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Monday, June 29, 2020

How to Use Habits to Reach Your Goals

One of the keys to reaching a new goal is to have habits in place that support that goal. If your current habits are counter-productive, you'll need to change them or run the risk of coming up short.

How do habits help you reach your goals?

Suppose you have the goal of running a marathon: if you don’t already have the habit of running regularly, you're unlikely to be successful until you can adopt that habit. Running regularly can help you attain your goal in several ways, including getting you in great physical shape and strengthening your endurance.

Developing supportive habits can be easier than you think and far more powerful than you can imagine!

Identify the Habits You Need

Before you create new, positive habits, you’ll want to figure out which habits will help you attain your goals. For every goal, there are habits that can practically guarantee success. Reflect on your goals and what actions you can take to help bring them about.

Consider these attributes for the habits you want to implement:

1.      Look for daily habits. Habits you practice each day are much easier to put into place and keep than those that are less frequent.

2.      Keep it simple. The more complex the task, the less likely you are to stick with it. If you really do need to implement a complex habit, start with a simpler version and then add more complexity later.

3.      Be specific. It's not enough to just specify what you're going to do; include the how, when, and where as well. Time is always critical when creating a new habit. Be sure to specify a precise period of time in which you wish to implement the new actions.

·         So "I'm going to exercise 1 hour per day" is inadequate. "I'm going to swim from 6-7 am, Monday through Friday at the YMCA" is more like it. This has enough detail to be quite clear about what you want to accomplish and includes the how, when and where.

Prepare for Interference. 

There are usually obstacles to creating new habits and behavioral patterns. Try to figure out these possibilities ahead of time so you can eliminate them as soon as possible.

For example, if you've decided that you're going to eat a healthy breakfast every day, get rid of all the breakfast junk food in your pantry and freezer. That junk food is an obstacle to successfully implementing your habit.

The obstacle might be time interference. Maybe your partner doesn’t usually leave you alone for 30 minutes every night so you can meditate, write, read, or whatever it is you want to do towards your goal. Simply let them know ahead of time that you need be undisturbed during this time.

Look for More Supporting Habits.

When you determine supporting habits that will help you reach your goal, consider going even deeper into the details to find habits that will help you accomplish your other new habits.

For example, if one of your new habits is to make it to the gym every morning by 6:00 am, you can develop several supporting habits to help you establish this habit, such as:

·         Get out of bed by 5:15 am.

·         In order to get up at 5:15 am each day, you might need an additional habit of always being in bed by 10:00 pm.

·         Another supporting habit might be to pack your gym bag the night before.

These supporting habits are monumentally important. Take time to think about what additional habits you can develop to support your efforts.

Enjoy Automatic Success.

Once an action becomes a habit, you’ll do it automatically, without having to make the decision to do it each time. In other words, you’ll automatically move forward, day after day, toward achieving your goal until you reach it.

Just as counter-productive habits can keep you from success, supportive habits can practically guarantee your victory. So consider the habits that will best support your goals, put them into action on a daily basis, and enjoy your new success!  

Less Clutter = Less Stress SM     in your home, your business and your life


Organizational Consulting Services
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Monday, June 22, 2020

What to Do When You Want Something You Don’t Need

Whether it’s an expensive watch, a third dog, or a bear-skin rug, there’s a good chance you don’t really need it. You might want it desperately, but you certainly don’t need it. That doesn’t mean you can’t have it, but there’s a good chance you’d be better off without it. How can you know for sure?

Try these techniques to be clear on your needs versus your wants:

  1. Wait. When you want something that you don’t really need, you’ll often find that the desire to own it will fade if you give it time. Whether it’s a puppy, a new car, or a banjo, you might find that you can live without it if you wait 30 days. See how you feel about it next month.

  2. Remind yourself of why you don’t need it. Be logical with yourself. Maybe you don’t need a new car because your current car works just fine. Or, you don’t need a puppy because you already have a dog, a bird, and a tank full of fish.

  3. List the disadvantages of acquiring it. What are the negatives of following through on your impulse?

     For example, a new car is expensive, requires more expensive insurance, and you’ll be worried about someone scratching it. You’re also not sure about how much your boss likes you. It would be challenging to be stuck with a car payment without a job.

     Talk yourself out of it.

  1. Avoid buying anything that doesn’t fit into your life. If you live in an apartment and enjoy your peace and quiet, a noisy parrot doesn’t really fit into your life. Buying snowshoes doesn’t make a lot of sense in Florida. You don’t need the latest and greatest running shoes if you don’t run.

  2. Buy one thing but get rid of two. If you’re going to buy something, at least make your life a little better by creating some extra space. For each thing you bring into your home, get rid of at least two. That way, you’re gaining ground.

  3. Find a more suitable substitute. Why do you want to buy that particular item in the first place? Perhaps you want to buy a grand piano because you love the sound of a piano. However, you might not have the space and finances for an 8-foot long, $100,000 piano.

     A small, less-expensive digital piano might be perfect for your situation.

     A cat might be just as good and require less time and attention than a dog.

     A Prius might make more sense than a Mercedes.

     A sports package on your cable box could be a wiser decision than season tickets.

     What benefits does your urge fulfill? Is there a better way to fulfill it?

  1. Just say “No”. Just be strong and tell yourself, “No.” For some people, that’s all it takes. You know you don’t need to eat that doughnut, so don’t. Some people are better at telling themselves “no” than others.

     Most of us are good, however, at telling ourselves that we’ll begin telling ourselves “no” tomorrow. Unfortunately, we continue telling ourselves that over and over.

  1. Consider getting it. If we only acquired the things we truly needed, we’d have little more than bread, water, and a toilet. Obviously, there’s much more to life than the bare minimum. We need more. Just be choosy in what you decide to bring into your life.

Be careful giving in to your wants. You only have so much time, money, and space. Maximize their utility. Take note when you really want something. You might be leading yourself astray.

Less Clutter = Less Stress SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services
Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest
*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more....

Monday, June 15, 2020

Getting Organized with Time Management- using the Pomodoro Technique


Getting organized means completing tasks that you set for yourself. But some people find it hard to stay on task. Either they get distracted or they find that their motivation decreases as time goes on.

One way to get the job done is to break it down into smaller amounts of time - with breaks in-between.  Using a timer and working until the timer goes off is one way to get your task completed.

Try it and see if it helps! 

The Pomodoro Technique simplifies time and task management with a single, simple tool: a timer.

Follow these steps to maximize your work sessions with the Pomodoro Technique:

  1. Choose your timer. The Pomodoro Technique is based on the tomato-shaped kitchen timer, but any timer will do.

  2. Track your sessions
o   Use a sticky note, notepad, scratch paper, or your computer
o   Use check boxes or scratch marks to track each session you complete

  1. Set your timer for 25 minutes
o   While the timer is ticking, work without distractions

  1. When the timer goes off, stop and take a break. Your break should last at least 5 minutes, but should be kept short.

  2. After completing 4 successful Pomodoro sessions, take a longer break
o   Now is a good time for a 30-minute break, a snack, or even a short nap to recharge

  1. Repeat with sets of 4 sessions until your project or work-day is done

Be sure to focus on the project that you are working on - and don't think about the timer. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in short bursts of time.

Happy Organizing!
 
Less Clutter = Less Stress SM     in your home, your business and your life


Organizational Consulting Services
Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest
*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more....

Monday, June 8, 2020

34 Easy Tips to Increase Your Productivity



When you boost your productivity, not only do you get more work done, but you can also do it quicker, freeing up more time for you to do the things you really want to do!

Try these tips to help you take control of your day and accomplish more:

1.      Set a goal for each day
2.      Make a schedule – with deadlines – for your tasks
3.      Keep a daily to-do list. Cross off tasks as they're completed.
4.      If a task doesn't really need to be done, just get rid of it altogether
5.      Batch similar tasks together
6.      Learn to say no to requests for tasks that would impede on your priorities
7.      Delegate some of your work
8.      Do the unpleasant items quickly and as early in the day as possible
9.      Slow down. Rushing causes mistakes and actually slows your productivity.
10.  Leave only icons for work programs on your computer desktop
11.  Avoid social networking sites during work hours, unless you use them for work
12.  Color-code your paper files and folders
13.  Take a 2-5 minute "micro nap." Rest your head and close your eyes.
14.  Organize your electronic files and folders so you know where everything is
15.  Use keyboard shortcuts whenever you can
16.  Schedule your most critical tasks for your most effective time of the day
17.  Communicate clearly with clients, bosses, and colleagues
18.  Use a planner faithfully
19.  Search for add-ons for your browser that can speed up your Internet tasks
20.  Take breaks to relax and refresh your mind and body
21.  Use stress-reducing techniques each day to keep stress to a minimum
22.  Keep work and personal email separate. Access only work email when working.
23.  Limit emails to 5 sentences: who, what, where, when, and why
24.  Clear clutter from your desk
25.  Beat procrastination and get started right away on the task at hand
26.  Try doing everything a little faster. Walk, talk, type, and read faster.
27.  Avoid trying to multi-task
28.  Focus hard on being productive for 30 minutes at a time. Set a timer.
29.  Help motivate yourself with your favorite quotes
30.  Focus on the appropriate task—personal or work-related—at the appropriate time
31.  Put on headphones to avoid distracting noises. Listen to music if it helps you.
32.  Focus on the tasks that will accomplish the most
33.  Ask for help
34.  Leave your desk clean at the end of each day

Less Clutter = Less Stress SM     in your home, your business and your life


Organizational Consulting Services
Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest
*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more....