The only productivity "hack" that matters
✏️ What I learned from the largest creator in the world ✏️
During my time at MrBeast, I observed something that forever changed how I think about creativity and productivity.
It may have been a company of nearly 500 employees, but it didn’t function like most corporate structures.
It was an inverted pyramid, with the Creator (Jimmy) holding the weight of the company on his shoulders along with a team of trusted insiders. It was the exact opposite of how many companies operate with the CEO at the top of the pyramid.
Here’s an illustration as an example (credit to Colin and Samir for this):
In what Fortune 500 company is the CEO approving every little profile picture change and captions for every social media post? None.
Except as authors, we are the CEOs of our own publishing companies. And most of us are approving every little change to our covers, blurbs, and each line of our stories.
Most of us approach this the wrong way:
We mimic the corporate structures so pervasive in society
Set schedules, set deadlines, set output goals, etc.
We force ourselves to be productive, on the constant grind of the clock, even when we aren’t feeling creatively inspired.
This may work for Corporate America. It does not work for a storyteller-led business.
In fact, taking traditional productivity and bringing it into your life as an author will crush your soul and crush you with the weight of anxiety and stress you put on your shoulders.
Enter the new way forward… Ideal Productivity.
The Magic of Optimizing for the Flow State
At MrBeast, the more senior you were at the company, the more time you had to spend in your flow state. That is how the system is designed.
Someone like Jimmy (MrBeast) spent nearly ALL of his time in a flow-state. Me being two rungs down was in flow state a good bit of the time, with me having a full-time assistant to help me be in flow state more often. Now, I recently brought on a full-time assistant to Author Sidekick with the same mission: to keep me in the flow state as much as possible.
Everything I do in my business today (creating content and education for you all — a creator-led business) is about optimizing my flow state.
When I wake up every day, the goal is not to get things done. It’s to be in a flow state.
Some days, a flow state means hiking around and voice-messaging my thoughts to be transcribed later.
Some days, a flow state means hanging with friends and family.
Sometimes a flow state is in a deep state of creation or brainstorming.
Some radical things I now do:
I don’t have a daily to-do list anymore
I don’t time block
I don’t have a daily schedule at all
Instead, I stay in tune with my energy and set new goals and priorities every two weeks.
If something doesn’t get done?
I don’t beat myself up. Instead, I recognize it wasn’t in my flow state, and ask myself if it’s necessary or not, and how/when I can bring that priority closer to a flow state for me. What conditions do I need to create for a specific task to be in a flow state for me?
Being in a flow state – where what you are doing energizes you – is a way to live life with your passion first and maximize the positive energy you feel on a daily basis.
It’s magical…. but not always perfect.
I’m constantly hitting bottlenecks that prevent me from being in a flow state. To that, I ask myself, how can I eliminate these bottlenecks? Is it hiring someone to take work off my plate? Getting fewer things done? Just taking a break?
This is what I call Ideal Productivity – or making your life about creating and recognizing the conditions for you to maximize the time and intensity of your flow state.
For a while, I thought this sort of mindset was insane. Yeah, it works for MrBeast and their company, and I’ve found it increasingly works for me, but does it work for anyone else?
Recently, I reconnected with an old friend who is an incredible musician. He described to me his notion of Ideal Productivity and remaining in a flow state, coming to the exact same conclusion I have.
That’s when I knew this wasn’t just a weird quirk of my personality.
Ideal Productivity is how a one-person storytelling business, where everything rests on your shoulders and there is unlimited opportunity and challenges, navigates through the world.
So… what would pursuing Ideal Productivity look like for you?
I’d love to hear about it and if this topic resonates with you. Thank you so much for reading! 💙
I’ll be back with a new exciting *free* book for you soon. In the meantime, don’t forget…
Together we are boundless,
Michael Evans
P.S. Tomorrow, me and my great friend + filmmaker from Harvard, Nick Young, are launching the Creatorwood book, a free book on how storytellers can turn their stories into film (shows, movies, animations, and more) and build an independent film business.
We’re also launching the Make Your Own Movies Newsletter. It will be separate from what I do here at Author Sidekick, helping you all to market your books and put your Readers First, but I’ll be mentioning it from time to time.
I love this
This is the way.