Habits make up who we are. They also play a huge role in who we can become. There are numerous bad habits that hurt our productivity every day. These are common habits that don’t seem like a big a deal on the surface. But the fact is if you’re doing these things you won’t reach your full potential. “In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.”Tony Robbins We all realize how important our habits are and the impact they have on our lives. Yet, we all have bad habits. Some are more damaging than others. The most damaging are things we do every day that we might not even recognize as bad habits. Are you ready to discover the bad habits that are slowing you down and preventing you from reaching your top productivity? And how to fix them? Identifying Bad Habits in Your Daily Routine Bad habits come in two forms: Mindset Habits and Action Habits. Your mindset habits consist of your beliefs and thoughts about yourself and others. They are the phrases and thoughts you repeat to yourself consistently over time. They play a key role in how you see yourself and in how you act. Bad mindset habits also affect your ability to make positive changes. Action habits are the things you do repeatedly, often without even noticing. Biting your nails, starting your day with a sugary breakfast, and checking your phone messages as soon as you wake up, are all examples of action habits. Common Bad Habits That Hurt Productivity So, which bad habits are part of your daily routine? Could you be doing some simple things that hurt your productivity without even realizing it? If so, how can you fix it? The first step in fixing a bad habit is identifying it. Once you’ve identified your bad habits, then you need to break them. Easier said than done, right? Don’t worry. Let’s take a look at seven common bad habits that are hurting your productivity and how you can fix them. Here are some tips to help you catch yourself when you fall into bad habits, AND what you can do to break them. Mindset Habits Habit #1: Negative Self-Talk – There’s no better way to hurt your productivity than negative self-talk. Putting yourself down, beating yourself up, and telling yourself you can’t, all lead to negative outcomes. Have you ever caught yourself saying something like: “I’ll never be successful;” “I can’t do it;” “There’s no use;” or “I’ll never change?” These statements will become self-fulfilling prophecies.Use “Triggers” for Positive Self-Talk – You must avoid negative self-talk like a plague if you want to be productive. According to Jennice Vilhauer Ph.D.,you need to do four things to stop negative self-talk: Notice the critic, separate the critic from you, talk back to the critic, and replace the critic. One way to stop negative self-talk and replace it is to use “triggers,” like the Breathe Band, for example. Triggers help remind you to use positive self-talk. For example, when you see your trigger you could say something like: “I GOT this;” “I CAN do this;” “I AM good enough;” or “I WILL get better.” Habit #2: Indecisiveness – Some decisions are hard and no one wants to make the wrong choice. However, being indecisive can be worse than choosing wrong. Because, failing to make a choice leads to unfinished business, making you less productive.Set a Deadline – One effective way to overcome indecisiveness is to set a realistic deadline. By giving yourself a deadline you force yourself to make a decision. You can add even more accountability by sharing your deadline with others. Executive coach, Steven Berglas, says you need to trust your gut, cut back on the number of options you consider, and prioritize your demands. “Indecision is all about avoiding 1) the choice between two negative alternatives, one of which has to be adopted, or 2) the choice between two fairly equal courses of action.” If you make the wrong choice, you can learn from it, and in many cases, correct it. Habit #3: Rationalizing – When you rationalize you basically lie to yourself. This kind of talk leads to excuses. It also leads to avoiding the hard tasks. Rationalization allows you to waste time on less important or irrelevant matters instead of the most important tasks. It could even lead to making poor choices that you know are wrong. If you hear yourself saying things like I’m too frustrated, my situation is different, I don't have time, or that won’t work because…., then you’re rationalizingBe Honest With Yourself – Whenever you recognize you’re not being honest with yourself be courageous and decisive. You can do this by focusing on what matters most. If necessary, go some place quiet where you can meditate. Take ownership of your responsibilities and compare the impact of completing or not completing them. Focus on the positive and ask questions like: why not? and what’s stopping me? Keep your eye on the goal and find someone to hold you accountable. Action Habits Habit #4: Doing the Easy Tasks First – When you delay the hard tasks to do the easy stuff first, you run out of time to get the hard tasks done. This is a vicious cycle that leads to low productivity and a low success rate.Schedule Your Most Important Tasks First – Think of the "Eat The Frog First" strategy, which essentially means getting the worst task of your day done first. You can use the Self Journal to help you schedule your most important tasks at the beginning of the day. When you get the hard tasks out of the way first, it frees up your mind, your time, and your energy to get the easy stuff done. Habit #5: Checking and Responding to Email Throughout the Day – What’s wrong with checking your email? It’s an important part of work, right? The problem is every time you check your email you lose valuable time reading and responding to your messages. This is a huge time killer and the more time you waste, the less time you have to be productive and get the most important tasks done.Plan Your Email Time – One of the best ways best to beat this habit is to designate certain blocks of time during the day to view and respond to email. Turning off push notifications, or closing your email browser completely can also help. Habit #6: Using Your Phone Right Before Bed – First off, your quality of sleep will likely be affected. The blue light from electronic devices slows the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, which makes you more tired. That means you’re likely to stay awake even longer. Additionally, a “quick browse” of the Internet can quickly turn into an hour or more of wasted time. That time could also be used for sleep.Set a Cutoff Time – If you use your phone at night set a cutoff time to stop using it; at least an hour before bedtime. Leaving your phone in another room also removes the temptation to look at it after you’ve climbed into bed. Habit #7: Putting Work Ahead of Sleep – Working hard is a great attribute but working too hard, or too much, is a bad habit. If you work too much you become less productive, especially when you put work ahead of sleep. Getting enough sleep is extremely important if you want to keep your productivity at the highest level.Schedule a Bedtime – Prioritize your time and set a daily routine. To do this you should schedule specific time for work and specific time for sleep. Try setting an alarm, 45 minutes before bedtime. This will remind you to stop working and get ready for bed. Make sure you schedule enough time in your routine for sufficient, quality sleep every day. Lack of sleep not only leads to reduced productivity but also poor health. The Trick To Changing Habits Breaking a bad habit is not impossible. But there are some important steps you need to take if you want to break a habit once and for all. Essentially, changing habits comes down to these three powerful steps. For more info see: “3 Powerful Ways To Break Bad Habits – Once And For All!”.:     Start Small and Find Someone to Hold You Accountable – Take it one step at a time and start with the FIRST step. Also, find someone who will hold you accountable that won’t let you give up.     Treat It Like a Business Plan – If you want to be successful in business, you create a plan and you stick to it. To overcome a bad habit, come up with a plan or a strategy to wipe it out. And stick to it.     Get To Know Your Bad Habit – Take a closer look at your habits and when they occur. This will help you identify what triggers them. How to Create Good Habits Fixing bad habits is important. Creating good habits is JUST as important. So how do we do that? The answer is habit stacking, which you can read more about in our post: “What Stephen Curry Can Teach Us About Creating Successful Habits.” Simply put, habit stacking is the process of creating habits. Start by choosing your new habits. Next, you plan a time to DO each habit, and lastly, you track yourself doing it. Start with one habit at a time. When you create a successful new habit, then add another one. Fix Your Bad Habits and Increase Your Productivity The sooner you recognize your bad habits, the sooner you can fix them. Remember: Your life is determined by your habits. If you're not able to accomplish as much as you want or your life isn't what you want it to be, the first place to look is your habits. By taking action and implementing these powerful tips you can eliminate bad habits, for good. On the flip side, failing to fix your bad habits decreases productivity and leads to missed opportunities to become more successful. So start today. Identify and fix your bad habits, and start developing good ones to replace them. Ready to act?

As someone who began practicing daily meditation about one year ago, I can attest that this practice can greatly improve productivity and career advancement. Meditation, when practiced readily, can remedy common and repetitive issues within professional life. As someone who began practicing daily meditation about one year ago, I can attest that this practice can greatly improve productivity and career advancement. Meditation, when practiced readily, can remedy common and repetitive issues within professional life. Before beginning to meditate daily, I struggled with procrastination, lack of focus, lackluster consistency of work product, poor time management and deficiency when handling stressful situations. A lack of mental clarity, which you might need to experience to fully understand, was similarly problematic. However, within a few weeks of finding my own daily meditation groove, these issues began to subside.After reading this article, we’re confident you’ll agree that daily meditation can help you reach your goals. You will also be able to take away suggestions regarding how to begin and stay on track. What does meditation do? Daily meditation is not something that will cause you to get rich quick. Its benefits do not reveal themselves after the first session, or even the first week, at least not very obviously. It is, on the other hand, an exercise that possesses as many advantages as the number of its practitioners.According to the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 8 percent of Americans, or roughly 18 million individuals, meditate in the United States as of 2012.I can easily argue that over time, this practice dramatically improved my focus and productivity at work. Especially when I was able to determine the types of guided meditations that worked best for me. Some of the practical benefits I experienced within the first month of daily meditation included:Deeper self knowledge and clarity, leading to more accurate and self-honest planning,Improved time management through far better performance in the face of stressful or high-pressure situations.Mental clarity that elevated the quality of work product I put forth, specifically when it came to writing challenging articles.Research has shown that meditation can yield these and many other benefits among its loyal practitioners, so let’s back some of these arguments with factual evidence. How meditation can help you work better Meditation’s advantages are so often associated with purely health or spiritual applications. It can be difficult to see the practice as a career-driving force. Meditation’s impacts on the brain and their subsequent affectations of practitioners can help to understand its benefits in this context.Here are a few findings of note:According to the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, a comparative study of meditators versus non-meditators found that the former group had “more folds in the outer layer of the brain,” which can indicate elevated mental capacity.The Washington Post interviewed Harvard Medical School neuroscientist Sara Lazar, who saw greater quantities of gray matter in certain parts of the brain among consistent meditators compared to control groups. She told The Post that another study revealed a thicker left hippocampus among meditators – a region associated with cognition, among other mental processes.An analysis of more than 18,000 studies that was published in JAMA Internal Medicine revealed that regular meditation can be used in efforts to reduce stress and other maladies in clinical patients.There are countless studies out there that either show the benefits of meditation, but what’s most important is whether meditation works for you. Whether you’re looking to improve your self-control during stressful moments on the job or strengthen your focus during major presentations, daily meditation may be your answer - but you’ll need to experiment to see how it works for you. How to get started with meditation First and foremost, you’ll only see the full benefits of meditation if you develop a routine around it & make it a habit. The idea is to train your brain, or even rewire it, to benefit your professional self, and that result will be unlikely at best if you do not establish a strong routine.I found that meditating right after my morning exercise worked best for me. Perhaps the afternoon or evening would work better for you. The type of meditation that you choose to practice will also determine the time of day that will be most effective. Mindfulness meditation, which focuses on the separation of the emotional, chemical and thoughtful elements of the psyche, worked best for me. The practice eliminated procrastination, improved focus and instilled more consistency into my work product throughout the week. With respect to intervals, 10-30 minutes, six days a week, has become my sweet spot of sorts.Notably, the benefits have snowballed over time, and I’ve gotten more mental clarity or an inability to handle stressful situations in stride for several months now. Those subtle changes led to a higher quality of output in fewer hours on the job. That led to improved work-life balance, better sleep and more satisfaction out of life.Since this is about self-improvement, you will need to determine the style, frequency and timing of meditation that works best for you. Keep in mind that daily meditation can prove to be that one practice that is minimally time-consuming and massively beneficial. Is meditation working for me? Meditation triggers slow, subtle changes in your mind and body. It’s important to track your progress to notice the benefits. This is especially important in the early stages when it can get discouraging when you don’t see benefits immediately. This is often where people drop off of their daily habit.Build a streak by checking off the days you meditate to help with building your daily habit. It can also be helpful to track the amount of time you meditate each day alongside your recordings of productivity. Then you will be able to compare and contrast with the right types of data at hand.Many meditation apps also offer tracking features (such as Headspace, Insight Timer and Stop, Breathe & Think) and take the least amount of effort to keep up with consistently.  As is the case with any attempt to improve the self, you will get what you put into meditation. Give meditation an honest shot - as mentioned above, the minimal time commitment can make a massive difference. Work to find your groove and keep with it over time, and you will see the rewards for yourself. Sources https://nccih.nih.gov/research/statistics/NHIS/2012/mind-body/meditationhttps://nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htmhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/05/26/harvard-neuroscientist-meditation-not-only-reduces-stress-it-literally-changes-your-brain/?utm_term=.8c2eb5d5134ehttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1809754http://mindworks.org/meditation-knowledge/top-10-celebrities-who-meditate/https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320392.phphttp://news.mit.edu/2011/meditation-0505https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170822104855.htmhttp://time.com/4645363/mindfulness-meditation-stress-anxiety-resilience/

Napoleon Hill said, “a goal is a dream with a deadline”. Given the timescale you gave yourself to achieve your current goal, are you on target – or do you feel as if you’re behind? If it’s the latter, don’t worry! It’s not uncommon to fall behind on your plans. After all, you can never be sure what life will throw at you. The good news is once you’ve recognized you’re not where you want to be, you can do something about it! It could be as simple as making a few tweaks and you can get back to crushing it! But what should you check to maximize your chances of success? THREE things can help you regain your momentum and get the needle moving in the right direction. If you keep reading, I share them all with you now… 1. Are you taking consistent daily action? Sprints can be a helpful way to kick-start your goal, but you need to be in it for the long-haul to go all the way. They say the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time! The same applies to your goals. Without consistent action, you can only move ahead in spits and spurts. Remember, the hardest part of goal-getting is inspiring yourself to start! The more you stall, the more energy you require to get yourself moving again. This is where your daily habits make all the difference. Choose habits that align with your goals and make them non-negotiable [your Habit Roadmap can help with this.] Your chosen habits will depend on the goal you want to achieve, but here are some examples to get you started: - Improve your fitness – close your activity rings- Attract more clients – post on social media once a day- Save for a vacation – quit the coffee shop coffee and save the money- Improve speaking skills – go live once a day- Etc. Do your current habits align with where you say you want to go? If not, change them. 2. Are you making time? Overwhelm can make it a challenge to achieve a goal alongside a busy schedule. When you have other priorities to meet, it’s tempting to push your goal onto the backburner – especially if those other tasks feel more important in the moment. For example: - You skip your power walk because your boss gave you a last-minute task - It’s too late to cook a meal from scratch, so you buy a takeout instead - Client work takes priority, so you have no time for your own marketing You get the picture! It’s easy to blame a lack of time for pushing you off track. What’s more, it can feel like a very valid excuse! However, if a task isn’t on your schedule, there’s a strong chance it WON’T get done. If you’re behind, turn to your planner. Look at where you’re allocating your time. Assess where you waste minutes currently. Review how you could shake up your day to diarize your habits – and ensure they get done. For example: - Could you batch your food prep for a Sunday night? - Could you turn your lunch break over to a power walk? - Could you schedule an hour at the same time every day to work on your marketing? When everything else has to fit around your top priorities, not only do you get more done, but you feel more accomplished as well. 3. What’s really in your way? Have you noticed that when you really, REALLY want something you’re unstoppable? But when you’re not entirely convinced, or you’re pushing up against limiting beliefs, the brakes go on and slow you down. It’s time for some deeper reflection if you find yourself: - Procrastinating over your goal-related tasks. - Feeling drained when you think about your goals - Questioning your ability to succeed – or even complete the necessary tasks If there’s something unseen in your way, you’ll need to do the more in-depth work to remove it. Maybe your beliefs about yourself need an upgrade. Perhaps you need to cultivate confidence by tapping into your courage. It could be that you simply need to double-down on some proven productivity tips to get yourself moving! Pull out your journal and ask yourself the harder questions. When you know the real reason for your delay, you can get out of your own way – and keep moving towards the finish line! Achieve that goal, give yourself a boost! Your goals aren’t about improving or even changing your life alone. I think Zig Ziglar said it best: “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.“ In other words, the act of crushing a goal is a prize in itself because of the enormous personal boost a win will give you. From the satisfaction and integrity that comes from doing what you said, to the confidence to aim even higher next time – because you pulled this one out of the bag! So don’t let go of your dreams. Hold on tight and instead, get clear on what’s really in your way. - Adjust your habits. - Plan your time. - Clear away limits. And you really will become unstoppable.

When we want to be our best self, it’s easy to think that you have to overhaul everything. But take that approach, and the task soon becomes overwhelming. It’s terrible news! Overwhelm puts the brain [and body] into stress mode – and when brain fog and confusion strikes, it becomes hard to do anything. We have to remember that change is NOT easy. The reality is that humans are creatures of habit! We like our comfort zones [because we know who we are in that space]. We don’t like change because it forces us to do things differently. So ease up on yourself! You can change your life, but it doesn’t have to be an overnight thing. Instead, you can make significant improvements to the way you feel [and the things you’re able to do] when you put your focus on your habits. When habits are your go-to methods for change, you don’t need to take the big leaps to create a transformation. Instead, you can leverage the power of momentum and the compound effect to let your best self thrive. Let me show you how… Habits are everything! “We become what we repeatedly do.” ― Sean Covey Habits are the things you do automatically, without thinking, and on autopilot. For example, cleaning your teeth, making your bed, or eating granola for breakfast. When your habits are ‘good’, autopilot is hugely beneficial because it takes very little brain energy and momentum to check them off. Instead, you just take action. Your habits create your identity. As Sean Covey says in the quote above, they dictate who you are. So if you want to be more successful, more courageous, better at writing, healthier, stronger – you name it. You won’t achieve these things overnight. Instead, they happen when you take action day-by-day, one step at a time. Better still, your life-improving habits needn’t take up stacks of your time. Instead, there are plenty you can do that will take you no more than 10 minutes a day. Let’s explore some of these now. 1. MEDITATE for calmness A busy, hectic life can create a chaotic, overloaded brain. In this state, it’s harder to think, trickier to make decisions, and more challenging to stay in control of your emotions. Meditation is a 10-minute habit that can help you create that calm, peaceful state within. If you can sit for just 10-minutes a day, you can cultivate a clear space inside that you can retreat to whenever things become too much. Cultivate this skill, and you get better at ensuring outside influences don’t get the better of you. It’s why meditation has become increasingly popular in recent years. It’s also a habit that many top-performers and high-achievers swear by. Meditation can be hard in the beginning – especially if you have an overactive mind! But stick with the habit, and you’ll soon become more zen! A great place to start is Headspace’s free trial. 2. IDEA-GENERATION for innovation We’ve all heard the stories of how a single brilliant idea changed someone’s life. If you’re someone who’s able to keep coming up with ideas, you’ll tap into a power that makes it easy to problem solve, create, innovate, and consistently add value to your business or career. It’s tempting to look at those people who always seem to have access to a river of ideas and think it must be a natural trait – but this isn’t true. Idea-generation is a practice as well as a skill. It’s a muscle you can strengthen with the help of your habits. Here’s an idea to try… Each day, spend 10-minutes tackling a problem and challenge yourself to come up with at least ten different solutions. Don’t worry; you don’t have to give ten genius answers! A chunk of your thoughts will probably be duff, but that’s part of the creative process. You have to be able to clear through the noise to be able to get to the good stuff. This daily ritual will turn you into an idea-generator – a title you can own and a skill you can use to enhance all areas of your life. And if you’re looking for a tool to help you commit to this habit, check out the Edison Deck. With 150 problem prompts to explore, this deck will keep you busy for months! 3. JOURNALING – for self-awareness The more you know yourself, the better equipped you are to be your best self in the outside world. Hands down, journaling is one of the best practices you can adopt to help with this. A daily journaling practise will help you tune in to what’s happening for you on a day-by-day basis. Through journaling, you can get in touch with your beliefs and values. You can work through problems, and you can craft solutions and map out your goals. You can even dig into your past to better understand your actions and behaviors and understand at a deeper level why you do things the way that you do. With journaling, you can overcome your limiting beliefs and empower yourself to achieve bigger goals – it’s why so many top-performers have made journaling a habit. It’s super easy to get started with this habit. All you need is your notebook, pen, and some time to dive into your inner world and ask questions. And if you get stuck with the blank page because you don’t know what to write, the Wordsmith Deck is here to help. Packed with 150 journaling and writing prompts, this tool offers inspiration on steroids! 4. CONVERSATIONS – for connection and self-expression How often have you heard the saying that your net worth is your network? It’s a fact that the people you interact with have a huge impact on your life. People influence everything from opportunities to the depth of friendships in your life. And one of the best ways to strengthen that network is through the power of conversations. Most of us get stuck with superficial small talk. It’s not threatening, and it’s easy to do, but it doesn’t allow us to really get to know another person. But cut through the surface level to ask the more profound questions and your level of connection increases. Getting in the practice of asking better questions is a habit that can enhance all areas of your life. From the questions you ask your children, to the conversations you have with your partner, all the way to the people you meet at an event or a conference. If you can ask the right question, bam! Our range of conversation decks can help you cultivate this crucial habit. - Choose Little Talk to converse with kids - The Intimacy Deck for your partner - The Icebreaker Deck for any other conversation opportunity Spend ten minutes a day with these decks and see how your relationships improve. 5. REFLECTION – to extract your lessons and learnings If you want to move forward faster, it’s smart to get into a habit of reflection. One of the reasons we get stuck is we keep doing things the same way – even if they don’t work. The trouble is, we can’t be aware of how our actions hold us back, unless we reflect on them. This easy daily practice needn’t take any more than 10 minutes. Simply end the day by asking yourself some thought-provoking questions. For example: - What did I do well today? - What could I have done better? - What should I stop doing in the future? - How could I have felt happier? - How did I leverage my time? - What opportunities did I squander and why? - Etc. Simply choose questions that resonate with you and use them to extract the day’s lessons and celebrate the wins. If you can reduce the time it takes you to learn something that doesn’t work – and change it, the more your best self can grow. 6. PLANNING – to leverage your time and maximize your day When it comes to becoming your best self, one of the biggest objections you have to overcome is a lack of time. You know how it is… You have an idea for what you want to achieve, but somehow the day gets the better of you. You finish work with a pile of outstanding to-dos, and the evening gets lost in a Netflix binge or a social media fix. Then you promise to do better tomorrow to make up for it! Time is our most valuable resource, but a lot of people don’t treat it that way. Instead, we waste minutes because we’re not intentional with our plans. This challenge is easy to fix. Simply spend ten minutes of your day planning out how you want the day to look. Treat every task or activity in the same way you do a meeting or an appointment – schedule it! When something is on your calendar in black and white, you’re less likely to procrastinate or spend longer than you should be catching up on emails or checking through low-level tasks. Both the Self Journal and the Self Planner will help you master this habit. Each has space to plan your day in 30-minute chunks. Make this granular approach to your planning a habit, and before long, you’ll be getting a lot more done in a lot less time. This is how you make time for all the new habits you want to build. Schedule them in your planner and they’ll be as good as done – especially when you integrate habit seven as well. 7. TRACK YOUR HABITS – so you’re not tempted to skip a day We started this article by exploring how hard it is for humans to make changes – even good ones! We’re creatures of habit and staying in our comfort zone is always the safest bet. As a result, even if you start with masses of enthusiasm, there will come a time when you feel the urge to let your new habits slip. For example, you’ll feel tired or bored – or you’ll make an excuse or justification as to why it’s OK to skip a day. And you know what happens next! The second you take your foot off the pedal is the moment you allow yourself to fall back into your old ways. So how can we get around this? One of the simplest things you can do is hack motivation – something a Habit Tracker will help you achieve. A habit tracker is a visual tool that allows you to track a winning streak. Award yourself with a check each day you complete your habit. Before long, this streak of checks creates a chain that becomes too painful to break. In short, a tracker makes it more likely that you won’t drop the ball. The Habit Roadmap allows you to create a 90-day streak for up to 12 daily habits and eight weekly habits. Simply write down the habits you want to build and pin on your wall in a visible place. Use this tool to keep yourself going, and your new habits will become part of your identity before you know it! Start today – and then keep going You can do anything when you start small and chip away at something every single day. It’s consistency for the win and if you master this skill, you can mastermind big wins. So take this opportunity to choose the 10-minute habits you want to infuse into your life – and remember to share your commitments in the comments below [it’s a good practice to hold yourself accountable.] Choose something from the list above – or add something of your own. Then remember to plan time into your day and monitor your progress with a tracker. Imagine how you’ll feel in 90 days if you’ve meditated daily.Or journaled consistently.Or sharpened your ability to ask questions and speak with people. The action you take on a single day may not look like much. But over time, your daily habits will compound into exceptional results. Then it’s best self, here you come!

Do you have too much to do - and too little time to do it in? If so, welcome to the club! I get how easy it is to thrive on the feeling of being busy. You can blame your upbringing for that! We’ve been told over and over that hard work equals success. In school and the workplace, long hours and hustle is rewarded. But at what cost? A busy work life may lead to big career or business achievements, but this path can be costly. When your belief system automatically priorities work, the rest of your life gets resigned the left-overs. And when you’ve given your all to work, it’s hard to find the energy, time, and enthusiasm for everything else. This is how areas such as your relationships, health, mindfulness, finances, and home life can all take a tumble. Ouch! The reality is lasting fulfillment isn’t found in promotion after promotion. Instead, we need to feel successful in ALL areas of life. That’s the real power of shooting for work-life harmony. Good news! This is something your wall calendar can help you achieve. Let me show you how… 1. Where are you now? When you’re pulled along by day-to-day commitments and you’re stuck in a routine, it’s easy to overlook the bigger picture and ignore any niggling doubts. We’re creatures of habit and we feel comfortable with what we accept as ‘normal’. That’s the power of gifting yourself a benchmark. You can’t ignore what’s staring you in the face! Use the BestSelf Benchmark to rank all areas of your life on a scale of 1-10 [10 is AMAZING and 1 is a DISASTER!] When you’re finished, you’ll be able to see what areas of your life are working - and which aren’t. Your Benchmark score reveals opportunities for improvement and ways to create more happiness and success. Armed with this knowledge, you can set new goals, establish different routines, and make the choices that will increase joy in each life area. 2. What do you want? With your BestSelf Benchmark score in, you can decide what you want to work on. For example, maybe your work/career score is high, but your relationships or home life are flagging. Perhaps it’s time to focus on your finances or dedicate more time and energy to your health and wellness. Take a few minutes to think about what you want - and write it down. Here are some prompts to help: - What would a 10 look like for each life area? - What do you want more of on a day-by-day basis? - What’s on your bucket list that you’d like to tick off in the coming months? - What goals do you need to set? - What habits do you need to establish? 3. Make it happen Show me your calendar and I’ll be able to tell you about the kind of life you live. Life is busy. You will feel pulled in countless directions and you won’t be able to do it all. But the reality is, what gets planned gets done. If you fill your calendar with nothing but work stuff, how can you expect to create the best relationships or be in the peak of your health? In comparison, if your calendar allocates time for your kids, your partner, your writing passion, your weekend adventures, and your daily run, there’s a much stronger chance it’s all going to happen. That’s the power of your wall calendar. A simple, but highly effective tool for creating work-life harmony and ensuring ALL areas of your life get the attention they require to thrive. Yup, your calendar can be your ticket to happiness! Here are five top tips for getting the most of yours. Pin it on the wall - you can’t ignore what’s staring you in the face. Plan in time for your bucket list items - don’t say you’ll go skydiving, visit Italy, take a pottery class, or write your book ‘someday’. Instead, use your calendar to make it THIS day. Get it planned, and it will get done. Schedule protected time - do your kids complain because you’re always working? Does your partner complain that you’re always tired? Don’t leave time together to chance. Scheduling date nights, kids play dates, and conversation time doesn’t mean you have ‘problems’. Instead, it means you care so much about these parts of your life, that you refuse to give them the leftovers. Plan in planning time - a busy life can keep you stuck in the weeds. When you’re always fire-fighting, you overlook the big picture. Schedule time on your calendar to get clear on where you want to go. Book in planning dates with yourself and also your partner or family. When your vision is clear, it’s harder to head out on the wrong path. Make time for fun - you always turn up at work and you don’t miss those important meetings or business events. In the same way that you mark these on your calendar, write down fun activities too. From trips to the theater to a mystery tour next weekend, these fun events fuel happiness. 4. Don’t forget the nitty-gritty Your wall calendar is perfect for keeping the big picture top of mind. But don’t lose sight of the day-to-day. Time is your most precious resource. The way you allocate your minutes determines the life you create. A planner [such as the Self Planner or Self Journal] will help you get granular with your time. Use this tool to: - Schedule time for work and play - Make time for your daily run or yoga class - Create space for your mindfulness practices such as meditation or journaling - Prioritize meaningful conversations with your partner or your children [the Intimacy and Little Talk Decks can help with this] - Make time for YOU Remember, what gets planned gets done. It is possible to find the time to do more of the things you want. You don’t have to let work be the center of everything. Use your calendar and planner to keep you accountable to your priorities and you’ll find it easier to think bigger and achieve more while you enjoy today. That’s a promise!

How would life change if you DID achieve that goal you can’t stop thinking about? No more talk or procrastination, disappointment or regret. Just an epic win to celebrate. Imagine how success would boost your confidence and unlock fresh opportunities. Imagine how you’ll feel knowing you do have what it takes to be successful. That’s the thing with goals. There’s more at stake than the outcome alone. It’s who you become because of your win. And while science says 92% of people WILL fail, you CAN enjoy the level of success you admire in others - even if past experience says otherwise. Remember, your past doesn’t have to equal your future. The people you admire aren’t smarter or more motivated than you. Instead, they make failure impossible by getting the support, which makes success inevitable. This is the power of embedding the right accountability structures in your life. When you’re held accountable to your commitments and your goals, there’s less wriggle room. In turn, this means there’s less chance of falling short or giving up too soon. What’s more, accountability can also help you tackle some of the challenges that get in the way of you achieving the things you want. How accountability works 1. Lack of confidence Thinking big with a desire to achieve more is always going to stretch you. You’re going to have to thrive in discomfort and take on things you’re not sure how to do [even wonder if you can actually do them.] Accountability offers that gentle nudge to step up and do it anyway. Sure, you may not win every time but the more times you put courage over comfort, the more you strengthen that muscle. The more your confidence grows, the more you can try, explore, and ultimately achieve. 2. You lose sight of your goal Life is full of distractions and temptations. You may be crystal clear on your goal one day, then find yourself chasing different priorities the next. Accountability can help keep you laser focused on the choices, tasks, and commitments that move the needle in the right direction. It’s like an airline pilot charting their course. The longer you stray off your path the harder it is to get back on track. Accountability offers those checks that encourage you to question your rationale for exploring distractions. 3. You panic, get overwhelmed, and risk giving up too soon Totally stuck? Losing the plot? Can’t see the wood through the trees? Life happens and it does throw stuff into the court that can send you into a tailspin. Accountability can help you take stock before you throw in the towel. With accountability, you can regroup and get a fresh perspective on your situation - then keep moving. When you have support to cut through the overwhelm and replace clarity with chaos, you move the needle towards your goals. 4. You have so much to do, you don’t know where to focus Struggling to focus on your goals because your to-do list keeps piling up? When the pressure is on, it’s tempting to switch to fire-fighting mode and tackle the tasks that shout the loudest. Accountability inspires you to not lose sight of your priorities. It keeps you laser focused on what’s most important and helps you manage your time and your calendar to make the most important stuff happen. When you know where to focus, it’s harder to waste time and bandwidth on tasks that don’t move the needle. In turn, success is easier to create. 5. You need a boost Let’s be honest, we all have good days and bad! The path to your best self never runs smooth. Instead, there are ups and downs. Loneliness and isolation can be big goal killers - especially if the people around you don’t entirely ‘get’ what you’re doing. Accountability can offer that motivational support when you need a boost. It can remind you of the bigger picture and spark the knowing that you really have got this. 6. You don’t do the work! It’s easy to brush things under the carpet and pretend they didn’t happen when nobody's watching. It’s easy to drop the ball, let deadlines slip, and settle for less when you’re in it by yourself. Accountability doesn’t give you that luxury! Instead, it ensures you can’t fall off your game quite so easily. When you feel called to show up because you’re being held to account, you can go further - faster. How to stay accountable Your planner is a powerful tool that can help you stay accountable to yourself. Take the Self Journal. This planner contains a proven structure that can help you 4x your annual output and even achieve more in 13-weeks than you usually achieve in a year. The Self Journal keeps you accountable by guiding you to leverage your time - ensuring your minutes are allocated to the tasks and goals that serve you most. You can also use this tool to identify your priorities and ensure you’re always working on the most important things. You can record your wins to give yourself a motivational boost and also reflect on your performance making it easier to keep the needle moving. It’s easier to show up as your best self when you have accountability structures in place to support you. For that goal you absolutely want to achieve, accountability is here to give you the extra nudge to cross the finish line.

With 2023 open, there’s a blank canvas in front of you. The question is, what will you paint onto it? What adventures will you have? What goals will you achieve? What memories will you make? What people will you meet?  A new year gives us the chance to be intentional with our next steps.  We get to try on new beliefs and routines. We get to play with new ways of being and inspired ways of living.  We get to create life anew inside the context of the desires we hold for our lives.  These nine tips and practices will inspire you to create your best year yet.  1. Reflect on 2022 You can’t move forward until you’ve first looked back to see how far you’ve come. That’s what reflection is all about. It’s developing the self-awareness that helps you consolidate everything you’ve done and learned in the past 12 months. If you jump straight into next-step planning, you’ll miss out on all the insights and knowledge the past 12 months have gifted you. In turn, you’re more likely to make needless mistakes, move forward slowly, and even make the wrong decisions. Reflection is a skill promoted and practiced by some of the world’s top performers and athletes. They know it ensures you learn from your mistakes and make better choices and decisions in the future. Discover how to reflect on 2023 with this downloadable workbook.  2. DON’T set New Year’s resolutions!  If you do nothing else after reading this article, this is the tip to pick!  According to science, 92% of people never achieve their New Year’s Resolutions. The problem with New Year’s Resolutions is that they're too vague. For example, I want to lose weight, I want to start a business, or I want to write a book.  These resolutions don’t hold you to account for your results because there’s no deadline and no specificity. If you lack clarity, it’s all too easy to stay in the status quo. After all, we’re creatures of habit and given a chance we’ll revert to what we know [and where we feel comfortable].  So this year, set SMART goals instead of New Year’s resolutions. It’s the most effective way to set yourself up for success. Your Self Journal can help you with this.  3. Create a vision With a vision, you have an overarching context that you can live into. When you know who you want to be (as well as what you desire to have and do), it’s easier to step fully into your best self.  Use visioning to jump into the future and get a sense of what you want to create. When you know your destination, you can work backwards to figure out your next steps.  20/20 vision is a powerful tool for creating your best year yet. Spend some time crafting yours with the 20/20 Vision Workbook.  4. Plan your time It’s risky business to leave your New Year plans to chance. Despite your best intentions, when your time feels short and other priorities demand your attention, it’s all too easy to procrastinate on your goals.  A planner will help you manage your time and your priorities. In turn, you move the needle consistently on what matters most.  Use your planner to map out your day with the same diligence and detail that you budget your money.  Schedule tasks in the same way you would appointments - to ensure you optimize the time it takes to do everything on your to-do list.  When time feels as if it’s on your side, it’s easier to work smarter [not harder], so you can accomplish more.   5. Discover your Core Values.  What’s most important to you? Define your core values, and you’ll activate an inner compass that empowers you to head in the direction that’s most aligned to your best self.  One of the easiest ways to define your core values is through the intuitive process of sifting through words and picking those that resonate most with you.  You can do this with the help of the Core Values Deck. With your values defined, feel into what each value means for you (because we all have a personal take). Finally, infuse your values into your day intentionally. In turn, you’ll feel empowered to live a life in alignment.  6. Aim for work-life harmony It’s tempting to put all your time and energy into one specific goal.  But true happiness comes from feeling fulfilled in all areas of your life. Work-life harmony means success in your relationships, your finances, your health, and your hobbies - as well as your career/business.  When your work gets the best of you, it’s easy to let other areas slip.  But you can push back against this trend through daily 10-minute practices. For example:  • Schedule a regular walk/run/yoga class• Commit to a 10-minute meditation [Headspace has a free course to get you started]• Make time for an in-depth conversation with your partner or your children with the help of the Intimacy and Little Talk Decks, respectively. • Increase your knowledge and skills by reading or listening to podcasts • Small daily actions soon compound into something meaningful.    7. Create a Live List We all have a list of things we’d love to do at some point in our lives. But how many of those items have you planned to do?  At some point, there won’t be ‘time’, or you won’t have the energy or health.  Don’t leave things to chance. Instead, create your live list and set the intention to experience some of them in 2023: • Figure out the budget needed to pay for them. • Schedule time on your calendar.  • Decide what preparation is necessary and plan it. Imagine how you’ll feel this time next year, knowing you achieved some life dreams.  Best of all, with these checked off, as well as a host of incredible memories, you’ll also create space to add new experiences and adventures to your bucket list.  [Need the inspiration to add to your Live List? We’ve got you covered with these 103 ideas.]  8. Use self-reflection to hold yourself accountable Life is unpredictable! You never quite know what’s around the corner. Your best-laid plans can face disruption - even if you write them into your planner.  Self-reflection is a powerful practice that can help you differentiate between the things you can’t control and the things you can. By reflecting on your daily performance and approach, you can see where you’ve been procrastinating vs fire-fighting.  Your best self requires you to stay committed to your path - and that’s not always easy. Doubts will creep in, and leaving your comfort zone can send you into a tailspin.  When you hold yourself to account through your reflection practice, it’s easier to differentiate between excuses and reality. You’ll discover plenty of reflection questions in the Writing Your Best Self podcast.  9. Write down your wins Your big-thinking goals will push you out of your comfort zone. There’s no doubt about that. Things can get hairy when you’re thriving in discomfort. Doubts and fears can hold you back and make you question yourself. Before you know it, you’ve become stagnant!  The good news is there’s a super simple way you can inspire yourself to keep moving - even when you don’t want to, and even when the path ahead feels too hard.  Make it a habit to write down your wins every day - no matter how small. You can use the Win The Day pads to help with this.  Over time, you’ll create a catalogue of successes, which you can refer back to anytime self-doubt creeps in. When you have proof that you've done it before, you’ll find it easier to believe that you can step up again.  Ready to make 2023 an incredible year?  With the help of these seven tips and techniques to kick-start your plans, you can mastermind your best year yet. You’ve got this!

What’s the best way to start something new STRONG? It’s tempting to jump straight into execution, but there’s a chance you may get better results if you tie up any loose ends before you start. Take the coming New Year. You may be itching to get started with new goals and ideas, but did you know you can lay the foundations for even more success if you do these five things first? Check this out… 1. Set a benchmark Where are you in your life right now? Put a line in the sand by taking the BestSelf Benchmark Quiz. Simply score each area of your life to create a holistic overview of how things stack up for you right now. This self-awareness is power. When you invest in a self-development journey, it’s tempting to focus on specific goals. However, meaningful happiness comes from work-life harmony where you feel good across your life - not in one area alone. Your benchmark score helps keep this intention top of mind by giving you a clear insight as to how your life stacks up SIX life areas [not just the ones that get your primary focus]. 2. Write down your wins [ALL of them] What have you accomplished so far this year? It’s easy to overlook the little things. It’s easy to forget accomplishments too - especially if they happened earlier in the year. There’s a high chance you’ve moved the needle a lot further than you think [even if you didn’t achieve all your goals]. Grab your journal and write down your wins. It’s worth focusing on one life category at a time to ensure you create a comprehensive list. For example: - How did you move forward with your money? Have you established any new habits? Did you pay off a debt? Did you make a good investment? - What about your relationships? Did you create a habit for deep conversation? Did you spend more quality time together? Did you hit any milestones? - How about your business or your career. Did you master new skills, launch something new, or get a promotion? Don’t forget fun things and new experiences too. For example, where did you go? When did you leave your comfort zone? What new hobbies did you try? Seeing all your wins written down will show you where you invested your time. It’s also a reminder of how rich and varied your life actually was… now you can use this as fuel to fire you up for what’s ahead. 3. Review your bucket list What did you tick off your bucket list this year? [If you’ve not written yours yet, here’s an article to help you get started.] A bucket list is a simple, but powerful tool that can help you live a life of no regrets. If you create a physical list [rather than keeping ideas in your head], you’re more likely to make the things on it happen. Plus, you then get the satisfaction of checking items off knowing you’ve achieved something important to you. Take some time to review your list and mark off what you did. Then… 4. Decide what else you can do It’s a weird mindset! As time ticks away, it’s tempting to put a mental line in the sand and decide to wait until next year. But the reality is January 1st is just another day in a continuous day/night cycle! So don’t waste time unintentionally. Instead, think about what else could you do before the year is out. For example, how could you: - Make the most of the remaining weekends? - Tweak and adjust your daily plan so you can do things now rather than waiting for later? - Set new habits in motion? Life is there for living… you can create whatever you want! 5. Finish things off Finally, something is liberating about stepping into a New Year with a clean slate. So check over your goals and figure out what’s needed to tie up loose ends and complete this year. For example: - Finish that course - Make those calls - Create that content - Write those chapters - Stick to those habits Sometimes goals aren’t meant to be finished because your priorities shift or other things turn up. But if your goal is there for the taking, don’t let go! There’s something reinforcing about seeing a goal through to completion. It’s proof that you CAN do it and this alone gives you a huge confidence and resilience boost. And that’s not to mention what lies on the other side of a completed goal. Part of the prize of completion is the new doors and opportunities that open because you saw things through. So push yourself that little bit harder [without burning out of course!] Check out of social media, Netflix and other unintentional time drainers if you know you need fewer distractions. Then power up your planner and schedule your time to get stuff done. Your best self is calling!

It’s hard to get something started. When cycling up a steep hill, you’ve got to overcome inertia and resistance. Your muscles ache and you’re out of breath at the top, but then comes the downhill path! Once you’re going, it’s easier to keep going - which is how momentum fuels productivity, efficiency, and positivity. But how do you create momentum in ALL areas of your life? Here are three must-try techniques that have the power to change your world. 1. Schedule it If you do nothing else, this is the technique that needs your commitment - starting TODAY! Momentum relies on you taking action towards your goals - every single day. Success follows consistency. Success happens when lots of small actions compound into something big. You don’t have to take giant leaps alone to achieve. You can move further and sometimes faster when you commit to one baby step at a time. Daily action is easy in theory, but not so much in practice. Life gets busy. There’s always something around the corner, ready to distract and derail you. Doubts show up, fear gets in your way - as does laziness, procrastination, and fatigue. You’ll always have a reason to stop - and there will be a part of you that wants that [because goals mean leaving your comfort zone, which can feel unsafe!] Momentum is only possible if you push through the resistance. A daily plan creates a structure that keeps you focused on your end goal. - Schedule tasks in the same way that you make appointments. - Budget your time as if it were the most precious resource you have. - Prioritize the tasks and actions that will move the needle. Make daily action a non-negotiable, and success will follow. 2. Create a chain of wins Have you ever wondered how Jerry Seinfeld became such a super successful comedian? A newbie comic asked Seinfeld this question after meeting him on the comedy circuit. Jerry’s answer was simple, yet profound. His ‘secret’ was to write one joke a day - without fail. He didn’t leave this commitment to chance. Instead, he created a visual chain on a calendar. After writing his daily joke, he marked the success on a calendar using a red cross. Before long, his winning streak was so long; it felt more painful to break the chain than to keep going. You can leverage the same success principle by committing to the daily habits that lead to your goal. For example: - Become an author - answer a journaling prompt and write 300 words a day - Strengthen your relationship - spend 10-mins in deep conversation a day - Feel fitter - run every day - Build confidence - challenge yourself to leave your comfort zone - Master a new skill - cultivate a daily reading habit With your habits picked, schedule time to do them in your daily plan [see point 1], then use a habit tracker to create your chain. Momentum here you come! [If you want to join a community of people committed to daily action, check out Momentum Challenges]. 3. Get the right people in your corner No one’s journey through life is smooth. Instead, life is a series of ups and downs. It’s easy to keep your momentum going when things are working out and everything is going your way. It’s much harder to stay motivated when you’re in a rut. This is where your support structure makes all the difference. Plans won’t always work and mistakes will get made. There will also be times when you’re riddled with self-doubt or just don’t feel on your game. If you have people who get you and can support you through the inevitable slumps, you can keep the momentum wheel turning. Accountability buddies or a coach works well for this. You can also get help from online groups such as the BestSelf Alliance. You don’t have to do this alone. Instead, surround yourself with people you can lean on in the tough times. With the right people in your corner, so much more is possible. Anything is possible when daily action is non-negotiable. With momentum, it’s easier to think bigger and achieve more while you enjoy today. You’ve got this.