3 Tips for Getting Things Done

Journal, Learning, Positive Life, Self Discovery

Is there one person in your circle of friends who seems to breeze through even the most challenging tasks? Are you curious about their methods? Because they appear get a lot done!

Here are three strategies that can boost your productivity to the level of your most successful peers.

Observe Rest Periods

In spite of appearances, taking a break can actually increase your productivity. When you give your mind some downtime for relaxation and inspiration, it can perform at its peak. Taking short breaks throughout the workday can help. Try for once an hour if possible, but more often is fine as well.

Stop what you’re doing and go to the restroom, grab a bite to eat, or get some exercise during your break. Experiment with different interval lengths to determine how often you need to rest your mind, and then adhere as closely as you can to that schedule.

Timed sprint of work

Setting a timer for each work session is just as important as taking frequent breaks. Set the timer for a short period of time, no more than 20 or 25 minutes. It doesn’t matter what time it is. Working out the optimal duration of your work sessions will require some trial and error. Creating manageable sub-goals can boost your motivation and make the overall task seem more manageable. You’ll be more productive if you know you have to beat the clock.

Also, if you have trouble getting started, remind yourself that you’ll only have to focus on your work for 20 minutes at a time. This should put you in a much better frame of mind in which to get things done.

Reduce Outside Distractions

People who are easily distracted can benefit from working in short sprints. Reducing the number of potential interruptions in your work space is also helpful. You should turn off email alerts and check your inbox at a set time every day. Don’t bring your personal electronics like TVs or phones to the office. Do not eat at your desk.

Don’t waste your mealtime doing this when you could be relaxing instead.

In addition, having a specific place to work can help signal to your brain that it is time to get down to business.

If you take frequent breaks, work in short sprints, and eliminate distractions, you’ll find that increased productivity finds you even when it seems impossible. Soon you’ll be like that one friend who always seems to get everything done, leaving everyone else scratching their heads and wondering what they’re doing differently.

Read It: Seven Greatest Success Ideas

Journal, Positive Life, Self Discovery

Put the wisdom of the world’s most brilliant thinkers to work for you so that you may achieve real success and happiness in your life now.

Plato and Socrates,  Aristotle, Confucius,  Thomas Aquinas. The names of the great philosophers are still revered today, even after hundreds or even thousands of years have passed, since their concepts continue to enthrall audiences, provoke new lines of inquiry, and have a significant impact on the development of human history.

But what exactly are those thoughts? Why do they continue to have such an effect on the way people think, comprehend, and behave? Most importantly, in what ways may they assist YOU in living a life that is happier, healthier, and more satisfying right now?

Public philosopher, author, and well-known business adviser Tom Morris shows in his book The Seven Greatest Success Ideas: ‘A-HAs That Are Guaranteed to Take Your Life to the Next Level what the greatest thinkers in human history have to say about what it takes to attain genuine success in the 21st century.

Tom  presents the most profound insights that have ever been articulated by the human mind, and then makes the connection between those insights and your own personal, day-to-day experiences in a way that is so crystal clear, so potent, and so illuminating that it will permanently alter the way you look at the world.

Along the journey, you will also come to the realization that you, too, are a philosopher, endowed with the intrinsic ability to think profoundly and constructively about the issues that are of the utmost importance. You will discover how to stop chasing the wrong things and start asking the right questions by using the great philosophers as your guide. These are the questions that will bring you directly to the answers you want as well as the success and pleasure that we are all striving for. You will come away from reading The Seven Greatest Success Ideas with a knowledge of the world we live in that is infinitely more profound, textured, and clear; as well as of your position and purpose within it; and of the opportunities for genuine success that are all around you.

Dealing With Emotional Baggage

Journal, Positive Life

We’re all guilty of it. It appears in numerous forms. We carry them about with us, store them in the darkest recesses of our minds and souls. We have a large collection of recollections of them. It’s not uncommon for people to shed tears at the least provocation when they think about their loved ones. Others may be enraged, harbor profound animosity, and engage in anti-social or confrontational behavior as a result of this.

Many people are haunted by shadows, whether in their dreams or in the midst of the day. Anger out of control, which has the potential to escalate into violence, can strike at any time.

Others will remain in a state of denial, completely cut off from the rest of the world. It’s always someone else’s fault if something goes wrong for certain people; they blame everyone but themselves. What about the victims and the perpetrators of abuse?

Many people get disoriented while trying to locate something they cannot place. There’s something wrong. In schools, workplaces, and churches, a horde of lonesome faces line the streets, sit in public areas, and agonize throughout the day. It’s a constant reminder that we’re all in this together. Road rage is uncontrollable because our roadways are open channels for people to vent their grievances. Scary shit!

Excessive emotional baggage may be costly. When the weight of this responsibility becomes too heavy to carry, some people succumb to it. They see no need to continue the war. They find the world harsh and pointless, and life loses its luster. If there was ever a fight, it’s over for them.

There are many people who live their lives like a piece of driftwood, allowing the river to carry them wherever it will. Is it possible that our reality is so cruel?

What is the source of this emotional pain?

Broken dreams, failed relationships, lost hopes, betrayals, violations, childhood trauma or other types of trauma, contribute to the health concerns. Many of society and the family’s most vulnerable individuals are scarred emotionally by social humiliation and financial calamities, as well as poverty and addiction.

Is our fast-paced society to blame for this? To all of this, we may now add the quest for monetary gain, an unending supply of trinkets and devices, and the rapid advancement of technology. Emotional baggage from broken relationships, diminishing familial ties, and unrealistic expectations of oneself and others is piled on. Some people bear them for a long period.

Even if our bodily requirements are met, we may still find happiness if we take time to listen to our innermost desires. In most areas, there’s an overwhelming amount of resources available, including information, organizations, specialists, and more. Society and people who suffer from deep emotional pain can no longer overlook this crucial issue. 

There has been a revival or revision of wisdom from many civilizations and beliefs in order to fit in with today’s society. If you’re looking for a comprehensive approach, you’ll find it here.

Medical and technological advances are astounding, but just swallowing a pill isn’t always the best course of action.

Determine how much emotional baggage you carry around with you.

You’re Stopping You!

Journal, Learning, Positive Life, Self Discovery

“Have you ever had a great idea but didn’t follow through on it? If you identify as a “perfect” human being, you have. I’m not talking about anything extravagant. There’s nothing earth-shattering here. Simply said, it was an excellent concept that would have generated you more money. But you didn’t do anything about it. Speaking from experience here!

Full confession I’ve let many ideas remain as just that ideas. I’m the kind of person who thinks deeply and creatively. I’ve always had an ability to understand clients and come up with unique solutions for them. However, I must admit that I personally don’t feel I’m particularly successful. That’s due in large part  because I’m certainly not where I want it to be. 

The irony is that I have more fantastic ideas for growing my business. The issue is that I’ve not put many of them into action. 

So, how about you?

Have you have more ideas than you do actions? Why don’t you simply get started?

I became curious as to why I was operating the way I do, and began doing a lot of intraspection.

I started considering what it was that was preventing me from acting on ideas or plans that may result in substantial rewards?

These are some of the basic reasons I found.

1. A lack of an inspirational and compelling goal

The lack of a why is referred to as Purpose. Without a solid purpose, the urgent takes precedence. The build up of emails in the mailbox takes over. The call from a friend for help takes over. Inertia takes control.

We learn in physics that it takes more energy to break away from inertia. That energy is added by a strong aim. The energy that organizes your efforts and brings the most essential things to the forefront. You need an inspirational purpose to break free from the shackles of your existing routine.

2. Lack of a clear view

Consider yourself at a six-way stop in a fog so dense that you can’t see a single landmark. Even the traffic signs are incomprehensible to you. Which path will you take? Will you be confident in your choice of direction, or will you continue cautiously, expecting for the fog to clear before picking up the pace?

Everyone—at least everyone in business—wishes to go someplace. However, without a clear vision, it is impossible to see where you wish to go. And if you don’t see it, how will you act boldly and confidently toward it—whatever it is?

So, even if you have a strategy to get you…somewhere, you’re unlikely to carry it through. 

3. Unwilling to make sacrifices or put in the effort

You already have a lot on your plate, and anything additional you take on means something will have to be sacrificed. Sacrifice entails giving up something valuable in exchange for something even more valuable. That suggests there is something more precious to give up for. And you haven’t said what that “something” is. Or maybe you’re not convinced it’s worth it.

I began to place giving up leisure time, relaxing time, play time, or whatever in the same category. But it always comes down to sacrifice, and the key question is whether or not it’s worthwhile. (guilty as charged) There are moments when I feel I have something essential to do, but it isn’t important enough to get me to drop other “priorities”. 

4. Lack of faith

If you are positive that something will work, there is no danger, and you will most likely act. On the other hand, if you are uncertain—and most things are to some extent uncertain—you may ask if the risk is worthwhile.

Perhaps ‘it’ will work in someone else’s hands, but you don’t think it will work in yours. In other words, you lack faith in your ability to do the task, and the danger is too large.

Each of these concerns may be solved by having a strong purpose and inspirational goals to work toward. When these are powerful enough, they increase the potential benefit and shift the risk-return ratio in favor of action.

5th. Fear

It all boils down to fear at times, and this was the elephant in the room for me. You have a vision and a goal, and you believe the risks are manageable. But what happens if it doesn’t work out? What happens next? That’s what fear is. It’s not going to turn out the way you want it to. So, what will you be left with? Worse, not only will it not work out, but something negative will occur as a result of it.

6. All the other stuff

You simply have other commitments. What do you mean? Family or maybe a job. Thing is could some of it be eliminated or placed on hold?

It comes down to balancing what you have goin on with your purpose and aspirations.

You may need to refocus your priorities and rethink your alternatives in order to devote your available time and energy to pushing you on the right path.

So, how about you?

What’s holding you back? Any one of these six things, or a combination of them, can hold you back. It’s much simpler to confront and move forward after you have identified what is holding you back.