DAILY FLOW (Project List + Daily Flow)

If you don’t run the business, the business will run you. - Simon Severino

Since business owners are time-poor, most entrepreneurs need all the help they can get to maximize it.

They need to use the time to their advantage to get optimal results and achieve their freedom.

With these 3 elements in place, they can regain freedom in just 10 minutes per day.

1. The Project List. This is a list of all your projects around your life and business which include the end date and their definition of “done.”

2. The Daily Flow. This is a set of actions you need to do daily to support the completion of your projects.

3. The Protection Systems. This is a support system you put in place to protect your focus and productivity. The goal is to complete your important priorities first before anything else.

For business, productivity growth is important. It's because providing more services to clients translates to higher profits.

As productivity increases, a business can turn their existing resources into revenues and keep profits to grow and scale. It actually leads to your competitive advantage against your competitors.

Because you have optimal productivity, you can get things done in less time. And this gives you more resources to utilize to help achieve the freedom you wanted.

It is an important aspect to consider because it dictates the speed of growth of your business. And as entrepreneurs, we all want to reach freedom as soon as possible.

And it can be achieved by being productive the smart way.

That’s why I want to share with you three things that helped me run my successful global business and regain my time freedom.

For me, this is the most important achievement as an entrepreneur.

And there are two reasons why entrepreneurs want to achieve time freedom.

#1. That’s because time is limited.

We all have 24 hours every single day -- nothing more, nothing less. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. 

We can never turn it back.

That’s why we have to use it well. And make each second count to make our life and business success. 

#2. The reason why we started a business is that we want to create more freedom, more impact, more wealth.

We want those for ourselves and for everybody around us.

We all want to be free.

There are different forms and definitions of freedom from person to person.

But in the end, it all boils down to this -- happiness.

Freedom is a form of happiness that we define based on what we want.

And our business is our medium for us to make it happen.

And to do that, I will share three things that help me maximize the day for productivity in less than 10 minutes every day.

I have developed them for over 18 years but I will share them in 10 minutes. 

There are three things you need for maximized productivity:

• The Project List 
• The Daily Flow
• The Protection Systems

Now let’s go to Project List.

This strategy is something I learned from David Allen from the “Getting Things Done” (GTD) Method. He was featured many times in our podcast and we dissected a lot of it. 

Project List in GTD means that you stop complicating your life with different flows, processes, and timelines. You just make a list of your main projects. 

In my case, it’s always around 10-15 projects. 

Right now, it’s 11 projects. It’s only the top things. 

#1. I will write and finish a book draft by Christmas.

I did not write the details but I have exactly formulated it. Every project has an end date and a definition of “done”. 

According to Scrum.org, a definition of done (DoD) is a shared understanding of expectations that the current sprint (or increment) must meet in order to be released to users.

This means that the parties involved agreed on just one definition or criteria that a project is considered complete. It’s not a one-way street. It needs to be mutually agreed upon to make a valid conviction that a certain project is done. 

For example, the book draft will be ready by 21 December. How will I know that it is ready? It should be 12 chapters in total. All 12 chapters were tested, edited, and published. 

#2. CEO out of sales. 

The previous project was to get me as the CEO out of fulfillment which materialized last January. And to take my business a notch higher, I need to level up the project to fulfill the goal.

Now, I am working on getting out of sales. 

When will I know it is done?  It is very clear when I do less or zero sales per week and the team does it exclusively. 

#3. Joint Venture with Google. 

#4. Joint Venture with Law Firm.

#5. Federico Swim Practice. 

#6. Alessandro Music Practice.

As you can see, my times with my kids are also part of my project list.

You might be saying…

“Simon, this is a personal project and is not in any way related to the business. Why did you include it in your Project List?”

This is something I learned from David Allen. 

“You don’t have to separate your business and your life. It's just one thing. It is really powerful when you’re undividedly centered into one thing.”

Complexity is the enemy of clarity. 

That’s why simplicity is important to achieve the clarity and focus you need to achieve maximized productivity. 

#7. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) 

This is the indicator that shows how happy our clients are with us. 

Currently, our NPS is 64. I want to get it to 84. As you can see, it is very clear and specific when we will reach that goal. 

NPS is all about improving our main product. This is the 90-Day Consulting that Doubles the Revenue of Businesses in 90 Days. Our score at the moment is at 64% and we want it to increase to 84 soon. 

Then, once this is achieved, we can tick this off our list. 

It is important to check the project off after when they are done to celebrate a significant milestone in our business. 

#8. TED TALK is delivered. 

#9. The Sales Team has improved. 

#10. I will hire an editor. 

#11. I will hire more Sprint coaches. 

It is very clear.

It is 11 projects right now. Usually, it’ll be around 10 and 50. 

That is a good range to have because it is very clear where you’re going. 

And that’s The Project List.

In every project, there is only one next action. 

There is no milestone. 

There is no interdependency analysis.

There is no risk analysis.

As you can see, not even a budget. 

But the truth is, there is a budget in place. I just didn’t place it there as it would be a distraction. 

In this list, you just want to know when the project starts and when it ends -- the project definition of done.  

You could just write the title like what you see here, so you’ll know and you can tell what the definition of “done” is in the deadline. 

Now the deadline is also translated into our team project. 

Our team does this in Asana. They already know the deadline and the “done” definition. 

So, this is a sample of a simple project list. 

I just review it daily spending 5 minutes. Then, I move to the next action required to accomplish the top priorities in my business.

Now. we'll go to The Daily Flow - the second tool.

This is on my Ipad right now. 

This shows what my week looks like. 

It includes a list of what I need to do and what are the priorities of the week. 

As you can see, my priorities for the week are: 

• Deliver the book chapter.
• Do well with the JV with Google.
• Publish the TED Talk.

Now we go to the actions needed for the week. This answers the question...

Which activities will I put in to make the top 3 priorities happen? 

This is really important and this is why people like Nir Ayal, who wrote the book “Indistractable”, discussed in his book. 

He said... 

“Forget the to-do list. It is much important how much you put in the work because a to-do is just dreaming that something happens. But you have to put in the work and the work is on your calendar.”

This is where I put the hard landscape into my daily flow. 

For example, in the morning I’ll go running.

Then, I’ll have breakfast with my family.

Then, I will write the hiring page.

After that, I will write the FAQ.

Then, I will write a chapter for my book. 

Then at 10:30 AM, we’ll have a Marketing Team meeting, etc. 

As you can see, until 6 pm is when I’ll cook for my family.  

I also have time for my two exercises - one is for endurance and the other is for weights. 

The day has a flow. 

So it is a good flow for me because there is enough space for happiness, which is my family. There is enough movement - that is two exercises. There is enough movement for the business to go forward - that is the top 3 tasks. 

For me, that is a balanced day. 

That is the Sprinter day.

Then, at the end of the day, I have two reflective questions:

(1) Which of today’s activities could be done by somebody else even better?

This is really important. In the reflection, try to analyze and study what happened throughout the day. Identify the areas in your business you think could be delegated to someone who can get the job done more efficiently than you.

In my case, I felt marketing and admin tasks. 

This is an important exercise to do every day. 

Go over your day and say…

“Which of these tasks could I delegate or systemize?”  

Let’s move on to the second question…

(2) If I live more freely and intentionally, what would I do? 

Answering this is like describing your ideal scenario. It’s like doing the things you want to do without any limitations or boundaries. 

It’s the desired outcome of the actions you did, does and will be doing on your business.

Here’s an example:

“I could manage and grow my pipeline from the beach because the business is systemized. I could scale my business anywhere. Now, I can choose the temperature and the humidity of the country I am in. I am free now. I’m not stuck in one place anymore. 

Now, you have your flow. 

There is a third system that I used: The Protection Systems. 

As a business owner, you have to protect your time.

But the thing is, sometimes, not everything goes as planned. There are some slight hiccups or delays.

Sometimes, life happens and it brings you out of your plan.

These are random things that pop in. For things like these, I’II put them in a place where I can park it to check for later. 

I will not let those things distract me. I will park it there. 

I will handle it accordingly and it’s my decision to do so -- at the right time.

It might be tonight in the evening. It might be tomorrow morning. 

The bottom line is, I’ll get a place and time for it to be handled. I will also tell the people involved when I am going to deal with it, so it will not destroy the flow of my day. 

It’s protecting your sanity and your zone of genius.

So how can you protect your genius? 

For example, you open your browser because you are researching something. You are Googling something but then, you go AHA! 

You go from one page to another which brings you to many infinity pools.

Infinity pools are things that get you in the rabbit hole of spending more time than you allotted, leaving your focus on the table.

My infinity pool is Instagram. For example, I’m just researching somebody’s current role and position.

Since he is a guest from my podcast, I checked his feed and led me to other unrelated topics.

I see something about yoga and it interests me.

Then, I view something else related to crossfit and endurance. 

Then I was lost. 

I lost 10, 15, and 20 minutes of the day and did not move on to my top 3. 

So this is why I have some support system. 

One of these is an app called Momentum. 

Momentum is a Google Chrome extension that replaces a new tab page with a personal dashboard featuring to-do, weather, and inspiration.

Every time I open the browser, there is just a nice picture which includes a link to my top 3 priorities. 

In this case, they are in Asana. I told you my team and I have tasks in Asana so our top 3 priorities are mirrored there. 

My first protection system is the Momentum app which I really like because I get easily distracted when browsing. Before I jump to Instagram, this serves as a reminder that I only need to find one thing that moves the needle for one of three priorities. 

The second thing I do to protect my productivity and time is to block all emails. 

I used Gmail. 

Before 12 o’clock I won’t access my Inbox. This is on purpose. Because as you have seen in the flow of my day, I don’t want to be disturbed before 12 o’clock. 

You want to move the top 3 things forward first. Remember, I have these top 3 things. Before 12 o’clock, I am done with all of these things. 

In fact, I am usually done before 10:30 am.

In order to protect that, there is an inbox blocker which is called Gmail Blocker.

It says “Postinteingang ist gesperrrt” which means your inbox is blocked. It will be unblocked later at 12 o’clock which is what I designed it to be. 

The app is so simple and easy to use. 

I only have three folders in my inbox.  1) ACTION, 2) Action support, and 3) Templates. 

It is very simple and it will be unblocked at 12 o’clock and not before that. Why? Before 12 o'clock, I want to get the top three things done here. 

These three things helped me really move forward. 

My Ipad, Iphones, and also my Macbook’s notifications are all off all the time. 

This is because I decide when I give attention to which thing.

The only thing that I really check is Slack because it is our communication channel for our team and our clients. We have direct and close loops there. 

To achieve maximized productivity, you need the three things:

First is the GTD Project List. It is really important. They are the top 10-15 projects that you are working on right now. In it, you will also see the definition of “done” and when is the deadline.

Then going to your day, you have your project which requires actions which you need to do. 

Second, do the next actions. This is the main learning in GTD method from David Allen. Just focus only on the next action. No milestones. No interdependence analysis. No risk analysis. Just the next action. 

The next action of the day is to move these 15 projects forward by completing the top 3 priorities of the week. Then, try to do the most important thing in the morning and protect your focus hours.

How can you protect yourself? 

Third, use powerful apps and systems to help you organize and systematize your business. 

You can use apps like Momentum, Gmail Blocker, or Asana. You can link your top 3 priorities in your chosen apps. 

Then, shut off the notifications and decide with intention when you are going to do emails. Emails are big distractions because you are usually moving forward with other people’s priorities and not creating anything for you or your business at the time. 

Productivity is all about creating while maximizing your resources to give you the optimal results. 

Results which will get you closer to your freedom.