You are juggling tasks with a speed worthy of Ringling Bros. Congratulations, multitasker.

In this age of instant technology, we are bombarded with an overload of information and demands of our time. This is part of the reason GTD is so popular in the information world — it’s a system designed for quick decisions and for keeping all the demands of your life in order. But even if we are using GTD, sometimes we are so overwhelmed with things to do that our system begins to fall apart.

Life Hack recently posted How to Multi-task, and it’s a good article on the nature of multi-tasking and how to do it while still focusing on one task at a time.

This post is How NOT to Multi-task — a guide to working as simply as possible for your mental health.

First, a few quick reasons not to multi-task:

1. Multi-tasking is less efficient, due to the need to switch gears for each new task, and the switch back again.
2. Multi-tasking is more complicated, and thus more prone to stress and errors.
3. Multi-tasking can be crazy, and in this already chaotic world, we need to reign in the terror and find a little oasis of sanity and calm.

Here are some tips on how NOT to multi-task:

1. First set up to-do lists for different contexts (i.e. calls, computer, errands, home, waiting-for, etc.) depending on your situation.
2. Have a capture tool (such as a notebook) for instant notes on what needs to be done.
3. Have a physical and email inbox (as few inboxes as possible) so that all incoming stuff is gathered together in one place (one for paper stuff, one for digital).
4. Plan your day in blocks, with open blocks in between for urgent stuff that comes up. You might try one-hour blocks, or half-hour blocks, depending on what works for you. Or try this: 40 minute blocks, with 20 minutes in between them for miscellaneous tasks.
5. First thing in the morning, work on your Most Important Task. Don’t do anything else until this is done. Give yourself a short break, and then start on your next Most Important Task. If you can get 2-3 of these done in the morning, the rest of the day is gravy.
6. When you are working on a task in a time block, turn off all other distractions. Shut off email, and the Internet if possible. Shut off your cell phone. Try not to answer your phone if possible. Focus on that one task, and try to get it done without worrying about other stuff.
7. If you feel the urge to check your email or switch to another task, stop yourself. Breathe deeply. Re-focus yourself. Get back to the task at hand.
8. If other things come in while you’re working, put them in the inbox, or take a note of them in your capture system. Get back to the task at hand.
9. Every now and then, when you’ve completed the task at hand, process your notes and inbox, adding the tasks to your to-do lists and re-figuring your schedule if necessary. Process your email and other inboxes at regular and pre-determined intervals.
10. There are times when an interruption is so urgent that you cannot put it off until you’re done with the task at hand. In that case, try to make a note of where you are (writing down notes if you have time) with the task at hand, and put all the documents or notes for that task together and aside (perhaps in an “action” folder or project folder). Then, when you come back to that task, you can pull out your folder and look at your notes to see where you left off.
11. Take deep breaths, stretch, and take breaks now and then. Enjoy life. Go outside, and appreciate nature. Keep yourself sane.

The word “visualization” sometimes conjures up images of new age gurus teaching esoteric techniques for personal enlightenment and “attracting” what you want into your life. This causes many evidence-based types to scoff. However, piles of research has shown that mental imagery (aka “visualization”) can improve performance. The latest study suggests that a certain type of mental imagery can also increase your strength

Olympic champions and professional athletes have used visualization and mental rehearsal techniques for decades. Not only is visualization one of the most widely accepted techniques in sports psychology, it’s supported by scientific research.

Nevertheless, many people remain skeptical.

Some people agree that mental rehearsal might enhance specific skills, like a golf swing or a basketball throw, but they question whether it could make you stronger, increase muscle growth or help you lose weight.

A new study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research suggests that indeed, mental imagery can make you stronger. This study also begins to explain how mental imagery works on a neurological level…

Twenty two sports students, with a mean age of about 20, participated in the 6-week long experiment. Prior to the study, none had done mental imagery before. The students were divided into a control group and a mental rehearsal group.

The goal was to see if mental imagery could increase bench press and leg press strength.

Each participant was given very specific instructions on how to perform the mental imagery. During the rest period between sets, they were to vividly imagine the exercise movement and the muscle contractions generated from each rep.

After 12 workout sessions, the mental imagery group had significantly increased their strength more than the control group, especially in the lower body (leg press).

The researchers concluded:

“The results provided evidence that mental imagery did contribute to improve strength of the leg muscles without any macroscopic structural change”

What they were saying is that the duration of the study wasn’t long enough that there was any major muscle size increase, so they credited the strength increase to non morphological adaptations.

It’s well known in exercise science that gains in strength occur from changes not just in the muscle fibers and surrounding tissues, but in the nervous system.

That gives us clues about how mental imagery works.

Put simply, mental training techniques, (since they’re working with your brain/nervous system – as the name implies), can trigger some of the same neurological adaptations that occur from physical training.

Apparently, mental imagery can increase synchronization of motor units in muscles, having large corresponding cortical areas in the primary mortor cortex.

There are also psychological benefits, such as increased motivation, improved focus during the set, technique improvements, more confidence and less apprehension or anxiety. But clearly, there’s more to this than just “psyching up.”

Here’s something else interesting. The researchers even suggested that mental imagery could decrease strength loss when athletes are inactive due to injury.

This recent study is a practical one because it gives us one specific technique that you can apply to your next workout: vividly imagine a successful lift for the upcoming set while you’re resting between sets.

NOTE: it’s important to mentally see (visualize) the exercise and mentally “FEEL” the muscle contraction. This is multi-sensory – both visual and kinesthetic.

In some of my previous articles, I talked about density training and superset training as excellent techniques for busy people because these methods reduce rest intervals, making the workout time efficient.

But the rest time between heavy sets doesn’t have to be wasted – now you know what to do with that time…

Instead of chatting with your gym buddies, or scoping out the attractive bods in the gym, you can be mentally rehearsing your next set… and enjoying the strength increase that follows.

Most fat loss programs only focus on diet or physical training. If you want to learn more about how you can add “mental training” techniques to increase fat loss, muscle growth and muscular strength, then be sure to check out chapter one in my ebook, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.

That’s a lie.

Every action you take ripples out into the world. Yes, you are an expression of the universe. But the universe is also an expression of You.

So, what’s the fastest way to change the world? Accept yourself as you are.

We fail to make a difference when we act small, and shrink to put ourselves in boxes. We only reinforce the status quo when we fall into line in search of approval.

The biggest difference you can make in the world is not to do something amazing. It’s not about invention, or uncovering planetary shifting ideas. The people who have made their mark on the world surely have done some of these things. But they didn’t set out to, not at first. They tapped into who they were in a big way.

If you want to make a dent in the world, you don’t need to be remarkable or have an earth-shattering vision.

What you need is inside of you.

Cultivate an always-on connection with who you are. Then find the deepest way you can express it. Don’t worry, depth will come with time. At first, you’ll only scratch the surface.

But as you follow that luminous thread of You, you’ll unravel something amazing. You’ll find a light so bright inside that it’s nearly blinding. And when you discover it, you’ll see there’s no way that you can not express it. It can’t be held back.

When you discover it, you’ll radiate it out into the world — like a prism — connecting and illuminating the lights of others.

Then you find something curious… the easiest way to change the world is by being who you are.It’s only when you cover, censor and hesitate that you cement the world as it is. You can let go of that now and fall comfortably into your own brilliance.

Let go and embrace who you really are. I hope you will, because the world needs the truest you.

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from “Beyond Religion” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

I am an old man now. I was born in 1935 in a small village in northeastern Tibet. For reasons beyond my control, I have lived most of my adult life as a stateless refugee in India, which has been my second home for over 50 years. I often joke that I am India’s longest-staying guest. In common with other people of my age, I have witnessed many of the dramatic events that have shaped the world we live in. Since the late 1960s, I have also traveled a great deal, and have had the honor to meet people from many different backgrounds: not just presidents and prime ministers, kings and queens, and leaders from all the world’s great religious traditions, but also a great number of ordinary people from all walks of life.

Looking back over the past decades, I find many reasons to rejoice. Through advances in medical science, deadly diseases have been eradicated. Millions of people have been lifted from poverty and have gained access to modern education and health care. We have a universal declaration of human rights, and awareness of the importance of such rights has grown tremendously. As a result, the ideals of freedom and democracy have spread around the world, and there is increasing recognition of the oneness of humanity. There is also growing awareness of the importance of a healthy environment. In very many ways, the last half-century or so has been one of progress and positive change.

At the same time, despite tremendous advances in so many fields, there is still great suffering, and humanity continues to face enormous difficulties and problems. While in the more affluent parts of the world people enjoy lifestyles of high consumption, there remain countless millions whose basic needs are not met. With the end of the Cold War, the threat of global nuclear destruction has receded, but many continue to endure the sufferings and tragedy of armed conflict. In many areas, too, people are having to deal with environmental problems and, with these, threats to their livelihood and worse. At the same time, many others are struggling to get by in the face of inequality, corruption and injustice.

Read the rest ‘Beyond Religion’: The Dalai Lama’s Secular Ethics (EXCERPT).

About the Book

A stirring call to move beyond religion for the guidance to improve human life on individual, community, and global levels–including a guided meditation practice for cultivating key human values
Ten years ago, in his best-selling Ethics for a New Millennium, His Holiness the Dalai Lama first proposed an approach to ethics based on universal rather than religious principles. Now, in Beyond Religion, the Dalai Lama, at his most compassionate and outspoken, elaborates and deepens his vision for the nonreligious way. Transcending the mere “religion wars,” he outlines a system of secular ethics that gives tolerant respect to religion–those that ground ethics in a belief in God and an afterlife, and those that understand good actions as leading to better states of existence in future lives. And yet, with the highest level of spiritual and intellectual authority, the Dalai Lama makes a claim for what he calls a third way. This is a system of secular ethics that transcends religion as a way to recognize our common humanity and so contributes to a global human community based on understanding and mutual respect.

“Beyond Religion” is an essential statement from the Dalai Lama, a blueprint for all those who yearn for a life of spiritual fulfillment as they work for a better world.

Buy the book from BetterWorldBooks.com

It brought home to me how much my long-time practice and teaching of Zen has boosted my productivity. Leo says I’m one of the most productive people he knows. But the funny thing is that there are some small pockets in my life where I’m also the world’s worst procrastinator. More about that below…

what is productivity?

Being productive means being able to create something with ease, steadiness, and joy.

In order to be productive, we need all our energy to be channeled. Think of a stream: when it flows freely, the water rushes along – right from the mountains to the sea. But if you build dams, divert the course of the stream, or choke it with rubble, the stream will have to use a lot of energy to circumvent or overcome the barriers in its way.

We all have access to the pure stream of creativity.

The problem is that many people throw up barriers that impede their natural productivity. The outcome can be stress, procrastination, and grief for lost dreams.

Yes, those lost dreams … Have you got dreams and even plans somewhere in the back of your mind that you’ve never realized? I bet you have.  It’s sad when we miss out on bringing our brainchildren into life. But it’s never too late to get pregnant with a great idea and give birth to a new brainchild!

So, let’s get cracking and take a look at how to crank up your productivity. But first a warning: if you’re looking for tips about dire stuff like making priority lists, or getting up a 3AM, you better read something else. My ninja recipe for productivity is Zen inspired and is not about getting things done.

the ninja thing

As many of you know, I’m a 4th Dan Blackbelt in karate in active training. One of the first things a martial artist learns, is that it’s better to go with an opponents energy, than to push against it. For example, if someone throws a punch at you, you can use your opponent’s forward energy to your advantage if you avoid or deflect the punch. And, once you’re more experienced, you learn to drop the idea of ‘opponent’, or of ‘self’ and ‘other’.

In terms of productivity, many books (but thankfully not Leo’s) espouse the use of inner force to conquer the nasty enemy of procrastination. Honestly, I don’t think it works. The Ninja approach of working with your inner opposing energy – instead of against it – is much more, well, productive.

how to stop self-doubts killing your productivity

Most people spend a lot of their creative energy fighting negative thoughts. These thoughts can range from downright ugly (‘You’re a loser!’) to fearful (‘What if I fail?’). Such thoughts can be deflating. You’re all pumped up to create something – and then those niggly, nasty self-doubts start attacking your confidence. Here’s a simple way to work with them:

Whenever you notice self-doubts in your mind, imagine a little green gremlin sitting on your left shoulder, whispering those nasty messages into your ear. Gently and calmly brush the gremlin off your shoulder with your right hand and say politely, “Not now, thank you!” (It will look as if you are brushing a piece of lint off your shoulder).

This may sound bizarre – but it works! The reason why it works is because it helps you to become aware of your negative messages. Often, these kind of doubts were implanted in us early on by parents, caregivers, or teachers. They are so deeply embedded that we are seduced into thinking that they are THE TRUTH about who you are, instead of habitual thought patterns that were originally someone else’s idea.

That’s where the Zen thing comes in. Through the practice of meditation, you learn to observe the mind, and to let go of prefabricated ideas of who you are. It frees you.

connect with your core life force

The ancient Chinese called the core life force Chi or Ki. They imagined it coursing through the body along certain paths or meridians. I think they really knew something. In order to be more productive, you need to connect with the life force at the core of your being.

How to do it?

The ability to mobilize our life force is hardwired into each one of us. Just think about the amazing feats of survival human beings are capable of when life is threatened. What if you could harness that primal energy at will?

Two  ancient pathways to accessing and releasing your primal energy are meditation, and mindful exercise. In my own experience, for example, my productivity has increased significantly since returning to karate training a year ago. And of course my Zen practice underlies everything I do.

life is short

Do you notice how fast – and faster – days, weeks, months, and years roll by? I remind myself of that every single day in order to appreciate the fleeting delights of each moment. The calm reflection that life is short is a great motivator for me. I have so many ideas I want to bring to fruition! ‘Now’ is all I have. ‘Tomorrow’ may not happen for me. Who knows?

If there is something you want to create, don’t wait until ‘later in life’! Start the journey of a 1000 miles today – just with one tiny step:  collect ideas; start making a plan; get excited.

the passion thing

I’m passionate about what I do! That’s why I’m so productive. I think passion is an expression of the life-force I was talking about earlier. When we’re passionate about what we’re doing, we’re fired up, and our energy is at our disposal.

Sometimes it can be difficult to find our passion, but it’s worthwhile finding out what really drives us.

Do more of what you love

If you look at your life, what percentage of your waking time is filled with activities you are passionate about? In my life, most of my waking time is spent doing things I love. I love being creative, so most parts of my work are also fun.

It pays to think carefully about your life. Are you enjoying it? Most of the time? Some of the time?

If you’re not enjoying your life, you need to change something fundamental about how you live. One of the changes can be to do more of what you love. But there is also another pathway, and that is exactly the opposite:

Love more of what you do

Let’s face it, in every project there are areas of work that are simply a drag. For example, I wake up to a deluge of emails with requests for help, niggles, comments, and so on, that all need to be answered. It takes me about 4 hours to hit them all on the head (the emails, not the people …). I used to feel resentful about this because mornings are my best writing time.

However, I’ve now changed the way I approach this task. I think of each interaction as an opportunity for connection. And – because I love connecting with others – the task that felt like a drag has now become meaningful.

Maybe you too can think about draggy tasks in a new way that infuses them with meaning.

why everyone procrastinates – and it’s ok

There are some tasks that stay a drag – no matter how you look at them. And that’s were we tend to procrastinate. For example, I hate anything to do with accounting and tax. Mainly because I don’t really understand it, and that causes some fear. So, that’s an area where I’m the world’s worst procrastinator. I tend to leave business letters unopened for as long as possible. Oh, the tales my friends could tell…

If you have an area of procrastination like that, you need to call in the troops. For example, I’ve got a bookkeeper who collects my tax info electronically and then liaises with my accountant. I’ve asked her to ring me every three month and arrange a visit to collect all my statements. In this way, I’ve put a fail-safe system in place. Because that system is in place, I can forget about tax stuff most of the time because it takes care of itself more or less automatically.

So, if you tend to procrastinate in one particular area, call for help. Partner with someone who will remind you of deadlines and prod you kindly if you don’t deliver.

does minimalist productivity work?

Some productivity gurus suggest paring down your activities in order to focus your energy on just one thing. Sounds good, eh? But it’s crap advice. The moment you start paring down, your whole energy flow can become disrupted. My advice is contrary: do too much! When you take on a bit too much, it heightens your productivity. Of course you have to be careful, because it’s important not to get overwhelmed.

how to overcome overwhelm

Do you sometimes get into a spin because there are just too many things you ‘should’ be doing? I’m sure you do. It happens to me too at times. We feel overwhelmed when we  hold too many different threads in our mind at one time. Here is how to deal with overwhelm:

Step 1: Wear an elastic wristband.

Step 2: Jot down all the tasks you are holding in your head.

Step 3: Focus on the task at hand.

Step 4: Whenever your mind slides off to other tasks, change the wristband to the other arm and refocus on your task at hand.

Step 5: Repeat as necessary.

why productivity is important

Productivity is not really about producing something or being ‘valuable’ – it’s simply about having more joy in life. When you create something – whatever it may be – you’ll feel alive, and the joy of creation will pervade all areas of life.

If you want to learn more about how to be productive, I heartily recommend Leo Babauta’s new book, The Little Guide to Un-Procrastination It’s awesome! Leo shows how to emerge from the doldrums and crank up productivity in a way that’s both entertaining and inspiring. And you’ll get the interview with me as well..

What are your thoughts on productivity?

These are the tips and tricks that, if used in combination, are a nearly sure way to achieve your goals.

Achieving goals is not a matter of having “discipline”. It’s a matter of motivating yourself, and keeping your focus on your goal. Follow these hacks, or any combination of them that works for you, and you should have the motivation and focus you need.

Here they are, in reverse order (links take you to more on each):

#20: Chart Your Progress. Recently I posted about how I created a chart to track my progress with each of my goals. This chart is not just for information purposes, for me to look back and see how I’m doing. It’s to motivate me to keep up with my goals. If I’m diligent about checking my chart every day, and marking dots or “x”s, then I will want to make sure I fill it with dots. I will think to myself, “I better do this today if I want to mark a dot.” Well, that’s a small motivation, but it helps, trust me. Some people prefer to use gold stars. Others have a training log, which works just as well. Or try Joe’s Goals. However you do it, track your progress, and allow yourself a bit of pride each time you give yourself a good mark.

Now, you will have some bad marks on your chart. That’s OK. Don’t let a few bad marks stop you from continuing. Strive instead to get the good marks next time.

#19: Hold Yourself Back. When I start with a new exercise program, or any new goal really, I am rarin’ to go. I am full of excitement, and my enthusiasm knows no boundaries. Nor does my sense of self-limitation. I think I can do anything. It’s not long before I learn that I do have limitations, and my enthusiasm begins to wane.

Well, a great motivator that I’ve learned is that when you have so much energy at the beginning of a program, and want to go all out — HOLD BACK. Don’t let yourself do everything you want to do. Only let yourself do 50-75 percent of what you want to do. And plan out a course of action where you slowly increase over time. For example, if I want to go running, I might think I can run 3 miles at first. But instead of letting myself do that, I start by only running a mile. When I’m doing that mile, I’ll be telling myself that I can do more! But I don’t let myself. After that workout, I’ll be looking forward to the next workout, when I’ll let myself do 1.5 miles. I keep that energy reined in, harness it, so that I can ride it even further.

#18: Join an online (or off-line) group to help keep you focused and motivated. When I started to run, more than a year ago, I joined a few different forums, at different times, on different sites, such as Men’s Health (the Belly-Off Runner’s Club),Runner’s World, Cool Running, and the running group at About.com. I did the same when I was quitting smoking.

Each time I joined a forum, it helped keep me on track. Not only did I meet a bunch of other people who were either going through what I was going through or who had already been through it, I would report my progress (and failures) as I went along. They were there for great advice, for moral support, to help keep me going when I wanted to stop.

#17: Post a picture of your goal someplace visible — near your desk or on your refrigerator, for example. Visualizing your goal, exactly how you think it will be when you’ve achieved it, whether it’s financial goals like traveling to Rome or building a dream house, or physical goals like finishing a marathon or getting a flat stomach, is a great motivator and one of the best ways of actualizing your goals.

Find a magazine photo or a picture online and post it somewhere where you can see it not only daily, but hourly if possible. Put it as your desktop photo, or your home page. Use the power of your visual sense to keep you focused on your goal. Because that focus is what will keep you motivated over the long term — once you lose focus, you lose motivation, so having something to keep bringing your focus back to your goal will help keep that motivation.

#16: Get a workout partner or goal buddy. Staying motivated on your own is tough. But if you find someone with similar goals (running, dieting, finances, etc.), see if they’d like to partner with you. Or partner with your spouse, sibling or best friend on whatever goals they’re trying to achieve. You don’t have to be going after the same goals — as long as you are both pushing and encouraging each other to succeed.

#15: Just get started. There are some days when you don’t feel like heading out the door for a run, or figuring out your budget, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do that day for your goal. Well, instead of thinking about how hard it is, and how long it will take, tell yourself that you just have to start.

I have a rule (not an original one) that I just have to put on my running shoes and close the door behind me. After that, it all flows naturally. It’s when you’re sitting in your house, thinking about running and feeling tired, that it seems hard. Once you start, it is never as hard as you thought it would be. This tip works for me every time.

#14: Make it a pleasure. One reason we might put off something that will help us achieve our goal, such as exercise for example, is because it seems like hard work. Well, this might be true, but the key is to find a way to make it fun or pleasurable. If your goal activity becomes a treat, you actually look forward to it. And that’s a good thing.

#13: Give it time, be patient. I know, this is easier said than done. But the problem with many of us is that we expect quick results. When you think about your goals, think long term. If you want to lose weight, you may see some quick initial losses, but it will take a long time to lose the rest. If you want to run a marathon, you won’t be able to do it overnight. If you don’t see the results you want soon, don’t give up … give it time. In the meantime, be happy with your progress so far, and with your ability to stick with your goals. The results will come if you give it time.

#12: Break it into smaller, mini goals. Sometimes large or longer-term goals can be overwhelming. After a couple weeks, we may lose motivation, because we still have several months or a year or more left to accomplish the goal. It’s hard to maintain motivation for a single goal for such a long time. Solution: have smaller goals along the way.

#11: Reward yourself. Often. And not just for longer-term goals, either. In Hack #12, I talked about breaking larger goals into smaller, mini goals. Well, each of those mini goals should have a reward attached to it. Make a list of your goals, with mini goals, and next to each, write down an appropriate reward. By appropriate, I mean 1) it’s proportionate to the size of the goal (don’t reward going on a 1-mile run with a luxury cruise in the Bahamas); and 2) it doesn’t ruin your goal — if you are trying to lose weight, don’t reward a day of healthy eating with a dessert binge. It’s self-defeating.

#10: Find inspiration, on a daily basis. Inspiration is one of the best motivators, and it can be found everywhere. Every day, seek inspiration, and it will help sustain motivation over the long term. Sources of inspiration can include: blogs, online success stories, forums, friends and family, magazines, books, quotes, music, photos, people you meet.

#9: Get a coach or take a class. These will motivate you to at least show up, and to take action. It can be applied to any goal. This might be one of the more expensive ways of motivating yourself, but it works. And if you do some research, you might find some cheap classes in your area, or you might know a friend who will provide coaching or counseling for free.

#8: Have powerful reasons. Write them down. Know your reasons. Give them some thought … and write them down. If you have loved ones, and you are doing it for them, that is more powerful than just doing it for self-interest. Doing it for yourself is good too, but you should do it for something that you REALLY REALLY want to happen, for really good reasons.

#7: Become aware of your urges to quit, and be prepared for them. We all have urges to stop, but they are mostly unconscious. One of the most powerful things you can do is to start being more conscious of those urges. A good exercise is to go through the day with a little piece of paper and put a tally mark for each time you get an urge. It simply makes you aware of the urges. Then have a plan for when those urges hit, and plan for it beforehand, and write down your plan, because once those urges hit, you will not feel like coming up with a plan.

#6: Make it a rule never to skip two days in a row.This rule takes into account our natural tendency to miss days now and then. We are not perfect. So, you missed one day … now the second day is upon you and you are feeling lazy … tell yourself NO! You will not miss two days in a row! Zen Habits says so! And just get started. You’ll thank yourself later.

#5: Visualize your goal clearly, on a daily basis, for at least 5-10 minutes. Visualize your successful outcome in great detail. Close your eyes, and think about exactly how your successful outcome will look, will feel, will smell and taste and sound like. Where are you when you become successful? How do you look? What are you wearing? Form as clear a mental picture as possible. Now here’s the next key: do it every day. For at least a few minutes each day. This is the only way to keep that motivation going over a long period of time.

#4: Keep a daily journal of your goal. If you are consistent about keeping a journal, it can be a great motivator. A journal should have not only what you did for the day, but your thoughts about how it went, how you felt, what mistakes you made, what you could do to improve. To be consistent about keeping a journal,do it right after you do your goal task each day. Make keeping a journal a sensory pleasure.

#3: Create a friendly, mutually-supportive competition.We are all competitive in nature, at least a little. Some more than others. Take advantage of this part of our human nature by using it to fuel your goals. If you have a workout partner or goal buddy, you’ve got all you need for a friendly competition. See who can log more miles, or save more dollars, each week or month. See who can do more pushups or pullups. See who can lose the most weight or have the best abs or lose the most inches on their waist. Make sure the goals are weighted so that the competition is fairly equal. And mutually support each other in your goals.

#2: Make a big public commitment. Be fully committed.This will do the trick every time. Create a blog and announce to the world that you are going to achieve a certain goal by a certain date. Commit yourself to the hilt.

#1: Always think positive. Squash all negative thoughts.Monitor your thoughts. Be aware of your self-talk. We all talk to ourselves, a lot, but we are not always aware of these thoughts. Start listening. If you hear negative thoughts, stop them, push them out, and replace them with positive thoughts. Positive thinking can be amazingly powerful.

- Wayne Dyer

An Excerpt from

The 100/0 Principle

by Al Ritter

What is the most effective way to create and sustain great relationships with others? It’s The 100/0 Principle: You take full responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the 0) in return.

Implementing The 100/0 Principle is not natural for most of us. It takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.

The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally. Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply. For most of us, it applies to work associates, customers, suppliers, family and friends.

* STEP 1 – Determine what you can do to make the relationship work…then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.

* STEP 2 – Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.

* STEP 3 – Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don’t take the bait.

* STEP 4 – Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we give up too soon, especially when others don’t respond in kind. Remember to expect nothing in return.

At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline. When this occurs, you need to avoid being the “Knower” and shift to being the “Learner.” Avoid Knower statements/ thoughts like “that won’t work,” “I’m right, you are wrong,” “I know it and you don’t,” “I’ll teach you,” “that’s just the way it is,” “I need to tell you what I know,” etc.

Instead use Learner statements/thoughts like “Let me find out what is going on and try to understand the situation,” “I could be wrong,” “I wonder if there is anything of value here,” “I wonder if…” etc. In other words, as a Learner, be curious!

Principle Paradox

This may strike you as strange, but here’s the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100/0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100. When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their teams, their organizations and their families.

The 100/0 Principle The Secret of Great Relationships could be the most important book you’ll ever read. It also makes a terrific gift for friends, family members and employees on your team.

- Price Pritchett