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Get It Done by Michael Mackintosh, Book Summary

Introduction: Get It Done: The 21-Day Mind Hack System to Double Your Productivity and Finish What You Start by Michael Mackintosh

TCK Publishing gave me a complimentary e-book copy of Get It Done by Michael Mackintosh to review. I've included my thoughts and a summary of the book here. Anyone who has been reading and following my work for a while knows that I'm honest with my reviews.

A cautionary note: when you read a lot of books on a topic, you start to see the same information being repeated. You remember that old adage, “There is nothing new under the sun.” This book could have been half the length, if the author was less verbose.  There were some really good nuggets and I appreciated it that he mentioned the importance of celebrating your successes and taking breaks.

Some things Michael Mackintosh wrote about in Get It Done, I learned in How to Become an Expert by Maurice Gibbons, which is now out of print. Using the information in How to Become an Expert, I created a Personal Learning Development Plan that I use every year. I mention this here because there are two things I learned from Get It Done, I will add to my Personal Development Plan to improve it.

Now, let's start getting to the meat of the matter. What does it take to become a success? And what does it take for you to realize your true potential and become the best version of you? The author of this Book, Get It Done, intends to show you.

I've read a few productivity books, but it's always a good idea to have another tool or resource in your tool box. Not every system will resonate with you. It's important to find one that you'll stick with. That's one of my roles, and that's to provide my readers and clients with solutions that work for them.

Summary: Get It Done by Michael Mackintosh

Essential Mind Hack 1: Prolonged Pain or Short-Lived Pain

Change brings unfamiliar territory. People like the status quo. If you're feeling stuck, you have to change. Pain is a part of life, and you cannot avoid it forever. How many times have you stayed in an uncomfortable situation because you thought it would be too painful to change? Before you realize it, years have passed. The prolonged pain is about a life not lived fully.

Most people opt for prolonged pain. Here are some of the common ones.

  1. Staying in a toxic relationship.
  2. Using procrastination as a crutch.
  3. Constantly checking your phone and email.
  4. Being passive-aggressive.
  5. Not taking responsibility and blaming others.
  6. Doing busy work.
  7. Wasting time on social media instead of working.

Short-Lived Pain

When you choose the short-lived pain, you do the following.

  1. Live an authentic and meaningful life.
  2. Deal with challenges in life.
  3. Experience long-term energy and good health.
  4. End relationships that go nowhere.

And you experience a life well-lived. Which do you think is better for you, prolonged pain or short-lived pain?

Essential Mind Hack 2: Create a New You

What would a new ‘you' look like? And what do you desire in life? Consciously change. If you want different results, you must do different things. Act. Do the work to become a better version of you. Move beyond the resistance.

Have you read?


Do the Work by Steven Pressfield


Essential Mind Hack 3: The 80/20 Rule

“The 80/20 Rule says that just a few things in life matter a lot, while the rest is essentially pointless and trivial.”

The 80/20 rule means that a few things you do each day (about 20% of your actions) get you 80% of your results and have a significant positive impact on your life overall. In other words, 80 percent of what you do is a waste of time. So, focus on the few things you need to do to get 80 percent of the results. Replicate the 20 percent of activities that give you 80 percent of the results.

How do you figure out the 20 percent of activities that will bring 80 percent of the results?

[The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch, Review]

What types of books have the information that will yield 80 percent of the results? And what kinds of books should I be turning into Bookish Notes that will yield 80 percent of your success?

You can apply the 80/20 Rule to every aspect of your life. This is the key to freedom. Claim back your life by doing the few things that matter.

Essential Mind Hack 4: Good is Good Enough

Perfectionism doesn't exist. The more time you invest in making something perfect, you end up with little improvement. Ship your work, according to Seth Godin. Make improvements based on feedback. Don't stall trying to chase perfection.

Essential Mind Hack 5: The Delusion of Time Management

Are you an Organizer, or a Creative? Organizers arrange schedules in neat boxes. Become efficient in high-value work. Focus on the 20 percent of effective work that matters the most. Michael Mackintosh says that time cannot be managed, you have to stay in-the-moment. Focus on self-management and not time management.

Interestingly enough, in the book, Time Blocking by Luke Seavers, he says that the secret to productivity is not managing your time better. It's managing your focus. Time is a limited resource.

Mackintosh says you need to master the following:

  1. Thoughts.
  2. Emotions.
  3. Words.
  4. Actions.

Part of this means becoming emotionally intelligent.

Have you read?


Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves, Review


Focus on managing your energy, and focus directly on achieving your goals. Is what you're doing moving you directly to achieving your goals? What time of day is your energy highest (morning, afternoon, evening)? Do your most important work then.

Essential Mind Hack 6: Use Resistance to Your Advantage

Learn how to move through the resistance that you'll inevitably face. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is an excellent book to read.

How to Recognize Resistance

  1. Self-doubt.
  2. Distraction on meaningless entertainment.
  3. Addiction.
  4. Focusing on low-value work.
  5. Starting a project without completing another.

You need a method to deal with resistance.

Essential Mind Hack 7: Fears and Hallucinations

When you look at the things that prevent you from realizing your true potential – resistance, procrastination, sabotage – you'll often find fear lurking behind them.

There are essentially three types of fear.

  1. Rational, authentic fears.
  2. Unconscious irrational fears.
  3. Conscious irrational fears.

Rational, authentic fears: These are the things you really should fear. This kind of fear is invaluable because it keeps you safe. And it's important to pay attention to it. 

Unconscious irrational fears: This type of fear is subtle, yet deadly because it prevents us from achieving success. It cripples us, preventing us from acting. According to the author.

Essential Mind Hack 8: Focus – Follow One Course Until Success

Manage your focus. Most people fail to achieve their goals because of a lack of focus. Don't spread yourself too thin by trying to do too many things at once. Multitasking doesn't work. Here's how to stay focused.

Follow

One

Course

Until

Successful

Mind Hack 9: How to Overcome Self-Doubt

Self-doubt can sabotage you before you even get started.  The ego is a big part of this. Keep your ego in check. Quit stalling. People need what you have to offer. Get going and let yourself shine.

Essential Mind Hack 10: Do It Now

Don't wait for tomorrow to act. No one is promised tomorrow. Today could be your last day. Don't worry about what others think. Dive in head first.

Essential Mind Hack 11: Do Less to Get More Done

Take time to rest and recharge. Get enough sleep. Take a day off every week. Celebrate your successes.

The Secret Formula to Make the Impossible Possible

Turn every month into an exciting journey.

Have you read?


Book Review – The 12-Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran 

Book Review The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life


Get It Done: 3 Stages of Unstoppable 21-Day Challenge

  1. Whack
  2. Act
  3. Relax

WAR for short.

Stage 1: Whack – Win before you start. This is the pre-challenge set up.

Stage 2: Act – Doing the unstoppable challenge. Get it done.

Stage 3: Relax! Celebrate, and Renew.

Stage 1: WHACK

First win in your mind. Have a plan in place.

W: What do you want to achieve?

H: How will it happen?

A: Absolute accountability.

C: Conditions and Structures

K: Kick-start.

Stage 2: Act

Act. Get it done. You know what you want to do, so make it happen. You need strength and resolve on the Hero's Journey.

Stage 3: Relax! Celebrate and Renew

Celebrate your successes. Create time to celebrate. Success builds on success.

Start Your 21-Day Challenge

If you had only 21 days left to live, how would you spend that time?

Get It Done: How Do You Plan to Achieve Your Goal to Complete Your One Thing?

Step 1: Where do you want to go?

Step 2: Create your plan.

Step 3: Put things in order.

Step 4: Upgrade your plan.

How can you perform the activity in less time to get the same results? One of the things I've been thinking about is to handle each Bookish Note only once. This means that I'd have to take notes differently. I also need a way to take notes that convert to digital text.I had a digital note-taking pen, but I lost it.

4 Steps to Bulletproof Accountability

  1. Clarify the results or outcome you want to achieve (your vision and plan).
  2. Set up an external influence to hold you accountable for taking those actions and achieving results.
  3. Expose your actions and results to that external influence with complete transparency and integrity.
  4. Pay any consequences of your actions.

Conclusion: Get It Done by Michael Mackintosh

The book, Get It Done by Michael Mackintosh is worth the read. I read it several months ago and am just converting my handwritten notes into the Bookish Note template. Since I read this book, I've read several other books on productivity. As I was going through my notes, I saw connections between this book and others.

The post Get It Done by Michael Mackintosh, Book Summary appeared first on The Invisible Mentor.



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