Mindset

Using Time Blocking To Stay Motivated

We are all guilty of suffering from a lack of motivation in our lives!

Am I right? Of course I am. This is just human nature and with all the distractions of modern living, it can be harder than ever to remain motivated and focused.

What happens when we push our brain to keep thinking, focusing and creating hour after hour? It shuts down. It goes on strike. It says “I’m outa here, buddy”.

This is especially true when we keep requiring it to focus on the same task for hours at a time.

Neuroscience now tells us that changing tasks regularly, taking consistent breaks and blocking out our time keeps our brain more engaged when it is working so that we actually get more done in less time.

So, let’s look at blocking time.

This is not a new concept. But it’s one we don’t use often enough to maintain our enthusiasm and focus, not to mention our mental and emotional health.

Blocking time is a way to schedule your work hours in a way that sets up a dedicated time to a particular task. And then, when that time is up, you switch to a new task.

But why you may ask, is this important to performance and productivity?

Keeps your brain from getting bored (aka, low motivation)
Mentally prepares you for the tasks ahead
Lowers stress because you see work getting done
Ensures no multitasking occurs
Improves self-confidence in your ability to succeed

So, how should you go about blocking your time? Usually, it’s recommended to work in 2–3-hour work chunks at a time, while allowing a short 5–10-minute break every 30-45 minutes.

Decide how you will block your time. There are many ways to do this, including various apps and email calendars. Google Calendar is a great way to get started because it’s easy to use and readily available.
Chose the date and time for your task. Remember to keep it to 2-3 hrs if possible
Decide where you will complete the task.
Include any details you need to remember before performing the task in the memo area. This will make it faster to get started when you get to that time block. No searching for the sticky note you wrote the directions on.
Set reminders so you know when it’s time to switch tasks. You can get a reminder via email, pop-up or app notifications.

If 2-3 hours seems a long time to focus on a particular task, then you can use smaller chunks.

The Pomodoro technique uses time chunks of only 25 minutes, each followed by a 5-minute break. After 4 of these chunks, you should take a 15-minute break.

If you a little more information about the Pomodoro technique, you can read this blog post

Using time blocks keeps your motivation high for all the reasons stated above, and also because it allows you to use several of your skill sets each day. It breaks up the monotony of doing the same task all day long.

When working on tasks, you should also schedule breaks you’re your routine.

Why, you ask? Well, let’s look at a scientific reason now…

3 Reasons Science Tells Us To Take Breaks

Too busy to take a break? That’s a common thought in our fast-paced world.

We are a society with consistently too many things on our collective plate.

But science tells us that we need to make taking regular breaks a priority to maintain inspiration and productivity.

Advances in neuroscience have proven that we need breaks as well as focused work time, as some cultures have known and practiced for millennia.

Why We Need To Take Breaks

There are a number of reasons why it is important to take scheduled breaks, and we will cover just 3 of them in this article.

It makes perfect sense to stop every now and again as if we don’t, we will get tired and lose focus.

This causes us to become frustrated and becomes a negative feedback loop, so it is important to take a break.

Let’s look at 3 big reasons to stop…

Make Connections And Retain Information

Our brain has two modes of operation. The focus mode, which is where we spend most of our day, concentrating on tasks and challenges as they arise.

The other mode is just as important, though often underappreciated – the diffuse mode. This is the state of daydreaming or letting our mind wander. You may have experienced the benefits of this mode when you are doing something mundane on autopilot.

For example, you may have an ah-ha moment about a solution to a problem that you’ve been trying to solve while you are driving someplace familiar or taking a shower. This diffuse mode is when most of our insights and out-of-the-box thinking happens.

Re-Evaluate Our Goals

When we stay focused on a task or problem constantly, we can easily become caught up in all the little details instead of questioning if we are completing the right tasks in the best order and way.

The devil may be in the details, but we need breaks to gain perspective on how our work is advancing and if there are more productive or effective ways to reach the same or even better results.

Stepping out of work mode for even just a few minutes is enough time to help us re-evaluate our goals and the way we are going about achieving them.

Keep Us Engaged And Motivated

Our brains weren’t meant to stay in focused mode all the time, even though we think they should sometimes.

Neuroscientists have found that taking short breaks on a regular basis is a more effective way to work, even though that might seem counterintuitive.

Breaks give our brains a rest from constant focus so that they can “regroup” if you will. When we take breaks throughout the day when working on tasks that take a lot of concentration or take a longer period of time to complete, we actually are more productive and motivated when we are working on the task than if we worked straight through.

As you probably already know, having a strong mindset is critical to any attempt to plan and stay focused, so click on the featured resource below to get a free report on how to develop a strong mindset. Download, it read and take action 😊

Create Habits To Keep You Motivated

It should come as no surprise that the habits we form will determine our success or failure. After all, habits already dictate a lot about our lives. If we, for example, eat large amounts of food regularly and don’t exercise, we can expect to have physical consequences for our actions.

That’s why it’s so important to form good habits so that we can reach our fullest potential.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that these same good habits can help us to stay motivated when it comes to realizing our goals.

Let’s look at some examples of habits that you can create for yourself that also boost motivation:

1. Take Care Of Yourself

If you’ve ever been sick then you know it’s impossible to be productive, or even to have a positive attitude when you’re not feeling good. That’s why it’s so important to take charge of your health.

Carrying extra weight not only drags you down but affects energy levels which in turn affects productivity.

Setting up some healthy habits such as going to the gym more often, or making changes in your meal plan then will help you to stay motivated longer just because you’re feeling better when your body is in sync.

Your improved health makes this a win-win all the way around.

2. Revisit The Reason You’re Doing What You Do

When you make goals, you tend to feel that initial surge of enthusiasm for the project.

Sadly, this motivation tends to wane over time. Build a habit that forces you to revisit the goal to bring that motivation level back up.

For example, if you’re doing something that will benefit a specific group of people somehow, then plan to spend time each month with that group to remind yourself of why you’re doing this.

3. Be Proactive

Getting the jump on things is a habit that not only keeps your boss happy but also gives you a rush of dopamine to the brain.

Build habits of being early or do things that help you to think ahead.

For example, make lists that keep you not only on task but ahead of the game.

4. Focus On The Small Stuff

If you’re dealing with a big goal, such as some serious weight loss, it’s easy to lose your motivation when it feels like you’re not making progress.

Having small goals gives you milestones to celebrate and builds motivation back.

These kinds of goals come from small changes, like planning to eat a little differently (cutting carbs for example), or in taking the stairs instead of using the elevator.

5. Surround Yourself With People Who Motivate You

That is an easy habit for you to build, in that it involves choosing a little more carefully what company you keep.

Building a habit of meeting with this group on a regular basis not only keeps you motivated but has the added benefit of cementing relationships with those around you.

Building good habits is an awesome way to stay on track to reach your goals.

The best part? As with any habit, if you do it enough, you’ll wind up acting without thinking, making motivation an automatic part of your life. How cool is that?

As you are probably already aware, creating habits takes discipline so lets look at how you can develop the self-discipline needed to create habits in the first place.

Discipline in Bite Sized Steps

One of the ways that people struggle with developing self-discipline, is trying to make too many changes at once. Not just by doing more than one goal at a time, but by making those goals way too large.

Either of these approaches tend to lead to failure.

An example of too many goals at once might be someone choosing to quit smoking, go on a diet, exercise regularly, build a successful business, and get out of debt.

All of these are good goals that can be done. If you try to do them all at once, though, you will probably find it to be too much and quit. This is one of the reasons why resolutions rarely work out. Instead, focus on one or two of these for at least 1 to 2 months and make them consistently a new habit first, before tackling new goals.

For example, take quitting smoking, you might start with that one since it has the most negative impact both on health and finances.

So you might start with just quitting smoking. You could spend a couple of months getting rid of the cigarettes and using aids like the nicotine patch to help. Then once you have completely quit smoking and no longer need the patch, you can move on to the next goal or goals on your list.

You may find changing your diet and exercising more to be really overwhelming goals because they are huge ones. So, another tactic to help you with discipline is to break them down into smaller goals. Instead of just quitting overeating, maybe you break it down into this week you cut your soda intake in half, then week two you cut it out completely.

If you do this week by week making one SMALL change, you may find it easier to stay in control.

Another way you can break it down is by intensity. So say you want to exercise more, but you have not exercised in years. If you start with something like a full workout, you may give up or get injured and then be unable to exercise at all.

So instead of going full tilt, you can start by doing mini workouts at a lower intensity for a few days, and over time add more minutes to your workout until you reach at least 20 to 30 minutes of activity. You can also over time increase the intensity of your workout as you get stronger and in better shape.

By breaking down the goals into bite-sized steps, you can make it easier to develop the discipline you need to accomplish them. You will also improve the chances of success in changing your habits.

And having a strong mindset is critical to any attempt to staying disciplined and motivated to achieve success, so click on the featured resource below to get a free report on how to develop a strong mindset. Download, it read and take action 🙂

What Is A Success Mindset And How Can You Have One?

If you’re interested in achieving more with your life, then you have probably read your fair share of self-help books. And if you’ve done that, then there’s a good chance you will have come across the phrase ‘success mindset’.

But what exactly does this mean? And is it really possible to start achieving more in your life, simply by changing your mindset?

The answer is a resounding “Yes!” and many people have done so and gone on to achieve great things in their lives.

So, with that being said, let’s take a closer look…

What Does A Success Mindset Entail?

The success mindset, as the name suggests, is the type of mindset and set of beliefs that will set you on track to accomplish more.

This is the set of beliefs, the attitude and the conviction that is required to really go out there and get what you want in life.

And yes, it really is the mindset that is the most important factor here.

Think about those people in your life and in the media who are highly successful and effective. What is different about them compared with everyone else? There are possibly a few factors but the most important things are:

A) They know exactly what they want out of life, exactly where their passions are and exactly who they are
B) They have the unstoppable energy and determination to go out there and make it happen

Let’s take a look at Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson for example. This is a guy who has accomplished incredible things in multiple fields and what is it that helped him get there? The fact that he is willing to put in absolutely insane amounts of work.

If you follow him on Instagram, you’ll constantly be greeted by pictures of him training in the gym at 4am before full days of shooting. Where does he get that energy? He gets it from his passion.

Can you ever imagine a sullen Rock? And can you imagine that a sullen version of his persona would have gotten to where he is today?

So, the first step to building a mindset for success is to define what it means to succeed, for you.

Setting goals for yourself makes it easier to come up with a plan of action to achieve your ambitions and will motivate you to carry out that plan.

You also need to maintain a positive attitude to life. Never underestimate the power of focusing on the positive in any given situation (and there is always something positive you can focus on).

Positivity and having a plan will help you to develop a success mindset but it isn’t the full story because you also have to take action on your plan and this is where many people fail because they don’t actually put their plan into action.

You must take responsibility for your own destiny; nobody else can do it for you, so make you plan, take action and stay positive if and when you come across any obstacles. Do this and you can have a real success mindset.

So that is basically what it means to have a ‘success mindset’ and hopefully, it has also given you a big clue as to what you need to do to get there. In order to have a successful mindset, you need to find your passion and know yourself.

When you can do that, then suddenly everything is going to fall seamlessly into place. You’ll find you have plenty of energy when you truly love whatever it is you do!

Of course, not everything always goes to plan and if or when things do go wrong you need to be able to turn any kind of negative experience into a positive one so let’s take a deeper look at that now…

How To Turn Negative Feedback Into Positive Results

Having a success mindset means taking risks and it means putting yourself out there. It means taking chances and being willing to fail.

And when you do all that, you’ll find that sometimes you do fail. Sometimes people laugh at you. Sometimes you lose a lot of money.

And this can hurt a lot. Sometimes, it feels as though you will never be successful, and that other people seem to have it all figured out. But let’s take a step back for a moment.

Because most of the successful people you know and most of the successful people in the media were unsuccessful at some point. And they have been in exactly the same position as you – having tried and failed.

The only difference between those people and the ones you never hear about, is that they got back up, they shrugged off the criticisms and they went for it anyway.

And if you dig a little deeper, nearly every ‘success story’ is actually made up of a thousand little failures, rejections and humiliations.

Look at JK Rowling who had her book rejected countless times before it made her into one of the richest people on the planet.

Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger who was told that he could never be a movie star with his thick accent and physique.

And yet, look at them now…

The key to remember is that you’re at a point in your story where there’s challenge and upheaval but if you take this in your stride, it will actually make you stronger.

When you receive criticisms from others, what do you do? Do you curl up in a ball and cry about it? Or do you decide that you’re going to learn from their critique and take it on board. Next time, they won’t be able to make that same criticism!

And when you fail and lose your money, do you give up on starting your own business? Or do you make a note of everything that you did wrong and then endeavour not to make those same mistakes again?

This is the difference between successful people and the rest of us. And look at it this way: if you treat every single failure as a chance to get better, then every single time you try, you will slightly increase your chances of winning big.

And that means that if you continue trying, the odds will eventually be stacked in your favor!

If you want to know more about this topic, please read this post here, plus you can also click on the featured resource below to get a free report on how to develop a strong mindset. Download, it read and take action 🙂

Roadblocks That Get In The Way Of Motivation

Though people are all different, we all have one thing in common – roadblocks that get in the way of what we really want from life. Roadblocks stop some people from ever making a change, but they motivate others to keep on going to find a way to what they want, regardless of the roadblock.

You might have one of these roadblocks or you might experience more than one of them. A major roadblock to change is fear. When things change, it ushers in differences that can make us afraid.

We’re afraid to leave behind the bad job for fear we won’t like the new one – fear that we might not fit in as well. Remember though, that one of the acronyms for fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.

Your fears are usually based on what if myths – and they almost always never come to pass. Don’t let fear cause you to sit on the sidelines of change. Another roadblock that gets in the way is a lack of knowledge.

It’s hard to make changes when you’re not sure exactly how to go about those changes. You might be branching out into an area that’s completely beyond your scope of knowledge at the present time.

Remember that what you don’t know can be learned. Use educational resources as your catalyst for change and success. Strive for new levels of insight that you previously didn’t have.

Thinking that you simply can’t add another thing to your already full life keeps many people stuck where they are. Making changes requires work. So many people see the effort as not worth the payoff – and that’s a mistake.

This belief is what keeps you rooted to that job that you hate, to those messy finances, or to that relationship that’s sucking the life right out of you. Learning better time management skills can be a catalyst for a better life as you clear out things that are a waste of time and make room for what offers the most benefits.

Being just comfortable enough where you are can be a roadblock to motivate you to change. You’re not 100% happy, but you’re “happy enough.” All this means is that you settled for a life that keeps you locked in your comfort zone.

You’re trading a full life for one that’s half empty – because if you’re not 100% satisfied, then something is missing. That something may be the very thing that you always wanted, but because you were “happy enough,” you’ll never reach it.

Visualization can be a catalyst for the changes you need to make. Picture the next level of success in every area of your life – finances, career satisfaction, relationships, health – everything that matters most to you.

Focus on how it could be improved and then make a game plan to get you there. If you block out those thoughts in an effort to stay content, you’ll never know what you could have made out of your life if you’d give it a chance.

Wanting everything to be perfect is a huge roadblock to motivation. It’s here where people stall out. They want the new situation to be perfect before they attempt any changes.

They want the new job to have everything in place. They don’t want to take the chance that they’ll make a switch and find it’s not what they wanted. These are people who wait for the “perfect” relationship before getting into one.

Perfectionism is the killer of change because what you see in your mind as perfection doesn’t translate that way in life. That’s because there are no perfect scenarios in a life that’s lived to the fullest.

There are experiences to encounter – and not one of them will be perfect. That’s okay. Perfectionism kills progress. You don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines waiting to get into the game of life.

The number one roadblock that keeps too many people from letting a catalyst be their motivation is the fear of failure. They falsely believe that they haven’t failed yet because they haven’t even tried – so they’re safe.

But whether they realize it or not, they have failed. They’re choosing to stay stagnant in a lesser life than what they dreamed of. That, in itself, is a form of failure.

Another roadblock happens when people wait for change rather than seeking change. They wait for the perfect joint venture partner to come to them instead of seeking one out, because that requires putting themselves on the line.

They wait to see if the person they’re in a relationship with is going to treat them better, rather than speaking up about what they want and deserve. They avoid tough situations and tough conversations because they’re waiting for everything to work out on its own.

Change isn’t something that happens on a whim. It’s something that you make happen. You have to find the motivation within yourself to make that change. And it’s uncomfortable at first.

That’s okay. Take that sign of discomfort as a compliment. It’s proving to you that you’re taking action and bettering your life, even in the face of fear or uneasiness.

Motivation requires a strong mindset and it is an unfortunate fact that many of us simply aren’t born with a strong success mindset.

The good news is that you can do something about it and rewire your brain and change the way you focus on things and what you focus on.

Humans appear to be wired to focus on the negative but that doesn’t help you to thrive and succeed.

You really need to work on your focus and to grow and nurture a strong success mindset and it is easier than you think; you may just need a few pointers to help you out along the way.

To that end, please check out the featured resource below as it features a free report that will help you to develop a strong mindset that can help propel you into the success you deserve. Download, read it and take action 😊

7 Mindset Hacks For Online Marketers

Have you ever wondered why some online marketers seem to be so much more successful than others?

Or why one marketer bounces back from a failure within days, while another one gives up and begs for his old job back?

Or why you see some online marketers everywhere, and other marketers hear only crickets?

Many successful businesspeople and entrepreneurs realise that your thoughts have a huge impact on how you see yourself and thus impact on your actions or lack thereof!

So, if mindset is so important, isn’t it about time you paid more attention to it?

And wouldn’t you like to know how to improve the way you think about yourself?

Here are seven mindset hacks that help to set some online marketers apart from others. Use them for yourself and you can boost your chances of success almost instantly! What have you got to lose…?

Believe In Yourself

Successful online marketers believe in themselves and their business.

When the going gets tough and when you make mistakes, it’s your belief that will pull you through.

You’ve got to believe that you are fully capable of building this six or seven figure business, that you are able to bring tremendous value to your customers, and that you can overcome any adversity that gets in your way.

Obstacles will always be there but if you believe that you can do it, you are already halfway there.

Have A Plan

Some marketers don’t look beyond what niche they’re going to enter and what their domain name should be.

But you need to have a plan in place, a roadmap you can follow when you get stalled.

Who is your audience? What do they want and need? Are you going to create your own products?

If so, what problems will those products fix or what benefits will they give the customer? Will you blog? Podcast? Make videos?

Your plan can be flexible and change as needed, but the importance of having a plan in the first place is unquestionable.

Without vision and goals – both of which will be in your plan – you’ll get up in the morning without a clue of what you should be doing. And that is a recipe for failure.

Leave Your Comfort Zone Daily

You’re going to be doing things you’ve never done before. It’s going to be uncomfortable, and even scary. You might be afraid to take the next step.

And all of that is perfectly normal. The key is to embrace the fear and do the things you need to do anyway.

If you stay within your comfort zone, you will never grow, nor will your business.

But if you embrace the new and unknown, there is no limit to what you can do.

Try to reframe challenges that you face and make you uncomfortable into opportunities to learn and grow and see your life and business flourish

Think Big, Think Small

As an online marketer, you’ve got to think about the big picture. What is your end goal – to make $100,000 a year? Or maybe to build a million-dollar business and sell it? What campaigns will you use to reach your customers over the coming year? What is your marketing strategy for the following year?

But you’ve also got to think small. Are your customers getting their questions answered the same day? What should you do today to get more customers? Are you going to promote this product this week, or that product?

It’s easy to get so bogged down in the little stuff, that we lose sight of the big picture. But if all you ever focus on is the big picture, you’ll never get anything done today.

Make Your Success A Habit

Figure out the three things you should be doing every single day that will bring in more business.

And then no matter what, before you quit for the day, make sure that you have done those three things.

For example, maybe it’s writing and sending an email to your list to make sales, posting on social media to get new subscribers, and contacting 3 possible affiliates to promote for you.

Whatever your three things are, do them every single day and you are guaranteed to be successful.

Habits are a crucial part of being successful. Make them part of your daily routine and you will see for yourself how powerful they are.

When you first start creating success habits, you can also try rewarding yourself for keeping to them to positively reinforce the habits. The reward doesn’t have to be big; it is just there to help you to ingrain the habit in you.

Audience First, Product Second

Too many online marketers make the grave mistake of creating a product and then going in search of customers for that product. This seldom works.

Instead, find your audience, provide them with great content that they love, and build their trust.

Then find out what they want and need and sell that to them.

Repeat after me: “Audience first, product second.”

Honesty And Generosity

This last one is two-fold, and yet I find they are intricately intertwined.

Give yourself to your audience without holding back. Do you suffer from the same stupid mistakes they make? Then let them know that. Do you have an answer to your readers’ problem? Let them know what it is.

Want to make friends with other marketers? Give them something before asking for a favor. I know of one marketer who offers his plugins for free to fellow bloggers, and he makes all sorts of contacts this way.

You cannot go wrong by being generous. And you also cannot go wrong by being honest.

Tell them the shortcomings of the product you are promoting. The REAL shortcomings. Show your human side. Talk about your own trials and tribulations and struggles.

Hey, you’re not perfect? Your audience already knew that, but they’re mighty glad to hear you say it. It makes you one of them.

Post a card above your desk – “Honesty and Generosity.”

Master these seven keys in your life and your business, and you cannot go wrong.

By the way, if you want to learn more about developing your mindset, download this free report, How To Develop A Strong Mindset which will give you much more information.

Just click on the Featured Resource image below.