11 Mind Hacks for Taking Massive Action

In his book, Get It Done: The 21-Day Mind Hack System to Double Your Productivity and Finish What You Start, Michael Mackintosh shares the 11 most important mind hacks you need to turn your ideas into action steps.

Then, check out the next blog in the series on the Get It Done 21-Day Challenge to apply the mink hacks to take massive action.

Download the PDF Book Summary for Get It Done

Mind Hack 1 – The Prolonged Pain or the Short-Lived Pain

Pain is inevitable in life, but how we choose to respond to it is up to us. “Will you take the long pain or the short pain?”

• Long Pain: This pain avoids feeling uncomfortable in the moment from the distractions in life, the shirking of responsibility, and settling for less than our potential.
• Short Pain: This pain involves facing challenges as they come to live an authentic, meaningful life filled with happiness, freedom, love, wealth, and fulfillment.

The long pain will be much worse and painful than the short pain. We can drastically reduce the suffering and increase the fulfillment if we are willing to face ourselves and choose the short pain over the long pain.

Mind Hack 2 – The Defining Choice

You can choose to live life the same way you have always done. However, if you are not moving toward your goals and dreams, you probably need to change. Instead, choose different actions to get the results you want.

Ask yourself these questions to help you figure out how committed you are to taking action:

• Do you want to be successful and wealthy?
• Will you take massive action to get massive results?
• Will you remove distractions and stop procrastinating?
• Will you stop doing activities that do not generate results?
• Will you make TODAY the day you start taking massive action?
• Will you commit to being a newer, improved version of yourself?

If you are not feeling up for it, reread the questions above until you feel uncomfortable yet excited to use the 10X Rule, take massive action, and upgrade who you are.

Mind Hack 3 – The 80/20 Rule

Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, found this principle while studying wealth distribution in Italy and the pea pods in his garden:

80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle) – “states that approximately 80% of inputs (causes) lead to a mere 20% of outputs (results) while just 20% of inputs or causes lead to a whopping 80% of results”

In simple terms, the 80/20 rule shows us that only a vital few things matter while most things are trivial and unnecessary. This rule can be applied to pretty much anything, including your work, relationships, nutrition, and finances.

For yourself, about 20% of your actions cause the mostly 80% of results in your life. Thus, focus on expanding the 20% of positive actions while minimizing the other 80% of unnecessary ones.

Mind Hack 4 – Good is Good Enough

Many people get stuck, waste time, or procrastinate trying to achieve perfection. However, perfection is time-consuming and unnecessary. Instead, live by the following mantras to get most of the way to being done:

• “Best is the enemy of good.”
• “Good is good enough.”

Perfection prevents you from being flexible, free, and open to share your work with the world. The key is to understand when you have to make something good and when you need to put in the extra effort to make it great.

When faced with a task, determine what is good enough. In the process, you will get much more done in less time. Also, you will have time for other things, including rest and relaxation.

Download the PDF Book Summary for Get It Done

Mind Hack 5 – The Delusion of Time Management

Many people believe that time is a limited resource that can be managed. However, time management does not work in practice because:

1. Only structured individuals will follow their scheduled plan while creatives won’t use it.
2. It is inefficient to manage everything, as 80% of your workday is highly ineffective.

Since you cannot manage time, all you have is the now. Time is a human concept “invented to describe the movement of objects within space.” Ask yourself, “what are you doing right now that is moving you directly toward achieving your goals?”

Instead of trying to manage time, focus on managing your energy, especially your thoughts, actions, energy, and focus. In the book, The Power of Full Engagement (book summary), the authors state that the key to high performance is to manage the sources of energy: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Last, determine the time of day that you have the most energy and focus on being highly effective.

Mind Hack 6 – The Resistance

“Resistance directly opposes your more noble intentions,” so you need to learn how to deal with this part of yourself to change for the better:

Resistance – the internal opposing force within you that prevents you from improving and taking action; there are seven common signs of resistance:

1. Self-doubt
2. Distraction on meaningless entertainment
3. Wasting time on low-value work
4. Obsession with sex
5. Addictions of any kind
6. Low energy, apathy, and depression
7. Starting new tasks and projects all the time before finishing current things

The resistance in you distorts your perspective, so you need to be aware of your limitations and then work to overcome them. Eventually, you will know yourself well, anticipate the resistance, and have greater power over yourself.

Mind Hack 7 – Fears and Hallucinations

There is often fear underlying the resistance, procrastination, and self-sabotage. Not all fear is bad, specifically rational authentic fear:

Rational Authentic Fears – a healthy, supportive, and necessary reaction to protect yourself from a real threat that you are aware of

However, there are irrational fears are we unconscious of:

Unconscious Irrational Fears – an unhealthy threat that you are unaware of that prevents you from taking action toward your goals

When you identify and accept these fears, you become conscious of what was unconscious:

Conscious Irrational Fears – an unhealthy threat that you become aware of that allows you the choice to change yourself

You need to understand that most of these fears will never happen and exist in your mind. Being conscious of your irrational fears will allow you to accept and overcome your fear to take action and move forward.

Download the PDF Book Summary for Get It Done

Mind Hack 8 – Focus

Many people struggle with getting things done, because they are unable to focus. Many of us become overwhelmed by the many projects and tasks, so you need to step back and determine your priorities. You can overcome distraction using the acronym, FOCUS:

• Follow
• One
• Course
• Until
• Successful

This means to choose to focus on one major project at a time and execute on it to completion before starting another one. You can work on some smaller projects but you need to prioritize “The One Thing” (book summary). When finishing one project at a time, you will build up your ability to focus from one to the next.

Mind Hack 9 – How to Overcome Self-Doubt

Your own self can prevent and sabotage you from even starting:

Self-doubt – the lack of confidence in oneself and one’s abilities

Self-doubt holds us back by telling us that we should not try, are not good enough, or will fail. Instead, we can overcome our own self-doubt and worry about what other people think about us if we have compassion for others:

Compassion – the concern that “arises when you open your heart to the pain of others and realize they need your help”

Many people are struggling around you and are focus on their own issues. They are looking for someone to reach out, help, and empower them. If you take the leap, they will be grateful, and you will be better off for it.

Mind Hack 10 – Do It Now

Every day, month, and year of your life flies by. And the world is changing so fast, that it is tough to keep up. You will get older, and your body will age and struggle to keep up.

You may be young and healthy now, but nothing in life, including living, is guaranteed. Before you know, your “life” will end, and the world will keep turning. When you are on your deathbed, how will you feel about the way you lived your life:

• Did you enjoy being alive?
• Did you share your gifts and make a difference?
• Did you love and receive love?

Remember, your life is precious, and you need to make it count, amazing, and enjoyable! You need to determine what is essential and take action on it now. To learn more about figuring out the essential, check out Essentialism (book summary).

Mind Hack 11 – Do Less Work to Get More Done

When you work constantly, you will eventually crash and burn out by getting ill, depressed, or injured. You may also neglect the important people or things in your life. However, you need to enjoy your life, relationships, and experiences.

Breaks are important and allow you to rest and recharge. They also may provide you space to think or gain a different perspective for your work. Last, breaks give you time to reflect and be grateful for what you have in life. There are several ways to take effective breaks, including:

• Pomodoro: Take a 5-minute break for every 25 minutes of work.
• Daily: Take a one- to two-hour break in the middle or end of the workday.
• Weekly: Take an entire one or two days off every week.
• Project: Take a few days off after completing a major project to celebrate and get ready for the next one.

Download the PDF Book Summary for Get It Done

Next Steps

After learning the 11 essential mind hacks, you must now put them into practice. Everything you learn should be focused on helping you take action toward your goals. For more, check out the author’s website or buy the book here, which was published by TCK Publishing.

The next blog post in this series shows you how to apply the 11 mind hacks to achieve results both personally and professionally. You will be introduced to the Get It Done 21-Day Challenge to help you take massive action in 21 days or less. Check out these productivity quotes for more inspiration and motivation.