How to Work Smarter, Not Harder - Brian Tracy

 

https://youtu.be/iPE7_L1wRj8

Here's some great advice from Brian Tracy about working smarter

Maximize Your Time: 10 Tips for Extreme Productivity

1) Know your work style and use the tools and systems that match. If you work well with technology, use your computer, phone, and apps for your scheduling and organization. If you are a visual person, consider using a paper calendar and a written to-do list. If you are a people person, develop a team around you to complement your strengths. If you work alone, find time to focus and remain distraction-free. If you are a morning person, attack the most important tasks early in the day. 

2) Use ONE calendar. Sometimes people will have several calendars: one for family, one for work, one for personal appointments. Keep ONE calendar for everything. Use different colors or type styles to differentiate categories. Personally, I am very visual and remember things better when I write them down, therefore I have a paper calendar for my appointments, but due to the need for dynamic communication I have a Google calendar to support my scheduling, which might appear like two calendars, however, this calendar is a mirror of the paper one and has everything on it. While it is extra work to have both, it is one calendar (paper or digital) with all the information. 

3) Make a to-do list at the end of each day. Your mind naturally begins to work on the list as you sleep. When you awake, you are ready to work, are very productive and organized. Estimate how much time each task will take you and only put on your next day to-do list what is reasonable to get done. 

4) "Eat your frog first." A Brian Tracy concept*: Do the hardest thing you have to do all day first before you do anything else. Doing this will provide you with the feeling of success in having a "burden" off your back and the momentum to accomplish the remaining tasks. 

5) Have a clear goal; write it down and read it daily. When you have a goal you know what to focus on and work toward. If you do not have this at the front of your mind, it is easy to get caught up with the urgent things of the day or trapped in reacting to e-mail, phone calls, interruptions, and other people's emergencies. 

6) Have a "power hour." Designate one hour each day to close the door, shut down e-mail, turn off the ringer on the phone and guard yourself from interruptions. Have a pre-picked project that you will work on during this time only. Make sure to go to the bathroom, get a drink, and do whatever else you need to in order to ensure you do not leave once this hour starts. Give yourself 30 minutes after this hour to return calls, e-mails, and care for people with whom you need to follow up that you missed during the POWER HOUR. 

7) Touch it once. This means e-mail, mail, papers, etc. Touch it and make a decision. File it, toss it, or put it in a place for action. Sorting bins are helpful for this. Sorting bins often have labels like: read, file, do this week, urgent, bills, etc. Also, if your subject lines in e-mails are accurate, it is easy for both you and the recipient to find the e-mail. Paper, soft copy (computer), and e-mail folders should have matching labels. 

8) Have daily habits. After you develop a routine of things that are simple but important, your body will naturally do them. This is important because we can get distracted by our regular routines and use them as vices to interrupt, procrastinate, and prolong important things that really need to get done. If you start your day right, you will be ready to do those urgent and important tasks, increasing your everyday productivity. 

9) Pre-prep. Have you ever been amazed on cooking shows how they make a complicated dish in 10 minutes? OK, part is edited TV time, but they also have everything pre-prepped for quick assembly. Why not do the same? Prepare your information packets and new client folders, turn common documents into a template, set up e-mail group/ distribution lists for teams, etc. 

10) Maximize car systems. Listen to a book on audio to maximize your windshield time and learn. Have a bin to put important things in, rather than having them all over the car. Have a trash bag to catch the litter. Always have a bottle of water in the car with you; dehydration causes fatigue, memory loss, and low concentration. Make sure your contacts are portable (e.g, phone, planner, business card file book) so you can keep people and numbers at your fingertips (so that you can call if you're running late, caught in traffic, etc.). Enjoy relaxing, breathing, and taking in the day while driving (rather than cleaning, talking on the phone, etc.) When you implement a few simple productivity strategies and develop them as time-saving habits, you will quickly enjoy the benefit of more time and energy and overall increased productivity. 

*Tracy, Brian. Eat that Frog! 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. San Francisco: BerrettKoehler, 2001

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Christy_Geiger/2434143

The "Brush And Prime" Ritual - John Assaraf

 

https://youtu.be/9Rs8G4OQGxA

Here's some great advice from John Assaraf about habits and goals

How to Build a New Habit That ACTUALLY Sticks: 9 Steps to Form a Good Habit

 

https://youtu.be/KIJ-GQWSSC8

Here's some great advice about building and maintaining new habits

Awaken The Sloth - Tips to Build Momentum and Motivation

I'll admit it. Sometimes I feel as slow as a sloth. Sometimes I move as slow as a sloth. It's been hot this summer, humid, and sticky too. Add to that the drag of Covid, and the seemingly endless barrage of distressing news. All of this was a seductive invitation for me to step back, slow down, and sit quietly for a while to process. Not knowing quite what to do, not knowing quite what to say. I surrendered to stillness. So, apart from the daily necessities, along with my work with clients, I've been somewhat off the grid.

Now, as Autumn approaches, a refreshing breeze reaches beyond the gathering inertia of my mind. And I'm clear.

It's time to awaken the sloth.

What I know, is that even when it feels impossible to move forward, there are things we can do get the proverbial ball rolling again.

What I've noticed with myself, and my clients, is that getting stuck often starts with resistance. Resistance to change. Resistance to uncertainty. Resistance to discomfort. And the longer we stay in resistance, the more likely we will lapse into inertia. We can get used to it, it's comfortable. And, after a while, it's easy to forget what we're resisting in the first place.

Resistance is like a big fat bundle of thoughts that scares us into staying stuck. A thought bundle that gets bigger and more forceful as time goes on. Because this thought bundle seems so big and unwieldy, it feels too hard to tackle. So, it's much easier to just to stay stuck. And then to wait, and wait, and wait... for motivation.

And, more times than I'd like to admit, I realize that motivation rarely, if ever, drops into my lap. In fact, waiting for motivation usually creates far more frustration than actual motivation.

This said, motivation is actually not incredibly difficult to find. That's because it's often found on the other side of action. Sometimes just one step will help build the momentum of yet another, and another step. This momentum leads to the motivation to keep on going. These steps can include anything from a plan of action, a paragraph on a page, the outline of a project, or a preliminary sketch. The goal here, is to start something, even when you don't feel motivated, to gradually build momentum, and motivation.

This might not be new news. But sometimes we (I) need to hear it again, and again.

Here are some tips to build momentum, and motivation. During times like this, I like to keep this list handy:

Change up hypnotic routines. Include new, or rarely eaten, foods in your diet. Take a walk in a completely different direction. Add ritual and variety to your evening routines. Make a new social connection. By doing new things, you will help reduce resistance to uncertainty and unfamiliarity. In addition, this will help activate your brain, making it easier to generate new ideas.

Awaken hidden talents. Engage in enjoyable activities which will awaken aspects of yourself that may have fallen asleep. Think back to what you loved to do as a child, and would love to do again. Begin with small, manageable actions to access this place within you. Experiment with activities within music, art, literature, physical pursuits, or spirituality to spark your creative flow. Awakening your hidden talents, with patience, and acceptance, will help you feel more alive, eager, and motivated to move forward.

Break goals into very small tasks, and write them down. This will help you break out of built-up resistance to big, impossible-feeling goals. Enjoy a sense of accomplishment as you check things off your list. This sense of accomplishment will help you build momentum and motivation to do more.

Get comfortable with discomfort. Moving out of your comfort zone simply means you'll feel uncomfortable. And that's okay. We can all handle discomfort. It's temporary. Plus, moving through to the other side of discomfort feels GREAT!

Acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how 'small.' When we only celebrate our biggest accomplishments, we devalue what it takes to get there. Stay motivated by acknowledging your progress, step by step, along your way to reaching your goal. When we're aware of our progress, our goals feel much more accessible.

Give yourself enough structure. Structure will help you contain and focus your efforts. Finding the right structure, especially if you're resistant to structure, is essential. This might mean a schedule that fits your style, or some type of creative set-up for your workspace. Organization and structure will help you clarify what works, and what you want. And, clarity feeds motivation.

Show up. Have faith in your own creative process to help bring you forward. The creative process requires your commitment to take action, and show up, again, and again and again.

Though I didn't include it on the list, EFT Tapping is a powerful way to release the fear and resistance that keeps us stuck. In addition, tapping facilitates effective brain function, improved mood, and enhanced creative flow. All of these, of course, are essential for forward movement.

Wishing You Peace and Wellbeing,

Marian

Hello! Thank you for reading my article. I'm Marian Buck-Murray, EFT Tapping and Matrix Reimprinting Practitioner. I specialize in helping sensitive people boost courage, confidence and success. For more information about my services, and for helpful EFT Tapping videos, visit me at https://marianbuckmurray.com/.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Marian_Buck_Murray/897704