Are you productive? 7 steps to progress and productivity

At the start of each of my classes everyone introduces themselves. The say who they work for and their role in the organisation. My class members are also asked to state what they are interested in and how they like to spend their leisure time. This exercise includes me. This often results in the question,

“How do you get so much done?”.

My answer used to be,

“I don’t know I just think about what I have to do and do it?”

To write these articles I get up somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00 am each day. For 18 years I was dairy farming so getting up early is part of my life. There is no intention to hold myself as the epitome of success or the guru of productivity. The question, “How do you get so much done?” has prompted some thought.

I love Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a self-defence system, martial art, and combat sport system that focuses on grappling with emphasis on ground fighting. Brazilian jiu-jitsu was developed from Kodokan judo ground fighting (newaza) fundamentals that were taught by several Japanese individuals including Takeo Yano, Mitsuyo Maeda, Soshihiro Satake, and Isao Okano. Brazilian jiu-jitsu eventually came to be its own defined combat sport through the innovations, practices, and adaptation of judo.

BJJ teaches that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend themself against a bigger, stronger, heavier opponent by using leverage and weight distribution to take the fight to the ground, and then applying joint locks and chokeholds to defeat the opponent.

My son Sam introduced me to this art 10 years. BJJ is considered a martial art, a sport, a method for promoting physical fitness and building character, and a way of life. It is very addictive.

Very patient coaches teach you to embrace the chaos of the fight. On the mat you are fighting or grappling and at any time you can ‘tap’ to signify to your opponent that you submit or wish to stop fighting or as it is known in BJJ ‘rolling’. During the chaos of the roll you are taught first to breathe and try to look for patterns in what you do which initially is a great deal wrong. Overtime you learn how to defend yourself because the coaches constantly review your roll and inform you of the mistakes you repeat.

The backdrop to this review process is a BJJ saying, ‘Leave your ego at the door’ You soon learn to leave your ego behind when a training partner who is 20 or 30 kgs less in weight and possesses less strength submits you within 40 secs of rolling. How do they do that? They embrace the chaos, breathe and use leverage based on pattens of movement. The culture of BJJ includes a great deal of encouragement and support.

The principles of Jiu Jitsu have become part of my life. I have literally had my ego beaten down. I have been forced to tap and say, “I don’t know what to do in this situation?” I have been patiently shown the way through specific chaotic grappling situations. The practice has allowed me to progress to be more mindful in my daily life. Jiu jitsu created an intense passion to do better on the mat. Progress is hard but the joy of improvement is immense. I have been taught that I can adopt and learn any technique if I break it down in to steps and practice over and over. The result is a natural response to situations on the mat.

This is how I get things done. Reading and learning is a passionate part of my life. When I read of the heroic overcoming of obstacles or the success of business women and men I see many similarities with what I have been taught on the Jiu Jitsu mat.

The 7 steps to productivity and passion.

1. Take time to breathe. Learn how to breathe through the chaos. Learn how to control your breathing and most importantly do not hold your breath. This is the common natural response made by new practitioners of Jiu Jitsu. They engage in physical combat and hold their breath. Take time to practice slow and steady breathing.

• Develop a passion for your goal. Create a compelling future result. Picture yourself in the victorious moment. I hear many people say, “Ok I will give this a go” This is sometimes the kiwi understatement but too many times it is half-hearted effort. People ask me for business, life of Jiu Jitsu advice. I offer my best advice and they say, “OK I will try” It’s not about trying it is about doing until you get to the passionate outcome.

• You can acquire any skill or technique if you break it down in to the key steps. Then drill, repeat, and practice

• Find a good coach. A mentor and support person who will tell you the truth.

• Leave your ego at the door.

• Reflect on your errors without self-condemnation.

• Give service and help others. This adds to your passion and reinforces what you have learnt.

 “Everything is trainable. No matter what skill you want to learn, with enough training and practice and intention, you can become more proficient at it. If you don’t believe this, your journey to high performance stops here. Perhaps the three best findings of contemporary research tell us that you can get better at practically anything if you keep a growth mindset (the belief that you can improve with effort), focus on your goals with passion and perseverance, and practice with excellence. When people say, “I can’t,” it’s usually code for “I am unwilling to do the long-term training and conditioning necessary to achieve that.” Remember: Everything is trainable. Those three words changed my life forever.” – Brendon Burchard