Summary

The author is learning to optimize personal productivity, akin to tuning an engine, to manage multiple responsibilities effectively, including writing on Medium and handling freelance tasks.

Abstract

The article draws an analogy between personal productivity and the performance of a car engine, emphasizing the importance of system optimization before taking on more work. The author reflects on a surprising drag race where a farm truck outperformed a Lamborghini due to its superior engine, using this as a metaphor for personal improvement. Despite the demands of a full-time job, family responsibilities, and the pursuit of a writing career, the author advocates for self-improvement and efficiency over competition. The key strategy shared is the practice of scheduling tasks and completing them within half the allotted time to enhance productivity without burnout.

Opinions

The author values self-improvement and personal efficiency over competing with others.
Success in managing multiple tasks, such as writing and freelancing, is likened to having a well-tuned engine.
The author suggests that trying to handle too many responsibilities simultaneously can lead to exhaustion and reduced effectiveness.
Prioritizing time management and task scheduling is seen as crucial for improving one's productivity.
The author believes in the importance of tuning one's personal systems, much like optimizing a car engine, to achieve better performance in life and work.

I am Learning How To Fix My Systems Before Working for More Clients

First Work on Your Systems

Engines.

The underlying factor that makes cars outperform others. If we went to the race track and your car had a bigger engine, you would most likely leave me in the dust.

An interesting race was conducted in 2017 between a farm truck and a Lamborghini. It was a drag race. A drag race simply means having two cars compete side by side to see which one gets to the finishing line first.

In the race, the farm truck appeared oddly old and beaten down while the Lamborghini was shiny and brand new. The odds were against the farm truck and most people bet on the Lamborghini. However, when the race started, the truck sped past the brand-new Lamborghini like it was child’s play.

The secret — its engine.

Petrolheads might criticize my basic thinking and add more jargon and complex facts from physics. Like how the engines work differently and tires among other things. However, they are not in the room today, so we are safe.

We are in productivity class and only want to borrow a cue from engines on how to make ourselves perform better and keep improving. That said, you are also an engine. And how intensive you work depends on the capacity of your engine.

However, your engine can be tuned like that of the farm truck to reach your highest potential. I am not so much interested in competing with others as much as I am with improving my own life. I think you should too.

I am a four-stroke diesel engine manufactured in Japan 2008, (Sigh), and I have been learning how to tune myself to write more and better articles.

As a content creator, I target to write more on Medium as well as take more ghostwriting tasks on platforms such as UpWork.

However, that all depends on my engine. And how well tuned it is.

I read so many posts from successful writers here on Medium on how you can make successful pitches to clients and how to earn through affiliate marketing.

However, if you are like me, you are still held down by a 9–5 job, have kids and numerous responsibilities on the side.

Plus, love will not make itself people. :)

However, doing all these at once might be hard and your engine might not work as efficiently as you would want it to.

I learned this the hard way when I tried to juggle writing on Medium, handling clients on UpWork, a 9–5 job, and managing my home.

Truth is, all these things need time and investment. And trying to do them all at once might leave you burned out and plain exhausted.

So I began reading on the subject. So far, I have learned one main important lesson on how to improve my efficiency and productivity.

Scheduling Tasks

Scheduling tasks and working to complete them within half the time I set out. For example, if writing an article on Medium, I ensure to perform my research 1 day prior but only write it out in 30 minutes max. It is still a long way to go, but it does improve my engine.

So, as you also try to tune your engine. Embrace time schedules and try to finish tasks within shorter timelines. You will be amazed at how much work from clients you can handle.

Keep creating. Cheers!

Want to read more of my ideas on productivity and personal development? Kindly follow me on Medium.