I'm a Productivity Coach - Here's the Mental Hack I Give to All My Clients

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Productivity is a scam.

Okay, maybe not entirely a scam, but it’s definitely been hijacked by self-help gurus, Instagram influencers, and tech bros who want to sell you their $2,000 online course on “unlocking your potential.”

Your potential doesn’t need unlocking. It needs a kick in the ass.

I’ve got news for you: most productivity advice is mental masturbation — feel-good content that gives you a temporary high but leaves you exactly where you started.

After working with hundreds of clients who were drowning in productivity p*rn (you know, those YouTube videos promising to make you the next Elon Musk), I’ve realized something fundamental.

The problem isn’t that you don’t know enough productivity hacks. The problem is that you know too many of them, and they’re all competing for space in your overwhelmed brain.

What I’m about to share isn’t revolutionary. It won’t make you a millionaire overnight or turn you into some productivity deity.

But it will help you get your shit together in a way that actually sticks.

Because contrary to what the internet productivity industrial complex wants you to believe, crushing your goals isn’t about adding more complexity — it’s about stripping away the bullshit and focusing on what actually moves the needle.

So buckle up, because we’re about to cut through the crap and get to what really works.

Fair warning: if you’re looking for gentle encouragement and motivational quotes you can put on your Instagram, you might want to stop reading now

Implement the Matrix

No, I’m not talking about downloading kung fu into your brain like Neo. I’m talking about separating shit that matters from shit that doesn’t.

Here’s the mind-fuck about productivity that nobody talks about: it’s not about doing more things — it’s about doing fewer things but doing them really fucking well.

This is where the Matrix comes in.

Picture a simple grid with four quadrants. On one axis, you’ve got “Important” versus “Not Important.” Conversely, you’ve got “Urgent” versus “Not Urgent.”

Congratulations, you’ve just created your bullshit filter

The real game-changer? Living in Quadrant 2: Important but Not Urgent.

This is where you plan your escape from your soul-crushing job, where you build that side hustle, where you finally write that book about your weird obsession with medieval cheese-making techniques.

Whatever floats your boat.

Here’s your homework: Take every single task you need to do this week and throw it into one of these quadrants.

Be brutally honest. If scrolling through Instagram for “market research” lands in your Important quadrant, you’re lying to yourself.

The goal isn’t to organize your tasks — it’s to eliminate the ones that don’t deserve your precious fucks.

Time-Blocking = Work Locking

Your calendar is like your underwear — if you don’t control what goes in it, you’re going to have a shitty day.

Time-blocking is simply this: deliberately assigning specific chunks of time to specific tasks. Revolutionary, right? Not really.

But most people are absolute garbage at it because they treat their calendars like a suggestion rather than a commitment.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you’re constantly available, you’re constantly interruptible.

And if you’re constantly interruptible, you’re never going to do anything meaningful with your life.

• Block out 90-minute chunks for deep work.

• Turn off notifications.

• Tell your coworkers you’re busy.

• Hide in a closet if you have to.

The world won’t end if you’re unreachable for an hour.

The magic happens when you treat these blocks as non-negotiable appointments with yourself.

Would you randomly skip a doctor’s appointment to scroll through Twitter?

No?

Then don’t do it with your most important work either.

Time-blocking isn’t about micromanaging every minute — it’s about creating sacred space for the work that actually deserves your attention.

Create a To-Do List + Spreadsheet

Your brain is a shitty filing cabinet. It’s designed to come up with ideas, not store them. So stop pretending you’ll remember everything and externalize that mental clutter.

But here’s where most people get it wrong. They create endless to-do lists that become monuments to their failure — shrines of shit they’ll never complete.

Your to-do list should be ruthlessly curated, not an aspirational fantasy of your superhuman alter ego.

Enter the spreadsheet — the unsexy but effective backbone of getting shit done.

Create columns for task, priority (use your Matrix), deadline, and most importantly, why it matters. If you can’t articulate why a task deserves your precious time, it probably doesn’t.

Review this system daily. Be merciless about what stays and what goes.

Remember that saying no to tasks means saying yes to your sanity and your actual priorities.

Your to-do system should be a tool that serves you, not an obligation that crushes you.

Keep it simple, keep it focused, and for fuck’s sake, keep it realistic.

F*ck Procrastination

Procrastination isn’t about laziness. It’s about emotions. Specifically, it’s about avoiding negative emotions that come with difficult tasks.

Understanding this is like finding the cheat code in your brain.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: you don’t procrastinate because you suck at managing time — you procrastinate because you suck at managing feelings.

That report you’re avoiding? It’s not because you don’t have time. It’s because it makes you feel incompetent or bored or anxious.

The solution isn’t another productivity app or a fancy Pomodoro timer. It’s developing emotional resilience.

Next time you catch yourself avoiding something important, ask: “What feeling am I trying to avoid right now?” Then do the task anyway, uncomfortable feeling and all.

Stop waiting for motivation to magically appear like some productivity fairy godmother. Motivation follows action, not the other way around.

The simple (but not easy) hack is this: commit to just five minutes of the dreaded task. Your brain’s resistance will often dissolve once you start.

Remember: procrastination is a habit, not a character flaw. And like any habit, you can replace it with something better.

So stop beating yourself up and start showing up — even when it feels like emotional sandpaper.

The Point

Productivity isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters.

All the planners, apps, and hacks in the world won’t save you if you’re focused on the wrong things.

Just give fewer fucks.

Stop obsessing over perfection. Stop trying to “hustle” your way to happiness. Stop letting guilt and shame dictate your days.

Success isn’t about grinding yourself into the ground — it’s about choosing what’s important and letting the rest go.

That’s it. That’s the secret.

All the best.

P.S. My emails are free, and I pour everything I’ve got into them. But if you’re done screwing around and want real, 1-on-1 help to fix your life, reply to this email. Let’s do this.