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#040:Equilibrium Zero: Cut the Clutter

in Every Area of LifeMarch 31, 2014

________________________________________________Introduction

●The 5 am Miracle - Episode #40: Equilibrium Zero: Cut the Clutter in Every Area of Life

[Intro Song]●Good morning and welcome to the 40th

episode of The 5 AM Miracle.● I am Jeff Sanders and this is THE podcast

dedicated to dominating your day before breakfast.

●My goal is to help you bounce out of bed with enthusiasm, create powerful lifelong habits, and tackle your grandest goals with extraordinary energy.

● In this week’s episode I share how to get to zero in your email inbox, on your desktop, and in your physical work space.

●This is a comprehensive look at living and working with less and less, every single day.

● If you find yourself overwhelmed with work and life all too often, stick around and learn how

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you can clean up your mental, digital, and physical spaces to get more clarity, focus, and simplicity.

●But first, let’s begin with a look Behind-the-Scenes!

[Fade Music Up and Out]BEHIND THE SCENES (decide the week-of)

●I’ve been working too hard and my brain needed a break.

●Site re-design has been considerably harder than I expected.

●I recognized that when I needed to radically change my approach to work.

●Get simple.●Stay simple.●Do less.●Calm down.●Have more patience.●Simplify everything.●Routines can be terrible if you did a rut●Dig yourself out by doing something different

as soon as possible●Skills I’m practicing right now include

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patience, calmness, and some serious yoga.

●When in doubt, slow down and take a break.●The work will get done eventually.●Now, let’s tackle the Tip of the Week!

[Opening Night Music]

●Now, this week’s Tip is a great book recommendation for motivating yourself when nothing else will.

●“Do the Work” by Steven Pressfield ●Extremely short (I read it in a couple hours)●Easy read●Very motivating●very influential and great timing for me

●A Few Highlights from the book

●(1) “A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.”

●(2) “Start before you’re ready. Don’t prepare, begin. Remember our enemy is not lack of

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preparation; it’s not the difficulty of the project or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account.”

●(3) “Test Number One: How bad do you want it? The only answer is “Totally Committed” and “Because I have no choice.”

●Book is in the show notes.Now, let’s jump into this week’s feature segment.

[World Music Interlude]

●I know what it’s like to be overwhelmed.●As I mentioned in the Behind the Scenes

segment, life can be a bit daunting at times . . .●And that’s where the concept of Equilibrium

Zero kicks in.

What is Equilibrium Zero?

●The dictionary defines Equilibrium as:○“a state in which opposing forces or

influences are balanced.”

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○“a state of physical balance.”○“a calm state of mind.”○“a situation in which supply and demand

are matched and prices stable.”○“a state in which a process and its reverse

are occurring at equal rates so that no overall change is taking place.”

●The dictionary defines Zero as:○“no quantity or number; naught;”○a point on a scale or instrument from which

a positive or negative quantity is reckoned.○“the lowest possible amount or level;

nothing at all.”●The concept behind Equilibrium Zero is

fundamental to achieve clarity and focus in everything you do, whether at home or at work.

●When you take a few minutes each day to put away items that aren’t needed, the ones that are complete, the ones that can and should wait for another day, you clear out your mental, digital, and physical space of any and all unnecessary clutter that can stand in your way, which ultimately prevents you from doing your best work.

●In short, Equilibrium Zero means creating your own homeostasis, your own state of complete stability.

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●Equilibrium Zero means ZERO.●Nothing.●Clean.●Clear.●Complete.●The reason why I emphasize zero so strongly is

because it works every time in every chaotic, unorganized, and overwhelming situation.

●And, as we’re about to discuss, zero applies to just about every area of life, especially the ones regarding your day-to-day tasks and major projects.

●Today, I’m going to apply the concepts behind Equilibrium Zero to 5 major areas of life: your email inbox, the top of your desk, your home, your office, and your project management system.

●Visit JeffSanders.com/zero to read all of my posts about Equilibrium Zero.

#1: Inbox Zero●I’m beginning with Inbox Zero because this is

likely to be the one area that affects the most number of people.

●The concept of Inbox Zero is simple: process every email by the end of every day. Why

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Zero? Because it guarantees 100% effectiveness.

●Think of it this way, if you wanted a surefire system that you could trust and believe in, you would likely expect the system to be leak proof.

●In other words, you would want your trusted system to address every issue, without forgetting even a single detail.

●That is what Inbox Zero promises. No leaks. Nothing forgotten. Nothing overlooked.

●Does it deliver? Yes. Zero means zero.

Integrity and Communication●On a highly related note, I take communication

very seriously.●From experience I can tell you that when you

respond to someone quickly, you are sending a subtle message to that person that you respect them, that you value their time, and that they are important to you.

●Likewise, when you ignore and email, or forget about it, or simply wait days or weeks to respond, you are also sending a very LOUD signal that you don’t value the person who contacted you.

●It is my policy to respond to every single email

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I receive within 24 hours.●The only exceptions apply when I am physically

unable to access the Internet, like when traveling internationally and you’re stranded on a beach in the jungle of Costa Rica that can only be reached by boat.

●Other than that, I prioritize email, not because email is important, but because people are important.

BIG Numbers●Look, I get it, big numbers are scary●I often meet people who have hundreds, even

thousands of emails in their inbox!●Why does this happen?●Three reasons:

1. There is no system.2. There is no strong reason to create a system.3. There is no follow-through.

●When your inbox peaks at over 100 emails, it’s really hard to care anymore.

●The number is too big.●It’s intimidating to try to reply to hundreds of

messages.●If you want to destroy your severely inflated

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inbox, you need an email overhaul.

The Inbox Zero Process(1) Delete every email you possibly can.

●This includes spam, junk mail, advertisements, messages that don’t warrant a response, and any other irrelevant message.

(2) Unsubscribe to every newsletter you don’t actually read.

●Legitimate newsletters have “unsubscribe” options. Most spam emails do not.

●Make it your daily practice to unsubscribe every time.

●This will seriously reduce the number of emails you receive.

●The alternative to unsubscribing is to make a plan to read the newsletters, even if that happens somewhere outside of your email inbox.

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(3) Archive important messages that don’t require a response, but that you need to keep.

●This could include financial statements, receipts, contracts, information about a project that isn’t important for a few weeks, or other messages you just can’t bear to part with.

●Over the years I have had as many as 100 folders that organized and stored messages I assumed I would need.

●It has become abundantly clear that I don’t need 99.9% of the emails I keep.

●Be sparing on your archiving.●You want to get in the habit of deleting

everything.

(4) Reply to the remaining messages

●At this point there should only be a handful of emails left in your inbox.

●It’s likely these are conversations that require your response and it is imperative that you respond TODAY.

●After responding, delete or archive the email.

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Zero Every Day●The goal is to get to zero every single day,

even on weekends.●You never want your email to get so backed up

that it would take a week’s vacation to clear the mess.

●Stay on top of your communication and make this process a priority.

#2: Desktop Zero●The concept behind Desktop Zero is no

different than Inbox Zero: at the end of every day, clear your physical desk of all the clutter, junk, paperwork, and supplies that belong somewhere else.

Here are the basics on how to master desktop zero:(1) Dump the Trash

●The first step is always to locate the most useless material and dispose of it.

●Recycle all of the processed paperwork and throw away food and other trash items.

(2) Remove All Unneeded Items

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●place empty coffee mugs in the dishwasher●put all pens and paperclips in the desk drawers●remove any other random things that you want

to keep●. . . . . just not directly on top of your work

space.

(3) Move Critical Work Components to Another Space

●Depending on the kind of work you do, you may have quite a bit of physical paperwork or other materials needed for a current project.

●But — none of that stuff should remain on your desk at the end each workday.

●Everything needs a place to call home: a desk drawer, file cabinet, book shelf, etc.

(4) Cleanly and Simplistically Organize the Remaining Items

●At this point there should be very only a handful of critical items remaining on your desk: computer and/or monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

●Desktop Zero is not as comprehensive as Inbox Zero, meaning that you will have a few items left on the desk.

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●After all, I don’t expect you to file away your desktop computer every night!

(5) Take a Picture●Once you establish the few critical items that

should stay on your desk, this setup becomes your equilibrium or default settings.

●Take a picture and remember exactly what this looks like.

●Repeat the Desktop Zero process every single day (even weekends at home) and ensure that you always get back to your clean desk.

#3 and #4: Home Base Zero

●Just like Inbox Zero and Desktop Zero, Home Base Zero is the process of putting away ALL extraneous items in your home and office each night.

●Your Home Base is the place where you spend 99% of your time.

●It’s likely you have a home base in your house and another at work. These principles apply equally to both.

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Now, let’s break down exactly what this looks like:(1) Trash Everything

●Nothing stands in the way more than junk that should be recycled or thrown away.

●This is always the first step.

(2) Put Known Items Away●Anything that you know is “out of place” should

be put back in its place.●For example, dirty clothes belong in the

hamper, cleaning supplies go back in the closet, and books back on the bookshelf.

(3) Identify a Place for New Stuff●Not everything has an obvious place to go.●This is your chance to assign a “home” for new

items.●Anything that has been sitting around and

obviously needs to be put somewhere else, should intentionally be put in its most intelligent permanent location.

(4) Freeze This Moment●At this point everything (and I mean

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EVERYTHING) should be put away in its place●Nothing will be on the floor, or on your kitchen

table, or under the couch, unless it belongs there.

●Just like your email inbox being empty, or your desk being clean, your home base needs a spotless moment in time.

●Ideally, you will reach this point every day — but no less than once a week.

●Alternatively, you could build this process into your weekly review.

#5: Project Management Zero

●Project Management Zero is getting to zero current tasks left in a project before beginning the next task or project.

●Likewise, it means working on one task at a time and finishing what you’ve started.

●In terms of productivity, task management and project management are nearly synonymous because a project is nothing more than a series of related tasks.

Here are a few guidelines to make

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Project Management Zero work for you:(1) Never commit to more than 2-3 major projects at a time.

●Ideally (and for the sake of simplicity) you would only work on one project at a time.

●However, I recommend having 2-3 for a couple of reasons.

●First, it’s highly likely that one project will be at a stand still until something has to happen that is out of your control.

●Secondly, if you’re getting burned out on one project, you can easily switch to something different.

(2) Finish the current task 100% before moving on to the next.

●The tendency for most of us is to get distracted, or excited about an upcoming task.

●We often find ourselves starting many things, but finishing nothing.

●Make it your priority to completely finish what you’re working on before you make any moves towards your future goals.

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●Create a “someday/maybe” list for all those great future ideas.

(3) Work in focused, uninterrupted blocks of time.

●The surefire way to get anything done in the most effective manner is to give it 100% of your attention.

●In order to complete every task in your current project, it’s best to give all of your energy and focus to the most important task.

●Once finished, move on to the next one.

(4) Get to zero must-do tasks every day.

●Over the last few months I have found it to be incredibly beneficial to separate my must-do tasks from everything else.

●When you create your daily task list, prioritize it with the most important tasks from your current project and don’t end your work day until those must-dos are done.

(5) Follow the Desktop Zero guidelines at the end of the day.

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●First, your work day should have a strict time boundary to keep you focused.

●Secondly, 30 minutes before your workday ends, put everything away in it’s place.

●This includes physical stuff on your desk, as well as virtual files on your computer’s desktop.

●Everything belongs somewhere — and that should be out of sight unless you’re working on it right now.

The Daily Zero●If you’re currently juggling a dozen projects,

put some down.●Just stop.●Let them go.●Sometimes the best way to clean up your

calendar is to delete, trash, scrap, and set free all of the good ideas in order to get to the great ones.

● I challenge you to get to zero every day, in every area of your life.

●As soon as you figure out how to do it once, repeating the system is simple, effective, and

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always gratifying.

[Fade In Music]Announcements

●Just 3 quick announcements here at the end of this episode.

● First, if you’re looking to significantly boost your productivity, I think you would love The 5 AM Blueprint.

● The 5 AM Blueprint is an affordable way to get direct, customized feedback from me to create an effective schedule for your ideal day.

● And you can learn much more about it at 5amBlueprint.com.

●My 2nd announcement, if you have not yet joined The 5 am Club, you can easily do so today for free.

●When you join the club you will get a free copy of The 5 AM Miracle eBook, which shows you exactly how to wake up each morning with vigor and make enormous progress on your biggest goals.

●To join The 5 AM Club AND jump start your morning - visit 5amMiracle.com.

●My final announcement is that for my next podcast episode I will be discussing the work

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hard, play hard formula.●Specifically, I’ll show you how to do better work

AND have more fun.Final Thoughts● As always, I would be grateful if you would rate

my podcast in iTunes.● That helps tremendously with keeping my

podcast visible so that people who have never heard of it can discover it.

●I created a quick 2-minute video that shows you how to rate and review any podcast, which you can watch at JeffSanders.com/review

● Or, just head on over to JeffSanders.com/itunes to leave your review right now.

●Also, if you would like to see all of the resources I mentioned in this show, please visit the show notes page at JeffSanders.com/40, as in Episode 40.

●Well, that's it for this episode of The 5 AM Miracle.

●Until next time remember, you have the power to change your life, and the fun begins bright and early.

[Fade Out Music]