There are so many different mental barriers that stop us from doing the things we want. They could be labeled as anything from depression to anger or come in any form such as negative thinking to just a cluttered mind. Whatever form they take and however it is they came about the problem is that they are stopping you dead in your tracks when you try to become successful.
How many times do you feel as though you are about to become successful, then out of the blue you fail? More times than you should, right? This is because you have hit a mental barrier and it won’t allow you to progress anymore. The blow can be so hard at times it can actually cause you to have depression, anxiety, anger, frustration, guilt,stress etc.
There is no reason to let one little wall stop you from achieving your dreams. Especially when you work hard, for so long, and get so far, to just be let down at the last minute. What I am about to share with you might be life changing. It was for me. Or it might just be something else you read and you don’t pay any attention to it at all. I’ll leave that choice up to you.
How To Break Through A Mental Barrier
Warning: If you break through a mental barrier your life may change dramatically very quickly. Don’t be afraid because this is almost always a good change.
Stop and look at how you view yourself and your thoughts. Some people view themselves as mostly right or mostly wrong. Other view might be that they can’t do something because … or that they can do anything because … Whatever view you hold about yourself is wrong. I am going to tell you right now that it is wrong and that you need a wake-up.
Your thought process is flawed and you are thinking about things entirely the wrong way. I don’t mean to sound so negative, but this is one time that negativity can be helpful. Don’t beat yourself up about this, because here in a minute I am going to explain how and why this will greatly benefit you. If you want me to prove your wrong stop and look at your success. If you have everything you want then maybe you aren’t wrong and this isn’t the article for you. If you have gotten so close, but no matter how hard you try, then guess what?
Now it doesn’t make you a bad person and you shouldn’t let your self esteem drop down to low just because you realize that you aren’t perfect. Who is? What you need to do is go at life from a different angle. If you thought you were always right admit to yourself that you are wrong about a lot of stuff. Admit that you hide the fact you are wrong behind something to protect your ego. Most of us are so stuck in the current mindset that this may shatter our thought process and cause us to draw a blank.
It’s OK if that happens to you. When you shatter your current thought process you will be able to build a new one from scratch, that will do you much much better. You need to open up to yourself and let out some stored emotion. Cry if you have to, its OK. Feel the breakthrough happening even if it’s tearing you apart temporarily.
Once you are done breaking your mind down and have the clean slate it’s time to reprogram success. You should have all or most of the weight of the world off your shoulders now. You should be feeling a little better, but still beat up. At this point you need to affirm to yourself whatever it is you want out of life. If you want to be happy then it’s time to accept things for how they are, and get out to smell the roses. If you want more money then it’s time to get focused on how your going to get there, and affirm that you won’t need to be right all the time, just work harder. Whatever it is you want, you need to realize you can get it and get there without your previous way of thinking.
What really does matter is how you are going to think from this day forward. Bring into your life emotions you have had buried for years. Show love and appreciation for things and people around you. Get involved in your life by living in the now. Things that were so important to you in the past may come forward again. Focus on what you love and what makes you happy. Do this and move forward through mental barriers and achieve whatever it is your dreams desire. Good Luck!
How To Be Content, Happy, and Satisfied With Life I have to lose weight, get a better job, clean my basement, and find a pretty girlfriend, then I’ll be happy. I need to get these things and save up…
How To Control Your Mood and Emotions We ultimately have control over our mood and emotions. I find this hard to believe at times, but it's absolutely true. We have the ability within us to make a…
How To Stop Fearing Uncertainty and The Future How To Stop Fearing Uncertainty and The Future Everyone has experienced some sort of fear of the future. Whether it's something that you know is going to happen or…
How To Find Acceptance To Your Worries & Problems How To Find Acceptance To Your Worries & Problems I find that sometimes accepting your life and the situations you're in can be hard. It can be so hard that…
Using Stubbornness For Success Some people are more stubborn that others. There are some people out there who can be so stubborn that they ignore all facts and realities just because they don't want…
Learn How To Let Go Of Things Sometimes it's hard to let go of things we hold close. Life is always changing and we can't hold onto everything forever. From family, friends, jobs, material possession, youth, and…
Your Health Is a Process – The 5 Truths Your personal health doesn't just come about in a day or an hour, but it's a process that takes much time to complete. It is not a static, but a…
10 Tips To Boost Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence 10 Tips To Boost Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence Self esteem has been a topic of several of my blog posts. I can't stress enough how important it is to build
Success comes in all shapes and colours. You can be successful in your job and career but you can equally be successful in your marriage, at sports or a hobby. Whatever success you are after there is one thing all radically successful people have in common: Their ferocious drive and hunger for success makes them never give up.
Successful people (or the people talking or writing about them) often paint a picture of the perfect ascent to success. In fact, some of the most successful people in business, entertainment and sport have failed. Many have failed numerous times but they have never given up. Successful people are able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and carry on trying.
I have collected some examples that should be an inspiration to anyone who aspires to be successful. They show that if you want to succeed you should expect failure along the way. I actually believe that failure can spur you on and make you try even harder. You could argue that every experience of failure increases the hunger for success. The truly successful won't be beaten, they take responsibility for failure, learn from it and start all over from a stronger position.
Let's look at some examples, including some of my fellow LinkedIn influencers:
Henry Ford - the pioneer of modern business entrepreneurs and the founder of the Ford Motor Company failed a number of times on his route to success. His first venture to build a motor car got dissolved a year and a half after it was started because the stockholders lost confidence in Henry Ford. Ford was able to gather enough capital to start again but a year later pressure from the financiers forced him out of the company again. Despite the fact that the entire motor industry had lost faith in him he managed to find another investor to start the Ford Motor Company - and the rest is history.
Walt Disney - one of the greatest business leaders who created the global Disney empire of film studios, theme parks and consumer products didn't start off successful. Before the great success came a number of failures. Believe it or not, Walt was fired from an early job at the Kansas City Star Newspaper because he was not creative enough! In 1922 he started his first company called Laugh-O-Gram. The Kansas based business would produce cartoons and short advertising films. In 1923, the business went bankrupt. Walt didn't give up, he packed up, went to Hollywood and started The Walt Disney Company.
Richard Branson - He is undoubtedly a successful entrepreneur with many successful ventures to his name including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Music and Virgin Active. However, when he was 16 he dropped out of school to start a student magazine that didn't do as well as he hoped. He then set up a mail-order record business which did so well that he opened his own record shop called Virgin. Along the way to success came many other failed ventures including Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka, Virgin Clothes, Virgin Vie, Virgin cards, etc.
Oprah Winfrey - who ranks No 1 in the Forbes celebrity list and is recognised as the queen of entertainment based on an amazing career as iconic talk show host, media proprietor, actress and producer. In her earlier career she had numerous set-backs, which included getting fired from her job as a reporter because she was 'unfit for television', getting fired as co-anchor for the 6 O'clock weekday news on WJZ-TV and being demoted to morning TV.
J.K. Rowling - who wrote the Harry Potter books selling over 400 million copies and making it one of the most successful and lucrative book and film series ever. However, like so many writers she received endless rejections from publishers. Many rejected her manuscript outright for reasons like 'it was far too long for a children's book' or because 'children books never make any money'. J.K. Rowling's story is even more inspiring because when she started she was a divorced single mum on welfare.
Bill Gates -co-founder and chairman of Microsoft set up a business called Traf-O-Data. The partnership between him, Paul Allen and Paul Gilbert was based on a good idea (to read data from roadway traffic counters and create automated reports on traffic flows) but a flawed business model that left the company with few customers. The company ran up losses between 1974 and 1980 before it was closed. However, Bill Gates and Paul Allen took what they learned and avoided those mistakes when they created the Microsoft empire.
History is littered with many more similar examples:
Milton Hershey failed in his first two attempts to set up a confectionary business.
H.J. Heinz set up a company that produced horseradish, which went bankrupt shortly after.
Steve Jobs got fired from Apple, the company he founded. Only to return a few years later to turn it into one of the most successful companies ever.
So, the one thing successful people never do is: Give up! I hope that this is inspiration and motivation for everyone who aspires to be successful in whatever way they chose. Do you agree or disagree with me? Are there other things you would add to the list of things successful people never do? Please share your thoughts...
-------------------
Thank you for reading my post. I regularly write about performance management as well as the mega-trend that is Big Data for LinkedIn and Forbes. If you would like to read my regular posts then please click 'Follow' and feel free to also connect via Twitter, Facebook and The Advanced Performance Institute.
About : Bernard Marr is a globally recognized expert in strategy, performance management, analytics, KPIs and big data. He helps companies and executive teams manage, measure and improve performance.
Congratulations on passing the GED! The high school equivalency credential that you've just earned can open up many professional and educational opportunities. Read on for ideas on where to go from here.
Passing the General Educational Development (GED) exam is a true accomplishment. According to GED Testing Service, the organization that manages the GED, the test is designed to show that you have the academic skills demonstrated by 60% of high school seniors.
Successful completion of the exam means you've earned a high school equivalency credential, which reflects a similar (but not identical) level of academic achievement compared to a high school diploma. In order to use this credential, you need to obtain a copy of your GED transcript. For people who took the test in the U.S. or Canada, this can be acquired by contacting your original testing center. Military personnel, test takers in correctional facilities and individuals who took the exam overseas can request a copy via the GED Testing Service transcript request form.
Once you have a copy of your transcript, there are two main ways you can take advantage of your new credential - you can pursue postsecondary education or advance in your career.
College
Some of the many reasons to pursue a college degree include increased career opportunities and better earning potential. Although your new credential doesn't guarantee college admission, it can open doors: According to GED Testing Service, over 95% of colleges and universities accept the GED transcript in lieu of a high school diploma for admission.
If you're considering postsecondary study, you'll first want to decide on your long-term goals. If you have a career in mind, find out what the typical educational requirements are, including specific subject areas and advanced degrees. For example, most states allow you to become a registered nurse with just an associate's degree in nursing, but you'll eventually need a master's degree in the field to become a nurse practitioner.
Once you've determined the degree path that meets your goals, look for local schools that offer relevant opportunities. If you're unsure what you want to do in the long run, consider starting with a local 2-year institution. Most community colleges offer lower tuition and convenient locations. Earning an associate's degree can also reduce the time and cost required to earn a bachelor's degree should you eventually transfer to a 4-year college or university.
Career
Passing the GED can also help you advance your career. Even if you aren't interested in pursuing long-term postsecondary education, your new credential can help you access professional training programs at community colleges and vocational schools.
Your GED transcript can also help you get through the door at a new job or advance within your current company. GED Testing Service reports that 96% of employers accept the high school equivalency credential for hiring eligibility.
If you are currently looking for work, be sure to include your new credential on your resume. There are many services available to adults who are looking for a job. First, contact the career services center at the institution at which you took the GED exam. If the testing center doesn't offer services, stop by your city library or look up your local workforce development office for assistance.
If you're happy with your current company, ask your boss to meet with you. Tell him or her about your recent achievement and find out if it opens up any new opportunities for you within the company. You may not be offered a promotion right away, but your GED credential could qualify you to apply for another position at the appropriate time.
*This was created by Study.com. I agree and disagree.
There are but two questions to consider: What is your skillset and have you placed that skillset within a nurturing market?
Perhaps... Your local community isn't fertile soil for you to cast your seeds?
I left my hometown with $275 more than 25 years ago, just a thought...
Porn is not addictive. Sex is not addictive. The ideas of porn and sex addiction are pop psychology concepts that seem to make sense, but have no legitimate scientific basis. For decades, these concepts have flourished in America, but have consistently been rejected by medicine and mental health. The media and American society have accepted that sex and porn are addictive, because it seems intuitively true - we all feel like sometimes, we might do something stupid or self-destructive, when sex is involved. But, this false belief is dangerous, and ultimately not helpful. Because when people buy into the belief that porn is addictive, it changes the argument, and all of a sudden, it seems like it is porn and sex that are the problems. Porn addiction becomes a label, and seems to be an explanation, when in fact, it is just meaningless words and platitudes that distract from the real issue. But sex and porn aren’t the problems. You are.
People do have a strong response to video pornography. Internet porn is very good at triggering male sexuality. The economic forces of the open market have driven modern internet porn to be very, very effective at triggering male sexual buttons, to get them aroused. But women actually have a stronger physiological response to porn than men and based upon this research, women should be more addicted to pornography than men. But the overwhelming majority of the stories we hear about are men. Why is this? Because one part of this issue is an attack on aspects of male sexuality, includingmasturbation and use of pornography, behaviors which society fears and doesn’t understand.
Porn can affect people, but it does not take them over or override their values. If someone watches porn showing something they find distasteful, it has no impact on their behavior or desires. But, if someone watches porn depicting acts that they, the watcher, are neutral about, then it does make it slightly more likely that they express interest in trying that act themselves. Take anal sex for instance. If a porn viewer finds it disgusting, watching anal pornography isn't going to change that. But, if they are neutral on it, then watching anal porn probably will slightly increase the chance that I would be willing to at least give it a try. But, there is the crux of the issue—the people who gravitate towards unhealthy, violent porn, are people who already have a disposition towards violence. So—the problem is not in the porn, but in those people. Regulating porn access really is going to have no impact on these people as they can (and do) find far more violent and graphic images in mainstream Hollywood films like "Saw."
Here’s some often-ignored empirical science about porn – as societies have increased their access to porn, rates of sex crimes, including exhibitionism, rape and child abuse, have gone down. (See the work of Milton Diamond(link is external)) Across the world, and in America, as men have increased ability to view Internet erotica, sex crimes go down. Believe it or not - porn is good for society. This is correlational data, but it is extremely robust, repeated research. But, it is not a message that many people want to hear. Individuals may not like porn, but our society loves it, and benefits from it.
It is getting increasingly difficult to find men in our society, who’ve never viewed pornography. But, if porn were the problem – if porn were addictive, then the problems of porn would be far, far greater than they are. In fact, in recent studies(link is external), fewer than 1% of people report that they have had problems in their life due to difficulties controlling their sexual behaviors, including watching porn. Now - higher numbers, around 10%, report "feeling" that their sexual desires are hard to control, but it is very different to feel something, versus ACTUALLY being out of control.
So – if you are one of that 1%, then what’s going on? If it isn’t the porn, then it must be you. Something about you (more than one thing, usually) has led you to be a person who makes bad decisions about sex. Now in that, you’re not alone – it is in fact a universal truth that people tend to make poorer decisions when they’re turned on, whether it’s choosing not to wear a condom, or choosing to masturbate to porn when you shouldn’t. Call it “sex-goggles,” and recognize that human sexual arousal affects our decision-making.
But, there’s more than that going on for you, if you’ve decided that porn is your problem. Here’s some more real science, that suggests some of the things that are going on for you – you like sex. Wow – earth-shattering, right? But several empirical studies (here's a link(link is external)to one of several) have found that self-identified porn addicts tend to be people with high libido. You are also a person who can get turned on very quickly (when you choose to). Further, you might have grown up in a home (or culture) where sex and masturbation were seen as morally wrong.
Having a high-libido is not a bad thing. In fact, one of the things I often argue is that men (and women) who like sex have changed this world, and made it better. Rock stars, politicians, military leaders and sports stars often tend to be people with high libidos, and a high desire to succeed. Sometimes, they actually want to succeed, just so they can have lots of sex.
But, if you are a man who likes sex, and likes porn, is that something you’ve ever really owned? I’m sad to say that our society has not taught men how to identify and negotiate their sexual desires or needs. We treat sex like a dirty secret. Then, when men get caught, they feed into that dirty secret mentality, and treat sex like it’s the problem.
Those other men, who like sex, watch porn, and don’t get in trouble - How do they do that? One thing is that they understand themselves, and their desires. Sometimes, they sit down with their wives and girlfriends and have a real, open discussion about their use of porn, their interest in it, and what it means, and doesn’t mean, about their attraction to and interest in their partner. That’s a hard, scary discussion (and not one for the first date, please), because it requires a man to stand up for himself and his sexual desires, to be willing to negotiate for those needs, to be willing to compromise, but stay true to himself, while asking for the same in return.
Another thing about those guys, who don’t get in trouble for watching porn? They are paying attention to themselves, and they are doing the work that is needed to make good decisions. Some men have the internet or cable turned off in their hotel rooms, or install a net nanny on their own computer, so they have less temptation. That’s not because porn is the problem, but because these men are recognizing (when they’re not turned on), that they need to do the prepwork, in advance, to make good decisions. It’s okay to admit that you make poor decisions when sex or porn are involved – you’re not alone in that, and it’s not a sin.
But, the responsibility is on you to identify why and how you make bad decisions, and take steps to make better decisions in the future. When you blame the problems on porn, you’re telling yourself “porn is more powerful than I am.” And I’m here to tell you, that’s not true – you CAN take responsibility for your life, your sex, for your good decisions and your bad ones, and have the life you want. Porn's not the problem - you are. But you know what? You're also the solution.
In today’s busy world we’ve become a people obsessed with productivity and “work hacks.”
Getting more done in less time lets us to get ahead, and even gives us more availability to do the things we love outside of work. The problem we run into is that it is easy to get motivated, but hard to stay disciplined.
Most of us look at productivity in the wrong way: task management tools are shiny at first and then go unused. Being chained to your desk is as unhealthy as it is unproductive.
At Help Scout we hold the belief that “achievement isn’t about doing everything, it’s about doing the right things.” Productivity is about saying no.
Focus and consistency are the bread-and-butter of being truly productive. Let’s take a look at the science behind how the brain works in the synthesis state, and what changes you can make for the better.
Why worrying about having “more willpower” is a fool’s game.
How world class experts stay productive… and what they do differently.
The reason why better energy management = a more productive you.
Big pitfalls that lead to busywork and procrastination.
Watch and enjoy.
Once you’ve done that, if you want to know more just scroll down: a dozen studies and far more explanation await.
Abandon All Willpower, Ye Who Enter Here
The first thing to acknowledge in the pursuit of getting more done is the mountain of evidence that suggests willpower alone will not be enough to stay productive.
According to research by Janet Polivy, our brain fears big projects and often fails to commit to long-term goals because we’re susceptible to “abandoning ship” at the first sign of distress.
Think of the last time you went on a failed diet.
You stocked your fridge with the healthiest foods & planned to exercise every day… until the first day you slipped up. After that, it was back to your old ways.
To make matters worse, research by Kenneth McGraw was able to show that the biggest wall to success was often just getting started. Additional research in this area suggests that we’re prone to procrastinating on large projects because we visualize the worst parts; the perfect way to delay getting started.
According to researcher John Bargh, your brain will attempt to simulate real productive work by avoiding big projects and focusing on small, mindless tasks to fill your time.
Big project due tomorrow? Better reorganize my movie collection!
Perhaps worst of all, numerous studies on the concept of ego-depletion have provided some evidence that suggests our willpower is a limited resource that can be used up in it’s entirety. The more you fight it, the more gas you burn. An empty tank leads to empty motivation.
With all of that stacked against us, what can we possibly do to be more productive?
In order to figure this out, one of our best bets is to observe the habits of consistently productive people.
The Habits of Productive People
If I were to ask to describe the practice regiments of world-class musicians, you’d probably envision a shut-in artist who plays all day long and then tucks in their instrument at night.
Amazingly though, research by Anders Ericsson that examined the practice sessions of elite violinists clearly showed that the best performers were not spending more time on the violin, but rather were being more productive during their practice sessions.
Better yet, the most elite players were getting more sleep on average than everyone else.
How is that possible?
Subsequent research by Anders reveals the answer: the best players were engaging in more deliberate practice. You’ve heard the term, but beyond the hype, what is it all about?
It’s nothing more than spending time on the hardest tasks, and being better at managing your energy levels.
Think of it this way: If you were trying to get better at basketball, you’d be much better off practicing specific drills for two hours rather than shooting hoops all day long.
Since deliberate practice requires you to spend more brainpower than busy work, how can you implement it without draining your willpower?
The first answer is an inconvenient truth: the best way to overcome your fear of spending a lot of energy on a big project is to simply get started.
The Zeigarnik Effect is a construct that psychologists have observed in numerous studies on suspense. One such study gave participants brain-buster puzzles to complete, but not enough time to complete them. The surprising thing was, even when participants were asked to stop, over 90% of them went on to complete the puzzles anyway.
According to the lead researcher:
It seems to be human nature to finish what we start and, if it is not finished, we experience dissonance.
It’s the same thing that happens when we become engaged in a story in a book, movie or TV show: we want to see how it ends.
You can use this knowledge to your advantage by just getting started on that next big project; in the most basic sense, don’t focus your motivation on doing Activity X. Instead, focus on making Activity X easier to do.
Start the night before. Is your to-do list already written up? Is your place of work ready for you to get started? Break down barriers of friction before relying on willpower.
On Working Like an Expert
A multitude of research has shown us that discipline is best maintained through habits, not through willpower.
According to Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project, most people hold their productivity back by not rigidly scheduling work & rest breaks throughout the day.
Since most of us are worried about willpower, we don’t push ourselves to maximum output: instead of “giving our all” for brief sessions, we distribute our effort throughout the day, leading us back to busywork to fill our time.
What should we do instead?
Schwartz often cites a research study conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration that revealed how short breaks between longer working sessions resulted in a 16% improvement in awareness & focus.
Research from Peretz Lavie on ultradian rhythms matches up with these findings: longer productive sessions (of 90 minutes) followed by short breaks (of no more than 15-20 minutes) sync more closely with our natural energy cycles and allow us to maintain a better focus and higher energy level throughout the day.
Both of these studies on energy management match up with the practice schedules of the violinists: the most common regimen for the cream of the crop players was a 90-minute block of intense practice followed by a 15-minute break.
The moral of the story is that it’s hard to be productive while trying to maintain high energy levels through your entire day.
It’s much easier to work intensely when you know that a break is just around the corner, not at the end of the day. Instead of trying to conserve energy for hours, break big projects down into smaller chunks and plan a recovery period right after.
For projects done on your own time, try scheduling blocks of 90-minute work sessions with a planned cool down time of 15 minutes directly afterwards. When you know a break is on the horizon, you won’t try to pace yourself with your work, and will be more inclined to dive into the difficult stuff.
While great for tackling the toughest parts of large projects, this technique doesn’t really address many problems related to discipline, an important part of staying productive for more than just a day or two.
The Art of Staying Disciplined
One segment of the population known for struggling with discipline are those who are addicted to hard drugs.
Given their disposition for being unable to commit to many things, you might be surprised to find that during an experiment testing the ability of drug addicts to write & submit a 5 paragraph essay on time, those who wrote down when & where they would complete the essay were far more likely to turn it in.
These findings have some interesting correlation with those related to discipline in other people: in a study examining the ability of average people to stick with a strict dieting plan, researchers found that those participants who rigorously monitored what they were eating were able to maintain far higher levels of self-control when it came to maintaining their diet.
Last but not least, Dan Ariely and colleagues conducted a study involving college students and found that students who imposed strict deadlines on themselves for assignments performed far better (and more consistently) than those who didn’t.
These findings were especially interesting because Ariely noted that students who gave themselves too generous of a deadline often suffered from the same problems as students who set zero deadlines: when you allot yourself too much time to complete a task, you can end up creating a mountain out of a molehill.
Since we now know that tracking our progress is a key component of productivity, how can we implement this practice into our daily routine?
One method is to use an Accountability Chart to track what work you’ve completed during your 90-minute productive sessions, similar to how the dieters tracked their food consumption.
To easily implement one, simply create two-columns on a piece of paper, Google Docs spreadsheet, or even a whiteboard.
Column 1 will list the time-span of one of your productivity sessions.
Column 2 will list what tasks you’ve accomplished in that limited time-span.
Don’t include any columns for your 15-minute breaks, as those times are for your own sake and means to replenish your willpower.
This works well for 2 specific reasons:
Dr. Kentaro Fujita argues that tracking your progress in this way is helpful because you’ll be exposed to the work you’ve actually accomplished, and not the (inaccurate) assumption of work you might construe in your head.
Forcing yourself to write down the fact that you spent 2 hours on YouTube isn’t about shaming, it’s about awareness; you’ll be less likely to do it again.
Progress tracking is also a known strategy for stopping yourself from engaging in robotic behavior (also known as ‘busywork’), a habit thatresearcher John Bargh describes as the #1 enemy of goal striving.
Productivity & Multitasking
With a work schedule, an energy management strategy and a task-tracking system in place, the last challenge we have to face is that of multitasking.
According to a 1999 study, we have a tendency to view multitasking as effective, even when it isn’t
However, researcher Zhen Wang was able to show that on average, multitaskers are actually less likely to be productive, yet they feel more emotionally satisfied with their work—creating an illusion of productivity.
We were absolutely shocked. We all lost our bets. It turns out multitaskers are terrible at every aspect of multitasking.
When working on the computer, the best thing you can do is turn on Airplane Mode; no need for temptation when you can’t even access the web. If you’re unable, help yourself with tools like and StayFocusd to block distracting sites.
The next best strategy is to create an evening planning ritual where you select a few priority tasks to accomplish the next day.
The reason this method works far better than planning your daily tasks in the morning is because research from the Kellogg Schoolhas shown that we miscalculate the amount of focus we’ll be able to maintain in the future. We strongly believe that we’ll be able to quickly plan our day the next morning, but when tomorrow rolls we stumble off track.
You can create an evening planning ritual with a simple pen & paper or use an online tool like TeuxDeux each night. List only priority tasks (the “big 5”) for the day.
Instead of listing, “Work on research project,” as a daily goal, try something like, “Finish introduction,” or, “Find additional sources,” as a task you can actually complete.
The Instant Replay
Too long, didn’t read:
Willpower alone is not enough: Your productivity shouldn’t be reliant on your sheer force of will alone. Mental toughness will go a long way, but in order to stay disciplined you’re better off relying on systems.
Give yourself the ability to go “all-in”: Working harder on the stuff that matters is going to drain you mentally & physically. Don’t be afraid of giving yourself multiple breaks throughout the day. It’s better to “chunk” productivity sessions into 90 minute periods (in order to keep yourself sharp and to alleviate the stress of pacing your energy throughout the entire day.
If it’s not worth measuring, it’s not worth doing: Tracking has been proven to be the best way to stay diligent about your progress. Create an accountability chart to list what productive things you’ve gotten done throughout the day. You’ll see how much you’re really accomplishing.
Multitasking is your enemy: Treat it as such. Block out unwanted distractions and as Ron Swanson would say, “Never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing.” Plan your day the night before so you won’t get consumed with the wonderful distractions of the internet when you start your day.