Personal productivity
By Ndamukong Suh
I develop real estate, own restaurants, invest in world class companies, play football and am a family man.
It’s not easy to balance.
What I’ve learned from the world’s top performers is that hustle culture has it all wrong.
Here’s the best way to survive being always on:
It’s about organization and not overworking yourself.
My 5 rules to managing a hectic life.
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Have a prepared routine (live one day ahead)
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Strict scheduling
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Delegate as much as possible
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Prioritize long term and work backward
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Make room to recover
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Live one day ahead
My tomorrow starts at 6pm today, when I put the kids to bed and make sure they’re good.
Then I lay out my clothes, get in the shower, and settle in for some decompression.
I end the night by sitting with my wife to talk about what happening the next day.
A lot of times when people end their work day, they switch off and avoid thinking about tomorrow.
That’s the wrong attitude.
Planning for the next day the night before, even if it’s just some passing thoughts, takes a lot of pressure what you face when you wake up.
- Strict scheduling
Have a detailed schedule and live by it.
If you’re supposed to be somewhere, talking to someone, add it to the calendar.
If something isn’t in my calendar, it’s not happening.
Living by my calendar means there’s far fewer surprises to derail the day.
For me, the most important part of rigid scheduling isn’t the space it takes up, but the space it creates.
Being able to compartmentalize helps me make space for myself and my family.
Use your calendar to help you visually plan your day.
- Delegate, delegate, delegate
This is mostly applicable to professionals.
Learning to delegate well at work is the best way to free up your time.
It lets you spend your work time on high impact projects and makes finding space for non-work stuff easier.
My delegation secret?
I have an incredible virtual assistant from @oceans_xyz
They help me with everything from scheduling, to sending gifts, arranging travel, and doing research for my investments.
The quality is super high and it only costs $2500/month.
- Prioritize based on your long term goals
What I am focused on for the year, sets my priority for the quarter, then each month and then each day.
What I’m doing with my time today is linked to what I want to accomplish this year.
It’s how I decide where to spend time.
- Make time to rest and reset
One of the biggest things I’ve learned over twelve years as a professional athlete is the importance of rest.
How you recover is as important as how you train.
Unfortunately, this is one thing most people suck at.
In a lot of ways, our work culture is broken.
We’ve been driven to think that the more we work, the more we’ll get.
The most successful people I know are relentlessly driven, but prioritize quality over volume.
Build in moments to decompress and give yourself space.
Today, it’s impossible not be juggling a million things at once.
That’s what it’s like in an always on, always connected world.
To create balance, it takes work and intention.
But if you do, you’ll be closer to achieving your goals with a better quality of life.