Category: Positive Thinking

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Get Organized Goal Setting More time in my day Organization Positive Thinking Productivity Time strategies

 4 practical tips for blocking out your time mindfully this summer

An easy way to focus and get things done

We are officially past the summer solstice, which in the Northern hemisphere is the longest day of the year. It is timely, therefore, to put our attention on the summertime; this season is very short and very precious here in the Northeast US.

On Monday, June 19th (which is Juneteenth in the United States: a holiday to mark the abolishment of slavery) I ran a  workshop to expand the Time Management in Summer for the Distracted Entrepreneur topic. In this article, I’ll highlight an important, practical, and immediately actionable portion of that workshop: 4 practical tips for blocking out your time mindfully.

  1. Step One:  Get a blank calendar – an old school one with squares – something you can print (like this).  Next, get several colored pencils.  Pick a color. Color in date squares for items to which you’ve already committed. For example, anything on the weekend that you’ve already committed to, any holidays you’ve committed to, your work schedule etc.  Get those all blocked out. What’s left is the time that you have to work with. Doing this visually is really powerful because you can see how much time you have left in a given month. We really just have a little more than two months as early September is culturally “autumn.”
  1. Step Two: Pick your top 3  desires this summer by category.  Sample categories: beach, work, children, fun, planning. You may start with more, and pick the top 3 categories.

Continue reading or watch the video below.

  1. Step Three: Pay special attention to the category that you wrote down in third place.  Why?  That third category is the one that you really need to place your focus on. Most likely, it lights you up the most and the one that you dismiss the most, or the one that’s perhaps the most important for your health and wellbeing. Examples of the third category might be: self care, gardening, or program creation. For that third category, create actionable items. Using the example of self care, actionable items could be ‘move every day’ or ‘make sure your body is eating organic and fresh’ or ‘allow yourself small joys like special cups of coffee’ 
  2. Step Four: Add the bullet pointed action items into your calendar. Use a new color for this. If you put it on your calendar and do not take action on it, don’t give up. Talk to a friend, talk to your coach,  talk to or DM me and say, “oh my gosh, how can I get this on the calendar AND pay attention to it?”

Repeat step 4 for each category and place it on the calendar.

There you have it: 4 steps to mapping out your summer mindfully. 

Bonus tip: allow white space. White space is time where you’re not planning anything because that white space gives you that ‘stare out the window’ time and that ‘stare out the window’ time is in fact your creative time. You are in fact blocking out creative time, but also block out some white space time because that white space time gets your mind flowing freely and it gets your creativity big. And it also helps you feel really grounded – and you can’t do any of this stuff very well without being grounded. 

If you want a lot more of this, I am running a summer program. You can start July 20 and you must sign up by June 29. Imagine:   your summer is not waste, it does not go through your fingertips, and you wake up on Labor Day (if you’re in the United States) and you feel like “I did it!”. 

That’s how I want you to feel. Let’s do this!

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Decluttering Get Organized Organization Planning Positive Thinking

From Scattered To Serene – How to change the habits of a lifetime

Some people are chronically disorganized.  For them, life pretty much resembles the college dorm of years gone, except now, instead of laundry littering the floor, dirty plates and study books, it’s their kids’ “stuff”, work papers and, oh wait…the laundry is still there. Please know that “neat” does NOT equal “organized.” But there is definitely some cross-over.

There comes a time when disorganization will catch up with you. In business, that late payment because you lost the payment slip could have disastrous effects.  That missed meeting could have been a great new contract, and in your personal life you might never get another chance to make those particular memories.

But, while a certain amount of disorganization can be kind of “cute”, if you live your entire life in this manner, you could be stifling any kind of growth, whether business or personal.

But, fear not!  Here are my 3 top tips to reining the chaos in and being the paragon of serenity (at least some of the time, at least)

1. Get to the root of the problem.

Before you stock pile sticky notes and download a multitude of apps, you need to ask yourself, “Why?”  Why are you disorganized?  What has triggered this situation?  It could be something from your childhood – perhaps your parents lived life in this manner, or it could be the influence of a partner, or ex-partner, years ago.  Examinining the root cause of habitual behaviour that does not serve you is invaluable. For some, it may be that you procrastinate as a result of feeling overwhelmed.  In some cases, when we feel like there are just too many options open, or too many tasks requiring our attention, it is easier to do nothing than it is to tackle them head on. Once you have understood your particular trigger, you can look at ways of “re-booting” that belief or behavior.

2. Surround yourself with organized people.

It’s so much harder to go against the grain when you surround yourself with super-organized types.  Believe me, their habits will start to rub off on you! As you see them easily locate their credit card statement and you know you’d still be shuffling papers frantically searching for yours, so you begin to see how much easier life could be.  These “neat ninjas” can also be a really great resource for you, too.  Ask that co-worker for her tips on managing your emails or call in a favor and get help with sorting your closet. 

3. Declutter to De-Stress.

Have you ever had to use brute force to close that closet drawer or to fit another coat hanger in? Do you really need to keep every single work of art Junior did in first grade? Be accountable for all your clutter and make a commitment to de-clutter every three months.  Donate, destroy and recycle your way to a clutter-free environment.  “I might need that one day” is not a good enough reason to keep something.  Be ruthless – if it’s not there, it can’t clutter.  Allow yourself one box of sentimental stuff – you’ll have fun deciding which items get to go in the box and you’ll know exactly where those precious memories are when you want to revisit them.  Once you have cleared the decks, make sure everything left has a place and is kept in that place. 

Finally, while it’s great to be organized, remember to be kind to yourself.  This kind of change can be intimidating and just a little bit overwhelming.  Don’t beat yourself up because you’re not perfect; cut yourself a break!  Even a small change can be a positive move in the right direction and if you follow these tips, the new, organized version of yourself could be closer than you think.

In my next blog, we will be looking at further practical steps to get you that de-cluttered mindset.  So, stay tuned!

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Balance Goal Setting Organization Positive Thinking Wellness

Why your understanding of balance is wrong

What does life-balance mean to you?  Not necessarily the theory, but in practical terms?  Is it committing to, and maintaining that New Year’s fitness routine alongside running a house, a job, the family, or is it something more?

You see, “balance” means different things to each of us. There is no right or wrong answer, no one way of achieving it and, sometimes, we get so engrossed in the concept of balance that actually achieving it becomes a no-go. We beat ourselves up because we perceive that the scales of life are just not balancing out and this sets us on that oh-so-familiar hamster wheel of discontent.

So, firstly, let’s take a look at 4 top tips for managing a balanced lifestyle.

1. Look After You

Are you the person to whom everyone turns in a crisis?  Are you the family’s “Go-To” during their times of need? If yes, then that’s an awful lot of extra emotional “weight” being lumped on your shoulders.  I’m not suggesting that you tell everyone to go find someone else to shoulder the burden, no.  But, in order to maintain any sort of balance, we have to look after number one first.  Your body needs rest, exercise and healthy food.  Sure, all of that. But, it’s important to take time to focus on your needs and make sure you’re ticking over just fine before you focus on other people.  It’s really okay to do what it takes to protect yourself from any negative energy or emotions coming your way.  After all, how can you help others if you can’t help yourself?

2. Organization is Key

Being organized, and that includes mentally, too, allows your brain the flexibility to cope with any stress or disruption more easily.  Plan that important “time-out” and make room for the things you enjoy.  The key to life balance here is minimizing stress as far as possible.

3. Goals Work

How great does it feel when you can check something off your list as done and dusted?  It doesn’t matter which area of your life, there’s sure to be a goal you can set.  The successful attainment of a goal goes a long way to maintaining a healthy and positive mindset, improving your mood and helping that balance, too.

4. The Right Food = The Best Balance

Yep, it’s a no-brainer, yet the fence that a lot of us fall at.  Ensuring you maintain your “five-a-day” will go a long way to helping that positive mental attitude, helping brain function and, ultimately keeping you on the road to success.

So, there you have it.  Four simple steps to maintaining balance in your life.  By trying to include these four rules into your life, you will reduce stress, improve your general health, boost your energy and probably be an altogether nicer person to be around.  Isn’t that worth a re-balance?

Don’t forget to check back for my next blog, where we will be looking at some real game-changing, counter-intuitive thoughts that will change your notion of balance.

__

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  • The solution to the #1 issue for Entrepreneurs: Collaboration! You can Collaborate with like-minded individuals for additional support…in real time AND outside of the group. Did anyone say accountability partner?
  • And even more goodies: You get MUCH more than live calls once a month! You get unlimited Access to past and new group session recordings – to enhance your learning and growing OUTSIDE of our monthly calls.  

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  • Click here if you have not worked with us before
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Let’s get you more focused, organized, and productive than you have EVER been!

Let’s see what might happen if you dare to just “read the blogs” to taking the steps to get you to where you want to go, but perhaps have not dared to…. until now.

I’ll be there! I can’t wait to meet you.

Categories
Accountability Planning Positive Thinking

3 ways to turn Failure into Raving Success

In our last blog, we looked at failure and our fear of everything associated.  But, let’s flip that failure into a positive with three powerful ways to turn that failure around!

1. Consistency is key.

It’s not about all the things you can do easily, without even a thought – it’s about mastering those things that you once found difficult.  That’s where strength comes from and that’s the key to building success from failure.  If you fall, (and without trying to be negative here), occasionally, you will, instead of examining your bruises and war wounds, dust yourself down and get right back on it. Consistency is the key to success, so set about mastering whatever brought you down.  Consistent action coupled with learning form your mistakes equals consistent results.

2. Watch your mouth!

After a failure, it is all too easy to berate yourself, asking why you did something in a particular way or why you said something in a particular manner.  Stop right there!  Be aware of your self-talk.  Would you really talk like that to a friend (or even a stranger) in the same circumstances?  Don’t allow your self-talk to make you feel worthless.  You are human after all and acknowledging a mistake as human error and treating yourself with the same degree of respect you would show others is really important.  Sure, failure hurts. But, unless you want to stay in that moment of failure, stay positive and get back on track as quickly as possible. Your previous mistakes do not, I repeat, do not define you.  So again. Learn what you need to and then let them go.

3. Don’t be a stranger

Sometimes, failures keep us rooted to the past.  If we dwell on them too much, they become a bad habit that is hard to break.  If this resonates, don’t feel you have to go it alone.  Invite others to give you their take on the situation – whether a coach, a mentor or even a friend, their input can be invaluable. This can often be really empowering as you find different solutions to the problem.  Who knows, that different perspective may be the key to your success!

Nobody enjoys failure.  It’s tough, after all. But, if you regard any knock as an opportunity to reframe, revise and refocus our thoughts and actions, then aren’t they maybe just a teeny bit worthwhile, too? Heck, yes, and then some. In fact, they might be called a “raving success.”

How can failures be turned into a raving success?

Probably the best thing a person can do to “stop failing” is to begin to see the beautiful nuggets of learning and growth with each “failure.” In fact, Sarah Blakely (founder of SPANX) had a father who ENCOURAGED his children to fail, so that they’d be fearless. And those who are fearless are ultimately leaders. And we all are leaders of our own lives. Here’s a video of her, explaining this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TeV9op6Mp8

What might happen if you resolved to count your failures, to challenge yourself to fail at LEAST one time per day? (Hint: get ready for fame…)

—

Like this? You’ll love the Club!

Try on the Lunchtime Club (monthly virtual coaching group) on us for 30 days FREE!

  • Quick answers to your current dilemmas…in real time. Don’t know what to ask? No worries, we have a new HOT theme each month.
  • The solution to the #1 issue for Entrepreneurs: Collaboration!  You can Collaborate with like-minded individuals for additional support…in real time AND outside of the group. Did anyone say accountability partner?
  • And even more goodies:  You get MUCH more than live calls once a month! You get unlimited Access to past and new group session recordings – to enhance your learning and growing OUTSIDE of our monthly calls.

Curious? Learn more about this low cost, low commitment, high results, high energy program:

  • Click here if you have not worked with us before
  • Click here if you have been a client of ours in the last 12 months

Let’s get you more focused, organized, and productive than you have EVER been! Let’s see what might happen if you dare to just “read the blogs” to taking the steps to get you to where you want to go, but perhaps have not dared to…. until now.

I’ll be there! I can’t wait to meet you.

Categories
Confidence Goal Setting Positive Thinking

How to completely change bad habits, once and for all.

In our last blog, we talked about resolutions and how they so often seem to fall by the wayside.  Often, this can be because the resolution necessitates a change in long-held habits.  While it’s not easy to break the habits of a lifetime, it can be done.  Here are three pointers to help you on your way:

  1. The brain science behind habit.

Habits are derived from constant repetition of an action or emotion into our brains. Add in the pleasure derived from that action and before long, you have an almighty craving established. If you want to break the habit, then you need to start with the pattern of behavior, the trigger to that habit. Instead of going onto “Auto-pilot” and doing what you’ve always done, adopt a more mindful approach.  Identify what triggers the behavior in the first place, plan a way to side step these and, in so doing, a way to “push-back” against that “auto-pilot” action.

2. One habit per month is more than enough.

Remember that any change takes time.  Your brain is an oh-so-marvellous thing! It will do its darnedest to resist any change, because, well, it’s just easier that way! Instead of being in a rush to change all those habits at once, concentrate on slow and steady.  One habit-change per month will give you time to focus on changes for good and allow your brain to accept that changes are coming. More importantly, it will become your “new normal!”

3. An ingrained habit becomes part of you.

Remember the saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over, but expecting a different result”? well, your habits are so ingrained that, often you don’t even have to think about them, they just happen.

Rather than concentrating on the break, focus on a positive change. By substituting, rather than stopping, we can make small changes that can contribute to overriding the habit and, instead, set us on a different path (one that ties in with those resolutions we made in our previous blog) Pretty soon, our new actions will become ingrained and we won’t even realize it.

 

In summary, if we adopt a more mindful approach to our everyday thoughts and actions, we are able to understand the triggers that underpin them. Identifying the reasons why we reach for a cigarette or maybe a glass of wine at the end of the day is critical to this process.  Remember that change takes time and any small step in the right direction is a positive move towards our goal. If we are aware of those harmful practices, the habits that keep us from being our true selves, then we are well on the way to a sense of fulfilment and honesty within our lives.  So, here’s to resolutions and the new you just waiting to emerge!

Categories
Goal Setting Positive Thinking Wellness

3 ways to make sure your resolutions are not wasted: A gift to yourself

New Year’s Resolutions, don’t you just love ‘em?  Those things we decide we “shoulda, woulda, coulda” achieved and yet only 9.2 % of those who resolve to change something about themselves or their lives will succeed and something like 80% of New Year’s Resolutions will fall by the wayside before February has waved goodbye.

As the end of the year approaches, we take stock of our lives, both personal and professional.  As discussed in my previous blog, we use the holidays to recharge our batteries and reflect on what we have achieved, but more often, those things we feel could or should be better.  We can feel disappointed with a perceived lack of progress, whether that is with our health, relationships or revenue.  We resolve that something MUST change, right?

So, how can we make resolutions that will “stick”?  Positive changes that we can maintain not just through January but forever?  Three ways to ensure your resolutions are achievable and successful, too:

  1. Make them real, be it pie or income.

That pumpkin pie was good, wasn’t it?  But , as the saying goes, “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips”  In an effort to atone for the many indulgences of the holiday period, so many of us resolve to lose that extra bit of weight and, to show just how committed we are to the notion, we will throw in a really expensive gym membership for good measure.  How long did that last?  One week, two?

Setting a resolution is no different to setting a business goal – you need to be SMART – make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely.  It’s no good saying “I want to lose three dress sizes in a month” – that’s not going to happen in a healthy way and be impossible to maintain. Similarly, saying, “I’m going to save x thousand dollars a month” might be fine until the car needs work, or the house insurance is due, then you’re back to square one, with feelings of failure thrown in.

Yes, it’s good to aim high, but you also need to be real. Be realistic in your timeline.  Sure, you want results yesterday, but life’s not like that.  You are far more likely to stick with your resolution, instead, if you set small goals along the way and reward yourself for achieving them.

  1. Make it easy using HABITS

Habits are what we do daily, consciously or subconsciously. They can support our goal or detract from it, and it’s important to “use them for good.” Before you do this,. make sure you have the capacity to achieve your goals. Set up mid-point achievements and congratulate yourself for achieving them.  Give yourself a reason for continuing and, instead of always looking to your end goal, maybe take a look back and see how far you’ve come already!

  1. Don’t over extend yourself

As January 1st looms, the exercise of resolving to change for the better, fills us with hope, excitement, empowerment; we just can’t wait to see the “new” us.  We’re going to be fitter, healthier, more successful… and in that heady rush of excitement, it’s easy to forget about all the other demands on our time. For example, if your resolution is to run a marathon and you have never run before, then you’re going to need to put in some training.  What obstacles are in the way of that training?  Can you commit to early morning gym sessions or weekend practice runs?  If not, maybe put that resolution on the back burner until you do have the time.  Don’t set yourself up for failure before you even start, because instead of running a marathon, you’ll find yourself running headlong into diminishing self-esteem. Make sure you can expend both the time and effort to stay committed to your goal. If possible, minimize any distractions that may hijack you on the road to “new you” to give yourself the best chance of succeeding.

 

In our next blog, we will take a closer look at habits and how you can change them…once and for all.

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