5 Productivity Secrets from Eric Partaker and How to Turbocharge Growth in Yourself and Others

Eric Partaker, a peak performance expert and CEO coach, shares his insights on closing the gap between your current and best self this week on Learning Unbound. Named "CEO of the Year" at the 2019 Business Excellence Forum and recognized as one of "Britain's Most Disruptive Entrepreneurs" by The Telegraph, Eric draws from his experience advising Fortune 50 CEOs, helping build Skype's multi-billion dollar success story, and his coaching education from Stanford University's Behavior Design Lab.

In this episode, Eric dives into the practical techniques that can help you push yourself to your highest level. From taking an 80/20 approach to learning and execution, to building discipline by leaning into challenges, Eric reveals proven strategies that you can try out for yourself immediately. He also shares his insights on the power of self-awareness, the importance of taking action, and the secret to a productive day. If you're looking to reach peak performance and productivity, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways.

Tune in to the full episode here:

Here's a breakdown of the key takeaways I wanted to dive into from this episode from the perspective of how we can leverage these concepts to design better learning experiences:

• The Power of Self-Awareness: Overcoming the Fundamental Attribution Error
• From Knowledge to Action: Bridging the Gap
• The 80/20 Principle: A Universal Tool for Success
• Designing Learning for Maximum Impact: Simplicity and Practicality
• The Secret to a Productive Day: Mastering Your Evening Routine

The Power of Self-Awareness: Overcoming the Fundamental Attribution Error

Self-awareness is critical to personal growth; you can’t develop unless you understand what’s really holding you back . Eric highlights the concept of the fundamental attribution error, which can hinder our ability to make changes in our lives.

"Fundamental attribution error means that the average human being will point to an external reason as the cause for why they are not where they would like to be, where things aren't going well for them. But if you're looking at another person, let's make up a name, John or Mary, and say, 'Well, why is Mary not where she wants to be? Why is John not where he wants to be?' When it's another person, we go, 'It's something about Mary, or it's something about John that's leading to that,' rather than an external thing."

This insight reminds us to take responsibility and look inward when faced with obstacles or setbacks. As learning professionals, it's essential to cultivate this self-awareness in ourselves and our learners, fostering a mindset of personal accountability and continuous improvement.

From Knowledge to Action: Bridging the Gap

In today's information age, knowledge is more accessible than ever before. However, the true power lies in translating that knowledge into action.

"Knowledge can be acquired so cheaply within seconds. It's not really where the power lies anymore… for example, if you want to become a doctor, there's a baseline amount of knowledge that you need to just get a ticket to the show. But for most of us, knowledge... It's just not where the game is played anymore. It's about translating knowledge into action. That's where the game is played."

Our role is not simply to impart knowledge but to empower learners to apply that knowledge effectively in real life. By focusing on practical application, we can bridge the gap between knowing and doing, moving past lip service to drive true behavior change.

Designing Learning for Maximum Retention: Simplicity & Practicality

Building on the idea of translating knowledge into action, Eric emphasizes the importance of simplicity and practicality in designing effective learning programs. When learning content is easy to apply, it increases the likelihood of retention and long-term behavior change.

"If you're designing a program or if you're trying to teach others and help them learn, the most powerful thing you can do is just make it ultra easy to apply. And so then that lends itself to, know, what is the practicality in that which you're teaching? You know, what are the simple steps that people can execute?"

When you distill concepts into memorable and actionable insights, it helps learners digest and actually use them.  This is what bridges the gap between theory and practice.

The 80/20 Principle: A Universal Tool for Success

The 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto Principle, is the idea that ~80% of outputs often result from just ~20% of inputs. Eric shares a personal example of how he operationalized 80/20 to improve his productivity and efficiency.

"You need to operationalize 80/20 on a daily basis and treat it like a verb. And so I set up a WhatsApp chat with a friend and for a year… on a daily basis, to train this muscle, we had to share one thing that we had 80/20 in the context of that day. And so what I mean is you had to do one thing daily where you acknowledged that you only had put in 20% effort to get an 80% result, meaning that you sacrifice perfection purposely for the benefit of speed."

This approach can be particularly valuable in the context of L&D. To make the most of limited resources, it’s important to identify the 20% of content or activities that drive 80% of the desired learning outcomes.

The Secret to a Productive Day: Mastering Your Evening Routine

While most people focus on morning routines as the key to productivity, Eric reveals that the secret to a successful day actually starts the night before.

"A productive day never begins the day of; it begins the night before. And it begins actually the evening before by shutting your day down correctly. And so what I tell people is, you need to sedate yourself and, but not with a glass of wine or a beer as people typically do, but, you know, with the acronym SD8."

This is what SD8 stands for:

• Shutdown routine: Identify your top 3 priorities for tomorrow and schedule them 
• Digital sunset: Power off devices an hour before bed to double melatonin 
• 8 hours of restorative sleep

By knowing your next day's focus areas and setting yourself up for restful sleep, you prime yourself for peak productivity.