Are You Drowning in Projects, Ideas, and Responsibilities — and Don’t Know Where to Start?
Find Out How to Prioritize Your Work and Finish Everything You Start — Even if You Have a Giant Backlog and Struggle with Distractions
Something was seriously wrong. Dan loved his job.
Every day, he got to wake up and help people by doing what he loves — building software for nonprofits.
His work made him happy, and the value he provided to clients was huge.
Past clients he hadn’t heard from in months would regularly email him out of the blue just to say how awesome his software was and how much it was helping them serve their community.
So what was the problem?
Dan was frustrated, every single day, because he wasn’t getting any “big picture” stuff done.
Managing a team of 4 around the world, he was juggling 50–60 open tasks in his task manager, another 43 that were waiting on someone’s input, and an additional 287 “someday” tasks.
Dan had no problem crossing the fun things off the list.
He was also great at getting done what he had to, like client meetings — which he was a pro at. But then after the important or urgent obligation was over, all his energy would vanish.
He might get one or two other things done in a day, but he just couldn’t find the focus to get more than the absolute essentials done.
(And that was just work — he also had a backlog of personal stuff to do: small projects around the house, decluttering, updating his computer.)
What little focus he could muster was sucked away by interruptions — people calling him, emailing him, client emergencies.
He’d forget stuff, get stressed out, and snap at his team members.
And because he could only focus on “small fires,” as he called them, he never invested time in the big picture and vision for his business — the stuff that would let him take his business to the next level in revenue and impact.
Dan was constantly working in his business, instead of on his business.
It was like being stuck in quicksand.
The more he struggled, the more he seemed to get sucked back in, never able to reach stable ground. Focus was always just out of reach. Distractions kept him stuck in the quicksand of stagnation.
As a result, Dan wasn’t progressing in his business. He wanted to level up and work with bigger nonprofits, so his work would have more of an impact in the world.
Instead, he was stuck at the mid-level where he’d been for years. Doing good work, getting by, but not running the business he wanted to be. Or living the life he’d dreamed of when he started his business.
He’d go on Instagram and see people on amazing vacations, building their dream homes, presenting at TED Talks…and feel the envy like a gut punch. Those were his dreams, too.
Then he’d just sigh, close the tabs, and think, “Wish I could do that.”
Once you stop making progress, you’re declining. And that was true for Dan. He couldn’t break through to real growth, because distractions kept him from doing real work.
On the outside, Dan looked successful, but on the inside, he knew he was capable of so much more. He was coming up on 20 years since graduating college, and thinking back on his dreams at 22 versus his life at 42…he knew he’d fallen short. And this knowledge was eating him up inside.
He felt less confident about what he could do as a person. It seemed like his future would just happen to him…like he didn’t have control over it.
It would almost have been easier to swallow if there was one major life challenge standing in his way.
But no…it was “just” an almost total lack of ability to drown out distractions and get focused work done.
Dan called the whole thing death by a thousand papercuts.
Because there was no one thing he could say was destroying his focus. It was a thousand tiny things.
“I mean, where do you even start with that?” he asked me.
Dan’s a friend of mine and came to me because he realized he could only keep doing this for so long.
And as he described the situation to me, I could hear the anger in his voice.
Just last week, I had this idea for how I was going to develop a lead gen plan and a referral system. I listened to a great podcast on how to do it. I was ready to go. But then…it just never happened. A hundred other things got in the way.
Then as I was searching in Google Drive for my notes on the podcast, I saw folders for 6 other projects I’d started and half-finished.
Picture that — you’re fired up for a new project, you get ready to start, and you come across folder after folder of unfinished projects.
Projects you were just as excited about as this one.
“What makes you think you’ll finish this one?” you ask yourself. “Why is this time any different? You never finish anything.”
It’s a horrible negative cycle, when you consistently start things and can’t finish them.
Dan wasn’t just frustrated, he was angry at himself.
Angry that his company wasn’t growing.
Angry that he couldn’t even start — much less finish — his most important project (his lead generation plan).
Angry that all the creative ideas swirling around in his head never went anywhere.
What’s the point of having amazing ideas if you can’t start and finish them?
He’d sit at his desk at 7pm every evening, look back on another mostly wasted day, and think, “This isn’t what I got into business for.”
When your focus suffers death by a thousand papercuts, what really dies is the big picture: your vision for your work and life.
Just take a look at a few people who achieved huge things with their lives. They had vision — and the focus to achieve their vision.
For example:
Benjamin Franklin said to “never confuse motion with action.” Franklin was a master of self-improvement, one of America’s first self-made millionaires, and, of course, a Founding Father. And even he said that just being busy isn’t enough — you have to be taking real action.
Steve Jobs recommended focus, saying, “That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity.” Steve Jobs could have taken Apple in a million different directions, and as a creative, driven person, he probably had thousands of idea he never pursued. The key was picking the right thing to work on, and working on it.
Tony Robbins argues that, “One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power.” To achieve your important goals in life, you must concentrate your power and direct your focus. That starts with building focus, and knowing where to focus. Being smart isn’t enough.
Russell Simmons has said that, “A clear and focused mind will last a lifetime. Getting your mind in shape is nothing less than the key to sustainable success in the world.” A clear, focused mind helped Simmons on his path to building Def Jam Records (home of Run DMC and Kanye West).
Imagine if any one of these people had never learned to focus. We never would have heard of them.
Inside every person, there’s a lot of potential.
But without focus: your dreams, big ideas, and desire to make the world a better place will stay in your head.
The poet Thomas Grey wrote a famous poem where he looks on gravestones in a country churchyard and thinks about the unknown Miltons and Cromwells that could be there. People who could have been famous figures in history, but weren’t. They just never had the opportunity.
Similarly, think about the Tony Robbins, Benjamin Franklin, and Steve Jobs who never were. Who could have been — who were equal in intelligence, ideas, and creativity — but could never focus and make their ideas happen.
Dan saw the huge gap between what he could be and what he was.
And it was his lack of focus standing in the way.
Are You Stuck in “Putting Out Small Fires” Mode?
Have you tried using GTD, task apps, OmniFocus, Spotify playlists, and other productivity tools — and still find you can’t focus?
Do you still find yourself overwhelmed with distractions, open loops in your head, ideas, and your backlog of tasks?
It might surprise you to know that a lot of our clients have this problem. They’re excellent at their work. They rarely fail to deliver on things that have to get done.
But when it comes to growth — the kind of growth that lets you grow a business or get a promotion — that’s where they fall short.
And that’s because they’re stuck in “putting out small fires” mode and managing the urgent — but neglecting the non-urgent and important.
Over the past 7+ years, we’ve helped hundreds of clients get better focus.
So when Dan came to me for help, I knew what to do.
I guided him through the focus system we’ve developed, and that I use personally to stay focused in my life.
I gave him quick wins to instantly boost his productivity.
Then I guided him through the myths holding him back from focusing, helped him develop new mindsets, and gave him real-world ways to handle the emergencies that pop up and threaten to destroy focus.
We also worked together to define his One Thing to work on — out of the 300+ on his list.
This gave Dan a clear plan for how to prioritize and where to start.
Before, Dan used to do maybe 20 minutes here and there of focused work. Within a week, he was doing 2 hours of focused work a day. Within a month, he’d handled his entire backlog and was able to do 4 hours of focused, high-value work every workday.
He’d put his lead gen system in place, and qualified leads were starting to roll in.
His employees noticed the difference. He was calmer, more on top of things, and handling all his responsibilities with minimal stress.
After seeing Dan’s results, I started thinking: I love working with clients one on one, but I wanted more people to see these results for their own focus.
Plus, focus is one of the #1 topics people ask us about.
Questions like:
- “How do I stay focused and motivated long enough to finish what I started?”
- “How do I focus while allowing for open communication so my staff can easily ask me questions?”
- “I have a million ideas and tasks. How do I know the best one to start with?”
- “I work in a large bureaucracy with multiple meetings called per week, and each meeting interrupts my focus for 3+ hours. What do I do?”
- “ What if I miss something important when I go offline for deep focus mode?”
- “How do I make myself do something that doesn’t have a deadline?”
- “How do I get more than a week ahead, so I’m not always putting out fires?”
So 18 months ago, the Asian Efficiency team and I started developing a course to distill all our focus knowledge.
First, we sent out surveys to hundreds of people. Then we followed up with 50+ hours of one-on-one interviews to better understand the problems people were having with focus.
We then tested dozens of new ideas with beta testers. We adapted tactics based on their feedback and iterated techniques until our testers achieved the increased focus they were looking for.
Then we met as a team and spent days reading interview transcripts and hashing out the outline of our course. After that we spent weeks shooting all-new videos, putting together the course material, and organizing it all into a flow that takes you from zero focus to superhuman focus.
And along the way, during all that research and work…
…We Discovered Something Weird
This was surprising, but it’s true:
99% of the focus advice out there gives you either tactics or mindset changes, but NOT both.
So if you take an online course that gives you all the tools you need, great. But how much good is that going to do if your mindset and energy are constantly sabotaging you?
On the other hand, if you take a course with 100% mindset advice, how do you implement it in the real world? Deep change isn’t really change if it just stays inside you and never becomes real.
From our work boosting the focus of hundreds of students, I knew that we needed both mindset and tools.
And that these needed to fit together seamlessly. There’s no point in addressing the underlying psychology with a tool that doesn’t fit.
That’s our system’s “secret sauce”: we give you the mindset and tools you need to achieve zen-like focus — and they work together hand in hand, as part of a seamless system.
And after 18 months of work and thousands of dollars in research and staff time invested, I’m proud to announce that system: Finisher’s Fastlane.
Finisher’s Fastlane: The Key to Achieving Focus for Life
Our system is the key to achieving focus that will let you finally stay on top of all your responsibilities, and start and finish your most important project.
Do you feel like you’re overflowing with ideas and new opportunities, but you don’t know where to start?
We have practical steps to help you zoom out, prioritize, and work on what matters.
Here’s what you’ll get in the Finisher’s Fastlane:
- 5 quick wins to boost your focus immediately — you can do these TODAY and feel the results instantly
- What you should not be using your willpower for, and the software to use instead
- How to find your core values, so you can eliminate the internal friction dragging you back into procrastination every time you try to start something
- Why work-life balance is a myth — and what to aim for instead
- The right way to take breaks (recent scientific findings from the University of Illinois prove definitively that taking breaks dramatically increases your ability to focus…let us teach you the correct, structured way to take breaks)
- How to find the ONE THING you need to work on — even if you have 100+ items in your to-do list right now
- The right way to politely deal with a boss or manager who disrupts your focus (and get back to your work that matters)
- How to say no without hurting anyone’s feelings, so you can firmly prioritize your focus
- How to balance multiple, competing goals from multiple sources (essential if you work in a corporate setting) — Elite only
- The power of tailored conversation, and how Brooks’s coworker used it to land a phenomenal promotion offer — Elite only
You’ll receive these focus boosters via:
38 videos that take you through our focus system step by step.
Action plans to help you put the information into concrete action.
All the presentation slides, so you can easily review the info from the videos.
38 transcripts, so you can read along at your own pace.
And — if you buy now — we’re including
3 bonuses guaranteed to boost your focus:
Procrastination Masterclass — Learn our 6 practical techniques for defeating procrastination, so you always get done what need to, when you need to. No more late nights making up for wasted time. This course is not available for sale anywhere else, so get it now while you can — free.
Shiny New Object Masterclass — If you lose focus or get distracted easily, this ultra-specific masterclass is for you. Addictive apps and fun new tools threaten to destroy your focus every single day. Learn how to inoculate yourself against distraction for good, so you can focus on what matters.
Focus for Parents Masterclass — It can be hard to focus when you’re responsible not just for yourself, but additional humans who depend on you for everything! In this masterclass, we’ll teach you specific strategies and techniques parents can use to strengthen their focus.
Your Finisher’s Fastlane Package
When you join the Finisher’s Fastlane, you’ll be joining a group of hundreds of Asian Efficiency customers who have radically increased their focus for life.
After you log in, you’ll be greeted by a welcome video. Underneath, you’ll see the course content, starting with the Focus Quick Start. Once you’ve clicked on that, you’ll start moving through our focus system step by step.
In only 7 days or less, you’ll change your self-defeating, procrastination-enabling mindsets, and replace them with healthy, focus-boosting mindsets. You’ll get the tools you need to put the system into place.
And you’ll finally be able to choose and start a project with the confidence of knowing you can finish it.
Which of these 3 options below is the best way for you to start?
Finisher’s Fastlane
3 Monthly Payments of
$169
- Online Course
- Video Screencasts ($199 value)
- Deep Work Masterclass ($199 value)
- Planning Perfect Week Masterclass ($199 value)
- Focus Apps and Tools Masterclass ($199 value)
- Corporate Productivity Masterclass ($499 value)
($169 x 3)
Or
$499 one time now
Finisher’s Fastlane Elite
3 Monthly Payments of
$199
- Online Course
- Video Screencasts ($199 value)
- Deep Work Masterclass ($199 value)
- Planning Perfect Week Masterclass ($199 value)
- Focus Apps and Tools Masterclass ($199 value)
- Corporate Productivity Masterclass ($499 value)
($199 x 3)
Or
$599 one time now
Finisher’s Fastlane Corporate
3 Monthly Payments of
$399
- Online Course
- Video Screencasts ($199 value)
- Deep Work Masterclass ($199 value)
- Planning Perfect Week Masterclass ($199 value)
- Focus Apps and Tools Masterclass ($199 value)
- Corporate Productivity Masterclass ($499 value)
($399 x 3)
Or
$999 one time now
How to Decide Which Package Is Right for You
I know this course isn’t cheap. And if you’re not ready to invest in your focus, that’s OK.
But if you’re sick of not being able to focus — of never knowing what to work on or how to get started, or never being 100% sure that you’ll finish what you start — then this course is definitely for you.
If you’re ready to invest, I want to make sure you choose the right package.
Finisher’s Fastlane Corporate is for any manager or high-level employee working in a corporate setting. We offer you real-world ways to boost your focus, even if you have too many meetings to attend, a boss who constantly interrupts you, and multiple goals from multiple sources competing for your focus.
Finisher’s Fastlane Elite is ideal if you don’t work in corporate, and you want to gain the ability to do deep work and focus. You know that without deep work, your business or your work will stagnate. You’ll do fine — like you are now — but you won’t skyrocket like you want to.
Finisher’s Fastlane is perfect if you want the foundations of increasing focus — the system that has worked for hundreds. (But you’ll miss out on all the free bonuses that will help you defeat procrastination, ignore shiny new objects, and boost your focus as a parent.)
Your Rock-Solid Money-Back Guarantee
I’m so confident in the power of Finisher’s Fastlane to boost your focus immediately, and for the long term, that I’m offering the best guarantee I can.
I want you to have 100% confidence that your investment will be well spent.
After you’ve taken Finisher’s Fastlane, I promise that:
You’ll be able to start and finish your most important project
You’ll be on top of your responsibilities and tasks
You’ll always know where to start tackling your backlog and to-do list
If you aren’t completely satisfied with Finisher’s Fastlane, I insist you get your money back. Just contact us at support@asianefficiency.com for a refund within 60 days of your purchase.
If you contact us for a refund, we’ll issue it promptly and courteously. We’ll even eat the credit card processing fees, so that trying this course is 100% upside for you.
With the Asian Efficiency Guarantee, you can only win. Either you achieve unprecedented heights of focus, or you get your money back.
So why not give Finisher’s Fastlane a try?
Finisher’s Fastlane Has Worked for Hundreds of People
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-Name Familyname
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Frequently Asked Questions
Will this work for people in large bureaucracies, or just entrepreneurs?
This course will work for both. Many of our customers are, as one customer described, the lone wolf in an inefficient, old-fashioned, bureaucratic organization. Finisher’s Fastlane works for both entrepreneurial and corporate settings.
Is this course live?
No, this is an online video course that you can access 24/7 from any device (computer, smartphone, tablet). It includes lifetime access to all the materials, techniques, strategies, videos, worksheets, and more.
How much time will this course take?
You can go through the entire course in one afternoon. So you’ll be getting more focused FAST. Keep in mind that the course will always be there if you need a refresher.
Is this only for Mac?
Nope, this works on any platform. When there’s a difference in setup (between Mac and Windows, for example), we walk you through the steps on each platform.
How is this different from the Rituals System and the Productivity Blueprint?
Finisher’s Fastlane teaches you how to focus, so you can start and finish your most important work, even if you have a huge backlog of stuff to do and ideas to implement.
The Rituals System teaches you seven proven rituals that all successful people have in common. It shows you how to eliminate your bad habits and replace them with productive daily rituals.
The Productivity Blueprint teaches you all the mindsets, strategies, and exercises you need to live productively.
When you’ve taken all 3 courses, you have the tools to focus on work that matters, create and maintain rituals that set you up for success every day, and live productively in every area of your life. The courses are complementary, but they each tackle different areas of being an efficient, productive person.
How is this course different from other focus courses out there?
It’s different in 5 key ways:
1) We teach mindsets AND tools (instead of just one or the other).
2) Our course has a lot more technology screencasts that show you how to set up the apps and tools. There are a lot of “power user” settings that 99% of people don’t know about, and we show them to you.
3) Our course has been tested with real people. They aren’t based on how ONE person does something (like Michael Hyatt and Shawn Blanc’s courses). Our course is based on our work with hundreds of entrepreneurs, corporate workers, solopreneurs, and more.
4) We cater to corporate employees and entrepreneurs. Other courses try to teach something that works for everyone (which we don’t think is possible).
5) Our course has tons of bonuses of relevant masterclasses that others don’t have.
6) You get premium support from us. This is a major benefit of buying from a company rather than an individual person with a product — we have the “people power” to support you.
Are You Ready to Start and Finish Your Most Important Project?
Finisher’s Fastlane is laser-focused on execution. I want you to go ASAP from “drowning in responsibilities and projects” to “finishing your most important project like a pro.”
You can do it. I know that because hundreds of other people have with our system.
The only question now is whether you’ll take the leap.
There are always going to be those people who get their act together and move forward with their lives. You’ve read this far. I think you’re one of those people.
Ask yourself:
“Do I want to be someone who has their stuff together, who does the things they’re supposed to, and who fully achieves their potential? Or do I want to be left behind?”
If you choose to be left behind, you’ll succumb even further to distraction.
Your focus will continue to be relentlessly chipped away at.
Your brain will be ruled by the people who make Facebook and apps addictive.
Your ideas will stay on your to-do list.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
A dedicated group of people are taking a stand against distraction.
We start projects and follow them through to completion.
We envision what we want to do, and then we make it happen.
We do our most important work — work that matters.
Will you join us?
-Thanh & the Asian Efficiency team
P.S. This week has been awesome. On Monday, I focused for the first 3 hours of the day on writing SOPs for a new process we just put into place.
My mind wandered a couple times, but I was able to bring it back easily. I didn’t check Facebook, Twitter, or the news — I just gently guided my mind back to Deep Work mode, and kept knocking out SOPs.
On Thursday, I had 12-5pm blocked out for “Strategy and Thinking Time.” I look forward to this time all week.
It’s when I leave all my electronics at home. I stuff my backpack with my Moleskine notebook, my Montblanc pen, and a book. That’s it.
I go to my favorite coffeeshop nearby and order some green tea. And then I spend all afternoon there sitting, reading, and thinking.
When I first did this, it felt weird.
But now I love it. I get to focus on the big picture.
Some of my best ideas and strategies have come from sitting at that coffeeshop sipping iced green tea.
(One example is the idea for this course.)
With Thinking Time, I get to work “on my business,” not “in my business.”
I set aside the world of emails, chat notifications, Skype calls, and team meetings. Those things are necessary and important, but not during Thinking Time.
With the ability to step away and get focused, I can generate ideas that help grow Asian Efficiency to new heights. And the more that happens, the more people we can help — which is the whole reason AE exists.
What would happen if you had Thinking Time?
Would you feel guilty?
Unable to stop thinking about all the things you have to do — and worrying about what you might be forgetting?
Or is a moot point, because the idea of even 1 hour away from the day-to-day is beyond reach right now?
If any of that is true, that’s a serious problem.
For example, here’s a story about a guy I met at a conference a couple years ago.
He’s a marketing agency owner, and his company does pretty well. He’s talented at what he does, and he’s smart.
But as we were talking the first time we met, it was clear he was really frustrated. He complained about feeling chained to his email and his desk. He hated that he could never focus long enough on strategy to grow his business. (People tell me these things once they find out what I do.)
He knew what he needed to do — become more focused — but he just couldn’t do it.
We ended the conversation with him saying, “Yeah, I really need to figure something out.”
Then a year later, we met again at the same conference. And his situation was essentially the same.
He had hundreds of items on his to-do list, he was stressed out and drowning in work, and his revenue was the same as last year’s.
I asked him what the one thing he wanted to focus on was, and he gave me a list of 5+ huge things he wants to do.
So much for focus.
I’m not trying to pick on him in particular, because this is an extremely common problem.
Being smart and talented doesn’t prevent you from having focus problems.
If anything, being ambitious just gives you a million more ideas than other people might have.
So it’s understandable. But at some point, you have to decide to change.
My question for you is: in a year, will you be 10x as focused as you are now?
Will you be proud of what you’ve accomplished?
Or will you have let another year slip away?
Imagine your future with focus — all the meaningful work you’ll get done — and then seize this opportunity.
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