Mike Bainbridge's Linkedin Analytics

Procrastination isn't your problem. It's planning. → It's the reason why Tesla misses it's production deadlines. → It's the reason why the new highway opens 12 months late. We all do it. So much so it even has a name: The Planning Fallacy. "This is the tendency to underestimate the time it will take to complete a task. Despite knowledge that previous tasks took longer." Does this sound familiar? Multiple studies show that even when we're aware of the problem we still make the same mistake! 😢 • Don't beat yourself up about last minute work. • Don't blame procrastination. Recognise the problem and use 5 tips to make things better: (1) Break projects up into small tasks (2) Reduce the scope of work (3) Use historic data (4) Add contingency time to your schedule (5) Communicate often Next time you're: • Planning a large or complex project • Setting deadline • Scheduling work Think twice before you commit to a date. 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

When I read about David Allen's 2 minute rule it sounded so simple. Simple things are often the easiest. Easy to remember, even easier to use! It made a huge difference to how I work. How does it work? When you identify a small task - do it right away. → It sounds obvious and easy → It keeps the volume of work low → It builds momentum By using this rule, you'll save time. It can often take longer to record and track a short task. When left unchecked, these small tasks can turn into a thousand paper-cuts. • We put them off because they are less important • We waste energy worrying when they build up • We feel guilty about not taking action Learning this has been a huge differentiator for me. I use the 2-minute rule to kick off my day with some simple tasks. For example: • Replying to emails • Recording expense receipts • Daily planning • Tidying the desk • Book an appointment The momentum completing small tasks provides, will help you tackle the larger pieces of work. It's a total gamechanger. By the way - leaving a comment on this post will take you less than 2 minutes 😉 Why don't you let me know what you think? Happy Monday 😎 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

You often hear people talk about "focus". I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what this meant. Over the last few years, I've realised what it's all about. • Just doing one thing really well • Cutting out the noise • Getting the job done That feeling of being "in the zone". But how do you do it? Just like anything else, learning to focus your mind and commit to a single task is a skill that can be improved with practice. The more you do it, the better you'll become. But focusing is hard. Intense concentration for more than 1 hour without a short break to recharge, is even harder. Elite athletes talk about getting "in the zone" for an important game or during training. It's exactly the same thing. Here's what works well for me: • Work on something without distraction for 30 mins • Take a short break (10 mins) • Repeat the cycle • Stop after 2 hours of focused work Once you start to improve, you can increase the work block to 35, then 40 mins In order to do focused work, you'll need to: • Plan your task, know what you'll be working on • Avoid distraction • Stick to the one task (no context switching!) The good news is, the more you do this the easier it comes. Have you tried this? Does it work for you? I'd love to hear your tips and tricks! 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

My Monday morning realisation: Stop trying so hard! The more I study productivity, the more I realise it's about doing 3 simple things well. 1. Know what you have to do ✅ → Use lists and keep track of everything → Prioritise the order of getting things done → Break projects down into smaller actions 2. Know when you have to do something 📅 → Schedule your tasks effectively → Block your time and take control → Set deadlines to drive action 3. Get it done efficiently 🍅 → Focus on one task at a time → Remove all distractions → Use momentum to beat procrastination In summary - What. When. How. Why make it any more complicated than this? Start with these 3 things in mind every day and you'll be amazed how much more you'll complete! Did I miss anything? 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

The start of the month is a great time to build a new habit. Why does it work like that? I don't know 🤔 • Why do we start at 09.00 and not 09.11? • Why do we make a New Year's resolution? • Why do we begin on Monday morning? It really shouldn't make any difference. I think it's a cultural norm and that's how we've learned. "Because we always did it that way..." We are creatures of habit and we don't like change. Either way - tomorrow is the start of a new month. A great time to draw a line in the sand and build a new habit. If you plan today, then you'll be ready tomorrow. Minimise the effort to execution. • If you want to hit the gym, get your kit ready the night before • If you want to have a healthy breakfast, make sure the ingredients are in the fridge • If you want to start a new book, order it now! What will you start on 01st June? 🤔 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

Always happy to share the launch of a new book 📕 Congratulations Alfredo on publishing.

In the quest for "ultimate productivity". There isn't one simple answer. We are all different. It means, the approach you take and the results you get will be different from mine. For example: → Some people get up early and work well best in the morning. → Others get into their flow at night and work into the early hours. It sounds obvious, but so many people share their way of doing things as if it's only way. (I'm looking at you the "wake up at 5am" guys) 😉 You need to try different things and see what works for you. The great thing about it is, it can become an exciting voyage of discovery. • You try out new things. • You learn more about yourself. • You meet new people. • You grow along the way. This is what I've experienced in the last 18 months. Experimenting with new ideas and trying things out can be great fun! I'll continue to share what I learn in my quest for productivity. 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

Do you know the parable of the hare and the tortoise? The hare speeds ahead but gets distracted and takes a nap. The tortoise is slow and steady, but wins the race. There's a reason why this lesson is as relevant today as ever. Consistency always wins. Here's how I've done it. I built 3 daily habits: (1) Morning start-up 🚀 Schedule 15 minutes at the start of every day to set you up: • Review your calendar • Plan your tasks This short preparation will save you hours of procrastination. (2) Daily shut-down ✅ Schedule 15 minutes at the end of every day to perform a review: • What went well, what could be improved? • What new tasks need to be scheduled for tomorrow? (3) Weekly review 🔄 Block out 1 hour on Friday evening: • Review the past week • Plan for 2 weeks ahead • Revisit your goals • Update your to-do list • Prioritise 3-tasks for the following week Step back from everything, reflect, and intentionally plan ahead. Block time in your calendar for these 3 activities every week and track that you complete them. It's only 30 mins per day, plus an hour on Friday. Notice how you start to feel more organised and get more done. Planning in advance doesn’t need to take long, but it does need to happen regularly. What daily or weekly habits do you use to help you at work? Try these and you won’t regret it! 😁 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

An important lesson I’ve learned: "Perfection is the enemy of good." What does it mean? If you wait for something to be perfect, you’ll never be satisfied and it means you won’t make progress. Or even worse - this will become a lie you tell yourself not to even start! Doing something, even if it's 5 mins and breaking momentum is better than putting things off. I learned this by posting here on LinkedIn. • I spent ages working out what i would want to share. • Then, I used to spend over an hour carefully crafting each post. • I would edit and re-edit to make sure the language was right. I quickly worked out that wasn’t sustainable. I’d never be able to keep up daily posting with that level of effort! Today, I'm much quicker but I often make mistakes. Even last week, I spotted a typo in one of my posts - the urge to fix it was real! • Now, I've learned to be more comfortable just getting it out there. • The message is the important thing. • People will forgive the odd mistake. • In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. This last point is the big one. Honestly, it really doesn't matter. Does perfection hold you back too? What have you done to learn to embrace mistakes? 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

Don't be the dinosaur 🐘 Be the surfer 🏄♂️ The world is changing. It's always changing. But this time a big shift is coming. You can't escape the hype around AI - it's been going on for some time. Get used to it, it's not going away. And you have 2 choices: • Do nothing, carry on as usual • Embrace and learn to use it The dinosaur just carries on as usual and eventually the meteor hits. They are wiped out. The surfer uses the momentum of the wave to carry them, in spectacular fashion to the beach. A lesson I heard recently that resonated with me was this: "It's not the AI that will take your job, but the people who can use the AI better than you." If you spend more than 50% of your time using a computer then you can't afford to ignore this. So, what can you do? My recommendation: 1 - Do an introductory course (start with Udemy). Learn the basics. 2 - Use an AI tool for 15 mins every day. Try new things and see what happens. 3 - Sign up to a newsletter. Things are changing fast, stay up to date. These are the steps I've taken. My newsletter recommendations are: Superhuman and The Rundown AI (both top results on a google search). AI is the greatest productivity tool you'll ever use. What do you think? (btw - if you're wondering, I used the elephant because there is no dinosaur emoji) 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

I've been posting regularly for 2.5 years now. Here is what I've learned: • This is a great community! → I've met lots great people on here - and learned a lot 🚀 → I took the plunge and had 1:1 coffee chats and video calls 🤩 • Posting daily has become a habit. → It's not hard once you have a routine and system ⚙️ → Building this habit helped me be consistent and forced me to plan 📝 • Interactions matter. → Asking great questions leads to the most interesting opportunities 🔥 → Commenting and building a network is a great way to learn 💡 My daily writing habit is something I enjoy 😎 I'm glad I started and would recommend it to anyone. The biggest challenges I hear from people are: (1) I don't have time and (2) I don't know what to say. The answers are: (1) Yes you do! You just have to want it (understand your "why"). (2) I bet I can find 10 greats posts if we chat for 30 mins. You just need to learn how to build a content schedule. I'd be happy to help if you want to start - just send me a message 😀 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

I hate most meetings. I finally said it! They are a huge time commitment. A lot of the time, they're really badly facilitated. (I'm looking at you "weekly update" 👀) If you’re running a meeting, challenge your colleagues on these points. If you have a more productive meeting, they’ll thank you for it! 3 simple tips: (1) Keep the attendee list down • Large groups fail to reach decisions quickly and restrict good interactions. • Aim for fewer than 10 people. (2) Let everyone know why they’re there • A clear agenda covering: why, what, and how is all you need but sets the scene. • Leave enough time to capture actions and owners. (3) Communicate with purpose • Aim to give everyone an equal voice. • Don’t just agree for the sake of being heard, challenge when you disagree. Empower people to control their own time and choose not to attend. If they aren’t going to add anything encourage them to decline. If you get to a resolution, end the meeting early! I’m certain we can save 25% of our calendar time by having more effective meetings. What are your top tips for better meetings? 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.

I struggle with "networking". I don't know what to say. I feel awkward approaching a stranger, but guess what? Everyone's the same! Just remember - first impressions count. Whether we like it or not, we judge others on those initial moments. No matter what we think, we’re hard-wired to make snap judgements about people we meet. We put them into boxes and decide if we should trust them in seconds. Once you recognise this you can use it to your advantage. Making a good first impression will help you earn people’s trust more easily. It will unlock more possibilities. This is especially important when you're networking or meeting people in-person. This week I was at a business event and I noticed a lot of people standing on their own. It doesn't have to be like that! Start with: • Be welcoming - smile! 😃 • Open body-language - avoid crossing your arms. • Speak clearly and slowly - say hello. • Be ready to share what you do for a job. • Ask a question - "what did you think of today's presentation?" Networking can be daunting. Introducing yourself to strangers can seem awkward, but it doesn't have to be. Try it a few time and practice and you'll get better at it. If you're good at networking, what advice would you give to others who find it unnatural? 👍 If you like today's post. 💬 To let me know what you think. 🔁 To help share.