New Year equals a chance to create a new you. That’s the message of the moment, right? There’s just one problem - IT’S A LOAD OF RUBBISH. It’s tempting to see a new year as a clean slate and an opportunity to kick-start big changes and transformations. It’s compelling to use resolutions as the method to help you get there. Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against you. Chances are the New Year’s resolutions you’re passionate about now won’t last out the month. Instead of those resolutions creating permanent change, you’ll be back into your old routines and rituals. By February (maybe even earlier), you’ll beat yourself up and start dreaming about the next time you’ll try - when things really will be different. But why is it so hard to leverage the New Year to help you achieve the things you want? The simple answer is New Year’s Resolutions DON’T work. Want to know why? Then keep reading to discover the SEVEN reasons New Year’s Resolutions are destined to fail - and what you should do instead to create the change and transformation you crave. 1. New Year’s Resolutions leave you overwhelmed If you’re like most people, you’ll want to create change in more than one area of your life. You want more money, a fitter body, a more passionate relationship, a bigger business, a more fulfilling job or career - the list goes on. But in this age of instant gratification, we don’t want to wait. Instead, we want it all NOW! The problem is success doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, big achievements are the result of consistent action over a period of time. If you try to do it all now, you’ll feel so overwhelmed, you won’t know where to start. This overwhelm creates mental fog, which prevents clear thinking and pushes you back into what you know. Using New Year’s resolutions to make big strides feels tempting, BUT you’ll enjoy far more success with baby steps. That’s why we advocate 3-month goals instead of New Year’s Resolutions. Set a 3-month goal and you’ll keep your finish line in sight. As a result, you’re less likely to procrastinate and more likely to keep hustling. Close the gap to your goal with consistent daily action and you’ll move the needle further by leveraging the compound effect. With a 3-month goal, you won’t be done in by February. Instead, you’ll be halfway to a meaningful achievement, which you can leverage to build momentum for your next steps. It’s how you can create massive change without burning out. 2. You have no clear plan of action New Year’s Resolutions are usually intangible or vague. For example, you say you’re going to lose weight, launch a successful side hustle, or make more money. The problem with these statements in they’re intentions. They’re not clearly articulated goals and therefore you have nothing to get your teeth stuck into. How will you know you’ve lost enough weight or earned more money? How will you know when your side hustle is successful? Without a clear focus, you can’t take focused action. And without focused action, your dream will never become a reality. That’s why we recommend turning your New Year’s Resolutions into SMART targets. This acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. So instead of a New Year’s Resolution that says, ‘I’ll lose weight’. You create a SMART target that says, ‘I’ll lose 16 lbs by March 30th. 16 lbs is specific and measurable. It’s also an achievable and realistic amount to lose by your deadline. With your SMART target set, you have a goal you can measure and track your progress against. What are the chances you’ll succeed now? 3. You hate change (even the change you say you want) Humans instinctively resist change because change represents the unknown where it may no longer be safe. Survival is the primary objective of your brain so anytime you step outside your comfort zone, fear will show up and try to stop you. Fear can be valuable because it flags up potential risks and dangers. It helps you better prepare for the road ahead by anticipating challenges so you can plan your way around them. But fear also throws in self-doubt. It fuels the inner critic and it drives those internal dialogues where you talk yourself out of taking action. If you’ve ever had a knock of confidence, you’ll know how much harder it can be to take the action you need to win. It’s another reason New Year’s Resolutions set you up to fail. Without a system to keep you implementing consistently, fear is going to stop you in your tracks - pushing you back into the status quo that you know. It’s another reason why consistent daily action is a winning strategy. Take baby steps that allow you to thrive in discomfort daily. Soon the change you need to create is habitual - it becomes your new norm and therefore has a chance of lasting. Far better than dipping your toe in every now and again! 4. You forget to enjoy the process The end result of achieving your New Year’s resolution is a destination that’s maybe 3, 6, or even 12 months down the line… perhaps even longer. Most people don’t have the patience to see it though. They stick firm for the first few days or weeks, but as willpower and motivation wane, the enthusiasm to keep implementing starts to evaporate. It’s the problem of obsessing about the end result. The things you want are somewhere out there in the distant future, whereas you are ‘stuck’ in the here and now. It’s a feeling that causes a lot of friction and resistance - and if you don’t tackle it, you’ll slow down. You can’t achieve your New Year’s Resolutions unless you commit to enjoying the journey. It’s why successful people think bigger, achieve more, AND enjoy today. They commit to their goals, but they also strive to maximize each day along the way. In the words of Zig Ziglar, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” 5. You don’t normalize failure Ever stuck firm to a New Year’s Resolution only to fall off the wagon and decide it’s not worth carrying on with? Successful people expect to fail. In fact, they see it as an inevitably when they’re thinking bigger. When you step into unchartered waters and push outside of your comfort zone, you’re not going to get everything right. And if you do, perhaps you’re not thinking big enough. Successful people know a failure is NEVER a failure if you learn something from it. It’s only a failure if you keep making the same mistake over and over again. Truth is, you’ll probably ‘cheat’ on your meal planning. The launch you planned to help hit your revenue target may not deliver. Writer’s block may steal the words from your book and a spontaneous shopping trip with friends may spoil your savings plans. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop. It doesn’t mean all is lost. Instead, use the ‘failure’ as a learning experience by reflecting, reviewing, and then move on. If you want to create change, you better normalize failure. One way to do that is to make each day a win - regardless of what happens. Simply make a note on a daily basis of what made the day a success - however small that win may have been. This practice will keep you motivated and boost your confidence so you nurture and support that part of you that doesn’t want to stop. 6. You don’t know your WHY We’ve already said it… You resist change because change requires you to step into the unknown and outside your comfort zone. It’s why you need more than enthusiasm and willpower to keep going with your New Year’s Resolutions. While the feeling of optimism and excitement may get you out of the starting blocks, they won’t take you all the way to your goals. If you’re to consistently do the hard actions that lie outside your comfort zone, you need to know WHY you want the thing you say you want. And we’re not talking about a superficial answer such as ‘I want more money’ or ‘I want to be thinner’. That doesn’t cut the mustard. Instead, you need to understand at a deep level what’s really driving you and the way to do this is to keep asking WHY - until you get at the truth. For example, at the surface, you say you want to build a six-figure business to earn more money. But dig deeper and you’ll find there’s another driver. Why do you really want more money? What will more money say about you? What kind of lifestyle will it help you create? What opportunities will 6-figures open up for you? Discover the deeper WHY and on those days when motivation wanes and willpower is depleted, you’ll find a reason to keep going. 7. You leave too much to chance Right now, you’re in a groove and you have habits and behaviors that keep that groove intact. If you want your New Year’s Resolutions to stick, you have to get into a new groove - and as we’ve already seen, that’s not easy! You’ll need to replace outdated habits with those that support your new vision for your life. You’ll need to create new rituals and routines. You’ll need to make time for new activities and to-dos - while eliminating the ones that no longer serve you. Try to manage all this in your head and you’re going to fail. When you’re short of time, energy, or ideas, you’ll simply default to what you know - because that’s the easiest way forward. That’s why you need a planner. Somewhere you can mastermind your day and allocate your time to ensure your New Year’s Resolutions have a chance to be fulfilled. - You won’t make it to the gym if you don’t plan it into your day - something else will take priority - You won’t make those sales calls if they’re not mapped onto your calendar - You won’t write your book if you try to be creative when you’re all used up for the day With a planner, you get to pick your priorities and create powerful days that move the needle in the direction YOU want to go. Ready to make your New Year’s Resolutions stick? If so, we got you. The flagship Self Journal can help make your success inevitable. Use it to mastermind your day, pin down your priorities, and develop the habits, rituals, and routines that help you carve out the life you really want. Don’t wake up next New Year’s Day frustrated at your lack of progress. Don’t allow yourself to feel the regret of opportunities lost and another year of same-old, same-old. Instead, empower yourself to make the things you want a reality. Get yourself the tool that takes the guesswork out of New Year’s Resolutions and turns them into achievable goals that you action on every single day. Stick to the strategy and you won’t believe where you end up in three months time - let alone a year! Ready to get started? To join over 170,000 high-achievers who are making incredible things happen with their Self Journal CLICK HERE.

The simple act of setting a goal kick-starts a powerful chain of events for you and your life. That’s because your goal creates a clear and specific route through your life. Your goal sends instructions about what you need to focus on and what you need to switch off.  It helps you to decide what tangents and diversions to avoid so you can hold true to what you really want. But it’s a mistake to focus on your finish line alone. Zig Ziglar said it best. “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” Sure, you’ve got to think big, but you’ve also got to enjoy the process too. And one powerful way to do that is to write down your wins along the way to the ‘big one’ - however small. Not only does this simple success habit help you enjoy your life, but it also fuels further success (and makes it more likely that you’ll hit that finish line). Here’s how… 1. Cultivates confidence Goals are going to push you out of your comfort zone. It’s inevitable. Strive to achieve something you’ve never done before and you’ll have to learn new things and explore fresh limits. It’s how goal setting helps you grow and evolve as an individual. But it’s a rocky road (as you’ll know if you’ve ever hustled after goals in the past). As you explore your limits, you’ll also make mistakes and ‘fail’’ and this can knock your confidence - even put the brakes on action. Writing down your wins helps switch on the frame of mind you need to keep going - regardless of the chaos you currently face. Celebrate the mini-wins along the way and you’ll create a string of new references that you CAN do it. Over time, this practice builds your confidence because as those wins clock up, you’ll see yourself as a winner. When you know you can achieve, you’ll feel more confident moving through the ‘failures’. You’ll know you’ll find a way through any roadblocks and challenges. You’ll know you do have what it takes to succeed. In this way, confidence is not only the catalyst for the goal you’re working towards currently, but for tackling bigger and bigger goals in the future too. 2. Nurtures positivity and optimism The more you do, the more you feel you CAN do. This mindset shift is a game-changer when it comes to creating your best self and setting goals that help you create the life you want. Every time you write down a win, you create a new reference point of what you actually achieved. We get it… It’s tempting to downplay or overlook the little victories labelling them insignificant in the big scheme of things, but that’s not true. On those days when things go wrong, when your confidence takes a knock, or when the self-doubt wreaks havoc with your mojo, being able to look back through your wins provides you with a motivational boost to keep going. It reminds you of who you really are. Celebrate your victories and you’ll nurture the positive mindset that’s crucial - if you want to achieve big things. Because whether you think you can or you think you can’t, YOU’RE RIGHT. 3. You get what you focus on Have you ever got a new car only to see that car pop up everywhere (where you previously only saw one once in a blue moon?) This mysterious set of events isn’t a coincidence and your new car didn’t suddenly become popular overnight. Instead, you can thank your brain for its selective attention. Inside your brain stem is a clever bundle of nerves called the Reticular Activating System (or RAS). The job of your RAS is to show you information from the world that supports your beliefs and interests. With so many stimuli out there, we can’t process it all. Instead, we need a filter that allows us to see the world through our chosen lens. So the new car parked outside your house… the reason it’s suddenly ‘everywhere’ is because that particular make, model, and color is now important to you (where it wasn’t before). But what does this have to do with success? When you habitually write down your wins, you train your RAS to look for more of them. Suddenly, you’ll see wins everywhere. It’s simple, it’s powerful, and it’s a strategy that can transform what you believe is possible for you and your life. 4. Track your progress You never achieve a big goal overnight. Instead, you sow the seeds and make progress over time. This slowness can be a problem. When change is gradual, it’s often so subtle that you don’t see it. You can actually struggle to get a clear before and after view so you can own the extent to which you have evolved. But track your wins along the way and you can benchmark your success. Suddenly, it’s clear just how far you did come. You’ll see significant progress where you didn’t see any before and this shift in perception will inspire and motivate you to do more and more. After all, success is addictive. We like the way it makes us feel. Own more of the micro wins along the way to the biggie and you’ll train yourself to take the actions that lead to the highs that ownership of your wins fuels. 5. Learn more about yourself Logging your wins is about more than patting yourself on the back. It also creates an opportunity for you to learn from those experiences. Wins are never accidental. Reflect on the events, mindsets, decisions, and actions that led to your success and you will see patterns. There’s a chance some of those patterns will be repeatable. In other words, if you did it once, then you can do it again. They say success leaves clues. So capture your wins with curiosity and you’ll uncover the secrets that will help you achieve more of what you want. It’s an empowering behaviour that’s going to help you go even further than you currently imagine is possible for you. Log your wins DAILY As a big thinker and a high-achiever who has high expectations for yourself and your life, it’s not surprising you downplay the little victories along the way. Instead, you tell yourself things such as... ‘Is it really that significant.’ ‘It was only a little.’ ‘Anyone could have done that’ But this thinking harms your ability to hit the goals that are going to change your life. Logging the small victories along the way isn’t about stroking your ego. Instead, it’s a success practice that builds momentum, fuels positivity, nurtures self-awareness, and makes you hungry for even more success. That’s why you’ll find a section on every daily page of the Self Journal to capture your daily wins. It’s a powerful, intentional section of the daily template that will help you think bigger and achieve more, while you enjoy today. Are you in the habit of writing down and tracking your goals? If not, start today. Use your Self Journal to fuel your best self by owning all your wins - even the ones that feel too small to capture. They’re ALL a significant part of your journey.

There’s this great quote from Jim Rohn that says, “Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.” The question is do you find idea generation easy, or is it more like pulling teeth! Ideas hold the potential to change our lives because they open doors and create opportunities. They help you solve problems, start a business, launch new products, repair your relationship, inspire your child, and live your very best life. Ideas help you maximize the big and the little things. From figuring out how to rebuild your life after a catastrophe, to persuading an unpersuadable toddler it’s time for bed, ideas are fuel for growth, discovery, and evolution. If you can generate ideas at will, you’ll never be stuck. You’ll never be out of options. You’ll never lose all your control. Instead, you can dive into your thinking, figure it out, and mastermind your way forward. You’ll be the one who can answer the tough questions. You’ll be the one who others will turn to in tough times. You’ll also be the one who’s never broke for long because if you need to, you can come up with a long list of money making ideas - some of which will work. For as long as you can keep thinking of ideas, the door is never permanently shut. You can always walk down another avenue or try another path. Your options are only ever limited by the number of ideas you can generate. So if ideas are so powerful, what is the secret to having more of them? Here’s the really good news... Idea generation is a talent AND a skill We’ve all been around people who are able to reel off idea after idea. They’re so smart - it’s why you stand in awe and marvel at their exceptional intelligence! It’s frustrating. Why can’t you do the same? Perhaps you can... Some people do have a natural talent for thinking on their feet and making connections that actually go somewhere. The rest of us just have to work hard at developing the skill. Let me show you how you can do that. A step-by-step guide to idea generation  UNDERSTAND HOW YOU GENERATE IDEAS The dictionary says an idea is ‘a thought or a suggestion about a possible course of action’. If that’s the case, it follows that ideas come after a trigger. For example: - You’re asked a question - You’re stuck with a problem - You’re asked for your opinion on what you would do When faced with a trigger (like the ones above), your brain goes hunting for answers. There’s a lot it can dive into for example: past experiences, your personal beliefs about what’s right and wrong, stories you’ve heard, books you’ve read, conversations you’ve had, knowledge you’ve learned etc. In short, your brain gets busy digging around to find answers that fit. It sifts through everything then comes back with possibilities. That’s how you create ideas. The mistake most people make is they stop with the superficial, obvious surface level responses. If you want to be able to generate good ideas at will, you have to train your brain to go deeper. And one of the most powerful way to do that is to make idea generation a habit. PRACTICE EVERYDAY You can’t run a marathon without training. You can’t play an instrument when you first pick it up. You can’t build a successful business overnight. To achieve these goals you need to commit to a routine of consistent action. You have to train regularly, practice your scales daily, or commit to making sales calls everyday. When you take action consistently, you’ll activate the compound effect. You’ll also get better and more skillful over time. Where you started out as a novice, time (and committed action) can turn you into an expert. The exact same principle applies to idea generation. Make it a daily habit and with time you’ll get better at making new connections, seeing things differently, and thinking up something new. Practice regularly and good ideas will flow more easily. CREATE A HABIT YOU CAN TRACK A good way to make idea generation habitual is to set yourself a daily goal that you can measure and track. Build a chain of ‘checked’ days and you’ll soon reach a point where it’s more painful to break the chain than it is to practice your habit for another day. Here’s a suggested daily idea generation practice you could try: - Dedicate a notebook that you use solely for idea generation - Set yourself a challenge and come up with TEN ideas in response. For example: - Industries you could disrupt - Meals you want to cook - Content pieces you could write You’ll find that a few ideas will spill out effortlessly - then you might get stuck! You might judge ideas as not being good enough and not write them down. Resist that temptation. The act of writing an idea (even what you perceive to be a bad one) clears space for more thoughts to bubble up. It’s worth coming up with all ideas in a single sitting. Don’t let yourself off the hook! Instead, push through the resistance and force yourself to dig into the less obvious ideas (it’s the key reason for listing out ten). Under pressure to write ten, your brain will start thinking laterally and outside the box. When you have no option but to think of ideas, you’ll be amazed at the genius which can flood out. We always artificially limit our abilities. Generating 10 ideas every day will blast the lid off yours. REMEMBER WHY YOU’RE DOING THIS The goal of your daily practice isn’t to always generate ideas that you’ll use (although many times you will). Instead, this is about leveraging a habit that will enable you to generate a flood of ideas when you need to. Build your idea-generating muscle and next time you the a roadblock, you’ll be in a much better position to think yourself out of it.   FEED YOUR BRAIN Steve Jobs famously said this about creativity. “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” So good ideas are the result of connecting things up in different and unusual ways! If that’s the case, it makes sense to feed your brain with a wide range of influences - so you’ll have plenty of references to pull upon when you need an idea. The more you have to dig through, the richer your spectrum of ideas will become. This is your permission slip to go wild! - Pick up books that aren’t the genre you’d usually read - Take a different route home - Dive into a Facebook group of people who have conflicting views - Listen to debate shows - Visit a new city or a new country and see how different communities and cultures live - Change your job or seek out different projects - Force yourself out of your comfort zone - Watch TED Talks on subjects you know nothing about - Talk to a kid and see the world through their eyes - Journal to discover your innermost thoughts - Burn incense or aromatherapy oils to stimulate your senses - Pick a dish off a menu you don’t know how to pronounce - Listen to a podcast in a new genre - Read autobiographies to see how different people think You get the picture. Infuse your brain and senses with new influences and experiences and you’ll have a ton more reference points you can pull on when you need a good idea. PLAN TO IMPLEMENT THE GOOD IDEAS It’s going to be impossible to implement all the ideas you have. To be fair, you won’t want to! A lot of your ideas won’t be practical and they won’t fit with what’s happening in your life right now. But that doesn’t matter. Remember the goal of this habit is to get good at generating ideas - not necessarily to find good ideas. But when you stumble upon a good one, you will want to run with it. Here’s what to do with those ideas: - Brainstorm around the idea to flesh it out and figure out what’s involved - Set a goal (the Self Journal structure will help) - Figure out the first step (however small) - Execute on that first step to get out of the starting blocks and build momentum The life you want is a series of ideas away. All you need to do is keep opening more doors and stepping through them. Being able to generate ideas at will gives you a distinct advantage over everyone else because you get to find more keys. Are you ready to think bigger and achieve more? If so, commit to your idea-generation practice. It’s a simple, but powerful way to empower you to make the most of your life.  

If you want to be your best self, you better get some sleep! That’s because sleep is an essential part of human health that helps regulate the body’s systems and update the brain. The real question is are you getting enough? If you skimp on sleep you’re not alone. While it’s recommended that adults receive 7-9 hours of sleep every night, only about 60% of Americans actually do. It’s easy to see why... When you’re hustling towards your goals and working to tick off ever growing to-do lists, it’s tempting to pull late nighters and clock up extra hours. This habit may give you a short-term win, but it could harm you long-term. Sleep deficiency is a real problem that affects your performance, your health, and your wellbeing. So if you regularly feel exhausted and know you’re almost running on empty, keep reading. In this article you’ll discover the dramatic impact on your life and wellbeing that you can expect when you catch a few more ZZZZZs. We’ll also share some top tips to help you get enough quality sleep - so you can show up as your best self day after day. 1. Improved heart health Your body uses sleep time to rest, repair, and recuperate - just one of the reasons why sufficient sleep is key. Quality sleep has also been linked to improved overall health, including a decreased risk of obesity, stroke, and diabetes. Its effect on heart health, however, can’t be overstated. Sleep deficiency has been linked to higher blood pressure and risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. For optimal heart health, it’s important to get the right amount of sleep for you. 2. Better productivity You can’t do your best work or be your best self if you’re struggling to concentrate and your mind’s a fog. But that’s what lack of sleep does… it negatively impacts your focus and concentration, which can decrease your work efficiency. Tiredness makes it hard to focus on a task or get into your deep work zone. If you can’t concentrate or focus you won’t finish tasks on time and that can knock your schedule out and force you to play catch-up. Tiredness also causes mental fatigue which can impede decision making and reduce your response times. Sleep rests your mind as well as your body. So get enough sleep to give you the mental fuel you need to keep living your life to the full. 3. More creativity Your ability to create has a big impact on your life. Switch on your creative muscles and you can solve bigger problems, create unique products, and explore the depths of your imagination. It’s how creativity as a skill can help you with your goals, your career, your business… in fact every part of your life. There’s proof that abstract problem-solving and reasoning skills are heightened after a good night’s sleep. In fact, creativity is often at its peak early in the morning, as close to REM sleep as possible. So don’t undermine your ability to be creative by starving yourself of sleep. In fact, sleep may actually help deliver the exact answer you’ve been looking for. Ever ‘slept’ on a problem only to wake up with the solution? With your subconscious free to roam free when you’re asleep, you never know what you’ll wake up with. 4. Boosted mood Inadequate sleep has been found to increase anxiety levels, feelings of laziness, and irritability. In fact, 45 percent of American adults report that they feel more stressed when they get less sleep. High-quality sleep can have restorative effects on an individual’s mood, making it easier to cope with change and new problems. This can make it easier to not only have a more positive outlook, but also produce higher-quality work and develop closer relationships. How to get better sleep Want to know how to sleep better and deeper and wake up more refreshed? Here are some top tips to help you do just that. - Reflect on your day. After a busy, full on day take 5 minutes to reflect on what’s happened and how it’s made you feel. Remember to celebrate your wins and get clear on the lessons you’ve learned. Closing out your day with a gratitude practice is another powerful way to shift your focus from negative to positive thoughts and get your head space in the right place to relax. - Unwind. Stress can be a major sleep inhibitor. Take control of your worries and find your preferred method of self-care. Meditating, reading, or journaling your thoughts can all help your mind and body relax and get ready for sleep. - Get comfortable. Lack of comfort is one of the most commonly reported sleep disruptions for adults. If you struggle sleeping through the night, keep your bedroom cool, invest in a better mattress and use blankets that will keep you cozy, but not too hot. - Keep your room quiet. Whether you have a snoring partner, noisy neighbors, or a nocturnal pet, it’s crucial that your sleeping environment is noise-free. Use some comfortable earplugs or a white noise machine to cancel out any distractions that might prevent you from falling asleep. - Establish a sleep routine. It’s important to keep your sleep cycles on a consistent pattern. Try not to stay up late or sleep in too much over the weekends, and definitely don’t rely on the end of the workweek to catch up on your ZZZ’s. Missing an hour or two every now and then can have a surprising impact on your body’s rest and sleep cycle.   While these recommendations are important, it’s crucial to adapt them to your own sleep needs. So how are you going to cater these tips to lead a healthier life? Or, what steps have you already taken to get more restful sleep?

Kids don’t see any limits. They see the world through the lens of opportunity and believe that anything is possible. Unfortunately, this open-minded, brave-hearted, fearless approach to life doesn’t stick around. We get told there are things we can’t do. We’re taught to settle. We get trapped in the status quo until we reach a point where we stop dreaming in the same way. I like to think that there are two versions of you. There’s the YOU that’s living your life right now. And there’s another YOU that’s holding the torch for your best self. Exactly who your best self is will be different for everyone. My definition is to become fully expressed, continually explore how far you can go, and to stand in your full potential. The beautiful thing about chasing your best self is there’s no fixed destination. You can’t know for sure where you want to end up because at each stage of growth a whole new door flies open. That said, there are things you can do that make the journey easier and more fulfilling. So get excited and keep reading to discover the specific mindsets, behaviors, and commitments that will empower you to become the person you always knew you could be.  Think bigger Although this isn’t a step-by-step process, one of the first things to unlocking your best self is to think bigger. We get stuck in the status quo because over time we come to accept certain things about ourselves. We make decisions about what we can do (and what we can’t). We decide what we deserve, what’s achievable, and what will fit in with the lifestyle we currently lead. When you’re fixed to a particular view of your life, it’s harder to see new possibilities. Thinking bigger provides a pattern interrupt that challenges your self-imposed limits. A simple way to do this is to apply the 10x rule. Think about something in your life then imagine how that would look when you 10x it. Think about your finances, your health, your happiness, your relationships. Bizarrely, just considering a new possibility can be enough to open the door to an entirely new opportunity.  Create a vision for your life   In your head, fast-forward to your final days on this planet. Who do you want to have been? What do you want to have achieved? What would you have wanted your life to stand for? What were your core values, your purpose, and your mission? Creating this big picture vision for your life gives you the context you need to plan your everyday. You’ll have an inner compass that makes it easier for you to make the right decisions and set the right goals. When everything you do is in alignment, it’s so much easier to become your best self.  Set goals You can’t become your best self if you don’t set goals. Goals give your life meaning and direction. Without goals, you’ll be rudderless and risk living life on an autopilot that takes you further away from where you want to go. Set goals for all areas of your life and ensure they align with the bigger vision of what you want to do. Then make things happen by setting a 13-week goal. This time period is long enough to achieve something significant and short enough to keep you focused and implementing. Put your finish line too far out in the future and you’ll be more likely to procrastinate because there’s no urgency to take action now.  Practice gratitude Your best self knows that life isn’t all going to be plain sailing! You’re going to hit your fair share of highs along with failures and lows. If you want to be successful, you need to nurture a positive mindset. You have to be willing to believe that you can do it, that you are worthy, and that life isn’t always against you! It’s why gratitude is a critical practice to nurture. Bookend your day with a gratitude practice and you’ll train your mind to focus on and appreciate the positives. Start the day by writing down three things you’re grateful to have (or have experienced) in your life, and end the day writing out your gratitudes for the day. It takes minutes to do, but once you get in the habit of practicing this daily you’ll notice a big difference in the way you feel about yourself and your life.  Reflect on your progress This is my favorite ever Steve Jobs quote. “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.” For me, it’s a great reminder that you can’t be sure of the real purpose of what you experience on your journey until you can look back with the benefit of hindsight. Reflection is the greatest of teachers because it enables you to see the patterns and consolidate what experiences have taught you about yourself, your goals, and your next steps. So make reflection a regular practice. Reflect on your day, your week, your month, your quarter, and your year. Use this practice to build your self-awareness and learn more about who you really are so you can plan your next steps more powerfully and intentionally. Learn to thrive in discomfort Your best self is not going to be an easy life! If you want to create and achieve things you haven’t got, you’re going to have to do things you’ve never done before. You will need to push yourself out of your comfort zone - and thrive there. If you don’t, you won’t be able to move beyond where you are now - you’ll keep hitting that ceiling. Plus you’ll never know what you were truly capable of. Pressure can make you incredibly resourceful. You can ALWAYS do more than you imagine. So go with it. Let the fear guide you and as you proactively seek out experiences and situations that are going to force you to grow, watch your potential unravel. Take absolute ownership When things aren’t going the way you want them to, it’s easy to point the finger elsewhere. When it’s not your fault, you don’t have to take responsibility and you can feel better about yourself by placing the blame elsewhere. The trouble is this attitude is disempowering. If it’s not your fault, then you’re powerless to change the situation. That’s why you have to take absolute ownership for EVERYTHING that happens in your life - even the stuff that doesn’t at first seem to be your fault. When you own it, you control it. When you own it, you can take proactive steps to change the circumstances and shift your life in the direction you want to go. It’s one of the most powerful attitudes for a successful life. Default to action It’s true that everything starts as a thought in your head. But if that’s where it remains, you’ll never feel the full value of that idea in your life. It’s why you must train yourself to take action. Make implementation a non-negotiable. Commit to doing something practical every single day that takes you closer to the person you want to be - no matter how small. That way, you won’t find yourself a few years down the line in the same place tackling the same issues. When you default to action, you force yourself to make decisions. You don’t sit on the fence and you therefore don’t waste time. You show initiative and you find a way to fix problems. It’s the doers in life that get the best results - become one of them.   Enjoy today You only get one life. So don’t waste it wishing your time away to some point in the future where you think you’ll find ‘success’. Instead, enjoy the journey now. Your goals may have a defined finish line, but they’re not the destination. Who you become as a result of achieving your goals is far more important than achieving the goal itself. Spend time with yourself We live in an insanely connected world. 24-hour news, TV on demand, phones that make us accessible at any time of the day (or night). Social media that allows us to be close friends with people we’ll never meet and search engines that put information at our fingertips. Everywhere you look there’s someone (or something) telling you how to live your life. This is how you should look, this is where you should live, this is what you should be doing, reading, cooking, writing, playing, learning, exploring, discovering… It’s why you need to disconnect. You need to shut out all those other voices and get clear on who YOU are and what you want. Meditation and journaling are two ways you can explore who you are inside. Make time for them and watch how they rejuvenate and recharge you.   Master your minutes Time is your most valuable, non-renewable resource - you need to ‘waste it wisely’. As Jim Rohn said, “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” So how can you maximize the 24 hours you have each day to think bigger, achieve more, and enjoy the journey? The simple answer is to become a student of productivity. Truth is, we unknowingly squander so much time every day. Distractions, interruptions, and lack of focus means time soon disappears. But take control of your minutes and you can train yourself to do more in less time. Learn to work harder and not smarter. Use tools (such as the SELF Journal) to allocate your time well, and be honest with yourself about where you’re not being as disciplined as you should. There’s plenty you can do to become a productivity whizz! And when lack of time is no longer the thing that holds you back, just imagine what else you’ll be able to do. Build resilience We won’t always get what we want. Even if we work hard and with a passion, you’re going to knock up against failure. How you respond when things don’t go your way is key. Mistakes don’t feel good. No one wants to see themselves as a failure, but if you’re never getting it wrong, there’s a good chance you selling your potential short. This is where resilience helps in spades. How much do you want it? If you keep getting up every time you get knocked down and refuse to give in, you will find a way. It may not be the way you expected and you may not even get the result you wanted, but you will find your potential. Develop a growth mindset When you commit to becoming your best self you quickly discover how much you DON’T know. What’s more, each time you breakthrough to a new level of living, you’ll simply step into a whole new, unfamiliar world. There’s so much you don’t know you don’t know! So stay curious and stay hungry for knowledge. Be OK with not knowing everything - knowing you can find it out if you look in the right places. People with a fixed mindset don’t believe they can change. People with a growth mindset know there may be a steep learning curve, but with the right training, knowledge, or mentorship, they can get there. So stay inspired. Read. Listen to podcasts, watch TED Talks, subscribe to YouTube channels that spark ideas and challenge your current way of thinking. Keep feeding your mind and expanding your knowledge base and see what else opens up for you. Believe in yourself Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” The success you want starts in your head. If you don’t genuinely believe you can do the thing you want to do, there’s a high chance you’ll prove yourself right. So invest in your confidence. Do the inner work that helps you understand (and address) your limiting beliefs. Track your successes to reinforce that you’re on the right path. As cheesy as it sounds, make friends with yourself. Talk to yourself in the same way that you’d talk to your best friend. Remind yourself you CAN do it (you wouldn’t have come up with the idea in the first place if it wasn’t possible). The way you feel about yourself is pivotal to everything. The quicker you crack this one, the faster you can accelerate your best self journey. Review your network There’s an old saying that people like people who are like themselves. Your network will have a significant impact on what you’re able to achieve - because not only will they influence what you set out to achieve, but they’ll influence what you believe is possible. As painful as it sounds, do audit the people in your closest circle. Ask yourself if the people you spend the most time with (and therefore the people who have the most influence on your thinking, goals, and everyday behaviors) inspire and uplift you? Do they support your goals - or do they tell you that you’re crazy? Change your circle and you can transform what you believe is possible. It’s one of the reasons we created the Best Self Alliance - so you can get yourself in a peer group who want the same things as you. Have a beginner’s mindset It’s OK not to know the answer. Sometimes not knowing gives you an advantage because it stops you assuming wrongly. It’s OK to have a lack of knowledge if you have a willingness to learn. Permit yourself to be curious. Ask the ‘stupid’ questions (someone else is definitely thinking the same!) Don’t allow what you think you should know to stop getting your hands on what’s going to get you to the next step. We all start out as beginners. Feel comfortable enough to seek help from the right people and you’ll accelerate your journey. Get tools that help! Settling in life is easy. It’s easy to allow yourself to be trapped by what you, society, your friends, your parents, your boss, and your partner says is possible for you. But what if they’re wrong?   We can all do so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Just think back to the last time you found yourself in a stressful or challenging situation - I bet you found a way out. It may have been messy, but you resolved it one way or another. And you emerged stronger and wiser as a result of it. So don’t leave your best self journey to chance. There are plenty of people out there who will try and knock you off course and stifle your dreams - because your drive says something about their lack of it. Instead, invest in tools that will help you get focused, stay on track, and make progress every single day. Ready to kick-start or accelerate your best self journey? Check out the tools we’ve created to help high achievers (just like you) think bigger, achieve more, and enjoy today.

You have big ambitions for your life. There are things you want to achieve in your business, in your career, in your personal life, and in your relationships. But you’re impatient! You’re not getting where you want to be fast enough! You’ve hustled, invested your willpower, and deployed the grit and determination to get closer to your goals. And it’s worked… You’ve achieved so much already. The problem is you’re getting more overwhelmed and closer to burnout as the days go by (and the finish line isn’t getting any closer). You’ve realized that what got you here won’t get you to the next step. You know you have a finite capacity to do things. It’s why working harder and harder won’t necessarily give you the results you want. Instead, you have to train yourself to work smarter. Here are seven ways to do that. Change your mindset We live in a society that values hard work. Think back over your life and you’ll notice how parents, teachers, and bosses taught you that hard work gets rewarded. It’s why high achievers are happy to pull all-nighters and clock up a crazy number of hours. But hard work has a capacity. Work too much, and you’ll undermine the very skills and talents that can help make you successful. You can’t focus or create when you’re exhausted. It can feel counterintuitive, but reducing the workload can actually free up the headspace you need to generate the ideas and insights that will help you step up. It’s time for a mindset change. Continue to value hard work. Continue to put the effort in that matches your expectations for yourself. But at the same time, value the things that don’t feel like hard work, but still generate results. This can include thinking time and relaxation time. It also includes time for conversations and time for yourself. Give yourself the space (and permission) to take your foot off full throttle and you’ll open up a new level of thinking that could provide the answers you need. Set goals Working smarter means investing more of your time on the things that move the needle in the direction you want to go. If you don’t have goals, how will you know you’re working on the right things? Set goals for every timescale of your life: - Create the big picture – how do you want your life to be in 10, 5, and 3 years time? - Create a 90-day roadmap – what significant goal can you achieve in the next 3 months? - Weekly targets – what do you need to get done by the end of the week? - Daily goals – what can you achieve today to get closer to your goal? With these milestones to guide you, it will be easier to make decisions about what you should (and shouldn’t) be doing. Need help setting goals? Check out these FREE downloadable goal-setting templates – for all areas of your life.                                                                                                                                 Get enough sleep When you’ve got deadlines and a to-do list that’s as long as your arm, working later and rising earlier feels like a logical solution. It’s a simple way to create more time in the day to get more done. But this strategy won’t serve you long-term because you’ll soon be exhausted. Don’t starve yourself of sleep. You need it to rest and rejuvenate.   Instead, ensure you get sufficient sleep as it’s going to keep your energy levels topped up so you have the physical and mental capacity to do it all. If you want a deeper dive into the role of sleep for your productivity, watch this short video.          Work on the right things Trying to do everything yourself is not a good use of your time. Working smarter means doubling-down on the things you’re really good at and finding alternative ways to do everything else. It’s a principle that applies to your home and professional life. Here’s a quick exercise to help you figure this out: Make a list of everything that you have to do on a daily and weekly basis. Separate this into three columns… tasks for work, tasks for home, and things for you. Next look through the list objectively: - Cross off items on the list that you’re doing because you’ve always done them – not because they need to be done. - Identify the tasks on the list that can only be done by you. - Identify the tasks that you really like to do. - Identify the tasks that could be done by someone else. With this exercise complete, you can figure out how you’re going to handle it all in the future. For example: - Is cleaning, ironing, gardening, or cooking the best use of your time, or can you hire domestic help to take care of those jobs giving you more time for your partner and kids? - How much of your workday is spent doing tasks a VA could take care of? - What work tasks are you currently doing that are taking you three times as long because it's not in your zone of genius? What could you outsource or hire someone else to handle? Get help with your work, and you’ll have more time to do the things that matter! Systematize It’s not how much time you work that matters. It’s how you use that time. You may think you’re working as hard as you can, but there’s a good chance you’re squandering time through inefficiencies. A simple way to work smarter is to look at where you can replace manual work for systems. What tasks and activities do you do every day (or every week) that you could replace with a system? For example: - Automate email flows - Lead generation and conversion - Create a robust system for filing - Smart schedule your day (with a tool like Dawn) Look where you can take manual work out of a task and replace it with automation. When tasks get done on autopilot, you free up a ton of time you can use elsewhere. Plan your day proactively If you don’t plan your day, you’ll reduce significantly the amount of stuff you’ll get done. There are lots of reasons for this: - You’ll work on the wrong tasks. - Take too long getting tasks done. - Underestimate the time needed to finish your to-do list. - Get distracted by new priorities and demands. - Procrastinate and waste time. - Tackle tasks in the wrong order. To name but a few… If you want to get more done in less time, you MUST plan your day in advance. This goes beyond writing a to-do list. This is about getting intentional with how you’ll spend every minute – so the day becomes a win for you. Here’s how to do it: - Write a prioritized to-do list - Estimate how long each task will take to complete - Schedule each task a specific time slot in your Self Journal - Plan it all – work tasks along with everything else - Stick to your plan – don’t be side-tracked by other people’s pressing priorities - Sit tight, work productively, and get it all done! Reflect The smart working practices that are going to work best for you are going to change over time – depending on where you’re at. This isn’t a one-time check-in. Instead, this is a discipline you want to sharpen over and over. So take time to reflect periodically. - Review what you’re spending your time on so you can see what else you can hand off - Check in with your goals to ensure you’re moving in the right direction - Assess your daily schedule to see how it’s working from you See this as work in progress and stay open-minded so you’re receptive to any new wins that come your way.

“If only I had more time…” How often do you say that to yourself? As a high achiever, you won’t be alone. With so much to do (and so much you want to do), you’ll often feel as though you’re up against it. The good news is life doesn’t have to be constant chaos fuelled by endless to-do lists and demands. If you sharpen your productivity skills, you can train yourself to get more done in less time. But don’t go looking for the silver bullet because there isn’t one. That’s because peak productivity is a combination of small practices that combine to skyrocket what you’re able to get done in a given amount of time. And with the 19 proven methods in this blog, you’ll have plenty to get your teeth into. 1. Work to goals Maximum productivity comes from working on the right things at the right time. It’s why goals are critical. They provide a constant compass, which ensures your time is ‘wasted wisely’. Without goals, you’ll be rudderless. This makes focus hard as you’ll be tempted by shiny object syndrome because there is no bigger picture to work towards. Create goals and you give every day more meaning and purpose. This helps unlock passion for what you do (because you know WHY you’re doing it). As a result, you’ll feel more inspired to get stuff done, efficiently. 2. Plan your week Instead of taking each day as it comes, maximize your time by getting your head around the week ahead before it even starts. Using a tool such as the Weekly Action Pad, you can create the big picture overview for the next seven days helping you structure your days for maximum output. Weekly planning gives you an edge. It ensures you’re not rushing at the last minute and it makes batching tasks possible (see no. 16). In addition, with your to-do list out of your head and onto paper, you’ll waste less bandwidth remembering freeing up more time to do the work. 3. Plan tomorrow, TODAY Do you hit the ground running or do you waste the first part of your day figuring out what you need to accomplish? You’ll free up more productive minutes if you plan tomorrow the night before. Not only can you crack straight on with what you need to do, but you’ll also give your subconscious brain time to mull over your upcoming tasks. Ever noticed how you go to bed with a problem or a project in mind and wake up with a head full of answers? It works! 4. Set targets Don’t underestimate the dopamine hit you get when you tick an item off as done. It’s strangely satisfying to be able to cross off a task and see the needle physically move. So leverage this by setting yourself daily targets. We recommend three. Pick the three tasks that if complete, will make the day a win for you - and then crack on and get them done. This simple practice gives your day focus and direction. And with the finish line clearly defined, you know exactly what you have to get done to cross it. 5. Listen to focus music Creating an environment that’s conducive to focused, deep work is a gamechanger. One tool to try is focus music - such as Brain FM. Brain FM is a tool that provides music for your brain. Designed to boost focus, relaxation and meditation, this tool can help you work smarter, sleep better, and even calm mental chatter. You’ll have experienced how music shifts your mood, but Brain FM takes this connection to a deeper level. Packed with music composed to maximize specific states, Brain FM stimulates your brain to deliver noticeable results in 15 minutes or less. 6. Prioritize A neverending to-do list gets super stressful. You stare at the list wondering how you’re going to get it all done. Pretty soon you’re overwhelmed (because it feels like an impossible task) and instead of churning through your tasks, you freeze. Here’s the thing… Not everything on your to-do list will be a top priority. There will be some tasks you can leave until later, others you can delegate or outsource, and others you may be able to scratch off completely. Always pull the biggest levers first. Remember the 80/20 rule where 20% of the work will deliver 80% of your results. Focus on those big impact tasks by drilling down and getting clear on what completed items will create the biggest win for you. Get those done first, that way - even if there are items left untouched -  you can end the day feeling accomplished and successful. 7. Use a timer It’s so easy to squander time when you’re not consciously aware it’s passing. A quick look at Facebook can easily turn into an hour of wasted minutes. It’s why we love hourglasses. As well as providing an opportunity to disconnect from digital, a timer allows you to physically see the passage of time. Set an intention for how long you want to work on a particular task and use a timer to keep track. It’s a practice that keeps you more focused and accountable therefore motivating you to work more efficiently. 8. Work in Pomodoros Your brain works best when you give it time to refresh and recharge. It’s one reason the Pomodoro technique works. Here’s how to do it: • Set a timer for 25-minutes• Tackle a task until the time runs out• Take a 5-minute break• Repeat Anyone can concentrate fully for 25 minutes knowing there’s a break at the other end. It’s far less daunting than forcing yourself to sit tight for hours on end. Better still, 25 minutes of concentrated work will deliver far more results than a morning of sloppy focus - you’ll see!   9. Beat Parkinson’s Law Ever noticed how a deadline forces you to up the ante and get a job done in a realistic amount of time? Without a set timeframe for a task, Parkinson’s Law will steal your day away. Parkinson’s Law states that work will expand to fill the time you give it (now it makes sense why that proposal took all morning rather than 30 minutes!) It’s how deadlines can drive efficiency. What’s more, if you get a job done quicker, there’s more time to crack on with others things clocking up an even bigger win for you. 10. Zero hours schedule Unallocated time is always at risk of getting squandered. So plan your day leaving zero white space. It’s not overwhelming like it sounds. That’s because as well as scheduling time for all your tasks, weave in time for the gym, for reading, for relaxing, cooking, chilling out with your loved ones and even doing nothing! Account for every minute of your day and you can have it all. 11. Cut distractions You’ll always be at your most efficient when you work on one thing at a time. Multitasking as a productivity hack is a myth. You don’t get more done. Instead, you water down your focus by forcing your brain to switch constantly from one task to another. So do whatever it is you need to do to concentrate on one thing. Log out of social media, switch off distractions, turn off your phone, and tell whoever’s around to leave you alone. It can take as much as 20 minutes to get back into your flow after you’ve been interrupted. Don’t waste time needlessly. Instead, protect your focus by removing the things that throw you off track. 12. Stop procrastinating You’ll always find a reason not to do the work now - especially when the task you’re tackling is hard, long, or boring. When you don’t feel like it or you’re in an energy slump, it’s extremely tempting to put it off for another time. But that’s dangerous. Not only do you squander time in the moment (that you’ll never get back), but you pile on more pressure for the next day. Procrastinate and you’ll either have to play catch up another time or settle for less because you’ve run out of time to do it all. Instead, build the discipline to get the work done when it needs to get done. Tackle the excuses that your brain tempts you with. Train yourself to sit tight and your productivity will soar. 13. Reflect Productivity is a skill and that means you can sharpen it with practice. So take the time to reflect on your methods and behaviors. Where are you slipping up? What are you doing well? Where are your opportunities to improve? Build this habit into your every day and you’ll unlock the insights you need to take your efficiency as far as it can go. 14. Be realistic When you have a pile of tasks to do it’s tempting to make a super long list - and believe it’s possible. But can you really crack through so much? The last thing you want to do is set yourself up for failure as that will only knock your confidence and drain your motivation. Instead, estimate the amount of time you think each task will take to complete. Next, tot up the total to get a better gauge as to whether you really can fit it all in. If you can, schedule using the zero hours principle (point 9). If you can’t, prioritize your workload to make the biggest dent possible. Then crack on. 15. Batch tasks You don’t have to take calls all throughout the day. You don’t have to answer emails as soon as they come in. You don’t have to prepare every meal on the day you’re going to eat it. You’ll make much better use of your time if you batch similar tasks together. For example, spend time on a Sunday evening preparing veg for the rest of the week rather than doing it every night. Schedule 30-minute slots at the beginning and end of each day to handle your emails. Book all your calls on one day instead of scattering them throughout. Plan all your content creation into a focused slot. Batch and you won’t waste energy and focus switching from one task to another. What’s more, because you’ve created focused time, you’ll get the work done quicker. It’s a smart way of working. 16. Systemize and automate What tasks do you do on a repeated basis? Which of these could be handled by an app or streamlined with a system? Reduce what you have to do on a daily basis and you’ll free up time and capacity to work on more of the higher leverage work. 17. Work to your energy levels Every day, you wake up with a finite amount of willpower and focus. You need to use this energy wisely if you want to maximize the work you’re able to get done. To help you do this, figure out what time of the day you’re at your peak - and then use that time wisely. One way to do this is to classify your tasks as draining, energizing, or neutral. You’re more likely to knock out a draining task when you’re high in energy - and an energizing task can help boost your motivation when you’re feeling low. Think strategically about what tasks you place when and it can make all the difference to your output.   18. Say NO Is your to-do list weighing you down because you’ve taken on more than you can handle? If so, it’s time to set up some boundaries and protect your time. This involves becoming aware of your limits and protecting them by saying NO. You don’t have to explain yourself. 19. Eat your frogs According to Brian Tracy (who wrote the book Eat That Frog), your frog is: “Your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it now. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.” (p. 2) You’ll create a big productivity breakthrough if you identify your frog each day - and tackle it first thing. Here’s why... Firstly, even when you’re not focused on that task directly, you’ll be thinking about it. Especially if it’s something you have to do. As a result, that frog steals your bandwidth and drains your energy (how do you feel when you’re dreading getting started on a task that feels big!) Secondly, get that task under your belt early, and you’ve already clocked up a big win for the day. You’ll get that boost of motivation because you finished, which will fuel you to go further than you would have done if you’d left it for later. Thirdly, your daily willpower is finite. Try and tackle a frog when your energy and enthusiasm are low and it will take you 10 x longer - guaranteed! So every day this week, schedule your day to get your frog out of the way first. It’s a habit that will help your productivity soar. Time is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter who we are or where we live, we ALL get the same 24-hours a day. It’s what you do with that time, which counts. How you choose to invest your time will directly impact the quality of your life. So invest your minutes wisely. Commit to mastering productivity so you can get more done in less time. It’s a skill that will keep giving back in your career, your business, your relationships, and in yourself.

It’s the same at the start of every school year. You have good intentions, make big plans, and convince yourself that this is the year when it’s all going to happen.But somehow, it never works out that way! Life happens and before you know it, the overwhelm piles on, you worry about falling behind, and you start compromising to stay on top.It’s not fair! College shouldn’t be endless stress, constant all-nighters, and panic at the sheer volume of things to do! Instead, school should be about learning skills for the future, challenging yourself with work you enjoy, AND making the most of all the things only students get to do.The good news it’s all possible when you practice these SEVEN productivity tips.Learn to work smarter, not harder and you can get the grades and have a life! Here’s how.. 1. Get a planner Student life is full on (but you don’t need us to tell you that!) Dates, deadlines, socials, to-dos, errands, reminders - with a million and one things on your plate, it’s hard to know if you’re coming or going!It’s why your student planner is a lifesaver! Use your planner to figure out your life on paper, and you can juggle things around and see how it’s all going to fit. This student essential is a powerful way to build confidence, get peace of mind, and prove to yourself that you’ve got it all covered.Use your planner to plan it all. • Plan your day in 30-minute chunks - so you can minimize squandered time• Keep a log of your assignments - so you’re never caught out with a deadline• Factor in errands such as your laundry or shopping - so they get done too• Even plan your meals - so you don’t have to rely on takeouts or suffer from Freshman’s 15! Create a single reference point for everything to free up mental clutter, cut through overwhelm, and get a ton more done in a lot less time.The Self Scholar is no ordinary student planner.  Built around the planning and productivity tips baked into the Self Journal, the Scholar is everyday carry especially for students. Designed to make your life easier (even when it isn’t), it’s college sorted! 2. Stick to your deadlines You’ve got enough on your plate without having to deal with a forgotten deadline at the last minute. You can’t do your best work when you’re panicking and you’ll struggle to focus too. But that’s not all… try to squeeze in something you didn’t expect and it throws off the rest of your week too.It doesn’t end there. If you’re forced into an all-nighter, it’s going to take a while to catch up on lost sleep and get back into peak, productive state. So don’t let deadlines catch you out and steal your productivity. Instead, keep all your assignment due dates logged in your Assignment Log (there’s one included in your Self Scholar). With a complete list of all deadlines for every subject written down, you can plan ahead and tackle assignments in manageable chunks.Not only will your work be higher quality, but it will feel manageable too. Keep a clear head, and it’s so much easier to perform at your peak without having to lock yourself in the library. 3. Make big assignments easy - even when they aren’t There are some assignments that break even the most committed students!Sometimes it’s the topic. It’s so boring you fall asleep at the mere thought of your reading list. Other times it’s because the assignment is so hard, you’re not sure how you’ll crack it.You’ll find everything is doable when you chip away at a challenging assignment one step at a time. It’s why there are Project Planning Pages inside the Self Scholar. Instead of tackling scary projects as a whole, make a list of every task needed to finish the job.What reading must you work through? What research should you complete? What sections must you write? What conversations do you need to have?With your list finished, no longer are you faced with a daunting assignment; just a list of doable tasks that help build momentum as you work through them. Then all you need to do is plan a time to finish each one (you can use your planner for this). Start small, and you’ll make heavy work feel easy – even when it isn’t! 4. Keep a master to-do list Trying to juggle a to-do list in your head is a big productivity drain. Far better to empty your head and get all your commitments onto paper using a tool such as the Weekly Action Pad. This ramps up your productivity in a number of ways: If you’re not relying on your memory, you’ll free up valuable bandwidth to use elsewhere giving your productivity and performance a big boost You won’t waste energy worrying about what you’ve forgotten You won’t waste time turning up at the wrong place or working on the wrong project And with it all written down, you can put the jigsaw pieces together in your planner and figure out when you’ll get it all done Ensure your master to-do list extends beyond your studies. Write down your errands, reminders, socials, coffee dates, and laundry too.   Not only does this tactic boost productivity but it fuels motivation too. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your list shrink as you turn those to-dos into DONES! 5. Plan your week in advance One of the best things about being a student is the spontaneity. There are the late-night study seshes that turn into an impromptu dorm party or the random coffee dates with friends that last all night. Being free to see where life takes you can open a host of doors and clock up memories of student days that you’ll never forget.The trouble is you can’t live all your student days this way! Too much carefree living soon puts you behind in the study stakes! So give yourself a productivity boost by planning your week in advance.The truth is there IS enough time to do it all - if you manage your time carefully. Weekly plans help you do this. Instead of taking each day as it comes, plan a weekly overview: First up, figure out your three weekly milestones. These are your top priority tasks - the three things you MUST complete even if everything else gets messed up. Next, decide what day of the week you’ll tackle these tasks. Then start to backfill your time with everything else that’s on your plate. Take this approach and you’ll always get the most important things done. It’s the best way to feel your productive best - even if you have a stack of to-dos to work through.There’s another bonus. With your week carefully organized, Friday nights won’t be about cramming or playing catch-up. Instead, they can kick-start a killer weekend with friends. You need never suffer from a night of pure FOMO ever again! 6. Cut out the distractions One of the easiest ways to get more done in less time is to set yourself up for deep focus work.More often than not, we squander time needlessly because of phone calls, endless notifications, interruptions, and falling into the trap of ‘just checking social’.It takes your brain as long as 20 minutes to get back into a deep focus mode after an interruption. If you’re only working in spits and bursts, you’re going to take longer to tick through tasks AND you’ll only be working at the superficial level.Do yourself a favor and discipline yourself to focus on one thing (and one thing only). • Lock your door!• Tell your friends you’re unavailable• Work somewhere you aren’t tempted to slack off!• Wear noise-cancelling headphones• Block the sites that tempt you away• Turn off notifications and schedule time to check your emails once or twice a day Do whatever it takes to get into your deep work zone.You’ll get more done, quicker (and to a much higher standard).Then, when you’re done, you can party without the guilt and ensure you get to enjoy the best of both worlds. 7. Plan your day by the hour Ever noticed how a task will happily take up all the time you give it?It’s because of a phenomenon called Parkinson’s Law, which states that work will expand to fill the time available. Parkinson’s Law steals your time and drains your productivity by reducing the number of tasks you can get through in a particular amount of time.There’s a simple way to get around this… Give each task a strict start and end time.You have to be realistic with your time blocks. It’s no use compressing a task into too small a slot. All that does is pile on the pressure needlessly (which drains your productivity further). Instead, set achievable time targets that force you to focus, sit tight, and finish each task in a reasonable amount of time.Then watch your productivity soar!Student life is always going to be chaotic and full on. There’s no other option! With a million and one things to juggle, there will be times when you get a serious case of brain freeze and you don’t know how you’ll make it to the holidays in one piece!But you can set yourself up for success.You can make life easier for yourself - even when it isn’t! Invest in the tools that help you get organized and practice the disciplines to get more done in less time, and you can have the best of both worlds.Here’s to getting the grades and having a life.

There’s a scary statistic that says that 92% of people DON’T achieve their goals. That’s a ton of wasted potential, forgotten dreams, and unexplored opportunities.But it’s easy to see why… After the initial excitement wanes off, reality sinks in! How do you get from where you are now to where you want to be?We’re often the biggest obstacle to our big goals. Fear, self-doubt, poor planning, or lack of time and knowledge soon puts the brakes on our dreams. If we run out of steam, all progress grinds to a halt.It’s why short-term goals are so powerful.If you set yourself up for multiple wins along the road, there’s more chance you’ll hustle for more. It’s what successful people do. They break big goals into bite-sized steps then leverage the wins to achieve a BHAG.You can do the same. So keep reading and discover an easier way to make that goal in your ‘someday’ folder, a reality. Why are Short-Term Goals Launchpads to Something More? Big goals stretch your limits in every way imaginable. Without boosts to keep you going, there’s a good chance you’ll never arrive at your ultimate destination.Short-term goals provide that all-important boost in three powerful ways. 1. Reinvestment Reinvestment is a about transforming little things into something big.Howard Schultz is a great example of this approach. He joined Starbucks in the early 80s as a rank-and-file employee. After a few years, he persuaded the owners to sell the company to him. At the time, there were just 17 stores, but with little more than a big loan and a long-range vision, he got to work turning the little-known regional coffee chain into the international giant it is today.He grew his empire one store at a time.It’s the idea of trading up the chain. You may not have the platform or foundations at the start to achieve the big dream, but break your vision into shorter-term milestones and you can get there one step at a time.Better still, the more short-term targets you hit, the more skills and resources you gain and the stronger your platform becomes. Over time, this all consolidates to make what was impossible in the beginning, just another stage of your growth. 2. Momentum The first step towards a goal is always the hardest. It’s easy to think of an idea, but actually getting it off the ground can be tough. But as soon as you’re out of the starting blocks and you’re chipping away at your goal step by step, you build momentum.It’s like a ball rolling down a hill.It may need a little push to get going, but once it’s off, it just keeps going. It’s the same with short-term wins. Not only do they help you get started, but as you tick them off you build that all-important momentum to keep pushing.This is a strategy writers use. They don’t write a book in one sitting, instead they develop a habit and the discipline to write everyday. Stephen King is a good example of this. He trashed messy drafts of his first book several times (fortunately, his wife rescued the pages and encouraged him to keep at it), but eventually finished Carrie by leveraging momentum by working at it in short bursts every day. 3. Motivation Big goals test you. They’ll push you out of your comfort zone, stretch your limits, and force you solve challenging problems. To keep going, you’ve got to stay inspired and energized and that requires motivation.Short-terms wins help fuel the motivation you need to hit a bigger goal in the future. For example, the movies Steven Spielberg made as a child wouldn't have made it to Hollywood, but they did form the foundations for what came later. In fact, Spielberg has been open about the role his early projects played in motivating him to aim higher every time.Your goal may be to make a $100 million movie, but you’ll have to notch up some smaller wins on the way to that BHAG - for experience, for confidence, and for reputation. Examples of short-term goals that lead to big wins It’s not always obvious what the short-term targets inside a big scary goal look like. So to help you craft your own goal journey, here are three examples of the steps you could take to achieve three significant wins. Writing a Novel It’s hard to write a novel and nobody has written a bestseller without starting small. Even though J.K. Rowling wrote her first novel by the age of 11, it probably wasn’t on the level of Harry Potter, and she wrote a ton of shorter stories first.Remember, you’ll finish your novel before you know if you break it down and practice easier skills first. Here’s how: Set a goal to write every day for a month. Social media posts, emails, even journal entries count. Next, write short blog posts or micro-stories (aim for 300 words or less). Then move onto short stories in the range of 1,000-10,000 words. Share your work so you can collect feedback and use the practice as a way to learn about plot, theme, and character development. With short stories under your belt, create a solid outline for your novel. Then get to writing it. Set a daily word goal - and don’t break the chain! Write everyday to make it a habit and you’ll produce a novel before you know it. Running a Marathon Few, if any, of us could get off the couch and run 26.2 miles without any prior training. Yet, chip away at short-term targets and almost anyone can get there eventually: Start with a modest distance goal - say half a mile. Track your time and begin challenging yourself to get faster. Running a marathon is about stamina, not speed, so once your endurance improves start framing your goals in terms of distance rather than time. Enter local races. Start with 5K, then 10K, and then a half marathon. Once you can run 13.1 miles in one stretch, a full marathon is the next step. It shouldn’t be too much harder, provided you’ve attained metabolic flexibility by eating right. At this point, you’re pretty much there! Opening a Restaurant (And Cooking in It) Michelin star chef Gordon Ramsay still gives basic cooking lessons on YouTube because he understands the importance of fundamentals. The path to becoming a master chef starts with a few inexpensive tools and some super simple recipes. Learn how to chop vegetables quickly and safely, make perfect pasta, and filet fish - get those basic kitchen skills down. If you’re totally inept in the kitchen, buy a cookbook for kids - and don’t feel silly about it! There’s much to be said for understanding what makes a dish good or bad, even with the most basic foods. As your skills and confidence grow, start cooking for other people. Integrate their feedback into your recipes and keep working at them. When you’re ready, challenge yourself to make some tricky dishes, like souffle or sushi. The business side of getting a restaurant off the ground is a separate set of skills, but at the end of the day, yours will sink or swim based on the quality of your food. Wow your investors and you’ll soon be wowing thousands of customers. But what about your goal? Here’s the secret to making it a reality. Hit the big one - 13 weeks at a time Big goals aren’t only challenging because of their scale.They’re a challenge because of the time it takes to cross the finish line. A big goal may take years - even decades to achieve. With the finish line so far ahead, there’s no urgency to start now. As a result, procrastination creeps in, bad habits come back with a vengeance, and before you know it a year is up and you’re in the exact same place you started out.13-week roadmaps are a game-changer.Instead of planning years in advance, you set your sights on where you want to be after just three months. This time scale is short enough to keep you motivated, but still long enough to achieve something significant.In three months you could train for a 10k, publish a series of guest blogs, launch a new product, lose 12lbs, plan a dream trip, start a side hustle, get a promotion etc.In three months you can clock up the wins that give you momentum, motivation, and a success which you can reinvest to get you even closer to the biggie!It’s what the Self Journal is designed to help you do.Chosen as the New York Times’ favorite paper planner, the Self Journal is packed with all the planning and productivity templates and tools you need to win big in 13 weeks. It’s a tool tried and trusted by 10s of thousands of high-achievers - and now it’s your turn to join them. Make that short-term goal as good as done when you invest in your journal HERE.