Elon Musk's No.1 Productivity Hack

Coming up in today’s edition:

1. One quick win: to achieve ANY goal faster

2. One proven system: to master your leadership communication style

3. One million-dollar question: that Elon Musk uses to focus for hours at a time

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MY TOP FINDS OF THE WEEK 🔍

For your performance:

• 7 simple tips to improve your daily focus (Link)

For your team:

• 6 core elements that make up a successful team (Link)

For your health:

• England Men’s football team used these breathing exercises to reach the Euros Final (Link)

1. FEAR SETTING > GOAL SETTING

We all set goals each year.

In business, several frameworks from OKRs to SMART milestones help us set goals for us and our team.

But what if this isn’t the most powerful way to achieve your goals according to the science?

Andrew Huberman shares a novel concept from a Psychology Professor at NYU - Emily Balcetis - who reframes how we should set and achieve goals based on the behavioural science of humans 👇

Write Down Your Fears

Next time you are setting goals with your team, get them to spend as much time visualising and writing down all the terrible things that would happen if they don’t achieve your goals.

This could be not getting a promotion, or not receiving an opportunity to work on a future dream project.

Fear of loss is the most powerful emotion. It also highlights why telling someone they can’t achieve something often motivates them to strive even harder to prove them wrong.

But simply writing down goals isn’t enough. Even visualising goals isn’t enough!

To achieve more of your goals, do these 3 things next time you set them:

1. Break each goal down into practical week-by-week and month-by-month chunks

2. Write down the obstacles that might prevent you from achieving them so there are limited hidden surprises along the way

3. Document your progress weekly as proximity to a goal increases the natural investment and resources that people use to achieve their goals

There are some other gems in the full podcast on Diary of a CEO here.

Your Sacrifice List

One other element to think about when goal setting is creating a sacrifice list.

Ask yourself and your team, what would you be willing to sacrifice for us to achieve these goals?

• Time away from family if the goal is to open an international office

• More time spent studying than meeting friends if you are learning a new skill required for a promotion

Every athlete knows the sacrifices it takes to win at the highest level.

LeBron James even talks about sacrificing “loved ones” in order to reach the top of your field.

Make sure you openly discuss what everyone in the team is willing to sacrifice. This way when it comes to crunch time, there are no hidden surprises or negative feelings towards the goals.

2. THE THREE SYSTEMS OF HUMAN MOTIVATION

Communication is the backbone of leadership.

Without it, it will be a struggle to convey ideas, build trust and long lasting relationships and achieve organisational goals.

So it is paramount that you understand the three main systems in our brand.

1. Safety System

2. Reward System

3. Purpose System

1) Safety System

When your team feels threatened or anxious— maybe they’re worried about losing their job, being blamed for mistakes, or not having a clear direction — their brains go into survival mode.

They’re not thinking about growth, innovation, or even just doing great work; they’re just trying to keep their heads above water.

If you want them to perform at their best, you’ve got to create an environment where they feel secure.

Action —> Run a weekly team meeting where you highlight both wins and failures openly - you want them to feel like you’re all in this together. Normalise mistakes by sharing your own and what you learned from them.

Make it clear that failure isn’t fatal — it’s feedback. When your team knows they’re not going to get punished for taking smart risks, they’ll feel safer and be more willing to push boundaries and innovate.

2) Reward System

Everyone’s brain is wired to respond to rewards, whether that’s a bonus, a public shout-out, or just a quick thank you. If you want your team to stay engaged, make sure they know there’s something worth working for beyond the pay check.

Action —> Set up a reward system where team members get recognised publicly in meetings or via a leaderboard for achieving milestones, whether that’s hitting a project deadline early, solving a tough problem, or just going the extra mile to help a team mate.

Keep it simple but visible. A leaderboard in the office or a shout-out in the company Slack channel can drive a surprising amount of engagement.

(P.S. an interesting study found that giving an employee a bonus or raise for something they were doing naturally due to their intrinsic motivation, reduced the amount they then repeated those actions in the future. Paying them makes the action part of their job, which reduced their inner drive to complete it for its own sake. This is why the third system is so important to master 👇)

3) Purpose System

Your team needs to know that what they’re doing matters. No one wants to feel like they’re just punching the clock or moving papers from one side of the desk to the other.

They need to see how their work impacts the bigger picture — the customers, the community, or even just the team next door. When people see the purpose behind their efforts, they’re more likely to dig in and push through when things get tough.

Action —> Share stories of how the team’s work has impacted real people. Maybe it’s a customer testimonial that shows how your product made someone’s life easier, or maybe it’s a story about how a project saved the company money that was then reinvested into a cause that matters to the team.

Make it personal. Bring in a customer or client to speak directly to the team about their experience. When people see the human side of their work, they find their own reasons to go the extra mile.

By tapping into these three systems — safety, reward, and purpose — you can create an environment where people feel secure enough to take risks, incentivised to push themselves, and motivated by a deeper meaning in their work.

3. HOW ARE SOME PEOPLE ABLE TO FOCUS FOR HOURS?

Elon Musk runs five of the biggest companies in the world (Tesla, SpaceX, NeuraLink, X, and The Boring Company) at the same time.

How is this even possible when we only have 24 hours in a day?

You can see some of his techniques to time management and productivity in the Lex Friedman clip below 👇

To improve your own focus and time management skills, implement his following structured approach to balancing time across different brain wave states—alpha, beta, and gamma.

Alpha State (Daydreaming and Creativity):

Think of this as your “creative recharge.” Your team needs time to let their brains wander and connect dots that don’t seem to relate. It’s the shower thoughts, the ideas that hit when you’re not trying too hard. Make room for this by scheduling 10-20 minutes a day or a few times a week where you encourage activities that spark creativity. That could be a casual brainstorm session over coffee, a walk around the block, or even just sitting back and doodling. This is where your best ideas will come from — not grinding harder, but thinking smarter.

Beta State (Productivity):

This is your “get sh*t done” time. Block out specific times of the day when you and your team are in execution mode — answering emails, knocking out tasks, handling meetings. The goal here is output and efficiency. Use tools like time blocking or the Pomodoro Technique to make sure you’re not burning out by trying to multitask all day. Set the timer, knock out the work, and then move on.

Gamma State (Deep Focus and Problem-Solving):

This is where the magic happens — deep work time. Set aside blocks of one to three hours where you and your team are all in, solving big problems, strategising, or working on projects that require maximum brainpower. No distractions allowed. Shut down the email, close Slack, and put the phone on airplane mode. The key is to create a distraction-free environment where real breakthroughs can happen.

By structuring your day and your team’s day around these three brain states — creativity, productivity, and deep work — you ensure that everyone is operating at peak performance at the right time.

It’s not about working harder; it’s about working smarter and tapping into your brain’s natural flow.

ONE-ON-ONE COACHING SPOTS NOW AVAILABLE

The feedback on the newsletter each week gives me so much energy - thank you! One of the consistent requests recently is how to apply some of the concepts to specific challenges that you are having with your own team.

So I’ve opened up five slots in my diary each week to provide one on one coaching and problem solving so that you can get Elite Team Tactics personalised just for you 👇

Thanks!

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Have an awesome week!

👋 - Alex