The action-first approach for productivity.

Dear Authentic Introvert,

What if every project started with taking action first and taking care of the rest later?

I know it doesn’t make sense in certain scenarios, shooting a film being one of them.

But in everyday tasks, it can boost your productivity manifold.

Instead of waiting for motivation to strike, you can take action first and let everything else follow suit.

It saves a lot of time that we, introverts, waste because of:

• Overthinking

• Overcoming self-doubt

• Procrastination

It is especially helpful in tasks that offer no instant gratitude.

When you engage in tasks right away, your brain releases dopamine which creates a sense of reward.

The process itself becomes the purpose of doing stuff instead of the outcome.

This is a great hack adopted by experts and leaders across the business world.

And it only requires an effort the first few times and readily becomes a habit because of reinforced behavior.

Moreover, incomplete tasks get stuck in your mind causing constant stress.

Initiating a task incites desire for closure and to get rid of the burden once and for all.

This leads to further motivation to declutter your schedule asap.

And the best part – this helps you break the procrastination loop.

For instance, instead of waiting for motivation to write a book, start with an outline of the chapters that you want to include.

This creates a tunnel effect where once you get involved in a project, you keep working to get through it without being distracted.

If you are an introvert struggling with productivity, the action-first approach can be a game changer for you.

Give it a try and do let me know how it went.

Key Takeaway:

Take action and let the motivation follow.

Consistent small steps build momentum on your journey and help you get there faster.

From inaction to action,

Sachin Sharma

how much time do you need?

Dear Authentic Introvert,

Ever wonder how many hours a day successful people work to maintain the life they’ve created?

Because we all get 24 hours in a day.

A very small percentage of people get so much done in a day.

But most are like us.

We keep wishing we had more hours because no matter how hard we try, turning our life around seems impossible while doing what we do in a day.

Besides, the process of transforming your life seems like climbing Mt. Everest.

You can’t just decide one day and start doing everything right.

For example, I used to sleep at 4am and wake up at 11am for a good 13 years of my life.

As I started a new business venture with my friend last year, it became imminent that I had to change my sleep cycle.

I had to put in a lot of effort for a good six months before I could start waking up consistently at 8.30am.

And even that was not enough because I had to sacrifice either daily exercise or breakfast to be in the office by 10.

It really frustrated me because waking up early was just one of the many things that business demanded.

I couldn’t fit making marketing calls, attending daily virtual meetings, training new recruits, and meeting prospective clients in my schedule.

And also, I had to forget about ‘me time’, seeing my friends, entertainment, and everything else I loved.

Why can’t I do all these things when successful people are doing all this and more, while keeping time for themselves and their families?

I am dealing with similar struggles with my personal branding project currently.

I am supposed to consistently post on social media – content, comments, DMs and more, and then work on my YouTube videos – scripting, shooting, editing while also learning new skills related to all of these.

I decided to get to the bottom of this.

Because I simply couldn’t continue like this, knowing I was supposed to do a lot more with my day and I’m already struggling.

After days of researching advice from growth experts, I was able to narrow it down to two things:

Habits and Compounding.

The problem is – we are comparing ourselves with somebody who has been doing what we want to do for at least a decade if not more.

When we start doing something new, it becomes a struggle after the initial excitement wears off.

But if we consistently keep doing it, there comes a time when it stops being a struggle because it turns into a habit.

The focus shifts from the outcome to the process which has now become a routine.

Therefore, what keeps us going when we are not getting instant gratification are habits.

I haven’t read it yet, but I believe this is exactly what James Clear expands on in his famous book, Atomic Habits.

It’s certainly impossible to turn your life around starting tomorrow but it makes sense to focus on building one habit at a time – baby steps.

If you continue building one habit after another, these compound over time.

And there comes a point when you see exponential growth in your life even though you don’t seem to be doing much.

That’s you harnessing the power of compounding simple habits that you’ve built over time.

If you think about it, it has less to do with hard work than being patiently consistent, trusting the process and playing the long game with eyes on the horizon.

And this is exactly what makes some people more successful than others.

Because when the majority are focused on instant rewards, few work for sustained growth over the coming years.

And that’s how you realistically turn your life around.

Key Takeaway:

Stop paying attention to instant rewards or failures.

Focus on building small habits into your routine and let them compound over time to give you the life you’ve always wanted.

Let me know what habit you decide to build next.

Chasing a dream life with you,

Sachin Sharma

Or do you only have money?

Dear Authentic Introvert,

Everybody spends their whole life chasing one thing, either for need or for greed – money.

I don’t see a problem with that as long as one feels happy about it.

The problem starts when you keep needing more money to be happy and even that doesn’t last too long.

Yesterday, I spoke a little bit about true freedom and left it for you to think about.

I don’t know about you, but I spent a couple of hours pondering over what could really make us free.

Some might say it’s the abundance of money because then you can have whatever you want.

But is it so, really?

Because there is never an abundance of money and even Jeff Bezos would agree to that.

The reality is that the more money you have, the more expensive your ambitions become.

And we’ve become slaves of this system that revolves around money.

You get a decent job; great salary and you feel like this is it.

But soon, you are hoping for a promotion, so you can earn more.

No matter how high up you climb that corporate ladder, you always want more.

And what you lose is time.

The more you get paid, the more demanding your work is and the less free time you are left with.

The same thing applies to business – in, probably, the worst ways.

It’s your business – your baby, so you put in all you have without any external motivation.

Again, at the cost of your free time.

The time that you can spend doing things you love that you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t do before because you were busy chasing a well-paying job or business.

It is not mainstream for people to increase their free time when they earn more.

They start looking for more ways to earn like side hustle, investments that seek a lot of attention, possessions that need to be supervised and maintained, and so on.

You might start owning all the lavish and expensive things but at the cost of your peace of mind.

How is this freedom?

As introverts, we really cherish the time we can spend with ourselves, and earning more money doesn’t seem to bring that.

So, no matter where you are in your professional journey, make sure you chase the right things.

And treat money as a side product, not the end goal.

True happiness comes from how often we can practice our free will.

Can we take a day off whenever we want – without seeking permission or offering an explanation?

If not, then what’s all the money worth?

We are still slaves – even though by choice.

Key Takeaway:

If you are seeking happiness, choose freedom over money or possessions.

You’re only as rich as the free time you have.

Seeking a rich life,

Sachin Sharma

That’s a cheeky TV recap line but it works. Let’s jump in.

Dear Authentic Introvert,

Happy Sunday! I hope your weekend has been going great and you get enough rest before the dreadful Monday.

I was thinking about the concept of financial freedom this morning when a thought struck me.

Our life revolves around money and no amount is too much.

This means no matter how much you earn; it can’t ever give you any kind of freedom.

Because there are more ways to spend money than there are to earn.

You’d still have to compromise on some of your desires to save enough to feel financially ‘safe’.

The less your life depends on money, the more freedom you have.

Instead of chasing money, we need to start chasing a life free from its clutches.

Sounds counter-intuitive? It is.

Give it a thought and let me know your take on this.

Here’s how the last week looked like:

Monday

I hope not.

Dear Authentic Introvert,

Life can get pretty hectic, and sometimes it seems everyone wants a piece of your time.

Saying “no” is already hard enough so you might think helping them a little bit won’t harm.

And before you know it, you’re consumed into offering too many of these tiny bits of help.

What’s worse is that people don’t even realize what they are doing to you because for them, they are the only ones.

This becomes a vicious cycle and starts taking a toll on your social energy and mental health.

And now you’re stuck because people are used to giving you a call for every little thing and you can’t think of a reason to deny.

Because you’ve done it for them for the past one hundred times, how can you suddenly say ‘NO!’?

Before we move forward, let me share a hard truth with you.

Such people may feel grateful the first couple of times but after that, this becomes a habit.

In their minds, they are no longer seeking your help but practicing their right, like they’ve done so many times before.

You’d notice them getting increasingly assertive because they know they have you.

Sorry to say this to you, my friend, but you are replaceable – at least for the kind of people we’re talking about.

They come to you first, not just because they adore you but because you are their most convenient option.

Want to say, ‘it’s enough’? Then say it.

This needs to change now.

We must aim to achieve the following starting right now:

• Break their habit by not always being available.

• Learn to say ‘NO’ without an explanation. ‘I can’t right now’ is good enough.

• Teach people to contact you at your preferred time.

• Make them pay someone else for petty jobs that are not worth your time.

Here’s the action plan:

• Starting today, stop always taking people’s calls. Start being unavailable intentionally.

• Say ‘no’ to jobs they can hire someone for. Suggest this alternative when they come to you because you have better things to do.

• Even if it’s about work that you’re willing to do, fix a time slot for such calls during the day and ask people to call back during that time.

• For things you don’t like doing but are doing only as favors, start stating clearly that you won’t do it because you don’t feel like it.
  People who need favors from you must respect your likes and dislikes.

It may feel harder to do in the beginning but it’s only in your mind.

It’s simple and you’ve every right to do so unapologetically.

Slowly people will learn to be respectful of your time, and trust me, those who respect you will value you more.

And for the hard nuts who just don’t get it, there is an option to block in your phone.

Key Takeaway

Stop always being available for people. Respect your time and teach them to do the same.

Your Respectful Friend,

Sachin Sharma

Then maybe it’s time you end this facade.

Dear Authentic Introvert,

Adopting an extroverted facade is a common way to deal with societal pressure for many introverts.

It is a natural response to the Extrovert Ideal – the cultural bias towards extroverted traits.

The ability to be the center of attention is often seen as a sign of confidence and a potential for being an achiever.

The only problem is that this pretentious behavior gradually drains you.

You may not notice it in the beginning.

Sometimes you might even feel like you are getting really good at this.

But there will come a breaking point when you’d find yourself suffocating and unable to continue.

I tried this approach multiple times in my life since childhood because my father loves to socialize or at least he really wants people to see him as a social personality. (I still doubt he’s genuinely social.)

I can’t think of a time when we had an empty guest room.

And unfortunately, the way to the main door passed through our guest room, which meant I had to meet and greet whoever was there whenever I entered or exited.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked connecting with a few of them, but most were, in my eyes, unwelcome interactions.

For years, I acted on autopilot and did what was expected of me.

Fast forward 18 years, I started going to college and at about the same time we got our own house.

To one of my greatest joys of life, my room was on a different floor.

And this meant, you guessed it, no more unwanted social interactions.

It was the first time I tasted freedom in the true sense.

And what happens when you start getting the food you love? You stop compromising your likes and dislikes.

The urge to act how I feel kept getting stronger over the years.

And now, it has come to the point where I feel like I’m about to have a panic attack when I am being forced to pretend in any way.

Let me be honest with you, my friend. The gist of all this is that I stopped people pleasing.

And I highly recommend you do so too.

Because adopting an extroverted facade so people can like you or at least consider you normal (whatever that means for them), can have long-term effects on your mental health and personality.

It’s like pretending to be the wrong gender your whole life.

Carrying on like this requires a significant amount of energy leading to exhaustion and burnout.

It creates dissonance between our true self and the persona we present to the world. It just feels inauthentic.

We end up constantly worrying about keeping up appearances, which only causes stress and anxiety.

And the worst of it all, it leads us to undervalue our introverted traits which are supposed to drive us, like reflective thinking and deep focus.

Many only dream of having these qualities and can’t even pretend to have them. Go figure!

If you have also been pretending to be an extrovert, the sooner you fall back to your authentic self the better.

Because you are meant to be greater than who you are now and the only thing that’s blocking your greatness is the extroverted facade.

Key Takeaway

Find a balance between adapting to social expectations and staying true to your nature. This will lead to a more authentic and fulfilling life.

And if you had to choose one over another, choose your authentic self and never look back. Your future self will thank you!

Your Authentic Partner in Crime,

Sachin Sharma

But you’re the only one hiding.

Dear Authentic Introvert,

Trying to avoid the spotlight is a common trait among introverts.

But it becomes a problem when it starts hindering your growth.

Being shy of exposure absolutely doesn’t mean that you lack potential.

It just means you have to play this game a little differently.

Thankfully, it’s not a new game.

Many successful introverts have followed the same strategies before us.

All we need to do is follow in their footsteps.

Unlike the majority of extroverts, we need to maintain a balance between our public and personal lives.

We can’t say “yes” to everything, right?

That’s why we must identify opportunities among situations that seem like a waste of energy.

• Start by creating or choosing an environment that best suits you and allows you to achieve your flow state.

• Make sure you spare time to reflect on your day and find clues for the genuine and the worthwhile.

• Identify your weaknesses (like public speaking and communicating) and fix them through preparation and practice.

• Seek your right mentors and ask for their help in moving up the career ladder. Trust me, it helps them too.

• No need to brag but people must know what you offer so they know who the right person for the job is when they are in a spot.

• And most importantly, never run from high profile projects for fear of exposure. They are your chances hidden in disguise.

  (Plus, the loud ones usually don’t stand a chance against the calm and the quiet in such situations.)

Famous introverts like J K Rowling, Steven Spielberg and Warren Buffet followed these strategies at crucial times in their lives, and we know it turned out pretty well for them.

I’ve created a 5 minute video to explain these while taking examples from the lives of successful introverts like Rowling. I’m sure you’d love it.

Key Takeaway:

This video:

Cheering for you,

Sachin Sharma

P.S. No secret potions were used in the making of this video. Just pure introvert wisdom. 😉