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2 STRATEGIES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY FOREVER

11:19·24 August 2021

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Reserve the first 90 minutes of your day for your single most important task — before email, news, or your phone.
Run the 90/90/1 rule for a full 90-day block; short sprints won't let you see whether it actually moves your goal forward.
Lock your phone in a timed box during deep work — if it's within reach, it will cost you focus even when it's silent.
Pair noise-cancelling headphones with a focus audio tool like Brain.fm to block ambient distraction and signal to your brain that it's work time.
Keep only the tabs you're actively using open — every idle tab is a small, persistent pull on your attention.

2 strategies have been more useful in improving my productivity than anything else i've ever tried. The first one is "The 90/90/10 Rule" and the 2nd "Bubble Time". I lay them out for you today.

8 Week Challenge www.roadmancycling.com/8week

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/anthony_walsh

All the bits & bobs I recommend are here www.roadmanresources.com

KEY QUOTES

“We live in a world where focus, to be honest, it's more valuable than intelligence because everybody is just so distracted with social media news.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“For 90 days, the first 90 minutes of your day are going to be dominated with the single item, the big domino that is going to move you forward. You get to choose whatever you want to move forward in. If it's a health, if it's family, it's business.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“It's a technology that's used to, and this is off their website, to elicit strong neural phase locking. So it allows neurons to engage in various kinds of coordinators activity, which move the distraction of sound from the outside world.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT3 SECTIONS

Intro and Mortirolo training camp

Roadman today, I want to give you two strategies that's going to change your productivity forever. Let's cue that intro! The big question is this. How do we use cycling as a tool to improve our health, our happiness, and our longevity? That is the question. This podcast will give you the answers. My name is Anthony Walsh, and welcome to the Roadman Podcast. Roadman! Welcome back to another Roadman Cycling Podcast. I don't know where you're listening these days because we're doing the video, we're doing the audio thing. Look, the real place to consume this, it's over on the podcast format. It's on all the good podcast places, Spotify, iTunes, SoundCloud, wherever else you get them on Android. It's weird, isn't it? You know what it's iTunes, it's just iTunes. When you've Android, you've all these different. I listen to him pud bean. It's like fuck off. Anyway, it's on video, it's on audio, go out, ride your bike and stick it in your ear. That's the way it's meant to be consumed. Today I'm going to talk to you about two strategies that's going to completely change your productivity forever. And Jen, like I'm serious, these two strategies are absolutely phenomenal today. Like I'm really, these have helped me so, so, so much. I can't tell you. A couple of public service announcements before I dive in. Over on Patreon, I've dropped a massive, massive members only Patreon podcast. Over on patreon.com, I talked about yesterday how I have an upcoming training camp in Jaroni. It's going to be absolutely epic. I've just booked the Villa in Jaroni and it's going to be phenomenal. The Villa is pimping. We're going to do this. We're calling it the Rucker Colb by Challenge where the idea will be, we're going to do We at Rucker Colb, it's a fabled climb. Everyone knows it's where Armstrong used to test himself. Wiggins used to test himself. So this climb is spectacularly hard. It's about 13 kilometers long. I think it averages around 7%. It's the de facto go-to bucket list climb, number one on your bucket list that you need to put on. But the roadman challenge we're having during our training camp over there. So the idea is to try and ride this climb in your age plus 10 minutes. Now that's more difficult than it sounds. If you're a 30 year old rider, you need to get up there in 40 minutes. J-Vine, friend of the show's podcast, or J-Vine who's been on the podcast, his record is 26 minutes up there. So that shows you how difficult it is. So if you're up for that roadman challenge and you want early access to the training camp, members of Patreon are getting early access to the training camp. I just dropped a Patreon only podcast over there. It costs you so little, it's ridiculous to get access to Patreon, access to Patreon, cost you the price of a beer once a month. Literally a five-year-month, it supports the podcast, it keeps us going forward and it's going to get you early access to the roadman training camp in Cheerona. The dates for the 17th to the 22nd of October are absolutely pumped. I cannot wait. It's going to fill up super fast because it's a small limited number camp. So the link for Patreon is down below, it's patreon.com forward slash Anthony underscore watch go and check that out folks. Okay, road man, these two strategies and I joke not these are two phenomenal ones. So these are about improving your focus and your productivity. So we live in a world where focused to be honest, it's more valuable than intelligence because everybody is just so distracted with social media news. Like, can you believe the news anymore? They're like, they're just like propaganda channels on one side and you know, the US, you have a Republican channel, you have a Democratic channel, it's just so hard to focus now. It's, you're getting bombarded with debates about COVID, you're getting bombarded about debates about travel, how to look after your health. It's ridiculous. I've never known a more distract the time in our lives.

The 90-90-1 productivity rule

I'm gonna stop waffling. These two rules are anything but waffle. Rule number one, it's the 90-91 principle. I'm gonna repeat that again. 90-91. And so this is the challenge. For the next 90 days, you're gonna spend the first 90 minutes of your day working on the single thing that's going to move you forward. Repeat it because this is epic. When you wake up, 90 minutes you're going to spend straight away. So for 90 days, the first 90 minutes of your day are going to be dominated with the single item, the big domino that is going to move you forward. You get to choose whatever you want to move forward in. If it's a health, if it's family, it's business. This is the single most game-changing opportunity you're going to get to transform your life. Contrast this with what you do with the moment or what everyone else does at the moment. You get up in the morning, they're talking shit if they get to work. They're scrolling on social media. They're aimlessly reading the newspaper or consume an online content. They're listening to the radio. You need to protect this first 90 minutes of your morning. Like it's a force field around it because you're never going to have this focus and you're never going to have this energy at any other time in the day. It's the 90-91 rule. All I do, folks, is literally trawl through journals and study top performers. And when I found this rule, I was like, holy shit, this is phenomenal. And the second one, a strategy I want to talk about, about this productivity and how you can change it forever. It's tight bubble focus, it's called. So, the idea of tight bubble focus, it's contrasting A producers from B&C producers. A producers are the legends who are excelling in whatever their discipline is if it's in cycling, if it's in academia, if it's in business. They're the ones getting shit done, they're the ones moving the human race forward. The rest of us, bees and seas, they're distracting motherfuckers. They're the ones that do their work tipping away listening to music, listening to work our news is on in the background, their phone is beside them, they're talking to people around them or even worse, there's toxic people in the room with them. I remember when I first stumbled upon this, this is back when I was doing Levensert and I didn't have a name for it, like, type bubble focus at the time. I called it Jedi Knight Focus and I remember distinctly even talking to my parents, going, I got into the Jedi Knight mode and I was always quite academic in school but I've never done it for long periods because I wanted to be a pro footballer. That was the goal. So I literally every week in error I used to play football just honing the craft and seeing how far I could go But I knew when I came to school I could just switch it on and I could switch it on for a tight period if it's two weeks It was four weeks depending on the exam But when I went into Jedi Knight focus mode that was it I built a cocoon around myself So what you need to do is you need to install Environments that is a tight ball of focus So, strategies I use for this that are absolutely brilliant. I have the time to lockbox from my phone. So right now I'm in podcast mode. My phone ain't going off, I'm in podcast mode. I have a lockbox from my phone and there's a timer on it and the timer pops up. I'll set it for four hours and I know I'm getting four hours of total absolute Zen focus time. That's the first thing I do. No tabs on your screen. Like only have open what you're actually working on. and here's a killer one for you. Get your headphones on exactly like this, big set of noise canceling cans and put brain and FM in your ear. It's a website you go to and it's brilliant.

Brain FM and tight bubble focus

It's a technology that's used to, and this is off their website, to elicit strong neural phase locking. That sounds like something out of Star Wars. So it allows neurons to engage in various kinds of coordinators activity, which move the distraction of sound from the outside world. It's next level. When you're listening to this stuff, you're in this crazy trance, working through, getting shit done like you wouldn't believe. If you stick the phone in the box, only have tabs open on what you're working on, and have that brain FM gone on the background folks. That is legendary. And if you combine that with the 90, 91 principle I talked about at the start, that is epic. And that's how I run my work day. I don't work for these huge long periods of time. I get really focused time and people who know me will know that there are certain times in a week where I am extraordinarily hard to reach and that's because I'm in this focused, Zen focused mode of getting shit done and integrate those two into your routine and I'm telling you it's going to be a complete game changer. Folks the Patreon link is down below if you want to get early access to that training camp that's going to be off the hook. Thank you for joining me, road man. Tomorrow I'm back with such an amazing interview. Danny Morrell I have on the podcast tomorrow and Danny is a dude who built an M property empire. It's not an else you call it. When you sell your company for over a billion, you get to call it an empire. Danny sold his company for over a billion and since then he's devoted his life to figuring out what makes people happy, what makes people healthy and what makes people live longer. Can you think of any more suicers to talk to us on our quest for health happiness and longevity. It's an absolutely epic interview and it was so so difficult for me to get this interview folks. You wouldn't believe the hoops to jump through to get an interview with a guy like that. You know, he's 300,000 followers, something on his Instagram alone. He has gated and guarded at so many levels like nothing I've ever seen before. It's a brilliant interview. So stay tuned for that one tomorrow folks and I will chat you then. Okay, stop what you're down. It's Anthony again. I want to talk to you for one second about the next step in the roadman journey. I'm laying down a challenge for you. It's called the eight week challenge. So for eight weeks, I'm challenging you to be the very best version of yourself. Whatever that is. For eight weeks, I want to take you under my wing and I want to personally build for you the customized training plan on our analytics platform. This plan is going to be laser focused on your goal and I'm going to navigate around your life, your work, your social commitments so don't worry about what your circumstances are right now. I remember after I took some time out of cycling and I went off and thought I was a really big businessman. I came back and I realised I wanted to get into cycling but I knew after a bit the training alone it actually wasn't making me any fitter. I needed an entire system it needs a 360 overhaul. So for the first time ever I want to share with you this exact system I used to get back in shape. I'm talking stuff like I'm going to give you my morning routines, the cold therapy I used, the cookbooks and recipes I used and even the motivational audios by listening to get back on track. So right now what I want you to do is pause this audio, go to www.rogemansycling.com forward slash age week or check out the link the boil, click that. So one more time, it's roadmancycling.com forward slash eight weeks. Chatty all soon.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the 90/90/1 rule for productivity?+

The 90/90/1 rule means spending the first 90 minutes of each working day, for 90 consecutive days, on the single most important task that will move your top goal forward. You do this before checking email, news, or social media. Anthony Walsh credits this as one of the two frameworks that most transformed his output.

How do you block out distractions when trying to focus on deep work?+

Anthony Walsh recommends what he calls "tight bubble focus," which combines a timed phone lockbox, no unnecessary browser tabs open, and focus audio from Brain.fm played through noise-cancelling headphones. These environmental controls remove the friction points that interrupt sustained concentration before they become a problem.

What is bubble time and how does it improve productivity?+

Bubble time is a structured period of deep focus where you deliberately seal yourself off from all external interruptions using physical and digital controls. Walsh argues this practice separates high-output producers from average ones, because the quality of your environment determines the quality of your concentration.

Should you check email before starting work in the morning?+

No. Walsh is clear that checking email, news, or social feeds at the start of the day pulls your attention towards other people's priorities rather than your own. The 90/90/1 rule is built on the principle that your first 90 minutes belong entirely to your most important task.

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KEY QUOTES

“We live in a world where focus, to be honest, it's more valuable than intelligence because everybody is just so distracted with social media news.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“For 90 days, the first 90 minutes of your day are going to be dominated with the single item, the big domino that is going to move you forward. You get to choose whatever you want to move forward in. If it's a health, if it's family, it's business.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“It's a technology that's used to, and this is off their website, to elicit strong neural phase locking. So it allows neurons to engage in various kinds of coordinators activity, which move the distraction of sound from the outside world.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the 90/90/1 rule for productivity?+

How do you block out distractions when trying to focus on deep work?+

What is bubble time and how does it improve productivity?+

Should you check email before starting work in the morning?+

2 STRATEGIES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY FOREVER

KEY QUOTES

Intro and Mortirolo training camp

The 90-90-1 productivity rule

Brain FM and tight bubble focus

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR CLEATS?

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

WILL WOUT EVER RIDE FOR ROGLIC AGAIN? WORLD'S DRAMA

RELATED CONTENT

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR CLEATS?

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

RIDING IN HEADWINDS: STRATEGIES, PACELINES, AND MENTAL SURVIVAL

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

2 STRATEGIES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY FOREVER

KEY QUOTES

Intro and Mortirolo training camp

The 90-90-1 productivity rule

Brain FM and tight bubble focus

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR CLEATS?

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

WILL WOUT EVER RIDE FOR ROGLIC AGAIN? WORLD'S DRAMA

RELATED CONTENT

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR CLEATS?

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

RIDING IN HEADWINDS: STRATEGIES, PACELINES, AND MENTAL SURVIVAL

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

2 STRATEGIES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY FOREVER

KEY QUOTES

1.Intro and Mortirolo training camp

2.The 90-90-1 productivity rule

3.Brain FM and tight bubble focus

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR CLEATS?

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

WILL WOUT EVER RIDE FOR ROGLIC AGAIN? WORLD'S DRAMA

RELATED CONTENT

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR CLEATS?

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

RIDING IN HEADWINDS: STRATEGIES, PACELINES, AND MENTAL SURVIVAL

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

2 STRATEGIES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY FOREVER

KEY QUOTES

1.Intro and Mortirolo training camp

2.The 90-90-1 productivity rule

3.Brain FM and tight bubble focus

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

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WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR CLEATS?

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

WILL WOUT EVER RIDE FOR ROGLIC AGAIN? WORLD'S DRAMA

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WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR CLEATS?

HOW ONE WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

RIDING IN HEADWINDS: STRATEGIES, PACELINES, AND MENTAL SURVIVAL

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

Intro and Mortirolo training camp

The 90-90-1 productivity rule

Brain FM and tight bubble focus

Intro and Mortirolo training camp

The 90-90-1 productivity rule

Brain FM and tight bubble focus