IF ever there was an example of how Naked Leader’s Formula For Guaranteed Success can inspire then ex-pat Kevin Hutchinson has provided it.
An accomplished computer programmer and working towards his next ‘big thing’ Kevin’s ‘lightbulb’ moment has provided a simple tool to be used for something we all struggle to accomplish at times – getting things done!
It seems fitting that a businessman based in Mexico City should advocate taking the bull by the horns in a business sense – after all bullfighting has prospered there for the past 400 years following the Spanish occupation.
Being focused on a task and completing it can be difficult in today’s frenetic world.
So when Kevin received an email from a friend with three lists, ‘Done’, ‘Now’, ‘Next’,
(www.done-now-next.com) an immediate thought flashed through his mind like a lightning bolt.
Although not having met Naked Leader founder David Taylor, Kevin used NL’s unique Formula For Guaranteed Success to launch his idea.
‘I knew where I wanted to go, knew where I was now, worked out how to get there and then just did it,” he enthused.
He takes up the story: ‘I thought “how come there’s no task manager with three lists like that? ‘I’d used various apps (Apple Reminders, TaskPaper, etc…) but none was usable enough.
‘So I set about making a simple website that works equally well on laptops and iPads, showing three lists ‘Done’, ‘Now’, and ‘Next’.
‘My brother David in Sheffield told me I just had to do it – he was sure it was a “rock solid idea” that would become something big.
‘And so began many late January nights working in his spare room putting the computer code together.
‘Remembering an HSBC advert on BA flights where a Turkish boy launches a game and trademarks his character “Sticky Weasel” I decided to do the same and submit an application for trademarks “Done Now Next” and “DoneNowNext”.
‘The application was accepted to my very happy surprise! Friends in Florida and elsewhere gave me some great feedback (e.g. about sharing sheets with clients) and I began to learn what the 80/20 rule really means – getting 80% done in 20% of the time, and the final 20% in 80% of the time.
‘And today it’s a useful free service that’s really helping me and others to get stuff done.’
Kevin cites the Pomordoro Technique as a useful motivational tool, where an egg timer is used to focus on a task in 20 minutes.
‘You just know the egg timer is going to stop and it allows you to really focus on a particular task and get it done while leaving everything else to one side. It’s breaking things down into 20-minute segments. It’s something I try to apply in my working life.’
As for DoneNowNext, he adds: ‘My dream right now is to offer this tool to as many people as possible for free, and make some incremental improvements based on their feedback.
‘I’m very inspired by 37Signals websites and books – e.g. Rework – and am keen to follow their example and keep it simple to avoid “feature creep” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_creep ).
‘David Taylor’s emails are a big inspiration to me. I was inspired to go and create this simple project and wanted to share it with Naked Leader because I think it connects well with the company’s focus on achievement.
‘It became a “Just Do It” nightly passion and it was a lot of fun to create. I’m really happy to offer it to the world to help people achieve their goals, just as it helps me achieve mine.
‘I’m really grateful to David and the Naked Leader team for inspiring me to set my fears to one side and just make it happen.’
So, thanks to Kevin, here is an example of Naked Leader in full flow.
No bull – just common sense thinking – and action.
* Give your feedback to Kevin on Twitter @DoneNowNext. He would love to hear from you.