Have you noticed?  There’s a gap between how ‘enlightened’ we are — and what we actually do.

There are things we do that we know sap our energy, waste time, and/or make us unhappy.  (Anyone else guilty of checking email or Facebook multiple times a day?)

And there are things we DON’T do that we know would make us feel happier, more productive, and energized. (Regular exercise or meditation, anyone?)

We have lots of excuses…. But enough already! Life is short.

Here’s a simple way to close the gap right now:

6 Simple Steps to your own ‘#1 Thing’ to be More Productive and Joyful

1. Brainstorm:  what’s the 1 thing you could STOP doing that would really make your life work better? (You already know, or have some some pretty good ideas…)

Examples:

• Checking email or FB multiple times a day;
• drinking a lot of soda;
• staying on the computer right up until bedtime;
• piling all the mail on the table ‘to go through later’
  

2. How might you express this as a practice? A practice is something you do regularly — daily or weekly etc. — because it makes your life work better. (You’re not committing to anything yet, jes’ thinkin’…)

Examples:

• Check email & FB just 3 times/day;
• drink bubbly water instead of soda;
• get off computer at least an hour before bed;
• toss all  junk mail into recycling as it arrives

3. How can you make this practice very specific? Add times, places, dates — so it’s clear exactly what happens when.  (Otherwise, it’s unlikely to happen at all.)

Examples:

• check email/FB for first time at 11 AM, then 3 PM & 8 PM;
• give away soda supply at work tomorrow and only buy bubbly water from now on;
• get off the computer by 10:30 PM each night;
• as bring mail in each day, sort into recycling/ bills/ misc., & toss junk into recycling bin
  

4. What structures or support will you need to make this happen?

Examples:

• sticky note on my computer with my ‘check email’ times;
• tell folks at work what I’m doing, and put all the sodas in my car tonight to take to work;
  
• set alarms on my computer or phone to get off by 10:30;
• tell my partner what I’m doing;
• put recycling bin under the table where I’ll see it;
• put sign up;
• make a daily checklist to chart my progress
  

5. What is your “noble intent” for this practice? (This is the big picture of why you’re doing it, what inspires you)

Examples:

• take control of my inbox and what I give my attention to;
• take control of my health and be a good example to my grandkids;
• create special ‘me time’ or ‘us time’ each night before bed;
• bring order and clarity to our household;
• turn my bedroom into sacred space

6. Will you commit to do this practice now? If yes, put in the structures you came up with so it happens!  If no: how can you make it smaller, faster, easier so you’re willing to take it on?  Even a little step in the right direction will free you up.

You can also follow the same steps to START a new practice that would make your life work better.

examples:

• Journal for 30 minutes on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings;
• start my day 5x/week with 45 minutes of stretching & exercise;
• meditate for 20 minutes each morning;
• do bills & paperwork every Monday afternoon at 4 while I listen to great music.
• do 1 thing I’ve been putting off each Thursday morning before I do anything else
  

I teach this simple strategy to my private clients and participants in my Grow Your Dreams Intensive, and use it myself –  this week I’m STOPPING staying on the computer late (off by 10 PM) and STARTING journaling twice a week (Tues. and Sunday). It really makes a difference!

Love to hear what YOU think; please comment below and I’ll reply.

Love and light,
Pamela

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 at 1:08 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.