Schedule Your Worries for a Clutter-Free Mind

The odds are you deal with mental clutter every day. Even the most mentally calm and focused individual engages in clutter-gathering activities. Do you ever ...

 

... ruminate needlessly over some experience in your past or some unknown situation in your future?

... obsess over an interaction you had with someone, good or bad?

... worry and "what if?" yourself crazy about something out of your control?

... hold tightly to negative experiences, emotions, and feelings?

... constantly surround yourself with external distractions and a continual barrage of sensory input?

 

These create mental clutter. It wastes your brain-based energy and your valuable time. These and other mentally cluttering activities lead to disorganization and distractions, confusion and a lack of mental control, poor productivity, and can even cause physical fatigue. The more mental clutter you experience, the more negative emotions and feelings you have to deal with.

 

Stop Worrying All of the Time and Schedule It Instead

 

You wouldn't be human if you didn't worry about different aspects of your life. You want to be your best and create the best life experience. That means you're going to fret, worry and wonder over any number of topics from time to time.

 

Your worry comes about because of fears, expectations, concern over potential outcomes, and other reasons. Instead of engaging these worries when they pop up, schedule a time each day to deal with what's happening in your mind. When something worrisome enters your mind, you tell yourself you'll deal with it at a previously scheduled time.

 

Then consciously get your mind involved with something else. Do anything that requires your conscious devotion. This will push your worry to the back burner of your mental stove, which can be dealt with later. 

 

Stop spinning the wheels of your mental machinery. Your worries don't have to take over your mind and start cluttering your mental storage space. Deal with them by appointment, sometime in your schedule, where you can give them your undivided attention.

 

Schedule this worry-work at the same time each day and each week if possible. When you perform the same activity at the same time, eventually, your mind will notice. It begins to expect you to handle your worries at a designated time. You'll discover you start to worry less because your mind is used to ignoring these thoughts when they are off schedule. This can limit the worrisome thoughts you have to deal with throughout your day.

 

The Essential Role of Self-Discipline in Overcoming Obstacles

Life is full of barriers. Sometimes, the impediments you encounter on your journey seem impossible to overcome. Usually, though, there is a solution to life's problems. Make the following considerations when you require discipline to overcome a hardship.

 

Take The First Step

 

Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher in the 6th century BCE. As with most philosophers during this early age of enlightened thinking, he had several views on living that still apply today. Here's a quote credited to him that can help you improve your discipline. 

 

"Beginning is half of every action."

 

It's only natural to stop dead when you have a big obstacle in front of you. It makes sense. You have to judge how this impediment to your progress can be overcome. The key is to avoid getting stuck in this assessment process.

 

Discipline means taking action. It's like courage in a lot of ways. You act even though you are uncertain about the outcome. When roadblocks appear without warning, take some time to formulate an action plan. Then act. The key to finishing is starting, so don't let life's obstacles keep you from progressing to a great outcome.

 

Become Your Hero

 

Do you have a favorite movie star? There may be a leader in finance, politics, or some other field that you look up to. You are their biggest fan. One way to develop rock-solid self-confidence is to model that person.

 

What would they do if they were going through the same situation you are encountering? How would they react? Certainly, they would succeed. That's one of the things you respect about them: their ability to reach new levels of achievement reliably. When it's tough to push on, be the person you admire in your mind. This can give you the discipline to keep going.

 

Answer This Simple Question

 

Life gets difficult at times. You've already encountered this natural law. You wouldn't be here now if you weren't a survivor, someone who has overcome difficulties in the past.

 

There have been times you had to practice incredible self-control. Even though you have succeeded in these situations, it might be tough to see yourself getting past some difficulty now. Answer this simple question when self-doubt threatens to keep you from creating the reality you deserve.

 

What am I willing to do to change my life?

 

Will you confidently take a step today to overcome an obstacle when you prefer to wait until tomorrow? Discipline is about choosing to do something you'd rather not do right now to improve your life. Answering that question fills you with the energy and confidence needed to push forward and gives you the first action you need to take to create change.

 

Remember that you can't control everything that happens in your life. The only thing you can control is your response. Choosing not to react when life gets hard will change your situation. Disciplining yourself to take action when obstacles appear is its own reward.

 

Biohacking: The Simple Way to Reach Your Goals

There is a new buzzword floating around social media that by now you may have heard of; biohacking. But what the heck is it? Biohacking is a systematic approach to reaching optimum health. It is implementing small changes or hacks to improve areas of your life. According to Dave Asprey, the founder of bulletproof coffee, it is making changes in your life to becoming superhuman. 

 

Most biohackers strive to be the best version of themselves. Any areas of your life can be hacked whether it be physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual. The journey of biohacking is up to you and where you see the need to change. 

 

The following is a must when starting your biohacking journey: 

 

Assess 

 

What areas of your life would you like to improve? Maybe you simply need to fix your sleeping schedule. Perhaps you have a lot of stress that you would like to reduce or eliminate. Whatever it may be there are hacks that you can do to help improve those areas. Some common areas that biohackers target include improving happiness, productivity, diet, athletic endurance and mental performance. 

 

Implement 

 

Now that you have assessed yourself and know what areas of your life you would like to improve on, it is time to implement hacks to reach those goals. It can be as simple as tracking your daily exercise or taking an anti-anxiety pill. Whatever the hack may be it’s important to start doing them right away and track your progress as you go along. 

 

Document and Evaluate

 

Although implementation is the key to biohacking the other area of importance include tracking your results and evaluating them. This way you can be sure that the hack you implemented is accomplishing the goal you had in mind. Maybe the hack will improve other areas of your life that you were not aware of. Take a just a few moments out of your day each night to record any little thing you have noticed throughout your journey. At the end of each month create some kind of challenge such as a test to see if the hack you implemented has truly made an impact. For example, maybe you wanted to increase your stamina. Before you implement the hack test your stamina and then in a month do the same test to see if you’ve improved. 

 

Adjust

 

Once you evaluate your results it is time to determine if the hack you implemented provides the results you were hoping for. If not, adjust the hack or implement a brand new one. If you received benefits from the hack determine if it is worth continuing or not. Obviously, if the hack didn’t produce the results you were hoping for it may not be worth continuing. 

 

Repeat 

 

If there are more areas in your life that you want to improve to reach the goals that you have set for yourself add more. If what you are doing is working keep doing it. Once you have mastered the hacks that you implemented you may even want to take it one step further. The choices are truly endless.  

 

Biohacking is a never-ending journey. It is not a fast-track system to optimal health or the perfect life. It is a cumulation of lifestyle changes that take work and dedication. Implement, evaluate, adjust and then repeat until you reach all your goals. You can truly accomplish whatever it is that you want to with biohacking.

 

5 Creative Ways to Build Better Focus

Building better focus cannot be found in a step-by-step guide. It is a process, one that is filled with starts, stops, leveling up, and many missteps along the way. In fact, improving your focus might just be one of the most challenging things you can try to do in the Twenty-First Century. We have limitless distractions, stress from home and work, and information flying at us 24/7.

 

Below you will find a list of creative ways to work on improving your focus. But what you must remember throughout all the steps is to take inventory consistently. Notice your mental state, what is distracting you, and why is it distracting you. Taking the time to stop and take stock will give you feedback on what is and isn’t working for you, as well as how you are improving along the way.

 

1. Consider Your Attention

 

Throughout the day, stop and consider how much attention you are paying to the task at hand. Are you fully focused? Or are you only half working on a project while the other half of your brain thinks about lunch?

 

2. Consider Your Mood

 

Consider your mood throughout the day and why it may be that way. This should be paired with your attention to what you are doing. Are you anxious while you only half-think about the project? Are you annoyed and typing an email? 

 

3. Write Down Your Distractions & Look at Them

 

Every time you catch yourself being pulled away from the task at hand, write down the distraction and what you were doing, then get back to work. At the end of the day, look back on what distracted you and when. You may be able to pinpoint weak points in your day and find ways to remedy those distractions.

 

4. Stop and Breath

 

Ever feel like you’re being pulled in ten different directions? Are the distractions flooding at you becoming overwhelming? Stop and breathe. Clear your mind for a few moments, write it all down, and make a plan. While you may not be able to solve all the problems, at least you can do your best to work through each one with a clear mind.

 

5. Visualize

 

You can use visualization at any time to clear your mind and focus on one thing. This will allow you to push away distractions and build your mind’s ability to concentrate for a lengthened time. You can visualize colors, images, anything that you focus your mind on.

 

Building better focus is not a race. It is a journey that takes time and patience. Consider incorporating creative, focus building exercises into your daily routine.

 

5 Tips for Increased Productivity While Working Remotely

Different studies indicate that remote workers are highly productive. What makes them get more done sitting at home, the diner, or the library? They understand that being productive outside of the typical office environment requires proactive steps. They don’t have their manager physically checking in to ensure they are getting their work done.

 

If you can work offsite, such as at home, you will quickly learn that staying productive is hard. You will have distractions around you, like that stack of dirty dishes from last night that is still sitting in the sink.

 

How You Can Increase Your Productivity While Working Remotely

 

All the productivity hacks in the world will not work if you don’t implement them. Here are five action steps you can take to not only maintain your productivity but also increase it: 

 

Establish Priorities: Start by discussing things with your manager. You might believe completing a specific responsibility is the most important, but your boss thinks differently. Once you know what is expected, then you can be sure to accomplish it.

 

Determine Your Best Work Time: This goes with the night-owl versus morning person premise. Working remotely means you have greater flexibility. If you focus better at 8 PM when your toddler is in bed, do it. It is the same idea for morning lovers. You don’t have to wait until 9 AM to get started. The goal is to find large blocks of quiet time for those projects that require concentration.

 

Set a Timer and Do Deep Work: It will be much easier if you set a timer for 45 minutes and focus on one task. After the timer goes off, get up and walk around the house, grab some water, and stretch for 15 minutes. 

 

Set Boundaries: If you have others in the house when you work, you will continually get interrupted. Start by setting physical boundaries, such as working from a different room or putting up a room partition around your desk area. Next, talk with your partner and family about how important it is not to disrupt you when you are “at work.”

 

Overcommunicate: It may seem counter-intuitive to spend extra time communicating when sending both emails and Slack messages, but the text can be misconstrued. This causes frustration and may slow the progress of a project. Ensure you continually communicate with your team and set up video calls to clear up any miscommunication.

 

Wow your teammates and your manager when you take productivity to a new level. Soon, you will be the star of the show and enjoy all the perks of working remotely.

 

Be More Productive with These 3 Tips

Everyone knows that productivity is essential to success, but being productive is often easier said than done, especially in the age of the internet when many people are working from home. If you want to become more productive but aren't sure how to begin, try following these three easy tips to get you started.

 

Tip 1: Have A Plan

 

It’s extremely difficult to be productive if you aren't sure exactly what you have to do. This is why you need to start your journey to productivity by having a plan. This can be a plan for the day, the week, or even the month, whatever suits your work style. 

 

It's best to make the goals small and achievable daily—this will help you stay focused and on track. It will also help keep you motivated as you will feel accomplished every time you cross something off the list. 

 

Tip 2: Don’t Give In To Distractions

 

This is a tough one. Distractions come in all shapes and sizes, everything from technology (your phone) to food and even your friends or coworkers. The best way to start being more productive is by finding an area you can work in with little if any, distractions. This could mean removing the TV from your office or finding somewhere to work that isn’t the kitchen. 

 

Then you should commit to not picking up your phone or checking your email for a specified period of time while you work. You'll find this helps tremendously with keeping you on task and preventing you from wasting time on something you don’t need to waste time on.

 

Tip 3: Take Breaks

 

Numerous studies have shown that your brain works most effectively when it takes frequent breaks from a difficult task. Some people like to specify and time these breaks using a timer for maximum productivity. But you don’t have to rigidly schedule breaks to benefit from them. Even just stepping away from your desk for five minutes because you're frustrated at something can do wonders for your productivity levels, as well as your mental health. 

 

Although it can be difficult to stay on task, it's quite easy to boost your productivity simply by having a plan, avoiding distractions, and taking adequate breaks. Employ all three in your life, and you'll likely be surprised by how much your productivity increases!