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Why make better choices? 

Before you read this, understand that even as I help others transform their lives, there is still so much for me to learn. 

A fool considers himself to be a wise man, and a wise man considers himself to be a fool (this isn’t to say I am wise by any means) 

One recent morning I found myself reaching for my phone moments after waking, scrolling away on social media and watching time melt away before my eyes. For me this is unacceptable behaviour. 

Like most of us, the smart phone has become the most easily accessible escape and source of quick, mindless stimulation. 

A question arose shortly after this bout of animalistic, self medication around 30-60 minutes had passed. 

‘’Why am I doing this?’’ 

And then another… 

‘’Why not do this?’’, ‘’What is the real harm in staying in bed, scrolling for time, and wasting away the day?’’ 

The answer to the question might be obvious for some, yet I am the kind of guy who seeks to honestly dissect such questions for precise answers and insight.

If the answer were to be so obvious, why are so many of us struggling with behaviours we know we should not partake in? 

• Snoozing
• Doom Scrolling
• Self Medication
• Avoidance & Procrastination

In reality it is not as simple as ‘’It’s not productive’’ or ‘’It’s a waste of time’’ or ‘’I shouldn’t be doing this’’. 

Here’s what I have found regarding the origin of self-destructive behaviour and what we can do to truly break free from such unwanted patterns becoming productive mother fu*kers in our lives.

Health & Productivity

Before we deconstruct the mechanics of choice, productivity tactics and principles let us first address the most crucial key that most people don’t talk about. 

If your health sucks, your productivity sucks. Simple. 

There are three main components to health that contribute towards productivity. 

Sleep

If you are sleep deprived good luck trying to get deep, focused and important work done. Forget about getting your creative juices flowing. 

Without adequate sleep and rest your brain isn’t going to be working properly. Why set yourself up for a difficult and frustrating time, where your attention is scattered, you are more irritable and your state is sluggish?

There’s no fixed number of sleeping hours that works best for everyone, find what works for you however keep these tips in mind. 

Try sleeping:

• with micro-pore tape over your mouth, this prompts nose breathing, which increases sleep quality tremendously and decreases dehydration during sleep. 

• for any whole number of 90 minute sleep cycles. Complete 90 minute cycles result in a sense of feeling more rested. If you wake up in the middle of one of these, you’ll surely feel tired, groggy and less rested. 

• Avoid bright screens when the sky has gone dark. Using blue light blocking glasses can aid one in protecting the eyes from blue light, keeping the sleep and wake hormones regulated, or avoiding bright screens altogether after the sky is dark.

Nutrition

Aggressively dopamine spiking ‘’non-foods’’ are most damaging to productivity, for they destroy one’s ability to focus on a task at hand without seeking distraction or more stimulation. 

Simple and effective principles are to:

• Work or create in a fasted state. No food before this, just water.
• Reduce dramatically or remove refined sugar from your life.
• Consume refined carbohydrates sparingly and refrain from these before work.
• Stick to fruit, nuts, vegetables, meat and fish to the degree your body can handle. 

Exercise 

There’s nothing more debilitating than a stiff, stagnant and sedentary body. 

Movement is medicine. It also generates energy for one’s body. This is often contrary to what most might think, that exercise depletes a person’s energy reserves. In truth, rigorous exercise and deep breathing (dosed correctly) fill us with a sense of vigour and vitality. 

• High intensity interval training (sprints, kettlebells, EMOM, Tabata)
• Hatha yoga (deep, diaphragmatic breathing and yoga postures)
• Resistance training (weightlifting or bodyweight exercise) 

Honestly, I never thought I would have said this, but high intensity interval training (with use of kettlebells) is the best of those three in regards to complimenting one’s productivity. 

That might be down to the current season of life I am in.

I’ve lifted weights for years and I still love to from time to time, yet, there’s nothing that destroys procrastination, gets the body’s energy flowing well, and sets you up for the day feeling like a winner from the beginning than high intensity interval training in the morning. 

Get your health in order and you’ll have an advantage when it comes to productivity. 

No work is worth your health in trade. 

Without health you can not enjoy the fruits you are working so hard for. Nor can you enjoy a high quality life. 

Take it from me, somebody you used to have a debilitating gut condition (Ulcerative Colitis). Look after yourself and treat your body and mind well.

Every aspect of your life will increase in splendour.

Stillness & Mental Health

Meditation & Mindfulness are super powers in the modern, distracted world.

Just imagine two people for a second. 

One of them has a “grasshopper” brain that jumps around constantly, looking for another source of simulation or distraction from any task at hand. The other has a calm, centred, clear and almost empty mind which acts like a vessel for great ideas, inspiration and moments of insight. 

Who is going to be more productive? 

Who is going to make better choices? 

Who is going to last longer and enter a deep, focused flow state? 

Of course, the second person.

The first person describes one who neglects mental fitness and the practice of centring the mind. 

The second person describes one who trains the mind consistently with care, taking time away from stimulation and creating space for contemplation and relaxation. 

A scattered mind is like a bulb that spreads light in all directions. It’s useful, but weak. 

A focused mind takes the same energy input as the bulb but aligns the rays into one coherent beam. In experiments the focused beam cuts through steel… 

I know… that’s powerful.

Do you want a mind that’s like a butter knife or a katana?

If your answer is the former, this post of The Mastery Letter probably isn’t for you.

For basic guidelines on the practice of stillness consider the following: 

• Meditating daily for a minimum of 1-10 minutes
• Taking deep, mindful breaths as you work or in between tasks 
• Doing one thing at a time (multi-tasking is a myth)
• Immersion within the present moment instead of distracting yourself.

We can talk more about the final point a little when we talk about deep work. 

Consequential Thinking 

If there’s one thing you take from this Mastery Letter, let it be the importance of consequential thinking. Every choice has consequence, there are two primary categories. 

Short term and long term. 

In the short term, there may be no clear reason why an activity is detrimental, yet with true honesty and foresight, or observation of others partaking in the same acts, the long term consequences become clear. 

This works either for or against us. 

It usually goes like this: 

• Short term pleasure leads to long term pain
• Short term pain leads to long term pleasure

A simple morning routine composed of exercise, meditation, hydration, reading/learning, fresh air and sunlight might seem trivial in the short term, yet in the long term it creates a series of high value, positive habits that drastically improve our health, wellbeing, quality of life and productivity.

Scrolling on the phone upon waking, staying up late, indulging in junk food or drugs, procrastinating and avoiding important matters all seem harmless in the short term, yet when considering the long term effects, it is clear that these all bring forth a very unpleasant experience of life. 

Exercise is painful, it’s uncomfortable, so is meditating, or putting some time into a project that invokes anxiety due to difficulty and uncertainty. Yet in the long term, progress is made, growth occurs. 

Tony Robbins said it well: 

| “Happiness can be boiled down to one word. Progress.”

Drugs can be fun, alcohol too, smoking weed, casual sex, junk food, Netflix or whatever your choice of short term pleasure. These all provide a sense of short term pleasure. Yet in the long term, fertility declines, focus withers and valuable progress is killed. 

Hence, a miserable existence. 

Consider this closely when you are next conflicted with a choice at hand. If it is a short term pleasure, what are the long term effects of that action repeated consistently over time? (Use your imagination or look at others living in such a way, do you really want that?)

If it is a short term pain, what are the long term benefits of that action repeated consistently across time? (Again, imagine the possibilities of who you could become and observe others who do hard things for great rewards)

I would encourage you to listen to the following people so this message sinks even deeper:

• David Goggins
• Jocko Willink
• Alex Hormozi
• Elliott Hulse
• Hamza Ahmed

The Art of Routine

A productive, fulfilling and well-spent day begins with morning and evening routines. 

The night before sets the stage for the day ahead.

The tone of your morning sets the tone of the day. 

Think of this like planting seeds. 

In the night, you’re planting seeds for the morning after. In the morning, you’re watering those seeds by bringing action to your intentions and most importantly, keeping the promises you make to yourself. 

In the evening: 

• Write down what your morning routine will look like, be specific
• Take note of your GSD list (get shit done) so you know exactly what your priorities are
• Come away from screens and social media 1-2 hours before bed (as explained before) 
• Avoid eating late night to save yourself from feeling lethargic and slow upon waking
• Practice Yoga Nidra (sleep yoga), breath-work and/or some simple mindfulness as you lay in bed (This will reduce carry-over of the previous days worries and problems into the next)

Most importantly, keep it simple, in the beginning this might take a little time and effort, eventually it will become fluid and effortless. 

I call my morning routine The Masterful Morning. This is a flexible, simple, effective and empowering set of activities that set you up for a great day, every day. 

The Masterful Morning consists of:

• Hydrating sufficiently 
• Prayer & Gratitude
• Light exposure and fresh, outdoor air
• Exercise (using any of the three methods stated in the section on Health)
• Meditation / Visualisation (for a minimum of 1-10 minutes) 
• Deep work (creativity, priority tasks, writing, or whatever applies to your life)

The Masterful Morning is flexible, that means you can change the way you do any of the activities, and play with the order in whatever way you wish, over time finding what works well for you. 

You might even want to add some things in there, yet I would encourage keeping the routine very simple and fluid where one thing leads naturally into the next. 

Progressive Overload: The Strategic Way

Here’s why I suggest doing 1-10 minutes minimum for each activity in The Masterful Morning. 

Habits take time to create. Before a habit is created, you’re guaranteed to encounter internal resistance towards the activity. Why? Because it is not yet familiar. 

Familiarity is key here, we want to get to the point where an activity, or even your entire morning routine is so familiar to your nervous system that it feels strange not to do it. 

This doesn’t happen over night, and it doesn’t happen by blasting yourself with high intensity 60 minute meditations and 2 hour workouts. 

Intensity is not the answer. Consistency is. 

Can I ask you a question?

Are you more likely to be consistent in your morning routine (and other beneficial practices) if the intensity is manageable and non-threatening, or if it feels intimidating and burdensome? 

Of course, the former leads to an increased likelihood in creating long term consistency. 

Remember, remember, remember… 

Consistency beats intensity when developing new habits and creating familiarity in your routines. 

Don’t do what 99% of people do. That is, begin with extreme levels of intensity, burn out quickly, fall off the wagon and give in to inconsistency once again. Back at square one, disappointed and having made no progress.

This is exactly why gyms are jam-packed in January, and significantly more quiet by the second week of February. 

There are two main roots to inconsistency:

No Strategy

People don’t progressively overload. Instead, they overly-overload! 

They have no strategy, and so they fail over and over again. 

You’re better than that. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be investing your valuable time in reading this letter. 

Be strategic about everything in your life, starting with your routines, morning and evening. Increase the intensity and time spent with each activity gradually. 

Too Much Ego (Impatience)

Are you too egotistical and impatient to be happy with small wins and gradual progress?

They fail to see that small steps lead to big progress. 

Maybe you’re too ashamed to look like a beginner for a little while, or too hard on yourself, setting unrealistically high expectations that burn you out. 

Set the bar low and plan how you’re going to increase the load over time.

When activities become so familiar they’ll take root in your identity, you’ll do the thing effortlessly because ‘’it’s just what you do’’.

A Devout Daily Schedule 

With the morning and the evening taken care of, how should we best approach the rest of the day? 

As I write this letter I must be honest, I’m still learning about how to optimise my day, but I can share with you what I’ve learned so far. 

The 5 element structure

There are 5 phases within each day, each phases carries a different energy or natural intent, inviting particular types of activity with ease.

To put it simply, here are the 5 phases and associated elements according to Chinese Tradition.

• Sunrise (rising sun) - Wood
• Midday (highest sun) - Fire
• Late Afternoon (descending sun) - Earth
• Sunset (setting sun) - Metal
• Night (… no sun?) - Water

This five phase system is harmonious with the daily cycle of nature, scientists call this the circadian rhythm. 

It is natural to rise with the sun, that’s when the birds start singing and the animals start going about the day. 

It is natural to sleep in the night, that’s when (nearly) everything else goes to sleep then too. 

The reason why we’re talking about all of this nature stuff isn’t “woo woo” (it hurts me to even say that). 

You are not separate from nature. You are nature. 

A system harmonised with nature is more sustainable than any other system. 

You can only keep working night shifts for a matter of time before your hormones start acting up, you start packing on weight, suffering with poor mental health or developing some other symptoms of dis-ease. 

Stop trying to be so individual and join the dance of nature. 

Rise with the sun. Sleep in the night. And structure the rest of your day around the remaining three phases of the day. 

My aim here is to give you a fundamental understanding of the matrix we’re building our daily schedule upon. 

So now the question is… what do we fill our day with?

Set fixed sleep and wake times 

A regular sleep pattern goes a long way. 

Intend to sleep and wake around the same time, every single day, including weekends. 

This will regulate your energy levels. Which is invaluable. 

It will regulate your hormones and baseline health. 

It will give you a rhythm to engineer your day within.

Allow for a little bit of flexibility here, but aim for discipline and regularity.

Set fixed meal times

Next, get clear on when and what you will eat. 

Having a fixed meal plan is not just beneficial for fitness professionals and athletes. 

Everybody should have a set meal plan. Especially if you’re looking to level up your productivity.

Why? 

Thinking about what you’re going to cook takes energy away from your capacity to make choices throughout the day. When you don’t know what you’re going to eat or cook, you’re likely to resort to quick, not so healthful options. 

Keep it simple, keep it varied and stick to it. 

Here’s some simple guidance for what to eat:

• Meat/ Fish
• Eggs
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Nuts 
• Carbs (depending on the time of year and your activity levels)

Keep your carbs as high quality as they can be. Refined carbohydrates like pasta, bread, noodles and potatoes can be quite addictive. 

This isn’t to say that you should cut them out completely, definitely not.

Just eat them wisely and feel into how they effect your mood, energy levels and productivity. 

Perhaps consider not consuming refined carbohydrates whilst you still have important work to do, or when you need your productivity levels to be high. 

After you’ve done what’s most important, enjoy without overindulging.

Best meal times can be based on the 5 phases of the day. 

For me I eat around the phase transitions of: 

• Midday (highest sun): Meal 1
• Sunset (setting sun): Meal 2

1-3 meals a day is good. 

Set these in your daily schedule and find what works best. 

If you’re looking to gain muscle and put on weight, 2-3 meals works well. 

If you’re looking to cut weight down and feel lighter and more lean, 1-2 meals is best. 

Every body is different. So again, follow this as a baseline of guidance and adapt according to your needs (not your wants). 

Be wary of those who tell you that it doesn’t matter what you eat, just track calories. 

Also watch out for those who encourage forcing yourself to eat for a bit of muscle. Muscle is not worth a decline in overall health.

Most people don’t realise just how pivotal nutrition is in regards to optimising productivity. 

This is massive, trust me.

Set fixed work/ creative times

Your daily schedule should be looking a little more full by now. Having included times for waking, sleeping and eating. 

If you find that exercise isn’t best during your morning routine (sometimes it isn’t) then get clear on when you will train in the day and set a fixed time window for this. 

Working out is absolutely essential for a thriving life and productive output. 

Again, keep it consistent and pre-determined to avoid unnecessary mental burdening.

If you work a 9-5 job, then your work time is simple and taken care of. 

If you’re building a one-person business like me, you’ll need to set fixed times for work and creative output. 

The 4 hour work day is a good model to build upon. 

We can dive more into how to structure work times when we discuss deep work. Until then, consider 2-3 periods of intentional working time. 

You will be surprised with just how much you can build when your priorities are set clear and you commit to 1-4 hours of focused work each day. 

Work more than this if you want, but know that productivity levels drop dramatically after 90 minutes without a break.

Brick by brick, you’ll build your fortress. Again, what matters is working intensely enough that you are stimulated and fulfilled, yet not too much that you can not sustain this daily. 

Consistency… once again.

Set fixed social/ family times 

Too many people focus so much on making a living that they forget how to live life. 

Some of us are so poor, all we have is money. 

Maybe you’re not into socialising and you prefer to hermit life. 

If that works for you, great. 

However if you understand the importance of network, meaningful relationships and experiences shared with others, then you will benefit from scheduling time for this. 

Give yourself a few hours of the day to be social and open to others. 

This is a good way for you to decompress after a day’s grind, it also helps you in articulating your thoughts, getting feedback and refining your ideas. 

There’s nothing you think that you do not wish to say at some point. 

Ideas are best refined through writing or speaking with others. 

One perspective is dangerous. 

Expose your perspectives and ideas to other people through discussion. This will make them better and more accurate. 

Aside from the intellectual and business stuff, have fun. 

Dance, get out in nature, explore, celebrate, and nourish the connections within your family and network. 

Valuable time and experiences shared with others nourishes the heart on a metaphysical level. This can give you even better insight and inspiration for your work and purposeful pursuits.

In the end, most of us will wish that we did more of this. 

Set fixed leisure times (if any)

Entertainment is a slippery slope, but it’s not all bad. 

If you can honestly say that you do not have a tendency to get addicted to entertainment (games, tv shows, Netflix, movies, YouTube videos, etc) then set time within your day for such activities. 

In the case where you really can’t control yourself and have trouble finding the mystical balance everyone is looking for, reduce or eliminate entertainment completely. 

Maybe you’ve got better things to focus on. 

Perhaps you’re more attracted to leisure activities like reading, journalling, meditating, practicing archery, getting in the sauna, taking a hot bath or going for a walk. 

I do a lot of indoor bouldering (climbing). This triples down as a way to build physical strength, work my mind through solving problems and spending time with cool people I either do or do not know. 

Many domains fulfilled through one activity. 

Do what works for you, whilst remaining honest with yourself about what’s working and what isn’t. 

Self Management & Accountability

It’s so much easier to get up in the morning when something or somebody is holding you accountable.

For me, I know that if I have a yoga class to teach, an appointment to get to or a client call early in the morning, there’s no doubt I’ll be up and ready to roll. 

This is an aspect of human nature that we tend to overlook. 

Submission, authority, hierarchy. We need to acknowledge the importance of these in our lives. 

If you’re working a job, you’re up on time and ready for work when you’re told to be because an authority figure has ordered you to do so. 

If you fail to do so, there will be consequences. 

Whether it’s your boss, or the system you yourself have created consisting of client calls, meetings, or something else that involves another person, you’re unlikely to be late or absent. 

Instead of rejecting the notions of hierarchy and authority, leverage them! 

How can we best do that? 

Have something planned, where others depend on us, relatively early in the day. 

Maybe this means arranging with a friend to train in the gym together. 

Or like I said earlier, booking in your client calls, check-ins or 1:1 sessions relatively early in the morning. 

Observe how responsibility and accountability appear in your life and notice just how punctual you are when that’s the case. 

Without external accountability you have to rely on that which is internal. 

Victor Frankl comes to mind: 

| “With a strong enough why, you can overcome any how”

What is your why for getting up in the morning? 

If you don’t have a why that is compelling enough to fire you up, then ponder on this. It’s definitely worth contemplating your reason for getting up in the morning, whether or not somebody else is telling you to do so. 

Remember, we thrive when we dance with the natural rhythm.

With all of this considered, you’ll surely show up better than ever. 

By now you should have filled out the majority of your schedule for the day/week. 

Of course, you probably haven’t taken action on anything you have read so far. 

After you’re finished reading this letter, promise yourself and me that you will review the section on Daily Schedule and take action. 

Actionable steps: 

• Create your daily schedule (you will adapt this over time and trial)
• Clarify your why so you have a reason to rise when others would rather stay in bed

Dedicate to adhering to the schedule with more and more discipline as the days go by. 

Identify your weak points, adapt and work on them. 

In time you’ll have a schedule that works wonders for you, and you’ll no longer be confused about what you should be doing with your time. 

David Goggins, a true badass on Earth said that what gets him up every morning is knowing that others aren’t doing it. 

Most people want to stay comfortable, clutching to the warm blanket or giving in to excuses.

Know that when you want to choose short term pleasure, other people are doing the same, compete with the idea of them. 

This kind of competition is good and will set you apart from the mediocre majority.

If you want to do great things with your life, you can’t be mediocre.

Note: you can use google calendar to make your schedule, put the app on the home screen of your phone and/or, draw this all out on a sheet of paper and put it somewhere you can see it regularly and easily. Remember, keep it simple. 

Deep Work 

I know… It’s hard to make any progress when there’s so much distraction in the world. 

The human attention span is shortening by the day. TikTok, social media and the overstimulation that comes with refined sugar, alcohol, drugs, smoking, vaping and various other forms of short term pleasure are enemies to our productivity and therefore, life fulfilment 

The practice of deep work is the solution to this problem and here’s how to get into a deep work flow.

Set A Clear Objective 

First, you must define a clear objective, a measurable and specific outcome that you wish to attain. It is best for this to be a small milestone that marks progress towards a longer term goal. 

Like writing a chapter of a book for example, filming a video, creating infographics that are dense in knowledge, whatever it is that marks progress towards your goal or maintains your pursuit. 

For so long, one of the struggles I have faced regarding productivity that very few speak about is knowing what to actually focus on. 

Most people assume you already know what to do, that you’re clear on what to work on, and that the main issue is productivity. 

Yet, how can you productive, if you don’t even know what you should be doing? 

You have to know what you’re actually going to work on in order to start working right? 

This sounds simplistic and obvious, but it’s a common roadblock many of us face, especially when embarking on a journey that leads us beyond of comfort zone. 

Figure out what you’re going to create, get clear on the project at hand. 

Study, ask questions, learn about the pieces of the puzzle you’re going to put together. 

This can be a task in itself, one I have found very uncomfortable due to the sense of uncertainty it comes with. 

I can assure you, the uncertainty soon turns into clarity. 

Trust the process, get clear on what piece of the puzzle is an absolute priority, if it’s going to take reaching several milestones in order to reach completion, make each of those milestones a clear objective for you to focus on during your deep work periods. 

An example of this for me was launching this newsletter. 

The goal of creating an engaged, loyal audience I can serve breaks down into various steps, one of those being the creation of this newsletter.

The Mastery Letter is a way for me to build an audience I have access to, where I can share insightful ideas and information with a unique twist, on the topics of well-being, spiritually, human potential and life purpose. 

A crucial priority step in making that come to life was creating the website, designing the landing page, automating certain introductory emails (and writing them), and polishing up the aesthetics so it’s simple for people like yourself to sign up. 

With that being said, just some weeks ago before writing this, my deep work, clear objective was to create the website and set up the registration process for The Mastery Letter. 

I used other peoples websites for inspiration so I wasn’t shooting in the dark and trying to reinvent the wheel. 

Whatever it is you want to do, someone has most likely already done it. 

Model their work, break it down into clear steps (write these down), put your own unique twist to it and you’ll be able to do the same for yourself. 

A Defined Time Window 

When doing deep work, the flow state is essential. 

This is where our best ideas come through inspiration and fleeting moments of insight. 

In order to get into the flow state, it serves to have a clearly defined time window where work is the priority and distractions are shielded from. 

Start with a 15 minute timer if your focus and attention span need a lot of improvement. 

Progressively overload just like you would in the gym when increasing the weight over time, by lengthening the period of deep, focused work to 20, 30, 45, 60 and eventually 90 minutes. 

90 minutes has been shown to be the maximum a human being can output at a consistently high standard in one straight run. 

Take a break, see to the other aspects of your daily schedule and return for another period of deep work. 

Remember, it’s ok to start small, something is far better than nothing and done is better than perfect. We’re building habits here. Habits come first through consistency, not intensity. (Is this starting to sound repetitive? Good!)

Start with 1-3, 15 minute periods of deep work for example. 

Increase gradually and watch the results form before you. 

Shield From Distraction

Checking your phone, answering a call, or engaging in conversation whilst you attempt to enter a deep work flow is like trying to light water on fire. 

It’s just not going to work. 

Just checking the phone and opening a single notification is enough to break your flow and cause you to spend around 15 minutes to get back into the groove. 

Why would you do that to yourself? 

Does your work, and what your work is leading you towards long term not deserve better? 

Whatever it is that distracts you, identify it clearly and quickly. 

If it’s your phone, put it out of sight whilst you work. Once your eyes see it, you’re tempted and there’s now a fight for your attention. 

If it’s certain people, your mother, your significant other, your children, situate yourself in a private and secluded space where you will not be interrupted. 

I would even suggest putting a sign on the door saying ‘’Do not knock unless it is an absolute emergency’’. 

This might sound extreme, but I’ve honestly had to use measures like these, to ensure that I will not be distracted and split in my attention. 

Simply responding to my mother with the word ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is enough to completely break my flow. 

You might feel rude for ignoring people, but you have to learn to respect your boundaries and what you’re building, otherwise you won’t make any real progress and you won’t have anyone else to blame but yourself. 

Boundaries are essential in life. 

Boundaries with food, with people and with devices.

Get good at setting boundaries, communicate respectfully if they are overstepped, and if they are continually disrespected, situate yourself in a place where the odds of disruption are extremely low to zero. 

Write the sign, stick it on the door. 

No interruptions unless somebody is dying. 

Intentional spaces

Feng Sui is an interesting science. 

It’s not about creating a comfy environment like most might think. 

In fact, it’s about creating an environment that facilitates the intent given to that space. 

For example, it is Feng Sui friendly to create a not so comfortable environment that is cool in temperature, brightly lit and with little sitting area, if you wish to use that space for focused deep work. 

The cool temperature and little seating, brighter lights and cooler colour tones all keep you awake and prevent you from getting too comfortable to procrastinate or self medicate.

Set a space for writing

Create a space that invites physical training or meditation 

Whatever it is you want to be doing, make the environment one of ‘’low resistance’’. You want things to be as easy to show up for as possible. 

This speaks for the example of putting your gym gear out ready the night before and placing it somewhere easy to see and access (not tucked away out of sight), so the excuses are less likely to win in the morning. 

Set Deadlines

If you’re anything like me (and millions of other people) you probably left studying for your exams in school until the last couple of days or hours.

Deadlines hold us accountable, real deadlines, and just as we experienced this in school, we can create them for ourselves. 

Consider what it is you would like to have created or finished by the end of the week. 

That is your weekly deadline, you can go further with this by setting a deadline for a larger milestone further in the future, then deconstructing that milestone into smaller chunks and giving monthly or weekly deadlines to those too. 

Whatever you do, just set a deadline and make a promise to yourself. 

Make the promise specific and measurable. 

For example, filming and uploading a video by the end of the week. 

Or like me right now, getting this entry of The Mastery Letter out by Thursday, leaving space for polishing and publishing by Saturday. 

Open ended goals are very hard to achieve, for if there is no urgency, there is no accountability. 

Set deadlines and stick to them, you will get better at doing this over time and repetition. 

Your confidence will go up when you produce what you actually intended to produce. Your creative output will increase, and you’ll learn to create a system that takes you through this process, setting new milestones and deadlines before you know it. 

In doing this, it’ll be near impossible for what you’re building not to grow. 

Procrastination, Avoidance & Unconscious Fears

Sometimes our lack of productivity is coming from a deeper place. 

Willpower and strategic action play a massive role in taking action in the directions that are most important. 

However, nobody gets out of life without some mental or emotional scars. 

These scars create what can be called an upper limit or glass ceiling on our potential. Self sabotage refers to all of the ways in which we stop ourselves from making progress, due to unconscious fears and self limiting beliefs we hold within our subconscious programming. 

This can get a little deep, so I will dive much deeper into the topic of subconscious programming and reprogramming in another Mastery Letter. 

Yet, I still want to share something valuable and insightful regarding the truth of procrastination. 

Here’s some perspective that might shed some light on the matter. 

You might struggle with feeling lazy, putting things off until the very last minute, or avoiding important tasks and using less important activities to distract yourself from what’s really your priority. 

The truth is that you are not lazy… You lack self belief, or you doubt yourself.

Sit with this for a moment and consider it when you’re next being lazy. 

Do you avoid going to the gym because you’re lazy? Or is it because deep down you are afraid of failing, looking stupid as you try to figure out what you’re doing, or are you self conscious about how others might perceive you? 

Are you really lazy when you choose Netflix, YouTube or social media over working on that important project of yours, growing your business or studying for a test, or is it that you’re intimidated by the work, afraid and with a distaste for sitting in confusion as you figure things out?

What if you fail? What if you make a fool of yourself? What if it’s really hard and challenging? 

What if it makes you feel really uncomfortable? 

What if your heart rate elevates above a certain level and you find it hard to breathe? 

What if you get bored or struggle to focus as your attention darts between directions?

What if you feel stupid? 

What if you start to feel anxious being without your usual distractions? 

What if you feel incapable and start questioning yourself? 

Maybe you were raised to believe that what’s possible for others is not possible for you…

The next time you’re sitting there being lazy, procrastinating and avoiding what you know you should and want to be doing (ideally), ask yourself the question… why? 

And be deadly honest with yourself. 

Uncover the stories you’re telling yourself, challenge them against the truth. 

Get clear on the unconscious fears that are driving your behaviour, do you really want to continue that way? 

Grieving For The Younger You 

Upper limits and self limiting beliefs are often, if not always rooted in our early life experiences. 

During the first 7 years of our lives the subconscious mind is being programmed, meaning that our beliefs about the world, ourselves, other people, and life are all being established during that sensitive period. 

There’s enough science to validate this. 

As you’ll come to see, I’m not the kind of guy to quote and reference studies. 

I do my own research. I learn through personal experience and self awareness, and so should you. (Well done for being here and reading this far) 

Perhaps you were bullied, abused, or subject to the experience of a great pain during your earlier years. 

This pain (if not addressed properly) will hold you back from fulfilling your potential and doing what you came to Earth to do. 

You will sabotage your own success due to the self limiting beliefs you hold within your subconscious. 

I did this for years with the addiction to weed and an insane level of binge eating. 

Why was I doing it? 

I felt insignificant, like I was never good enough, and that I was a failure who didn’t matter. 

Before I was conscious of what was going on, I didn’t know why I couldn’t stop smoking and eating. 

Awareness is the first step in healing any deep wound. 

You have to take an honest look at yourself and address what has not yet been processed. 

You stored trauma in your body because at the time of experiencing the abuse, bullying or pain, you were unable to process it. 

This trauma will continue to breed addictive and self destructive behaviour patterns that sabotage your productivity and ultimately your life purpose. 

It’s serious shi*

There will be another Mastery Letter on the process of healing trauma from the root so it never holds you back in life again. 

Note that all of this talk about trauma is not to adopt a stance of the victim, but rather to identify your current blocks and take full responsibility for them in the now. 

Nobody else is coming to save you or do the work for you. You have to be the one. 

A crucial part of this process is letting go of the stories you tell yourself about you, others, the world, and life. 

Stories like: 

• I’m not safe
• I’m a failure
• I don’t matter
• I’m invisible
• I’m fat
• I’m ugly
• I’m worthless
• I’m stupid
• I can’t do it
• I’m incapable
• It’s all my fault
• I don’t know 
• I’m not worthy of love
• I’m not good enough

When you really start to look deep within you’ll see just how much impact these stories can have over your life. 

The fact of the matter is however, that if you’re reading this, you’re no longer a 7 year old child. 

You have to grieve the past away and heal the pain that has not been addressed. 

Only then can you truly move forward, fulfilling your potential and creating the life you know you deserve. 

The child version of you can no longer run your life, clutching to comfort, running away from responsibility and overly-indulging in the short-term pleasures of the matrix. 

It’s time to step up to your true purpose and mature into the actualised being you know you came here to be. 

Again, keep an eye on the Mastery Letter for a deep dive on healing trauma and how I was able to do just that, breaking the self destructive patterns of smoking weed far too much and binge eating myself into extreme sickness. 

The same principles will be applicable in your life and will help you in breaking the patterns of procrastination, addiction, avoidance, escapism and whatever else you’re experiencing to be an upper limit on your life. 

To conclude

High level productivity takes far more than the pomodoro technique or some lame app that helps you gamify your time spent doing important things. 

It comes down largely to your physical and mental health, the way you think (consequentially or not), your routines, the ability to structure your day and find enough reason to actually stick to your personal promises… 

It takes finding a reason bigger than yourself to wake up and live for. Something that is truly important and igniting to your heart and soul. 

Develop the ability to enter a deep work flow, one that is void of distraction and full of presence. 

Heal the wounds you’re holding on to, the painful past and feelings of inadequacy that are holding you back. 

You are capable, more than capable in fact, and you will surprise yourself with what you’re able to do when you develop the ethic, systems and willingness to put your nose to the grindstone.

Strive to be great and become a person you truly admire. 

And with that final note, I wish you well. 

Have a great week and stay blessed.

Usman

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