learning-productivity

Learning Productivity Keeps Me Out of the Hospital

One day, about 6 years ago, someone called an ambulance on me. I was visiting the doctor’s office with my wife. She was getting a checkup related to the pregnancy of our 7th(!) child. This is what was going on in my life at the time: I did not have steady income. I was trying…

3 min read

One day, about 6 years ago, someone called an ambulance on me.

I was visiting the doctor’s office with my wife. She was getting a checkup related to the pregnancy of our 7th(!) child.

This is what was going on in my life at the time:

  • I did not have steady income. I was trying to make ends meet. I also didn’t know how to properly manage my time, so I was responding to the most urgent thing at the moment.
  • I had just begun using a new web development software, and I was out of my league. I did not want any of my colleagues to know I was struggling in this area. I was afraid of what people would think of me.
  • I was dealing with destructive behavior in my life. And overnight, I found that the systems I had put in place to keep me on a healthy path just stopped working for me.
  • And I was dealing with the situation of being in a tax status that the government didn’t recognize. I could not afford an accountant. but I needed one urgently.

So I’m standing outside the doctor’s office. Then the phone rang. It was a car towing company claiming I owed them money for a recent tow. I nodded my head in agreement and confirmed with the secretary on the other end of the line said.

I didn’t know how I would pay for the tow, but I pretended everything was cool. But the stress inside me was too much, and right then my legs gave way and I collapsed on the floor. In public.

A woman from the nearby doctor’s office called an ambulance. Soon I was being wheeled away on a stretcher.

At that moment, I created a picture in my mind. I saw myself on that stretcher, as if I was looking at a photograph of that moment. And I decided, this is not what I want my life to look like.

But what did I have that could change what I was going through? How could I make it so that this would never happen again?

There is one thing that God gave me to deal with this – time. And it’s something we all get to have, in the same amount.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” – Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring (by J.R.R. Tolkien)

In the coming season, after my ambulance ride, I sought to make better and better use of my time. To be more productive.

This took me on a journey, reading productivity books, trying out different kinds of software. And over time this journey led me to the person who today is my virtual mentor. Michael Hyatt.

This dude taught me how to be a better steward of my time. How to be more productive.

Here are some ways my life is different as a result:

  • I wake up every day at 5 AM and exercise and pray for 1 hour.
  • I work in focused blocks of time that help me get more work done in a day. I avoid distractions and other negative behavior.
  • I’m not distracted by side projects – I focus only on the work that needs to be done at the time.
  • I know how to say “no” gracefully.

Michael Hyatt wants to help you be your most productive self. Right now he’s offering a free Productivity Assessment for a limited time.

I encourage you to take him up on his offer. It only takes a few minutes, and the results can be life-changing.

Click here to take the free Productivity Assessment and find out how your time is being spent.

My productivity score is 76 – I’m a “Circumstance Surfer”. What’s your score? Take the assessment now to find out. Email me your results to adam@adamleerosenfeld.com and I’ll send you my life strategy ebook, The HighRoad blueprint, for free 😉

Here’s to another year of no ambulance rides.