Productivity = Moving ROCKS.

The alarm goes off at 5:25am. After a quick look in the mirror and some slow sips of hot coffee, you pull on your 100 pound pack and get going for the day. What is the 100 pound pack - you ask? Well let me tell you.

If you think about the things you have to accomplish each day, week, month, and year - you typically can put things into three categories:

1. WORK - the things we have to do to bring in income, whether it is running your own business, working in a corporation, or anywhere in between.
2. FAMILY - the variety of responsibilities we all have around taking care of the people, community around us, and the physical possessions we require to live. 
3. PERSONAL - even though they sometimes take lower priority, there are things that you need to do each day to maintain YOU. Dont forget to relax for 5 minutes too.  

The 100 Pound Pack is a concept around the fact that most humans (and yes we are all only human) can carry about 100 pounds each day. That 100 pound pack consists of a blend of the above categories. When you take on too much of one category, the others suffer. When you take on too much of all categories, our packs are too full, and stuff falls out.

An example:

After my coffee, I sit down and think about the things I have to get done today. Frantically I start making a list (and I know I am not the only one making lists - some of the most effective and efficient people make lists mentally, electronically, or even on a post it).

That list is enormous. Each of the items is a ROCK. Each ROCK belongs to one of the three categories and weighs something. Knowing that my back and brain can only take on 100 pounds. I start prioritizing the rocks:

1. TODO - things I have to do today. No exceptions. These are priority and hopefully are not equal to more than 100 pounds or it will be a very challenging day.
2. NEXT - these are rocks that I might be able to add to my pack if I am productive or someone can help me carry my a rock from my pack.
3. WAIT - making mental notes of other lower priority things that need to get done is ok, just dont let them enter the 100 pound pack for today.

Then I set up my ROCK LIST - what rocks do I want to carry in my 100 pound pack for the day. If I have too many Work Rocks, my pack may be unbalanced and I may miss little Jimmy's soccer game. If I have too many Family Rocks, my employer may not be too happy with me. And if I spend too much time on myself, I never get anywhere in life.

My objective it to MOVE ROCKS out of my pack, lighten the load and get things done. It is simple is principle and complex in execution. The key to success is knowing yourself and knowing what 100 pounds feels like. Somedays you have 10 hours, somedays you have 4 hours. One size does not fit all. Some people work swiftly, some people don't. Some people prefer to take long walks after work, some people prefer to grab their laptop and surf.

Bottom line - to be successful and truly have a balanced productivity pack, it takes practice, discipline and some coaching. At Squirrelworx, we have the tools and techniques to teach you how. We are here to help - let's move some rocks together.