Get Work Done People - Mark 'Ski' Struczewski - Mister Productivity

When I set out to interview people about their productivity, I decided to set the bar high, contacting people, regardless of location, for whom productivity was a major focus in their life.

Mark Struczewski has been a productivity expert for over a decade. He lives in Houston, Texas, and has worked with numerous small business owners to help them reduce overwhelm and become more productive. His website is misterproductivity.com , so of course, I had to ask him about his own approach to productivity!

How do you maximise and prioritise my tasks to become more efficient?

It all starts with intentionality and goal-setting. I reflect on my overarching goals and priorities and plan my tasks accordingly. I don't just wing it day to day.

I don't believe in completing three tasks a day but in being flexible about the specific number. The ideal number can vary based on the day and my current priorities. The key is focusing on the essential activities that move me towards my goals.

I also batch and schedule similar tasks together. This helps me work more efficiently rather than constantly switching between different types of work. For example, I block off time for focused writing, then another block for meetings/calls, etc.

I delegate or automate where possible by identifying tasks that others can handle so I can focus my time on my highest-leverage activities.

Finally, I review and re-prioritise regularly, daily or weekly, to reflect on my progress, adjust my plans as needed, and ensure I'm still working on the most important things.

The core principles are intentionality, flexibility, efficiency, and continual re-evaluation. With practice, I've developed a personalised system that helps me make the most of my time and energy.

And when you do have a big productivity challenge, and something comes along, how do you overcome it?

I used to get angry and try to push through, but that never worked.

So, if I have a challenge and nothing's working, I will stop and go for a walk, or I'll go out in my backyard and do some reading. My wife bought me a rebounder for our anniversary. I'll go rebound because the worst thing I can do is push a brick wall.

I'll take a break, step back and go, "Oh! There's an opening right there. I can walk around it." Most people are just banging their heads against the wall and not realising that's not productive. And we're all going to have things happen. Life is going to happen. I may be in a podcast interview, the internet cuts out, or my power goes out.

I'll take a walk, chill for five or ten minutes, and see if my brain can figure out a way around the obstacle.

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I'm curious to know what kinds of people typically come to you. And why?

As I said, I'm known as Mister Productivity, but not a single person has ever come to me and said, "I want to be more productive." They come to me and go, "Oh my glory. I am overwhelmed with everything on my to-do list, my calendar, family, friends, neighbours, etc."

So they come to me overwhelmed, and I want people to have a life. One of my best clients was working from sunrise to sunset. They had a disabled, elderly sister they were taking care of. They were in love with their side hustle. And then, they were an executive at a company and were exhausted. What I did for them was help them untangle their 'master ball of yarn' so they could do good work but still have time for their sister. Now they're working 8 AM - 5 PM, and they have time to do their side hustle, and they have time to sit out on the porch and read a book with their significant other.

You mentioned turning off all of those deviant devices. I wonder if that is one of your recommendations—productivity tools, things that you use yourself that help you maintain that focus.

No, I don't turn my devices off. I don't even put them on "Do Not Disturb."

I use an iPhone app called "Focus Mode." Every day from 8 AM until noon, it goes into Focus Mode, so nobody can contact me. Because that is my prime time, mornings are when I create content. I'm DMing people on LinkedIn. That's where I'm focused.

In fact, I just recently changed—about two or three weeks ago—I'm no longer going to do podcast interviews, coaching calls, or anything in the morning. That's when I'm in my prime. I have one to four in the afternoon because I don't want to stop if I'm in the flow state.

But people need to set boundaries. It's called boundaries for a reason. You put boundaries; maybe you need two hours in the morning. So, on my Calendly, everything's blocked out in the morning. I want everybody to use up something other than that time.

I don't use productivity apps like Pomodoro or Toggle. I'm not saying they're bad for people; they don't work for me. What I want is to be focused. Instead, I pay for YouTube Premium, and I love their focus music. People put these 7-8-—to 10-hour videos with soothing background music on there.

I'm not actually watching the videos; I just have soft music playing, like the sound of water flowing, which helps me focus so much. I encourage people to go on YouTube and search for "focus music"—you don't even have to watch the video; you can just listen to it. I'll just keep that tab open, and it really helps me stay focused.

The other thing I do is a "notification cleanse" - I go through all the notifications on my phone, watch, computer, etc. and decide which ones serve me and which are just distracting. I'm not a zero-notifications person; I still keep things like calendar alerts and credit card notifications, but I'm really intentional about managing my notifications.

For example, if I'm trying to build my social media presence, I'll keep my DM notifications on so I know when someone messages me. But I'll turn off other notifications, likes or follows because those aren't as important. It's about customising it for what's most relevant and helpful.

Some people, like Tim Ferriss, keep their phones in aeroplane mode all the time, but I wouldn't do that because I worry about missing important calls, especially in an emergency. Everyone has to figure out what works best for their priorities and needs. But in general, turning off unnecessary notifications is really helpful for staying focused.

How do you delegate stuff and outsource?

I've given a lot of my administrative work to my wife. She's basically my real-life assistant.

When she quit her job in the summer of 2023, she started by captioning all of my short-form videos for social media. Now, she's really getting involved with my podcast. She handles recording, uploads videos to different platforms, creates audio podcasts, and emails my mailing list.

I used to get bogged down in the easy administrative work, but that wasn't really moving the needle for our business. So, we agreed that she would take on many of those tasks because she's much more detail-oriented than I am.

It was tough to relinquish that control initially since I was used to being a solopreneur. But if I let her do her thing, she would do a much better job than I ever could with all the administrative and logistical work. We make a good team - no one's going to care more about the business than the two of us.

How do you track your productivity?

It's an interesting question because I'm a big journaler these days. I never used to journal, but now I enjoy it.

One of the things I do is ask myself every night, "What grade would I give myself today?" And I'm really tough on myself—I've never given myself an A, just a B at best. I reflect on the day and evaluate whether I did the things that will genuinely move the needle for my business.

I always start the day really productive and focused. But then something happens, like this call we have right now. I scheduled this call for later, but I originally planned to have my mornings free for my most important work. It's really disruptive when I have to jump on a call in the middle of my flow state. It takes me a while to get that momentum back.

That's why I've decided I won't do any morning calls anymore. I need those first few hours of the day when I'm not interrupted and can focus and work fully. People don't realise how much of a toll those interruptions can take—they just send my brain into "check your phone, be lazy" mode after I have to context switch.

So, I've started blocking off my mornings as sacred time. That's when I'm in my element and firing on all cylinders. In the future, I will also be more selective about scheduling interviews or other commitments in the morning. Protecting that time is crucial for my productivity.

Mark 'Ski' Struczewski (stru - chess - key)

Empowering Executives to Eliminate Distractions, Prioritise Tasks, and Gain Daily Clarity so They Can Live the Productive Life.

Host of The Mister Productivity Podcast (1,280 episodes and counting!)

+1 713 702 6052

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