she is not bogged down on making decisions that are not important and an energy suck.  Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, wears the same thing every day.

3.  Long meetings are a waste of time.

How many times have you been in a meeting that either people are chatting for at least 10 mintes and/or the reason of the meeting isn't really clear?  I lost count.  Focused meeting spanning 15 minute intervals are smarter.  Always strive to cut down the meeting, even if you've scheduled a whole hour.

4.  Work is the main goal, but working out keeps you sane.

Wendy Clark, SVP of global marketing for none other than Cocal Cola works out at 11pm, after spending time with her children. She calls it her "mental stability".

5. Maximize your mornings as much as possible.

Work the hardest in the morning so that you can get as much done and not fall behind.  It also makes your entire day less stressful.  Anthony Bourdain is a huge proponent of this as he "only gets slower and stupider as the day progresses."