Work Less; Think Ahead; Earn More, 25

1. Refuse back-to-back meetings.
2. Reject meetings longer than 45 minutes and/or three people.
3. Run the meeting yourself if nobody else is doing it: know the goal, manage the time, capture the actions.
4. Dress for work even though you are working at home.
5. Don't say 'but'. Think 'and'.
6. One pad, one action list. Work it.
7. Work hard; play hard. Initially separate the two, but as work becomes less (just) a money earner and more a soul enhancer, merge the two.
8. Start the strategy outlined in 7 by becoming so good at some aspects of your work it becomes play.
9. Simultaneously, get so good at having and managing real down time you become amazingly creative.
10. Break the time=money rule and replace it with value=money through your creativity. The former limits your earnings, the latter allows them to take off exponentially.
11. Now you are Motoring at Level 1.
12. Build your brilliance at your job.
13. Thus build your unique value to your clients.
14. Thus build your earnings by earning more in less time.
15. Manage your standard of living and cost base so you don't need more money. It's simply one expression (only) of how good you are.
16. Take more time off and get out of your cubicle to build your non-fee-earning-creativity i.e. creativity with no purpose at all. Crazy? Not all all....
17. Surprisingly this will produce your best stuff because there is no external pressure. You're just messin'.
18. Your best stuff will build your value and your personal brand.
19. And thus your earnings.
20. Now you are Motoring at Level 2
21. With your gained time write a non-fiction book. From your heart and gut. Your expertise, your thing. You know you've got it right when no publisher wants to touch it; it's too damn niche for them.
22. Get it published even if you have to pay for it yourself with the money you are earning.
23. Get the book out there to build your brand.
24. Now you are Motoring at Level 3
25. And that's a level at which you can work less, think proactively and earn more.