How to Get Stuff Done + Accomplish More (my top 8 moves)

I’m busy. But I guess, so is everyone. So you know how it is – juggling lots of different projects, work and pursuits – it can get hard getting around to everything.

But I’ve learned a few personally helpful tricks on how to get stuff done and accomplish more with my time.

So these are my top moves. And I hope they help you like they’re helping me.

But let’s skip the small talk and dive right in (we’ve all got stuff to do after all, right?).

1. Stack the Deck

This first tip has been super helpful for me getting more done (among other things).

It’s simple and it’s obvious – it’s stacking the cards in our favor.

If our environments and external context has any influence on our behaviors (which it does), then this can be one of simplest starting points for accomplishing more.

I like to focus on three key areas:

• My inner circle

• The people I spend the most time with

• Surround yourself with more people who motivate you to get more done

• My outer circle

• The content I consume

• Listen to, read and consume more content that’s motivating and supports your goals

• My environment

• The physical environment I mostly spend my time in

• Redesign your space(s) with motivating colors, smells, sounds, sights and textures

So change what you can – even if it’s just a few details or aspects of your deck.

Because creating a context in which you’ll thrive is one of the best ways to get more done.

2. Be Realistic (be sustainable)

Analysis paralysis and feelings of overwhelm can be a wet blanket on progress and taking action.

So let’s reset things and build a more sustainable situation. Let’s be more realistic.

Having bigger, long-term goals is amazing. But they can feel intimidating (especially if you have multiple goals across different areas of interest).

So if we shrink things down into more manageable steps and action tasks, we can feel less stress and more motivation.

We can get more done.

Here are a few simple ways I like to be more sustainable and realistic with my own stuff:

• Break down your goals into smaller steps and tasks

• Aim lower

• Focus on one goal at a time

• Lengthen your time horizons

3. Build New Habit Loops

Getting more stuff done may ultimately come down to building more discipline and consistency – to having better habits.

So let’s unpack these things a bit.

A habit loop is a framework by which we predictably behave. It consists of three key components:

• The cue

• These are the triggers for a certain habit or behavior

• For example, a certain location or time of day or the smell of fresh coffee

• The routine

• The routine is the action that follows after a cue – the response

• For example, making a cup of coffee or taking some predictable action based on the time or location

• The reward

• The thing that reinforces a behavior or routine with some type of reward

• For example, the alertness or taste satisfaction from a cup of coffee

So by understanding this framework, we can cleverly change things to develop new habits.

For example, if we replace our cues with new ones, can we trigger a different routine and a new reward response?

Similarly, if we can remove the reward response of some routine, can we disrupt the pattern and open the door for a new routine or habit?

For getting more stuff done, can we develop new cues, new responses and new rewards.

Can we develop a new habit for getting more things done?

4. Buy Back Your Time With Modern Tools

We live in amazing times for quick and affordable access to truly powerful technologies.

So let’s take advantage of them.

It’s surprising how much of our day-to-day tasks can be either completely automated or drastically more efficient if we were using the right tools.

Admittedly, I tend to be bad at implementing this – so this tip is also for me, as a friendly reminder to optimize some areas of my life.

Here are some examples of modern tools and tech we can use to literally buy back more time and get more done:

• Automation tools to save countless hours and energy for future tasks

• AI (artificial intelligence) to outsource the mundane trivial tasks

• Productivity apps to track your habits, block distractions and so much more

• Scheduling and time management apps to act as a sort of personal assistant

• Meal prep or subscription services to cut down on cooking and shopping time (if that’s not your thing)

• Content management apps and services to schedule, create and plan social media posts

• Task management apps to organize and prioritize your to-dos and your time

5. Outsource Your Weaknesses

This is the perfect followup to leveraging technology to save you time and get more done.

I’m all for strengthening our weaknesses and skill building, but there’s also a time to outsource.

Outsourcing your weaknesses means you have more time to do the things that you truly enjoy and to work on things that you’re good at (and quicker at).

There’s a reason that teams work great together. Everyone brings something to the table.

Because we’re only one person – we can’t do everything all the time.

So if you can, look for ways to outsource either your weaknesses or the things you truly don’t enjoy doing (or that someone else can do without influencing quality).

For example, I love songwriting and music production. And I want to get better at mixing and mastering my music (the final steps in producing a song).

But I can only do so much. So it makes more sense for me to outsource this portion of my creativity.

In doing so, I save myself countless hours of trying to mix myself and getting frustrated.

6. Find Your Sweet Spot for Pressure

A little pressure is good. But too much can cause us to break down.

So let’s find the sweet spot, so we can foster motivation and get more done.

I like to use the zone of proximal development as a sort of template here – this is the point just outside of your current skills, but still within range of doing (it’s growth, but not overwhelm).

Here’s a quick graph I made to represent the sweet spot for pressure – the zone of proximal “pressure”, let's call it.

The reason for not getting enough done can sometimes be from putting too many things on your plate or pursuing things too far outside reach.

So try addressing these areas by scaling back and adjusting your focus or timelines.

7. Gamify Things (create a challenge)

This has been a more recent addition to my workflow – but I can tell you, it works.

In its purest sense, gamification is the act of adding elements of gaming to non-gaming situations.

It adds a more interactive and fun element to the process of learning, completing tasks and getting more done.

I’ve actually been using gamification in my songwriting to write more music and boost my discipline (through a song-a-day challenge).

It’s great because it reframes tasks as something more fun and adds an element of accountability (especially if you couple gamification with some type of challenge).

Here are some quick tips for using gamification to get more stuff done:

• Understand your motivations

• Understand your distractions and triggers

• Create rewards and incentives for completing tasks

• Track your progress

• Look for feedback and improvement opportunities

• Add elements of competition

• Focus on process over results

8. Become the Future You (right now)

Here’s one of my favorite tips for getting more accomplished: emotionally become your future self (right now).

I discovered this strategy in my meditation routine, and it’s been super helpful for my motivation, wellbeing and my ability to get more things done.

So here’s how it works:

• Imagine your ideal future self

• Create a super detailed list of that future version of yourself

• Your clothes and style

• Your personality and character traits

• Your house and location

• The smells and daily routines you have

• Your friends

• Your job

• Your emotions

• Now meditate and visualize yourself stepping into that role – right now

• Imagine your future life as if it’s already happened, and feel the emotions as if you’ve already done everything you want to do

• Rinse and repeat until you quite literally become your future self

For me, the core benefits of this process have to do with motivation and a change in perspective.

When I imagine myself as if I’m already my future self, both my discipline for taking action and my confidence grow.

I can ask myself simple questions like “what would future me do in this situation?” to complete more tasks, make decisions and get more done.

The ultimate goal here is to adopt and live the beliefs, perspectives and lifestyles of your future ideal self.

BONUS (health + wellness matter too…)

Before we wrap up, I thought it would make sense to quickly mention health and wellness.

It’s something that’s been a core part of my life for almost 10 years now, and it’s made everything better.

When I get good sleep, take care of my body and eat foods that agree with me, I’m more motivated, happier and get more done.

And when I couple all of those things with a healthy mindset – then I feel unstoppable.

So remember to take care of your mind and your body. Because, in my humble view, these things will always be more important than completing any task or goal.

---

Want More? Check Out These Sweet Reads!