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Some of you may recognize the title as the words behind the acronym TED as in TED Talks.

You may also have seen the acronym TEDx Talks, the X meaning that the event was “fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.”

It was recently my inspiring opportunity to attend a TEDx day in Victoria, a thoughtful birthday present from daughter, who may never fully grasp the amazing day she provided her mother. Thank you, Meg, I love you!

This week I have decided to share some of the moments that impacted my day at TEDx Victoria: Emergence.

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One of the speakers who set my pen to writing furiously was on the stage for such a brief time that I almost felt cheated. He did, however, leave me with several pages of notes in my “Little Book of BIG Ideas”.

Mike Vardy is a Productivityist who challenged us to get rid of our time-pieces. “One of the biggest barriers when it comes to being productive is the notion that we simply “don’t have enough time”.”

He used the example of casinos: in which you never see a clock. The reason he explained was that they want us to concentrate on the task at hand, not the time.

We have to stop focusing on being ruled by time and start focusing on being ruled by task instead. Being ruled by time leaves you dealing with items of urgency. Being ruled by task allows you to deal with items of importance.

As an entrepreneur who is still working a day job, as well as having dependents, getting rid of my time-pieces is a luxury I can’t indulge in right now. But it strikes me as the perfect way to get things done. Circadian rhythms take over, Tasks are done when they are completed; meals are eaten when you are hungry; sleep comes when you are tired.

No more rushing to get something done before the next thing happens. No more prioritizing tasks by available time. The more I think about it, the more productive it sounds.

Mike’s closing was an Aha! moment for me: “stop worrying about due dates and start making every date a “do date”.” Brilliant!

What do you think?

(You can catch more of Mike Vardy’s thoughts at http://productivityist.com/ )