Is clutter standing in the way of you doing your best work? Likely it is. In fact, it’s one of the biggest challenges to your productivity.
Are you constantly searching for client files, notes, or even something to write with?
Is it a nightmare to find a file on your hard drive or the cloud because you lack an organizational structure and/or an effective file-naming convention?
Do you have a dozen tabs open on your computer at any one time? Yes, that’s a form of clutter, too.
Are there stacks of books, papers, or even coffee cups or dishes sitting on your desk?
Are your file drawers crammed with paperwork that’s no longer needed and which belongs in the trash can?
No wonder it’s hard to focus or get anything done. And, even if you do accomplish anything, you’re probably not feeling your best when you work under these cluttered conditions.
Across the board, clutter is often fueling these uneasy feelings and your lack of productivity. It has a way of sucking the life out of you, distracting you from what’s most important, and derailing your success.
You can’t increase your productivity by reading a book or taking a class. You actually need to take action.
After that’s done, you’ll start to see the effects — increased productivity.
Let’s focus on some basic components of your work environment.
A cluttered and messy office is no place to expect your best work. And, while some people believe that’s where they get their best work done, imagine what they could accomplish if working in a completely upgraded environment! Here are some simple tips for helping you to create an environment for success.
Put away everything that belongs in your desk drawers or file cabinet.
If you find things that don’t belong in your office, then take them to wherever they belong and put them away.
Bonus tip: Discard anything you haven’t used in the past year. If you haven’t used it in that time, odds are you never will.
Clear everything from the top of your desk and wipe it down.
Prior to placing things back on top of your desk, evaluate each item to make sure you actually need it front and center.
If not, then put it away or throw it away. Reduce visual distractions as much as possible.
Bonus tip: Wipe down your desk phone and/or smartphone. They’re a haven for germs.
Gather all your Post-It notes and scraps of paper.
For the remainder, type them into a digital document for safekeeping.
Bonus tip: If they include items you need to reference, keep the one page document easily accessible on your desktop or stored in a top desk drawer.
If you have boxes or stacks of items on your office floor, go through them and discard everything you can. Again, if you haven’t used something in the past year, discard it or give it away.
Discarding is the better choice so that it can be recycled.
Bonus tip: Go through your bookcase and get rid of any books you also own digitally.
Box up any others that are outdated and either give them to the library or recycle them.
Technology produces its own brand of clutter.
Close down any tabs that you have open on your computer except for those that apply to your current work.
Bonus tip: Turn off any gadgets except the ones you need to do your core work tasks. You’ll get more done faster and easier without added distractions.
By implementing these simple tips, you’ll be well on your way to clearing the clutter in your office and reducing distraction.
You’ll love the result. You’ll be more energized, less anxious, and more focused on your work. Investing a little bit of time today to prepare your work environment will make a noticeable difference in your productivity!
Every day we have choices to make. Wake up early and go to the gym, or get an extra hour of sleep? Pack a healthy lunch to take to work, or buy something when lunchtime rolls around?
Throw a little extra money in your savings account, or buy that new gadget or pair of shoes you’ve been eyeballing all month?
Deep down inside, we know which actions will yield the best results. Yet many of us struggle with making the best decisions – and fail to reach our full potential as a result. How do we overcome these challenges? Self-discipline is the answer.
If you want to be successful and reach your goals, self-discipline is the most crucial skill to master. Frequently, the best choices aren’t the fastest, easiest, or most pleasant.
Improving your ability to do what is best for you regardless of initial desire is the only way to make consistent progress in life.
As such, if self-discipline is your foundational skill, you grow more effective in everything you do.
When you develop a stronger sense of self-control, you can expect multiple improvements across many areas of your life including health, success, relationships and more, so it is a really important skill to learn how to master, don’t you think?
Here are 7 benefits of self-discipline.
First, improving your self-discipline leads to improved physical health.
Exercising control over the quality and quantity of food you consume, establishing a regular fitness routine, and drinking enough water help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your chances of illness and disease, and increase your chances of longevity and vitality later in life.
With better health comes increased energy and a better sense of well-being which will help you to get more done and have more success which leads us nicely into point number 2.
Next, self-discipline helps you make choices that lead to higher academic and career success.
Sometimes you must choose between studying longer hours and spending time out with friends, or staying late after work to complete a project and heading home to relax.
This is especially important if you are an entrepeneur/solopeneur; you must be able to focus on the long term strategy for your business and practice delayed gratification by ploughing any profits you make in the beginning back into your business.
Third, self-discipline improves your relationships because you become a person who follows through on your commitments.
People in your life learn they can trust you to do what you say you will, and they view you more favorably.
If you keep your word, people will respond to that but if you are someone who says one thing but does another, this will make people think you unreliable or maybe even dishonest, so having the self-discipline to keep to your commitments will really help all types of relationship flourish.
Next, gaining better control over your finances is another direct benefit of self-discipline and this one cannot be underestimated!
It is linked to point 2 above where you practice delayed gratification now to have a better reward later.
That’s not to say you pinch pennies and sacrifice quality of life.
Self-discipline isn’t supposed to make you miserable. Instead, it’s about weighing the pros and cons and making decisions that bring you closer to your goals.
Examples of financial self-discipline that don’t require total restriction include regularly putting a certain percentage of each paycheck into your savings account or sticking to a budget that allocates a certain amount of money each month for discretionary spending. You still get to enjoy the present, though, not at the expense of your future.
Another benefit of growing more self-disciplined is that you’ll have fewer regrets because you make better choices in the first place.
You’ll eliminate such problems as saying the wrong thing at the wrong time because you’re disciplined enough to think before speaking.
This will also affect how you live and enjoy life. You will need to takes risks occasionally, but they should be considered risks.
You don’t want to be one of those people who ends up saying things like “If only I…” or “What if…” and has so many regrets in their life.
Use your self-discipline to make informed choices and to make great decisions to move you life in the way you want.
With an ever-growing list of things vying for our attention, it seems that time is often in short supply.
One of the best benefits of self-discipline is improved management of your time.
For example, social media can be the ultimate time-killer if you don’t exercise self-control.
While it can be useful at times, you can easily fall into the trap of mindlessly scrolling through news feeds when you could be completing other tasks.
It is a real positive feedback loop which can have a dramatic impact on the way you achieve the things you really want.
Finally, self-discipline helps you complete tasks and projects that you start, even when you lose steam or desire.
Motivation is always high at the beginning of a new goal.
Whether it’s a new diet plan, a new business idea, or even new relationships to a certain degree, when things are fresh, there is nothing but excitement and stimulation ahead.
Yet over time, motivation fades, challenges arise, reality sets in, and its tempting to go back to something more familiar or move on to the next shiny object.
Exercising self-control and choosing to finish what you start, within reason, even when you lose motivation and desire means you not only have the finished project under your belt, but you’ve learned lessons and acquired skills you wouldn’t have had you quit.
As the American writer, philosopher and artist, Elbert Hubbard once said, “Self-discipline is the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”
These 7 factors may seem like small things when taken individually but they stack up and if you do manage to get a hold of your self-discipline, you should see a dramatic impact on the way you live your life and what you can achieve and isn’t that worth it?
When we are confronted with situations in our lives, one of the easiest ways to handle it is to give up. It’s too hard; we tell ourselves.
It’s easy to get to a point where it seems as though all that time you’ve invested in a dream or goal and the time till its fruition can be very daunting and even unobtainable.
There will be times of excitement, enthusiasm, creativity, but they can quickly be followed by despair, discouragement, and the desire to quit.
The trouble is, those situations often get worse because we choose not to confront them. They may take some time and especially perseverance. That is the main reason why we choose not to deal with them.
It’s just simpler to bury your head in the sand, but you’ll never grow if you keep doing this and you won’t have the kind of life that you truly want and deserve.
In all honesty, I think that us humans are just simply wired to want to give up; sad, I know, but it appears to be true nonetheless!
This stems from the fact that we crave instant gratification and if you are striving towards a distant goal, the brain doesn’t like delayed gratification; it wants results and rewards NOW!
So, basically we’re born to look for instant gratification. And this could be for good reason in the past as we may have needed immediate benefits to ensure our survival. But do we need that instinct now in the modern day world? Not really.
We are very much present-oriented, and so when we’re not getting what we want immediately, we get anxious and want to give up.
Maybe you’re disappointed or tired because you haven’t succeeded yet after lots of trials and attempts with nothing to show for it.
Believe me, you are not alone. I can pretty much guarantee that everyone has experienced this in their lifetime.
But, if you found ways to persevere, those situations would go away before they got out of hand.
If your situation is a financial one where you don’t have the necessary funds, you may need to seek other ways to make money.
Of course, it’s bad enough having to work one job as many people are not happy with their jobs. Adding yet another job into the mix can be a hard pill to swallow.
However, if you focus on the goal of taking care of the situation, this can get you through it. You may only need to work that other job for a temporary amount of time.
Life can get even more difficult for many people as they get older.
When you get past a certain age, you are not as easily employable as you were when you were younger. If you are having trouble finding work after being let go, will you keep going until you find something? There are a fair number of people who will simply give up.
Perhaps you have thought about starting your own business. It’s certainly much easier to do that with the internet these days. This too, takes a lot of work, especially since it is getting more competitive all the time. But, those who put in the time tend to make it happen.
Others, simply quit. It’s interesting to note that people who quit, often do so right before the time where they would start seeing some successes in their business.
We tend to have more medical issues when we are older as well. Taking better care of ourselves requires perseverance and habit changes. Many people will simply throw in the towel and take their chances with their health as they age.
Whatever situation you find yourself facing, giving up seems to be the easiest option.
It’s not usually the correct choice, however. It can take a commitment both in time and attitude (preparing yourself to be ready) but it can be well worth the effort of knowing that you won’t have to handle worse conditions later.
The thing about instant gratification is that it is a mirage, an illusion.
When you look at successful people, many think of them as overnight successes but actually NOTHING could be further from the truth!
Most successful people have failed and suffered rejection many times. Did you know that Sylvester Stallone was rejected over 1500 times when he first approached Hollywood with the script for Rocky?
And to make it worse, they offered to make the film for him, but only if he didn’t star in it!! But he stuck to his guns and it worked out for him eventually when Rocky and Stallone became an “overnight success!”
So, bear this in mind when you feel low and want to throw in the towel. Don’t suffer for mediocre and live a life of regret. Persevere and do what your future self will thank you for.
If you really feel like giving up remember these 7 points to hopefully keep you on track:
Life can be tough sometimes and it is very easy to give up and live a less than fulfilled life, but you really owe it to yourself to become more resilient and to persevere whenever you encounter any obstacles you meet.
Everyone deserves to have a rich, meaningful life full of happiness and success but it takes work and you must be willing to do whatever to takes to overcome life’s challenges.
As mentioned in the bullet points above, gratitude plays a huge part in how you approach life and if you want to learn more about gratitude, there are some more posts here and here.
Good luck and NEVER give up 💪
Do you make mistakes? Do you make a lot of mistakes?
Of course you do. We ALL make mistakes and this is how we learn and grow as human beings.
So, why is it that when we make a mistake, we spend so much time dissecting and agonising over it and wondering “what if?“
Often times, we allow a mistake or wrong decision to negatively impact our lives long after the incidence occurred. By doing so, we end up being unable to actually enjoy the present and take advantage of new opportunities and experiences.
After all, our time here is limited and each passing moment cannot be replayed or started over. It is difficult to enjoy the newness offered in each day when your mind is constantly troubled by regret and negative self-feedback.
In this post, we will discuss why it is perfectly okay to stop beating yourself up over a mistake and how habitually doing so can affect your own well-being, as well as the people in your life.
And, as the title of this post suggests; if you are making mistakes, it is proof you are trying!
So, here are 3 quick ways to stop beating yourself up over all your mistakes.
In case you haven’t noticed, human beings are literally programmed to make mistakes. We are not given an instruction manual at birth detailing the correct way to handle the vast array of decisions and events we experience throughout our lifetimes.
Of course, you should strive to make the right decisions and handle situations to the best of your ability, but only with the knowledge that you will not always do so. Yes, it is fine to make mistakes, really!
Any mistake you end up making should not come as a total surprise, but should instead serve as a reminder that you are a fallible human being, just like the billions of other people around you.
Being human is a beautiful thing. We are capable of so many emotions, creations and discoveries. However, we are far from perfect and mistakes are sure to happen. Always keep that in mind.
A great way to avoid beating yourself up over a shortcoming or wrong decision is to not always regard the situation in a negative manner. Instead, try to realize that mistakes are a mandatory part of the learning process.
Consider this, every single thing you have ever learned how to do with any level of expertise has been achieved through trial and error. This process in no way ends just because you have become an adult.
For as long as you live, you will continue to encounter new situations.
That being said, it is silly to think that, as an adult, you will somehow be able to respond to new situations the right way from the start.
In fact, if you ever reach a point in your life where you fail to make a mistake here and there, this is probably a bad sign. If nothing you do poses a challenge, this means you are at a place of stagnation.
It is important to consider each and every mistake as a lesson that allows you to adjust, modify your actions and do better the next go around.
That sounds like a really strange thing to say doesn’t it?
Well, look at it this way; almost all of us do our best to forgive other people after they have messed up. This is especially true when thinking about the people closest to us.
Sure, we may be upset and even angry for a while, but we usually don’t hold the issue over the offender’s head for long periods of time.
Considering this paradox, try to change your vantage point the next time you are avoiding granting yourself forgiveness.
After all, nobody is closer to you than you.
Knowing that forgiveness is a mandatory part of maintaining external relationships, you must also realize that this requirement holds true for nurturing your own mental environment.
OK, so there are 3 quick ways to get over the mistakes you are making in your life.
If you want to have even more peace and clarity in your life then you should really think about using the practice of mindfulness in your daily life.
If you want to learn more about mindfulness, download a Mindfulness Tips Report for free here
The pressure to come up with ideas can be overwhelming. Constant content creation seems to be a requisite of the workplace these days.
There’s a demand from your boss to find new ways to improve the workplace, your college lecturer wants to see a different approach than anyone else has shown, or you’re an entrepreneur and you recognize that without flagging yourself as someone who stands out different to the rest, you’re going to sink among all the other “me too” product creators.
The first thing you need to do is quit thinking of ideas as things that just happen. You’ve heard of brainstorming, right? That’s a situation where people decide to cognitively generate ideas.
They make the decision that they will create ideas within a timeframe – not that they will sit around the office for days, weeks or months waiting on some mysterious Muse to appear and give them a sign.
So, what exactly is brainstorming?
Brainstorming is a method people use to generate ideas to solve clearly defined design problems. In controlled conditions and a free-thinking environment, people approach a problem by such means as “How Might We” questions. They produce a vast array of ideas and you can then draw links between them to find potential solutions.
So, in essence, brainstorming is an activity that helps your organization generate more innovative ideas. Brainstorming is just one of many methods of ideation (the process of coming up with new ideas) and it occurs near the beginning of the creative process.
The complex business challenges of today require new solutions—trying to use what worked in the past simply won’t work any more.
Brainstorming is an effective way to:
Before we begin, here are a few brainstorming rules:
OK, now you’re ready to gt started, the first thing to do is write down all known facts and assumptions about the subject at hand. Then for each fact or assumption, ask “what if…?” Take the opposing view in your question.
“What if something else could create the same result?”
“What if we didn’t have a specific resource, then how would we create this?”
“What if everyone called in sick one day, then how would we minimize the damage?”
“What if I had only 10 minutes to do this – is there a template I could use over and over again to speed things up?”
Always challenge assumptions.
And remember, anything and everything is on the table; don’t stifle your imagination as you can cull ideas in the next step.
Often, we get caught up in finding new ideas to add to the existing processes we have in place. But it’s as valid to think about cutting away ideas as it is creating new ones.
You might have two different products in mind to create, and two different websites to market them through.
But by focusing on cutting out ideas you may discover that there is a core group who require both products – and then build just one website aimed at that core group.
Many people swear by mind maps. Some prefer a word processor document – and others prefer spreadsheets.
Get away from your comfort level by using a different medium to dump your ideas out into. The process will feel different and make your brain respond differently – and often more creatively.
OK, so there are a few techniques that you can use to make the most of your brainstorming sessions.
And you can use this process to create a really strong stand out brand that is instantly recognisable. And if you want to learn more about branding the right way, then check out this free report here.
