Note: This “review” is not intended to replace the book. All quotes and concepts are credited to the authors and publisher.
In his brand new book, leadership mentor Michael Hyatt pulls it all together and delivers―as he phrased it―a total productivity system to achieve more by doing less. Hyatt, beyond question, did a great work and provided a framework for all those who are ready to transform their lives.
His system is built around three pillars: (1) stop and reflect, (2) cut the nonessentials and (3) act.
Amazing things happen when you start focusing primarily on what you do best and eliminate or delegate the rest.
At the heart of the book, there is a concept what Hyatt calls the Four Zones of Productivity.
The Four Zones of Productivity
The author identifies four Zones of Productivity by picturing a matrix along the dimensions of Proficiency and Passion:
- Zone 4: The Drudgery Zone. In this zone, there’re tasks that you’re neither passionate about nor proficient at.
- Zone 3: The Disinterest Zone. This zone is made up of things that you’re proficient at but not passionate about.
- Zone 2: The Distraction Zone. It’s made up of things that you’re passionate about yet lack proficiency at. If you work on the skills, you soon can make this zone into a Desire Zone.
- Zone 1: The Desire Zone. This is the zone where great things happen. In your desire zone, your passion meets your proficiency and you can make a lasting contribution to the world.
Productivity gives you the freedom, Hyatt argues, to spend most of your time in your Desire Zone. Everything left in the other zones is a potential candidate for elimination, automation, or delegation, in that order. This book is all about that.
The Freedom Compass, a tool provided in the book, pictures the four Zones of Productivity and it points north―toward Zone 1, your Desire Zone.
This model is simple yet so powerful: all you have to do is to list your tasks and then ask two basic questions:
- Am I passionate about that task?
- Am I proficient at that task?
You can then fill in the Task Filter and figure out how you can eliminate, automate, and delegate Zone 2-4 tasks to live most of your life in Zone 1.
That’s the point when things get really interesting. Hyatt will show you how to eliminate, automate, and delegate your tasks even if you are an employee.
Elimination
First, we must acknowledge, Hyatt argues, that every time we say yes, we inherently say no to something else. If we understand this simple trade-off, life gets funny. Next time before you say yes to a request, think about whether it’s within or beyond your Desire Zone:
Everything that is outside your Desire Zone is a possible candidate for elimination.
The author provides some hints on how to say no to more requests. He even delivers a powerful formula based on the principles learned from Dr. Ury, author of The Power of a Positive No.
After completing your Task Filter and identifying potential candidates for elimination, you can create your own Not-to-do list.
Automation
Hyatt specifies four categories of automation:
- Self-automation
- Template automation
- Process automation
- Tech automation
Self-automation involves routines, rituals, and habits to jump-start your productivity. The author himself practices and advocates morning and evening routines as well as workday startup and workday shutdown rituals. These rituals set him up for success by providing a mental template to living a meaningful life.
Template automation is nothing more than creating a template for your recurring projects or crafting email templates. Hyatt would save his email templates in his email client as new signatures. [I use PhraseExpress, a text expansion tool for this purpose―more on that below.]
Process automation refers to written, step-by-step guides of workflows.
The last item, tech automation, means that you use some software tools to automate work. A nice example is getting a text expansion app that allows defining snippets that will unfold into complete sentences, signatures, links, emails, and more.
Delegation
Hyatt identifies seven steps to successful delegation:
- Decide what to delegate
- Select the best person
- Communicate the workflow
- Provide the necessary resources
- Specify the delegation level
- Give them room to operate
- Check in and provide feedback
There are, he adds, five levels of delegation ranging from simply telling subordinates what to do to give them the freedom to make their own choices and complete a project without feedback.
Finally, Hyatt pulls it all together and shows how you can make this all happen by providing a total productivity system.
Design your life
The author argues that “Personal energy is a renewable resource.”
By practicing seven basic activities―sleep, eat, move, connect, play, reflect, and unplug―you regain your energy. Without rejuvenation, your productivity will lack steam. In the bonus materials, Hyatt provides a self-assessment tool to rank yourself on a scale of rejuvenation.
The author proposes that you outline your Ideal Week, which is a simple worksheet containing your rituals, rejuvenation activities, priorities, and other stuff over the week. He suggests that you plan thematic days by batching similar tasks. The purpose of your Ideal Week, Hyatt adds, isn’t to stick with it by all means, but rather to have a scaffold that can pull you back to your priorities.
The Weekly Preview, Hyatt’s reflection to the GTD weekly review, is a six-step process when you design your week:
- List your big wins
- Review prior week
- Review lists and notes
- Review projects and goals
- Plan your Weekly Big 3 (3 most important things for the next week to move your goals forward)
- Schedule rejuvenation activities
The next step is that you design your day: Hyatt recommends that you begin your day with your Daily Big 3. Your Daily Big 3 stands for the three most important tasks that help you completing your Weekly Big 3.
Before you go
Although providing a “total productivity system” seems a bold promise, I do think that the author did a great job and provided a holistic framework. If you know Michael’s previous work, you might recognize that some stuff and concepts reappear in Free to Focus. This book, however, is a nice summary and kind of a testament to Michael’s body of work.
What I provided was only a snapshot of the book. A lot of bonus materials come with the content. You’ll discover, among others, the Ideal Week template, the Daily rituals, the Focus Defense Worksheet, and much more.
Finally, I want to end with a powerful quote from the book:
True productivity is about doing more of what is in your Desire Zone and less of everything else.
Keep reading!
References: Michael Hyatt. Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less. Baker Books, 2019.
Image credit: frank mckenna on Unsplash
