WHAT’S YOUR PQO?
What’s Your PQO? How High Performers Create Success (And How You Can, Too)
I’ve been diving into the book High-Performance Habits, and one concept that’s really stuck with me is something called PQO—Prolific Quality Output. The idea is that the world’s top performers, whether they’re authors, musicians, athletes, or entrepreneurs, consistently produce a high volume of a specific kind of quality work in their field. They’re not just busy—they’re focused. They know exactly what kind of output leads to success in their industry, and they make that the center of their daily efforts.
This idea really hit home for me. I mean, I’m sure Taylor Swift checks her emails, but I highly doubt she spends her days organizing them into color-coded folders with perfectly titled subject lines. Instead, she’s probably laser-focused on the thing that makes her, well, Taylor Swift—creating, performing, and delivering her magic to the world.
If you’re not putting the bulk of your energy toward the things that matter most to your success, you’re not going to see the results you want. That’s why I have a love-hate relationship with the term “productivity”, because when most people think of productivity, they think of doing more — more tasks, more meetings, more stuff. But more doesn’t always mean better. In fact, it often means we’re just spinning our wheels, doing a lot of busywork that doesn’t move us forward.
A PQO Moment: It’s Time to Create
I’ve been thinking about building this platform for a few years now - one where I can share what I’ve learned about creating a successful, joyful life. I started creating content but quickly got sidetracked. I thought I needed to learn more before I got started, so I took courses, read books, and downloaded all the free guides I could find on “how to do it.” I followed other creators on social media, constantly consuming more information, while creating… nothing.
Reading about PQO was a huge wake-up call. If I want to build something meaningful, I need to create—not just consume. So, I’ve committed to making prolific, valuable content my focus. I’m taking on this challenge just like I took on 75 Hard. Funny enough, learning to create this way is like building a muscle—it requires daily practice and commitment. That’s why I’m here, writing this blog post, getting my thoughts out of my head and onto the page.
What’s Your PQO?
Brendon Burchard, the author of High-Performance Habits, says that 60% of our time should be spent on PQO—60%! That’s a lot when you think about how much of our day can get eaten up by a bunch of nothingness. If you’re like most people, you probably spend way too much time on tasks that don’t actually move you forward. But what if you could shift that?
So here’s a challenge for you: What’s your version of PQO? What’s the output in your field that truly moves the needle?