How to Double Your Productivity this Summer

A person I tremendously admire off-handedly once told me, "All of the work I did that made the biggest difference in my life was work I did while other people slept."

Extra effort is what made the difference in his career.  Instead of sleeping in, he started working, and it made the big difference in his success.

Summer's similar.  Twenty years ago, a colleague once told me "If I don't finish a summer project by the Fourth of July, it's probably not going to get finished."  

He went on to say that too much gets in the way after the Fourth of July:  Family vacations, long weekends off, projects around the home, kid stuff, outdoor BBQs, and so on.

Ever since hearing this, the Fourth of July high water mark has always been an inspiration for me to really turn on the gas for the rest of the summer so I can say I got as much done after the 4th as before.

Benchmarks can be good.  Especially if you think that what you do past the benchmark might be what makes the biggest difference for you.