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I made $0 from rental income in Sept' 2020

15 months later, I had

- 34 units
- $36,200/month in rental income

While I worked >60 hrs/wk avg in my full-time job.

5 actions I took to unleash productivity and grow fast👇🧵
Note: Some weeks, my job was very demanding, but these actions worked most weeks.

Let's dive In:
1) Cognitive load optimization

Shallow work in the am was like driving a Ferrari through a traffic jam.

I was wasting prime brainpower.

You want to architect, not lay bricks during this time.

So I rearranged my day based on research by @hubermanlab

Like this ↓
@hubermanlab High load work 6-9 am(before I started my job)

(6-7)
- Morning routine - not missed a day since April 2019

(7-9)
- Creative work like writing or problem-solving. eg- debugging a financial model or coding.
@hubermanlab 9 am
Workday starts, which in the consulting world is mostly hardcore problem-solving.

Most days I was beat by 5 pm, but then, I tried something and it worked wonders:
@hubermanlab If I felt depleted, I'd find a spot to meditate for 2-3 mins and instantly feel the boost.

To date, this has been my biggest life hack. I will never stop doing it now.
@hubermanlab Also,

• All notifications are muted on my phone.
• No food till 4 pm to keep the mental alertness high
• No social media
• No chit-chats. They are all standing in line, marching to the end. Not for me!
@hubermanlab After Work, around 7 pm

- Gym + Learning (listening to a pod or Blinkist or Audible)

At 9 pm - Shallow Work(Emails, messages, admin-type tasks)

11 pm - Bed
@hubermanlab 2) Deep Work inspired by Cal Newport

I laser-focused on a task as if my life depended on it.

We all know context switching is costly and time-consuming so I won't get into why:

But here is what most people miss about deep work:
@hubermanlab The key is not just cutting distractions but focusing on ONE task for the entire time.

eg- writing a newsletter or creating an investor memo or a deck.

Throughout the day, I practiced deep work (wherever possible)
@hubermanlab 3) Automation is a fix, never a solution.

I am a fan of Gall's law = Think big, start small.

Whatever I do, I want to fail fast

Applying this in Real Estate meant trying to automate from the start and building a system was going to be counterproductive.
@hubermanlab Instead, I used fast iterations and a patchwork mentality.

If the decision was easily reversible, I'd pick the path of least resistance.
@hubermanlab When I reached a critical mass of portfolio units.

I took a side step for a month and automated everything. Think:
- Property Analysis
- Offers
- Due Diligence
- Property leasing
- etc
@hubermanlab 4) Focus on revenue, not costs:

A trap many fall into is to start focusing on saving costs, like finding the cheapest painter or a plumber or worse doing it themselves.

If you want to grow fast, focus on revenue
@hubermanlab I prioritized all tasks, which maximally fed revenue growth like finding deals, capital, increasing rent, etc

Backlogged all cost tasks for later. Think reducing insurance, repair costs, etc

The opportunity cost of saving a few hundred dollars is thousands of dollars.
@hubermanlab 5) Lastly, I only did things only I am able to do and distributed everything else.

"duh, I know that already" is what you are thinking.

But in practice, it's harder, especially if you like quality and control.
@hubermanlab I was fortunate to observe extremely high-performing leaders at Mckinsey and I paid extreme attention to what was common amongst them.

And their ability to decentralize different workstreams was proof I had to be ok with giving away work with trust.
@hubermanlab Eg - I got operating partners who love the stuff I don't,
Got VAs and other contractors.

80% of RE is repetitive, and admin work, which could be distributed = I freed 80% of my time.
@hubermanlab To contextualize the full picture, here are some other data points.

-Spent ~ 15 hrs/week on RE

-Watched No TV

-No 1:1 meetings with existing friends instead, met them at bigger gatherings.

-Remained Intentionally single to maintain extreme focus.
@hubermanlab This quote also hits it home!

“Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time, who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” ― Thomas Jefferson.
@hubermanlab That's a wrap 😇

Note I am just sharing it is possible to grow fast even with a day job - to break any mental boundaries.

Not saying you should do the same. These tricks worked for me with my demanding job. Experiment with what works for you!

Ultimately consistency > intensity
@hubermanlab I write more intricate details on my strategies in my newsletter - And I only send it when I have stuff worthy of your time.

If you are interested, please join > 6,000 subscribers here:

supermode.io/newsletter
✅ Please retweet the first tweet (linked below)👇 if you find value in my threads.

It really helps me decide what to write about and also helps spread the insights to more people.

Only if you find value. 🙂


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