Turn Up The Volume

Getting things done more quickly is an insurance plan against inaction.

Try doing things faster. Much faster.

Yes, quality trumps speed. But speed trumps inaction.

Sometimes it’s easier to get something done quickly with a few errors and literally just “push” it out than to wait for it to appear in your lap fully formed.

Getting things done more quickly is an insurance plan against inaction.

I have a morning routine that I faithfully execute with very rare exception.

But with so much time before the day officially starts, sometimes I abuse all that free space.

I’m up at 4:45. I go to the bathroom. I’m on the phone. Scroll, scroll, scroll.

I walk into the kitchen and make myself a coffee. Extra black. Sip, sip, sip.

Now it’s time to read. Usually I pick something meaty. Scan, scan, scan.

Writing is next. Sometimes I’ll sit there just staring at the screen. Think, think, think.

There’s nothing wrong with going at your own pace, but it’s nice to purposely pick the pace up sometimes. Try switching things up and see how you perform when things are double speed.

Cut out all the leisurely pauses. Get to business. Focus on purpose.

Ever seen Ronda Rousey enter the ring?

Her eyes are narrowed, shoulders square and pulled back, fists clenched. She marches into the ring. Stomp, stomp, stomp.

Now that’s a woman with purpose.

When you inject more purpose into your activities, it naturally narrows your focus. The distractions on the periphery just fade into the background.

Try thinking of your work like that.

Stuff the ballot box in your favor.

Think Lil’ Wayne circa 2004–2008.

He had a studio on the bus and he was just ripping mixtapes out at a sickening pace. A lot of the songs were good. A lot of them were trash. But for every 100 songs, 5 solid hits would appear.

Did people obsess over the underwhelming tracks? Nah. Everybody forgot about the 95 and focused on the 5.

5 hits is a lot.

Pretend that there’s a studio on your bus. Bring whatever you need to get your work done with you and do your thing on the road.

Turn up the volume.

Kanye said, “Lock yourself in a room doing 5 beats a day for 3 summers.”

Try that.

You’ll probably surprise yourself with your own brilliance.

Daniel DiPiazza is the bestselling author of Rich20Something: Ditch Your Average Job, Start an Epic Business and Score the Life You Want.