5 Productivity and Success Tips 'Shark Tank's' Daymond John Swears By The FUBU founder and CEO shares what helps him make the most of every day.
By Nina Zipkin
"Why are some people more successful than others and are more productive than others if we have the same exact 24 hours [in a day]?"
Daymond John, founder of FUBU and a judge on Shark Tank, says that is the driving question behind his upcoming book, Rise and Grind: Outperform, Outwork and Outhustle Your Way to a More Successful and Rewarding Life.
After successfully coming through treatment for thyroid cancer in 2017, John wanted to take stock of how he was spending his time.
Related: Daymond John: Get Out of Your Office and Into the Mix
To that end, he decided to interview people he admired across a number of industries and ask them about their routines and strategies. He spoke with individuals such as Gary Vaynerchuk, Honest Company co-founder Brian Lee, musician Carlos Santana, producer and advocate Nely Galán and actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.
"The motivation of the book is so many people started coming to me saying I understand the theory [of you don't need money to make money]. Now how can I be more productive in my day to maximize what I do every single day and get that point?" John says.
Entrepreneur spoke with John to get some insight into what surprised him during his research and the productivity strategies that help him run his business.
Prioritize your well-being.
"I noticed every single person made a point to find time for themselves," John says. "Every single person [I spoke to] found anywhere from a half an hour to several hours a day to just talk to themselves. They really took that time during the day, a conscious effort to carve out time, which was fascinating to me."
Rethink your routines.
"Until writing the book, I used to work out at night. I did that because I figured nobody was going to email me and because all of the caffeine during the day, I wanted to make myself tired to go sleep at night," he says. "And I wanted to get time for myself. Now I found that since [starting to work out early] in the morning, I look over the course of the month I've gained two more days back in my life because with the adrenaline, I'm more productive during the day."
Be honest.
"Another tip I learned from [researching] the book is, write down all the things you love and all the things you hate," John says. "If you do that once a week and you start [to see patterns and you can] get the things you hate out of your life. You can outsource the work [you don't like] and you have more time to gravitate to the things you love, and it makes you more productive."
Plan ahead.
"I make sure that there is one time during the day that I check in with all management. I don't check in with them in the morning. I check in with them towards later on the evening because I want them to already have the problems they faced during the day at the top of their heads. And I make sure that I do that, because that's my offense -- giving directions to all of them and taking in all the information because it'll move another 100 or 200 people in a certain direction," John says. "I didn't do that earlier in my career. I used to get up [in the morning] and try solve all the problems myself. I tried to put all the fires myself and have long discussion with the management and the team members. But I've learned that's not productive. I've been doing [the evening strategy] over the last 10 years."
Be a tourist.
"No matter where I travel, I walk around or do something to get my mind clear. Maybe go see something [new], because I never used to take a break in any aspect," he says. "When I was 33 years old, I travelled the world three times. And the whole world was a board room, a restaurant, a hotel room and an airport. I didn't see the entire world. So I do that now and before I know it, in a year I've been to 30 amazing places like a tourist and I've seen so many things."
