What I Have Learned From Elon Musk’s Insane Work Ethic
Here are 6 lessons on productivity
Elon Musk is probably one of the most fascinating and productive humans alive.
You have to wonder how an African migrant created a series of incredibly successful businesses and shattered long-held beliefs of what we thought was possible about vehicles, payments processors, satellite communication, renewable energy, and rockets.
His personal and social life isn’t any less eventful. He has fathered 10 children so far -and with a dating life more colorful than most -–you have to wonder, how does he do it?
How does this uber-busy billionaire manage to stay so productive while joggling a packed personal and social life?
Let’s try and find out from his many Twitter posts, interviews, and biography.
He is motivated by stretch goals
Stretch Goals are SMART Goals on steroids and are intentionally designed to be difficult to accomplish.
In a sit-down with the founder of Khan Academy, he had this to say;
“Well, when I was in college… — I didn’t actually expect to do it. It was not like this is some long-fulfilled expectation. But when I was in college, I thought about what were the areas that would most affect the future of humanity, in my opinion. The three areas were the internet, sustainable energy, and space exploration, particularly if humanity becomes a multi-planet species. You know, there’s kind of like a pretty substantial bifurcation in our future, if we’re either out there among stars on multiple planets, or if we’re confined to Earth until some obviously eventual extinction. Not that I’m pessimistic about life on Earth. I mean, things are likely to be good. More likely to be good by far than bad”
Elon Musk has an appetite for challenging goals.
He often reflects on how he can improve the world in grand ways with big goals, big projects, and big companies.
It’s not surprising that big and compelling goals energize one’s resolve toward accomplishing them. It’s also important to break big goals into sub-goals, tasks, or work packages which create steps that are readily actionable and prioritizable.
Since Musk’s overarching goal appears to be to save Mankind –it explains why his companies are all geared towards creating practical solutions to real-world problems — and it also explains why he is so devoted and passionate about them.
In his mind, he has no other option than to be productive -the fate of the world depends on it and time is running out.
In summary, set stretch Goals.
He prioritizes his Goals
In an interview with Joe Rogan, Musk was asked how he manages to stay so productive. He said:
“Well, I think I do have high productivity, but even with that, there’s still some opportunity cost of time and allocating time to building …a house, even if it was a really great house, it still is not a good use of time relative to developing the rockets necessary to get us to Mars and helping solve sustainable energy. SpaceX and Tesla are by far the most amount of brain cycles. The Boring Company does not take… it’s like less than 1% of brain cycles. And then Neuralink, which is, I don’t know, maybe it’s like 5% and then…”
He seems to allocate his thinking time according to the priority he allocates to his goals and projects.
It’s hard to say how he joggles his time between his various projects and business ventures but he definitely gives plenty of thought to their priority and how much time he devotes to each project.
In summary, prioritize your goals.
He works incredibly long hours
In the aftermath of the Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, many companies came to accept a hybrid model of operation — encouraging a combination of in-person and remote work.
Twitter, for example, asked staff to work wherever they feel most productive and creative, and has embraced a voluntary work-from-home policy — Musk sees things differently through the lens of age-old in-person work tradition.
In a recently leaked memo, musk issued an ultimatum to Tesla’s executive employees, calling for Telsa workers to cease remote work, in addition to spending a minimum of 40 hours per week at the office.
It’s not uncommon for Musk to work over 90 to 120 hours a week.
This he explained in a 2018 interview on the recode decode podcast where he recalls how his work at Tesla and SpaceX sometimes drove him to sleep on the factory’s floor. Recounting further, he explains:
“… I don’t know. I haven’t counted exactly, but I would just sort of sleep for a few hours, work, sleep for a few hours, work, seven days a week. Some of those days must have been 120 hours, or something nutty. You’re gonna go a little bonkers if you work 120 hours a week. Now we’re down to 80 or 90. It’s pretty manageable.”
You would think he would be despised by his employees. However, those that have worked with Musk respect him because of his willingness to put in as much work or more than he demands from his employees.
In summary, get comfortable with a habit of working long hours.
He stays ultra-focused
Musk is capable of staying focused for very long periods –this of course is crucial for high-quality work.
Staying focused for protracted periods is something most people struggle with –myself included. You can start each day with a plan to get things done, but soon find yourself distracted by low-priority tasks –or procrastinating.
One source of distraction is unwanted communication in form of phone calls and zoom meetings — this is where asynchronous communication can be helpful.
Musk has often described his preference for asynchronous communication. He said:
“I do love email. Wherever possible I try to communicate asynchronously. I’m really good at email.”
Asynchronous communication allows for communication at one’s convenience — which has the benefit of minimizing interruptions while you work — or in the least, your opportunity to control distractions.
A text message or email can stay unread for several hours while you stay focused on higher priority work but a meeting or call would require immediate attention.
In summary, avoid distractions to stay focused while you work –and as much as possible communicate asynchronously if it is practical for your type of work.
He sets impossible deadlines
According to the Wall Street Journal, within five years, Tesla failed to meet more than 20 of its projections — projections made by its CEO.
Arguments can be made for or against ambitious deadlines but Musk seems to have a penchant for setting deadlines he never meets while still managing to deliver impressive results. He once said:
“I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens.”
A typical example was in 2018; when he promised Tesla would produce half a million cars, but the company ended up producing 245,491. However, his target of half a million annual car-production output was met 2 years later in 2020. He has since surpassed that — delivering nearly 1 million vehicles in 2021 alone.
Going back to Musk’s time at Zip2, an employee of Musk, Jeff recounts in Ashlee Vance’s biography of Musk, that Musk was always at the office and obsessively working around the clock to meet deadlines. He recalls that he often slept on a beanbag next to his desk and got back to work immediately after the first employee walked through the door.
In the same book, Musk recounts that during his early days learning programming he would stay up for three days with no sleep.
Deadlines prompt people to take action, and consequently reduce the possibility of procrastination. Deadlines force you to access the justification for time spent doing other things.
In summary, have deadlines for your goals.
He is not fond of meetings
In a 2018 letter to employees of tesla motors, he gave a few productivity tips, including some on meetings. Musk wrote:
“Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time. Please get of all large meetings, unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience, in which case keep them very short”
He goes on to add:
“Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time”
It is etimated that every year, more than $37 billion is spent on unproductive meetings according to research by meeting service provider Fuze.
It’s hard to meet deadlines when you are frequently oscillating between meetings. The value of your time is probably one of the most important factors in staying productive.
In summary, have deadlines.
If you want to read more of my writings on productivity, click on this article below
