So far we have covered 8 Fabulous Motivators:

• 1. The Movers & Shakers
• 2. The Deal Breakers
• 3. The Momentum Builders
• 4. The Inspiration Generators
• 5. The Savvy Time Shoppers
• 6. The Day Simplifiers
• 7. The Outrageous Dreamers
• 8. The Pause Removers

Continuing with the ninth motivator …

10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action

9. The Fear Busters

If it were up to fear, you would never reach anywhere. Paralyzed, you would spend a life constantly wanting to do something but not being able to because you are afraid.

It doesn’t matter how charged up and motivated you are, with fear and without courage you will not be able to take action. When you sit immobilized by fear, when motivation runs scarce in face of fear, The Fear Busters can get you going.

There are two ways you can make sure fear doesn’t get in your way -

Reduce Fear

The best way to beat fear is to not allow it to grow. Curb it down the moment it shows up, kill the bud of fear, don’t let it grow.

Like other negative emotions, fear starts in your mind. If you can control/deal with your thoughts, you can deal with anything.

To bust fear creating thoughts …

• Think extreme

  What’s the worst thing that could happen ?

  When thoughts of negative future, possibilities of things going wrong keep getting in your way, you might want to try this out – think of the worst possible thing that could happen to you in that scenario. If you can deal with that, you can deal with anything less worse that happens.

  To your surprise, you might find that the worst case possible is not as bad as you thought. You will be able to deal with it. This knowledge that no matter how bad things go, you can manage will not allow fear to grow.

• Think Baby Steps

  If you are probably like me, you want to make sure that nothing comes in your way. This means, you want to be clear of each and every step you are going to take, you want to know in advance how things are going to work out. But the truth is, it is not possible to even think up of all possible scenarios let alone manage each of them.

  When thought of unknown future stops you or when you get lost in a sea of plans, you might want to do this … take a deep breath and tell yourself one step at a time. You will think of just the next step to take. Whatever difficulties you see in future for yourself, you will deal with them if and when they arise. Mark Twain’s quote fits perfectly for what I have to say – “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened” So why waste time thinking about them, why be fearful of something that might or might not happen.

• Think Not, Do

  While logic can be your best friend, it can easily become your worst enemy as well. If you are highly into logic, fear might be using your own strength against you. It is very difficult to go against well thought out reasoning. If you are someone who gives a lot of buts and cants, you might want to take a closer look at them. Ask yourself ‘is that so’ everytime you give yourself a reason why something is not possible or why you can’t do something. You might discover that you are holding yourself back … unknowingly of course.

  When you jump into unknown, when you want something big for yourself, you will always have to go beyond your current abilities. These buts and can’ts, these logical reasonings might be stopping you from growing. To grow, you have to stretch yourself, you have to be unreasonable with yourself and demand from you something which you thought is not possible for you. To be unreasonable, you will have to face fear.

  A simple tactic to use when you find yourself immobilized by can’t do thoughts … tell yourself you just want to give it a shot. You are going to try whole heartedly .. if you fail it’s all right. In short, give yourself permission to fail.

Find Courage

Fear breeds on lack of confidence. Literally. You doubt yourself and you open doors for fear to enter and take over.

Each and everyone of us is capable of creating miracles. There is no question about this fact. But lack of confidence can put a stop on any promise you hold.

When your belief in yourself is a bit shaky, you find courage to take action by …

• Relying On Past Success

  It’s amazing what you can do with success you have had.

  Close your eyes and remember times you had success … when you achieved something superb, when you did something extraordinary. Remember times when you found courage to do something great which surprised you. Revisit each of these victories and experience again the time you got that success, experience the feeling of being a success. Every experience you visit, will strengthen your belief in yourself and help you find motivation to take action.

  And when you visit these amazing journeys to success you have had, learn from them. Learn what did you do that worked for you. Learn how did you find courage then. Learn how did you find your motivation then. Learn everything you can, learn the secret of your own success.

• Relying on other people’s success

  It’s amazing what you can do with other people’s success as well.

  If you haven’t been victorious in your past, if you have not done anything extra ordinary so far, you can begin now. Read through inspiring passages, inspiring journeys that other people have had. There are so many people – known and unknown who have faced more difficulties than you have and still succeeded. Go through these amazing stories and get inspired.

  Look around to find people with success stories. And see whether you can learn from them. If you ask, most of them will gladly help you out, they will share with you what works for them. Learn their secrets and see how can you apply them in your life.

• Relying on loved ones

  Sometimes all you need is a vote of confidence. A thumbs up from friends, a you can do it from a loved one can work wonders on your confidence. When you don’t believe in yourself, ride through your entire journey based on belief that your loved ones have in you. Everytime you feel you are falling off the wagon, everytime you feel you are going down, go back to your loved ones to find confidence, to get motivated.

  People who love you will want to encourage you and help you succeed. But a lot of times they might not know how or when. Help them help you by telling them what you want and how. If you haven’t done this before, this might not feel right in the beginning. But over a period of time you will find that this works wonders. Your loved one will be able to help you get motivated and find courage to take action in no time.

Action Items:

• 1. Find one area where you are holding back. Take action.
• 2. Create a success journal. Notice your confidence rise right away. Keep the journal for future use.
• 3. Find people who have achieved what you want. Get motivated. Find a mentor from them.

So far we have covered 7 Fabulous Motivators:

• 1. The Movers & Shakers
• 2. The Deal Breakers
• 3. The Momentum Builders
• 4. The Inspiration Generators
• 5. The Savvy Time Shoppers
• 6. The Day Simplifiers
• 7. The Outrageous Dreamers

Continuing with the eighth motivator …

10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action

8. The Pause Removers

Let’s face it, no matter how dedicated you are towards your dreams/goals, there will be a time when life takes over and you have to give your journey towards your dream a pause. It’s not really about how much you want your dream or whether you are serious about it. It’s not about whether you are motivated or taking action. Life just gets in the way. There are other things which take on higher priority, other things which require your full attention and for some time you have to give a pause to your dream.

Nothing wrong with this.

So as long as pause remains a pause and doesn’t become a full stop.

The thing with pauses is that it’s not a simple matter of picking things up from where you left them. Pauses break the momentum you built. Pauses create gaps between dreams and action. Pauses create space for inspiration to slip away.

And that’s why it’s even more difficult to get motivated after a pause.

When you find yourself stuck with de-motivation because you can’t move beyond your pause, The Pause Removers will come to your help.

What’s stopping you?

Nothing crashes motivation faster than unrealistic expectations. If you want to surge forward to work towards your dream but keep holding back, be assured unrealistic expectations are behind this. Examine your thoughts, dig deeper into your feelings and find out how are you obstructing your progress by creating pressure of unrealistic expectations.

• Unrealistic Expectation Of Complete Clarity & Speed

  When you are working everyday on your dream, when you live it and breathe it, your mind can process everything related to it with ease. You can navigate through myriads of scenarios and possibilities effortlessly. It’s easy to take decision, it’s easy to know what you need to do and what’s pending, what requires attention and what can be postponed. You can say you are on top of everything.

  This knowledge leads to confidence. And you are used to this feeling of confidence because that’s where you were when you left off.

  When you come back, it is a different matter all together. You have to pick everything from where you left it. This means remembering itsy bitsy details of each and every work stream. This means remembering the decisions you made and why you made them. This means remembering every small mental note you made of things to do, things to track, calls to make, research to do etc.

  This will take time. Getting back in shape, getting back in the game will take time.

• Identify Unrealistic Expectations Through Feelings

  The expectation of complete clarity & speed the moment you pick your dream is dangerous. It’s unrealistic. It leads to feelings of frustration. It eats away your confidence and makes you feel not good enough. It produces fear. These feelings of frustration, lack of confidence and fear will stop you from moving ahead.

  The easiest way to know that your road block is unrealistic expectations is through your feelings. If you feel confused, frustrated or afraid to take action, you know that somewhere within you are expecting from yourself something that’s not possible or fair. If you identify and release the expectation that’s holding you back, your road block will disappear.

• Identify Unrealistic Expectations Through Language

  Another way to know that you are burdened with unrealistic expectations is through the language you use. Take note of what you are saying to yourself and to others about your work. Phrases of ‘should be’, ‘used to be’ etc are an easy way to identify what do you expect from yourself and where are you comparing your productivity with that before the pause.

  To correct these unrealistic expectations through use of language, question yourself everytime you tell yourself how things should be (e.g. : ask yourself ‘is that so?’) catch yourself everytime you are comparing yourself now with what was before the pause. The more you catch yourself, the more you will realise how are you unnecessarily pressurising yourself and setting up yourself for failure. As you negate your unrealistic expectations, you will free yourself to take action and gain motivation that you are missing.

How to move forward?

It’s clear that unrealistic expectations are the reason you remain stuck in your pause. Identifying these expectations and naming them as unrealistic can help you remove them and get free of them.

To move forward beyond pauses is then a simple matter of taking action. Following are three simple actions you can take to move beyond your pause -

• Travel Back Through Time

  The most logical and common sensical first action to take is to travel back to time when you gave your dream a pause. Start getting updated with everything related to your dream. What have you worked on so far, how things were, where did you leave them, what was your plan of action then … brush up everything the way you would brush up your study material after a long study break. Get a firm handle on everything pertaining to your dream.

  Knowledge is empowering. When you gain clarity over every minute detail, you can make informed choices and correct decisions. You may be slow but you would be moving in right direction. This slow and steady progress is the key to building confidence and creating momentum.

• Set Yourself For Success

  Based on your refreshed knowledge, create a monumental list of simple action items. Be as specific about the task as possible. Short and clear tasks that can be completed fast with very little scope of making mistakes. Target to finish only one task at a time. By doing so you would be eliminating possibility of failure and set yourself for success. This initial victory is important. It will give you the feeling that you are on top of things. It will help you get back in charge and remove your fear of making mistakes.

• Make Dream A Priority

  The only problem to tackle now would be lack of time. Not finding time to start working on your dream again is a common and valid problem to have.

  When you gave a pause to your dream, you took it down the priority list for time being. Something else of higher priority took up the time allotted to your dream. This was required then.

  However the thing with time is that it will always get filled with something or other. If you don’t claim free time consciously, something else will wiggle in and claim your time.

  This must have already happened by now. The time that should have been allotted for your dream must have got allotted somewhere else.

  In order to reset this, make your dream a priority again. And then, look at the way you spend time with fresh eyes. And see how can you create time for your dream. (hint: scheduling a daily appointment is a sure shot way of making your dream a priority and finding time to work on it).

  When you make your dream a priority, you show up everyday to work on it. When you persistently work on your dream no matter how frustrating the initial days of slow pace, confusion and indecisiveness are, you make progress.

  With every small margin of progress you make, you rekindle your passion for your dream, you find your lost motivation and soon the pause becomes non existent.

Action Items:

• 1. Find a dream/goal which has got stuck in a pause.
• 2. Identify unrealistic expectations creating this pause.
• 3. Take three steps in direction of your dream.

Have you moved beyond your pauses? What are your tips on how to remove them?

More Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action In Part VII

So far we have covered 6 Fabulous Motivators:

• 1. The Movers & Shakers
• 2. The Deal Breakers
• 3. The Momentum Builders
• 4. The Inspiration Generators
• 5. The Savvy Time Shoppers
• 6. The Day Simplifiers

Continuing with the seventh motivator …

10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action

7. The Outrageous Dreamers

Truly speaking … for some of you, it’s not really your fault if you get de-motivated and can’t get motivated. When the tasks are boring and uninspiring, motivation is difficult to catch hold off. What motivation needs is something to look forward to. What motivation needs is a goal – just the thought of which energizes you and makes you want to work. When your goal is such that you can’t wait to start working on it, lack of motivation will automatically stop being a problem.

• The Outrageous Dream

  The outrageous dreamers are all about finding such goals – goals which inspire and motivate you, which challenge you and stretch you. If you want to create momentum and bring on tremendous progress in an area which you are struggling with, set an outrageous aim. Aim something beyond your capabilities, something you would love to achieve but don’t know is possible, aim for the moon and see what happens. The outrageous goals are really as outrageous as aiming for the moon.

  My ‘boring goal’ for last year was to exercise. What gave it life was the ‘outrageous goal’ of finishing the Couch to 5K Plan. For those of you who don’t know, the Couch to 5K is basically a plan to get you from being a couch potato to running 3 miles/30 minutes in 9 weeks. Did it work? All I can say is that never in my life have I dreamed of my exercise time and waited eagerly for it. I missed running so much that I started running more than what was mentioned in the plan. From being a running hater I completely transformed into a running lover. Exercise stopped being a problem.

• Take The Sparkly Test

  One of my favorite quotes by Dr Abdul Kalam captures the spirit of outrageous dreams perfectly. He said … “Dreams are not those which are seen while you’re sleeping. Dreams are those which don’t let you sleep”. So dream … Dream Big. Dream such that you find stars in your eyes. Dream such that you spend all your time working on your dream or eagerly waiting to start working on it. When all you can think of and all you can do … is about your dream; when you find a mysterious sparkle in your eyes … just like the one you have when you fall in love … you know, you have found your outrageous dream.

  Do keep in mind that what’s outrageous for you, what’s inspiring for you, need not be outrageous or inspiring for someone else. As long as your dream meets the sparkly test, and fuels your motivation, you are on the right track.

• Don’t Lose Your Dream

  The risk of dreaming outrageous dreams is that sometimes that’s all they remain – dreams. Even though there is a strong desire to make them come true, no action is taken. Usually this happens for two reasons –

  Two Reasons You Could Lose Your Dream

  • 1. You don’t set aside time to work on the dream and life takes over. Burdened with long hours of life work, the outrageous dream seems distant and soon you start thinking of the outrageous dream as just a dream. Your dream simply loses its spark. You lose your dream.
  • 2. Most ‘work’ time on the dream is spent on dreaming. Planning, learning, researching … all fall into dreaming category. Till you actually don’t take action towards your dream, you are in danger of losing your dream, and exchanging it for more hours of life work.

    Most of you may argue that learning/researching/planning for something which will help you to make your dream come true is a step taken towards your dream. This logic is absolutely fine. But that’s not how we will work. All these things by default fall into the category of ‘planning to make your dream come true’ and not ‘working on your dream’.

    When you take action on your plan or put to use (while taking action) what you learned/researched, you can say you have worked on your dream. Till then it is all planning and not working.

  If you wish to remove the risk of losing your dream, follow the next step.

• Schedule For Some Dream Come True Time

  The best way to get a jump-start on your dream and make progress in leaps and bounds is to take some outrageous action right away. Doing something outrageous will shock inertia away and set your system into action mode – that’s exactly how you want things to be.

  The first thing that you want to do in action mode is to schedule for your dream come true time. Set an appointment(s) in your calendar … which date, how much time, where – decide on everything. Then show up and start working on it right away.

  If you want to take out time to research/learn/plan set some days for it. After that many days, you don’t get more time to do so. You have to start working. This might sound tough but is absolutely necessary. The desire to get everything right and the fear of making mistakes won’t allow you to begin the journey otherwise – unless, you say stop to planning and set a deadline on ‘start working’.

  The best way to beat fear and perfection is to take some imperfect action. ‘Imperfect’ gives you the freedom to make mistakes and be wrong. It gives you the freedom to stumble and fall down. Every time you stumble and fall, pick yourself up and remind yourself that this is how the journey of making your dream come true should be. You make mistakes, you learn and you get back on path. You don’t give up on your dream and you don’t give up on yourself. You just get back to your motivation and get back to working on your dream.

Action Item:

• 1. Become an outrageous dreamer. Practice thinking outrageous. See how far and how crazy can you think. Do this exercise with kids for some good competition and inspiration.
• 2. Pick one area where you struggle with motivation and set an outrageous dream. Take the sparkly test to check whether you set a goal which is good to have or an outrageous dream.
• 3. Take stock of past actions and how you usually tackle a project to determine whether you are bit by the perfection bug or the planning bug. If so, set reminders to not fall into their trap and to take consistent action

The outrageous dreamer doesn’t seek for motivation. Motivation seeks for the outrageous dreamer. Are you an outrageous dreamer? Do share your story/experience.

More Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action In Part VI

Other Articles You May Enjoy:

• Tap Into The Powerhouse of Negative Emotions
• Enrich Your Life
• Life Lessons From My Running Experiences – Part I
• Do What Cannot Be Done – Everything Is Possible
• Hold On To Your Dreams

So far we have covered 5 Fabulous Motivators:

• 1. The Movers & Shakers
• 2. The Deal Breakers
• 3. The Momentum Builders
• 4. The Inspiration Generators
• 5. The Savvy Time Shoppers

Continuing with the sixth motivator …

10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action

6. The Day Simplifiers

Whenever you want a crazy hectic day to go smooth, you use The Day Simplifiers.

Long days filled with too many activities, huge projects and no planning can be absolutely terrorizing. They make you worry, think in circles and bring in a lot of confusion. Wherever there is worry and confusion, you will find lack of motivation as well.

With the amount of thoughts that keep randomly buzzing in your brain, what you experience is complete paralysis (not literally of course). When the question of how will you manage your day makes you lose the motivation to start your day at all, use day simplifiers.

To put simply, day simplifiers get you motivated to take action by giving you clarity and focus. They help you plan, prioritize and work efficiently without taking a load of tension. They help you to work on the important stuff. They help you be productive at right places.

Here are the steps to simplify your day (in sequence) -

• Breathe & Take A Breather

  Breathe. Yes, that’s the first thing to do. In midst of anxiety we often stop breathing. So breathe. Take a long deep breath. A couple of more breaths will do you good too. Forget about everything else and just breathe.

  And then, take a pause. Give yourself a breather. Take 5 minutes off to relax and slow down. Don’t worry, you will pick up pace again; but you need to slow down right now. When you give yourself a pause and mentally slow down, you do yourself a big favor. Often when thoughts race in your mind and you are in haste, you will do things in a wrong and long way. And that’s exactly what you don’t want to do – especially not now; especially not today.

  So first relax and calm down.

  And then, get ready to plan your day. Yes, I know it’s all there in your mind. But list everything that you have to do today on a piece of paper and use the ideas mentioned below to shrink your list.

• Shrink Your List

  • i. Use The Task Eraser

    The first and foremost thing that you do with your to-do list is cross off everything you don’t need to do. Yeah, you read it right. Figure out list of activities which ideally should fall in ‘Would like to-do’ list or your ‘wish’ list but made their way over here. To make most of your to-do list, it’s essential that you keep it as a to-do list. Don’t go overboard and list everything under the sun in it. The list stops being functional.

    So identify tasks which fall in your wish list, and erase them off and see how your to-do list starts shrinking.

  • ii. Apply Creative Procrastination

    Procrastination is something we all do. There is nothing new in that. When you pick one activity to do right now, you automatically procrastinate others. When you schedule for your activities, you are effectively saying that this I will do first, and those later – which is what procrastination is all about.

    Most of times procrastination happens without thought. That’s not what you will do. You will be-friend procrastination, make it your friend and use it as creatively as possible.

    So sit down with the list and for each task ask yourself, ‘Does this need to be done today?’ Remove everything from the list which need not be done today. Keep a side list to jot down the items that you are canceling off for future reference. That’s it. Procrastination applied.

  • iii. Forget I, say V

    This is the last step which will help you to shrink the list. For each of the remaining items left, ask yourself “Do ‘I’ need to do this?” Notice that the ‘I’ is in quotes and is bold. Because that’s where the focus is. Do you need to do this or can someone else do this for you?

    You can always ask for help you know. Sometimes that’s all it takes. Ask your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues for some help and they will be more than happy to provide it to you. They might be delighted to rescue you in your time of need.

    So see the list again and if there is anything that someone else can do, ask for help and simply delegate it. You cannot do this often. But for one off occasion, no harm is done.

• Plan & Act

  • i. Go Old School – Create A Time Table

    While you can simply start working on the first task you see or like or apply ‘eat the frog’ methodology, creating a time table can be extremely helpful.

    For each task, estimate how much time it should take and jot down. Group tasks which can be done together. Mark the most important ones which need to be completed. If there is any time constraint, like some tasks need to be done before noon or can be done only at night, mark those. You can simply create columns for task grouping, importance, constraints etc or use letters/figures to mark symbolically. As long as it makes sense to you and is easy to scan, it’s ok.

    Now based on all the information you have, create a time table. Create half an hour slots, one hour slots … whichever is most productive for you. Don’t forget to keep 5 minute breathers in between as well. They will be of great help.

    Schedule some time for review and changing your time table based on your progress as well. Yes, your time table is flexible and open to optimization – but only in the allotted time. Once your time table is done, you are all set to work.

  • ii. Just Go-Go-Stop

    Now it’s time to take action. Yes, unfortunately, you haven’t crossed off everything on the list. And I don’t have any more ideas to lighten the load either. For the pending tasks, you will have to take action. But doesn’t the list look better already? And seeing visually how your day will go – via the time table, makes you relax. Whenever I create a time table, I feel as if I got back control of my day.

    All you need to do now is take action. Set alarm for your next breather break and keep working non-stop till then. When it’s time to breathe and relax, do so. Don’t forego breathing and relaxing. They will keep you alert and productive till end of day – which you need to be if you want your day to go well.

Action Items:

• i. Look at your to-do list for the day and shrink it.
• ii. Create a time table for your day – even if today is not one of your crazy days. Creating a good workable time table comes with practice.
• iii. Before starting any task, estimate how much time it should take. Wrong numbers over here can over throw any kind of planning you do.

Using breathers, shrinking the list and planning the day before taking action is how I simplify my day. These day simplifiers have never let me down. Every time I do this exercise, I feel energized and motivated to start my day and finish everything off the list. What is it that works for you? What are your day simplifiers?

More Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action In Part V

Other Articles You May Enjoy:

• Saying No – And Feeling Good About It
• How To Be Decisive – Beginner’s Guide
• Do What Cannot Be Done – Everything Is Possible
• Mind Power To Overcome Anxiety And Be Stress Free
• Motivation Tip – Add A Dash Of Fun & Humour

So far we have covered 4 Fabulous Motivators:

• 1. The Movers & Shakers
• 2. The Deal Breakers
• 3. The Momentum Builders
• 4. The Inspiration Generators

Continuing with the fifth motivator …

10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action

5. The Savvy Time Shoppers

Time is and will always be an expensive commodity. It will always be taken away, grabbed and snatched by … well, who knows who! And that’s why you need to master the art of time shopping. When time crunch starts affecting your motivation and desire to take action, the savvy time shoppers will help you get motivated and inspired to take action.

Savvy time shoppers in short are smart ways of finding time to act on your task list without facing resistance. They are all about haggling, finding deals and gaining your way inch by inch in the battle between your dreams and your time.

• Bargain For Time

  What if I tell you that you need to find one hour everyday to work towards your dreams? The immediate answer will be … no way! One hour is too much. Taking out that much time is just not possible.

  I agree. But if you can’t find one hour, can you at least put in half an hour every day? You might say that half an hour every day is also a lot. Had it been once a week … you could fit it somewhere in your weekend. But definitely not every day!

  I say all right. No half an hour each day. What about 10 minutes a day? 10 minutes is nothing! You can take out at least 10 minutes a day to work on ‘your dream’.

  And you most probably will agree. 10 minutes … hmmm that can be managed. You will somehow fit it in your schedule every day.

  And that my friend is what bargaining is all about. Find out a time period for which you can commit to your dream every day.

  Time Unit of Least Resistance

  The quickest way to strike a bargain is to find your time unit of least resistance. That is, to find out how much time can you easily commit to? For some, it’s 10 minutes, for some 15. Some people can easily work out half an hour each day. What time can you commit to and stick to without feeling overwhelmed or building anxiety? Figure out that time and assign it to your task in hand.

  Your time unit of least resistance acts as an entry barrier breaker. It gets you started. It gets you going. Once you are comfortable spending that much time on your task, try adding time to it in smaller chunks. 5 minutes at a time or 10 minutes at a time. Build up the amount of time you can comfortably spend on the task. Keep the motivation alive.

  The advantage of bargaining for time or using time unit of least resistance is that it removes ‘lack of time’ from the list of things that get you de-motivated.

  The Ten Minute Rule

  Whatever time you decide, always remember the ten minute rule. Ten minute rule is quite simple – it says your time unit of least resistance cannot be less than 10 minutes. And you always complete 10 minutes of the action item planned – no matter what.

  This means, if you commit to a greater time unit (say half an hour) and are thinking of quitting the task for the day due to lack of time or energy, you can do so – but only after working 10 minutes on it.

  The ten minute rule is a great way to beat procrastination and find motivation to do things you don’t like to do – like exercise or organize house or write article or fill expenses or sort computer. Once you start working on the task you were resisting, you will notice that you could easily put in more time and finish the task. Taking that first step is difficult; breaking out of inertia is difficult. The ten minute rule helps you do so.

• Barter For Time

  Barter is all about trading one thing for another. It’s a simple exchange. You get time to do what you need to do by reducing time from another activity that you do. Sometimes, you stop doing one activity altogether to pick up another activity. What activity gets exchanged with which one is your call and your priority.

  While bartering right now sounds like something you want to stay miles away from, it’s not really that bad. If you can balance your needs, this can turn out to be a win-win for you. And you should always balance your needs – the mode in which you fulfill your needs can change but your need should always get fulfilled.

  For instance, you cannot barter all play time with work time. It’s a bad exchange. You need some fun time, some play time. It’s essential to staying motivated, staying sane and productive. Similarly, you can’t barter all work time with play time. You know that too will not work.

  You can however barter a chunk of play time with work time. As long as you ensure when you play, you have a blast – the best play time you ever had. You can barter a chunk of work time with play time as well. As long as you ensure you increase your work productivity drastically.

  Smart Barters

  And then, there are smart barters. When you figure out how to play at work or work while playing, you are bartering smart. You get best of both worlds … a complete win-win without compromising at either place. The challenge for you over here is to figure out areas where both overlap.

  For instance, exercise time and play time can overlap. Learning time and traveling time can overlap. Lunch time and socializing time can overlap. Traveling time and relaxing time can overlap.

  List down areas where you spend time and figure out how and where can each overlap. Overlaps need not be 100%. You mostly will not be able to merge entire play time and entire work time. But even if this is possible for 10% of time invested, you have created time for yourself, you have bartered smart.

Action Items

• i. Pick one activity which you have wanted to start since a long time but kept procrastinating due to lack of time. Apply the 10 minute rule to it.
• ii. Find one activity you are willing to do less of to create time for yourself.
• iii. Find at least one overlap in between any two activities you do. Try out smart bartering.

Bargaining for time and bartering for time are just two examples of Savvy Time Shoppers which help you to stay motivated. Do you have more examples of creating time, of Savvy Time Shoppers which have worked for you?

More Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action In Part IV

Other Articles You May Enjoy:

• How To Balance Life Effortlessly
• You Had Better Slow Down
• Find Your Own Sanctuary
• 31 Lessons On Personal Effectiveness By Brian Tracy
• Take Time Off

In part I of 10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action, we covered 3 motivators:

• 1. The Movers & Shakers
• 2. The Deal Breakers
• 3. The Momentum Builders

Continuing with the fourth motivator …

10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action

4. The Inspiration Generators

When you are inspired, you take action. When inspiration is multi-fold, action is multi-fold as well. As is obvious from the name, Inspiration generators include everything which lifts your spirit and gives you the boost to work towards your goals.

Inspiration generators are reminders of your goals, desires and dreams. They are reminders of the power within you. Inspiration generators encourage you to hold on to your dreams to press on with the task in hand and to not give up. Inspiration generators’ sole goal is to keep you motivated.

Inspiration can be found anywhere and in everything. Here are a few inspiration generators which work very well –

• Words of Inspiration

  Words are powerful. Just one sentence is enough to make you feel better; one poem is enough to make you determined again; one passage is enough to motivate you to take action.

  If you know of any quotes/poems/passages which touch your heart and speak to you, make most of them. Stick them where you can see them. Read them every day. Begin your day with words that motivate you. Keep them in your vision area always. So that anytime you need some motivation, some form of encouragement, they are there for you … always.

  My love for poems is no secret. I have shared with you on this blog a couple of my favorite poems.

  Edgar Guest’s “It Couldn’t Be Done” inspires me to tackle any difficult project head on. Even though the project seems impossible to complete and overwhelmingly huge, “let’s get to action” is the space I find myself in after reading this poem.

  John McLeod’s “Awakening” inspires me to create something. It motivates me to use my creativity and make something beautiful. Every time I read it, it fills me with awe, wonder and promise … of a life I can create each day.

  The best part about words of inspiration is that they are in abundance everywhere. You won’t even have to search hard to find something that calls you to action. Anytime you find something worthwhile, make sure to make a note of it somewhere. So that you can use it again and again and again.

  A great way to read and get to know new inspiring quotes everyday is by subscribing to a quote a day facility provided by various websites. You can register at multiple places and keep the ones you like.

Vision Board

A vision board is literally your dream board. It encompasses images and words of dreams that you wish come true. You could focus on a specific dream or a specific area of your life; or you could choose to focus on your entire life all at once.

Just clip images from magazines that inspire you; that represent what you want for yourself and create a collage out of it. This collage that you form is what a vision board is. Looking at a vision board is exciting and fun filled since it’s a visual representation of everything that you want in your life.

As popularized by ‘The Secret’, creating a vision board sends positive signals to the universe on what you want, and thus that’s what you attract.

The goal with a vision board is to have constant happy reminders of what are you pursuing and why. Looking at a vision board by itself is a very energizing and motivating experience. It fuels your passion and makes you look forward to act on your dreams.

For instance, if you are making a dream board for just one goal – losing weight, your dream board could consist of your full size picture in your dream size. You could simply cut paste your head image on a body image you see yourself having in future. You could put in a picture of a weighing scale showing you at your dream weight. You could paste in pictures of how life would be once you get to size you want.

Images of you having fun exercising, pursuing active hobbies – like sports, trekking etc or even enjoying healthy foods are a great addition to this board. If you have some target clothes to fit in, images of those too would be the right fit over here. The idea is to have everything that could motivate you to stay on course with your weight loss on this board.

Book of Inspirations

A book of inspirations is a great way to put together everything that inspires you in one place. Whether it is quotes, poems, passages (from point one above) or pictures that represent your dreams (from point two above) or an inspiring article you come across or stories or even a video for that matter … whatever inspires you should find its way in this book.

Your book of inspiration could be an actual book or a file on your computer or a blog you maintain … whichever way is convenient for you. The benefit of creating book of inspirations is that it becomes your one-stop source of inspiration. Since you chose everything that’s within the book on your own, you are guaranteed to find something useful as you go through it.

Any time you need inspiration or you need to get motivated to take action, simply take this book out and flip its pages. Each page has the power to tap into your motivation. Each page has the power to re-kindle the passion within to work towards your goals.

A side advantage of creating and adding inspirational stuff to the book of inspiration is that it keeps your mind open to inspiration. You will notice inspirational stuff everywhere, you will allow it to inspire you and motivate you. The same passage, the same video which earlier didn’t affect you, you will now find very moving and inspiring – all because you are now open to getting inspired.

Consistently working on the book of inspirations helps you develop a mindset of looking for inspirations in every big-small thing you see/experience around you. This mindset alone will be the reason you stay motivated most of the time.

Action Items:

• i. Pick one inspiring quote/poem/passage which moves you and motivates you. Read it every day – setting it as a daily reminder or computer wallpaper or a post-it note on a highly visible place is a great way to ensure this happens.
• ii. Close your eyes and imagine your vision board. Add images, sounds, words to it one by one as you like. Stay with the imaginary vision board for a while. Enjoy it. Devour it. And see whether you would like to create one for real.
• iii. Every day share one inspiring thing that you found (on that day). You can share your inspiration with your partner, your kids, your family, colleagues, friends … anyone. In return, ask them to share their inspiration of the day. Add each inspiration to your book of inspirations.

Words of Inspiration, Vision Boards & Book of Inspirations are just some examples of Inspiration Generators. Do you know any inspiration generator which I can add to this list?

More Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action In Part III

Other Articles You May Enjoy:

• 10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action – Part I
• 31 Lessons On Personal Effectiveness By Brian Tracy
• Break Free Of Anxiety Habits – Creative Ways To Deal With Stress
• Enrich Your Life – Part I
• Saying No – And Feeling Good About It

]]> http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/21/10-fabulous-motivators-that-inspire-you-to-take-action-part-ii/feed/ 18 http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/21/10-fabulous-motivators-that-inspire-you-to-take-action-part-ii/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/avani-mehta/~3/wA7vjTSB2OE/ http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/19/10-fabulous-motivators-that-inspire-you-to-take-action-part-i/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 06:01:38 +0000 Avani Mehta http://www.avani-mehta.com/?p=1557 10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You to Take Action
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Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way. – Les Brown

The beginnings of a new goal, a new project are wonderful. You are all worked up; full of excitement and action. However, somewhere down the line, goals remain, desire to achieve them remains but the action part goes missing. You simply lose the motivation to act on your dreams. And no matter how hard you try, you are stuck. You are stuck with inaction.

To achieve your goals, you need to find ways to motivate yourself to take action. You need to figure out how to get motivated enough so that once again you start running towards your dream.

At times like these, having a backup plan to motivate self and get rolling towards action is very helpful. Here are 10 powerful ways to get set and moving again, to get motivated to take action again.

10 Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You to Take Action

1. The Movers & Shakers

The movers and shakers are things that make taking action easy for you, things that motivate you to get out of your inertia and act on your plan. There are no wrongs and rights when it comes to movers and shakers. Whatever works for you is the right answer. Ideally it’s better to know more than one mover and shaker. So that when one doesn’t work, you can rely on the other one(s).

For some people (like me), it’s music. Just crank up some good numbers and they are all set to finish off everything on their task list. The pain, the de-motivation, the frustration, the tiredness … everything disappears in background when they rock on good numbers. It doesn’t matter what the task in hand is … whether it’s writing or exercising or cooking or doing dishes or even studying for that matter – there’s right music for every task – Music that motivates to take action.

Of course, music is not everyone’s savior. You need to find out what is motivational for you. What gets you grooving and moving? What turns you on? What are the movers and shakers for you?

Some movers and shakers (other than music) which are quite effective –

• 1. Exercising
• 2. Meditating / Visualizing
• 3. Playing
• 4. Reading a couple of inspiring passages
• 5. Talking to friends
• 6. Tracking progress
• 7. Setting rewards
• 8. Setting punishments
• 9. Reminding yourself of the real reason behind your goal
• 10. Reminding yourself of the real cost of not meeting the goal

What are your Movers & Shakers?

Action Items:

• i. Make a list of at least 3 Movers & Shakers for you.
• ii. Find out easy ways to incorporate these in your day to day life so that you remain on high of motivation always.
• iii. Enjoy one mover and shaker right away.

2. The Deal Breakers

If movers and shakers are those which turn your switch on, then deal breakers are those which turn your switch off. Presence of these, experience of these is enough to make you not want to work on the task in hand. Deal breakers promote de-motivation, lethargy, lack of interest, lack of focus and a lot of inaction. Deal breakers are those road bumps which slow you down or those road blocks which stop you completely from moving forward with your goals.

Anytime you identify something which is a deal breaker for you, remove it from your way. Find a way to get past them or not allow them to crop up in the first place.

Clutter is a huge deal breaker for me. I need to get my space organized to be able to get to work or even relax for that matter. Creating anti-clutter routines and allotting spaces for organized clutter help me take care of this deal breaker.

No matter how hard you try, there will be times when deal breakers will come in your way – usually at the most inconvenient times. There will be times when you won’t have time or energy to deal with these deal breakers and will have to work on your action item in spite of them. For times like these, knowing some work around beforehand can come in quite handy.

For example, I have found that if I cannot clear entire space, clearing the area which is in my vision range is enough to give me a breather and get to work. Facing a wall and using desk space while working is quite advantageous in times like these. I stack everything that’s on the desk somewhere else and voila, there is enough clean space for me to get to work.

Some Deal Breakers (apart from Clutter) –


• 1. Lack of sleep / energy
• 2. Dealing with energy vampires
• 3. Working on too many projects at once
• 4. Working on a huge overwhelming project
• 5. External distractions
• 6. Stress
• 7. Deadlines

What are your Deal Breakers?

Action items:

• i. Make a list of 3 Deal Breakers for you
• ii. Figure out how can you avoid them / eliminate them from your life
• iii. Figure out a work around for each of them

The Momentum Builders

As the name suggests, the momentum builders help you gain momentum in your tasks. They are all about making you a task ninja. You finish off one task after another in rapid succession, without any pauses. You get so much involved in your work that time stops mattering. The next time you check time, you are surprised at how much time has gone by and how much work you have managed to complete.

Your momentum builders will keep changing from project to project. To identify momentum builders for your current project, break down the entire project in small do-able action items. Prioritize these action items and give them a sequence of operation. From these, the first three action items on your list are your momentum builders for now.

To experience momentum, you need to complete these three tasks in rapid succession. On completion of each important task, you gain motivation. By the time you complete all three tasks, you build up on so much motivation, so much energy that you just keep moving forward – thus breaking out of inertia and experiencing momentum.

The logic behind success of momentum builders is quite simple –

• 1. Make projects seem less overwhelming by breaking them down
• 2. Reduce confusion of what to do and when, by creating a list of action items and prioritizing them
• 3. Gain motivation by completing important tasks
• 4. Take advantage of success and motivation of completing important tasks by working on a few more and thus adding fuel to existing fire – thus building momentum

Have you experienced being in momentum before? What put you in momentum?

Action Items:

• i. Pick an important project and find out your momentum builders from its task list.
• ii. Identify three important tasks which you routinely need to do. Experiment to find out whether these can be your everyday momentum builders.
• iii. Every time you encounter something that breaks momentum, list it down and figure out ways to deal with them effectively.

More Fabulous Motivators That Inspire You To Take Action In Part II


]]> http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/19/10-fabulous-motivators-that-inspire-you-to-take-action-part-i/feed/ 17 http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/19/10-fabulous-motivators-that-inspire-you-to-take-action-part-i/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/avani-mehta/~3/GFcbzzvSeVk/ http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/15/you-had-better-slow-down/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:00:12 +0000 Avani Mehta http://www.avani-mehta.com/?p=1542

You Had Better Slow Down … by Anonymous

When’s the last time you watched kids on a merry go round?
Or listened to the rain as it tickled the ground?
Have you followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
Stood and gazed at the sun as it faded tonight?

You had better slow down …
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short …
The music won’t last.

Do you rush through each day as if on the fly
Never catch up however you try?
When the day is done do you lie in your bed
With the next 100 chores running through your head?

You had better slow down …
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short …
The music won’t last.

Have you ever told your child ‘We will do it tomorrow’
And in your haste, not seen her sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die
Because you never had the time to call and say hi?

You had better slow down …
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short …
The music won’t last.

When you are running so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day
It is like an unopened gift just thrown away.

Life is not a race …
Do take it slower.
Hear the music …
Before the song is over.

- Anonymous

More Inspirational Poems:

• Do What Cannot Be Done – Everything Is Possible
• I Am The Power
• Do Not Give Up, Do Not Give In

Related Articles:

• Hold On To Your Dreams
• Believe In An Exceptional You
• 11 Refreshing Ways To Find Your Own Sanctuary

]]> http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/15/you-had-better-slow-down/feed/ 10 http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/15/you-had-better-slow-down/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/avani-mehta/~3/3jVDcQWtJds/ http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/13/31-lessons-on-personal-effectiveness-by-brian-tracy/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:59:43 +0000 Avani Mehta http://www.avani-mehta.com/?p=1496 ‘Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time’ – by Brian Tracy has been on my reading list ever since I heard about the concept of Eat That Frog. Here’s the introduction on back cover of the book:

Get More of the Important Things Done Today

There just isn’t enough time for everything on our ‘To Do’ list – and there never will be. Successful people don’t try to do everything. They learn to focus on the most important tasks and make sure they get done. There’s an old saying that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you’ll have satisfaction of knowing that it’s probably the worst thing you’ll do all day....]]>

‘Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time’ – by Brian Tracy has been on my reading list ever since I heard about the concept of Eat That Frog.

Here’s the introduction on back cover of the book:

Get More of the Important Things Done Today

There just isn’t enough time for everything on our ‘To Do’ list – and there never will be. Successful people don’t try to do everything. They learn to focus on the most important tasks and make sure they get done.

There’s an old saying that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you’ll have satisfaction of knowing that it’s probably the worst thing you’ll do all day. Using ‘eat that frog’ as a metaphor for tackling the most challenging task of your day – the one you are most likely to procrastinate on, but probably the one that can have the greatest positive impact on your life – Eat That Frog! Shows you how to zero in on these critical tasks and organize your day. You’ll not only get more done faster, but get the right things done.


31 Lessons on Personal Effectiveness from ‘Eat That Frog!’ by Brian Tracy

• 1. Work On Your Most Important Task
  Identify and work on your most important task – one which will have maximum positive impact on you / your life (your frog) first thing in the morning. Make this a habit.
• 2. Learn From Experts
  Find out what experts are doing and do the same thing till you get the same results. People who do things better than you aren’t necessarily better than you. They just do things better/differently.
• 3. Be Selective
  Don’t work on whatever comes up. Choose what you are going to work on.
• 4. Don’t Think; Just Do
  Don’t spend too much time thinking about important tasks you don’t like. Letting the task be or ignoring it or staring it is not going to make the task any easier. Just get going. Begin the task and complete it without thinking much about it.
• 5. Get Addicted in a Positive Way
  Whenever you finish your most important/difficult tasks, endorphins get released in your brain – they make you feel good about yourself. Get addicted to these endorphins. Get addicted to the rush and satisfaction of completing important tasks.
• 6. Get Clear
  Lack of clarity leads to procrastination. When you know clearly what you are supposed to do and why, it motivates you and pushes you forward to take the next step towards your goals.
• 7. Plan In Advance – The 10/90 Rule of Personal Effectiveness
  10% of time you spend in planning and organizing your work before you begin will save 90% of time in getting the job done once you get started. Take some time to plan your work before beginning your day (preferably plan the night before).

  Think on Paper.

• 8. Work From A List
  Always work from a list. You increase your productivity and output by 25% once you start doing everything from your list. Create a master list, monthly list, weekly list and daily list.
• 9. Follow The 80-20 Rule
  As per the 80-20 Rule, 20% of tasks you do give you 80% of results. If you have 10 items to do, 2 items from that will be worth way more than the rest 8 items put together. What are those 2 items for you?

  All 10 items from your list can take same amount of time. However, each item gives different results. The average person procrastinates on the 2 items – on the 20% which gives you most results. What activities are you focusing on?

  Refuse to work on tasks which fall under the 80% until you are done working on the 20%

• 10. Obey The Law of Forced Efficiency
  The law of forced efficiency says that “There is never enough time to do everything, but always enough time to do the most important thing.” Work on things that matter since no matter how much you do, you will always leave some tasks pending.
• 11. Ask Yourself These Three Questions for Maximum Productivity
  • 1. What are my highest value activities?
  • 2. What can I and only I do that if done well will make a real difference?
  • 3. What is the most valuable use of my time right now?
• 12. Procrastinate Creatively … Procrastinate On Purpose
  There is never going to be enough time for you to do everything on your list. Most people procrastinate unconsciously – by choosing to do certain things, they procrastinate the rest of things. Because of procrastinating without thinking, they procrastinate on their most important tasks – ones which could have a greater positive impact on their lives and careers. Instead, procrastinate knowingly, procrastinate deliberately on activities which produce low or negligible results.
• 13. Say No
  No is the most powerful word in time management, the most important word in your vocabulary – need I say more?
• 14. Use The ABCDE Method Continually
  Assign a A,B,C,D or E to each task based on it’s importance. Prioritize tasks under each letter by setting a numerical sequence. Follow the Letter – Number combination. Never pick a B activity when A is yet undone. Never pick a C activity when B is yet to be done … so on and so forth.
  • A consists of all your frogs
  • B consists of all ‘should do’ activities
  • C consists of ‘nice to get done’ activities
  • D consists of tasks which should be delegated
  • E consists of tasks which should be eliminated

• 15. Focus On Your Key Result Areas
  Identify and determine those results that you absolutely, positively have to get to do your job well, and work on them all day long.
• 16. Strengthen Your Weakest Link
  Each job will have 5-7 key result areas. Your weakest key result area is the limit at which you can use all your skills and abilities (similar to the strength of a chain is in it’s weakest link). To get better results, strengthen your weak areas.
• 17. Apply The Law Of Three
  Write down your three most important goals in life right now in 30 seconds. Whether you are given 30 seconds or 30 minutes, the answer is usually the same. This is because when you are given only 30 seconds, your subconscious kicks in and gives you the answer you need quickly.

  The Law Of Three can be applied anywhere in your life. Follow this exercise – write down answers to each of these questions in 30 seconds … be quick

  • 1. What are your three most important business or career goals right now?
  • 2. What are your three most important family or relationship goals right now?
  • 3. What are your three most important financial goals right now?
  • 4. What are your three most important health goals right now?
  • 5. What are your three most important personal and professional development goals right now?
  • 6. What are your three most important social and community goals right now?
  • 7. What are your three biggest problems or concerns in life right now?
• 18. Create A Work Friendly Environment
  Prepare thoroughly before you begin: Have everything you need at hand before you start. Assemble all the papers, information, tools, work materials, and numbers you might require so that you can get started and keep going.
• 19. How Do You Eat A Elephant? – One bite at a time.
  How do you finish a huge project? One step at a time. You can complete any kind of project – no matter how overwhelming if you focus on completing just one step at a time.
• 20. Become A Life Long Student
  Feeling of inadequacy, lack of confidence leads to procrastination. Work on mastering your field, your core competencies to increase productivity. Lead your field.
  Three Steps To Mastery
  • 1. Read at least one hour
  • 2. Upgrade your skills. Learn from experts, take seminars/courses/ workshops etc … anything which can keep you updated. Dedicate yourself to become one of the most knowledgeable and competent person in your field
  • 3. Make most of your driving time. Listen to audio programs in your car.
• 21. Eliminate Your Key Constraints
  What is holding you back? Identify a single major constraint which is slowing you down or is the reason you procrastinate. Put all your energy into eliminating that constraint.

  Apply the 80-20 rule to constraints. 80% of constraints usually are internal – which means they are workable. Identify the top 20% of constraints amongst these and get set to remove them.

• 22. Set deadlines
  Deadlines beat procrastination and get you going. Set imaginary deadlines if you must. And see how fast you eat your frogs.
• 23. Maximize Your Personal Power
  Figure out when are you physically and mentally most productive. Schedule your important and tough tasks at this time.

  Sleep well, eat well and work out well. How rested and physically fit you are directly impacts the quantity and quality of your work.

• 24. Motivate Yourself – Be Your Personal Cheerleader
  Psychologist Nathaniel Branden defines self esteem as “the reputation you have with yourself”. How you feel about yourself plays a central role in how you perform. Control your inner dialogue. Use positive affirmations. Don’t say/think things which make you doubt yourself or make you fearful.
• 25. Become A Optimist
  Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism states that optimism is the most important quality you can develop for personal and professional success. Optimism can be learned through practice and repetition. Here are four special behaviors all optimists have -
  • 1. Look for good in all situations
  • 2. Seek valuable lesson in every set back or difficulty
  • 3. Look for solution to every problem
  • 4. Think and talk continually about your goals

• 26. Be Master Of Technology & Not Slave
  Technology if used unwisely can be a huge time waster. Don’t get addicted to technology. Detaching from technology from time to time can help you center and focus on things that matter.

  Apply 80-20 Rule To Technology. Only 20% of all emails you get are important. Out of those 20%, only 20% need immediate response. The rest can be put aside for batch processing.

• 27. Create A Zone Of Silence
  Create zones of silence during your day to day activities. Schedule for technology free hour in morning and noon. It will help you to center and relax your mind. It will help you to recharge your batteries.

  You can take this further and schedule for technology free days as well.

• 28. Use The Slice And Dice Approach
  There are two ways to use the slice and dice approach to work on huge projects -
  • 1. Work on one slice of project per day and then carry on with other activities.
  • 2. Work for one slice of time (15 min, 30 mins, 1 hour … whatever time you decide) and then carry on with other activities.

  Over a period of time, you will be able to complete the project without experiencing a lot of resistance from your side.

• 29. Create Large Chunks Of Time
  Identify when do you have large chunks of free time and assign it to important tasks. Plan the rest of tasks around this time. Schedule activities to ensure they get done.
• 30. Make Most of Gifts of Time
  Flight time, waiting time etc are what author refers to as gifts of time. You get free, undisturbed time while flying or waiting. Plan in advance what work you can accomplish at times like this.
• 31. Complete What You Start
  Once you start a task, don’t stop till you are 100% done. Work with single focus. When you have identified and are working on your most important task, doing anything else in between is a waste of time. Discipline yourself to work without distraction on the task in hand till it is 100% completed.

You can read entire first chapter of the book Eat That Frog! for free over here

More Books by Brian Tracy:

• Goals! How to Get Everything You Want–Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible
• Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed
• Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals

]]> http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/13/31-lessons-on-personal-effectiveness-by-brian-tracy/feed/ 18 http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/13/31-lessons-on-personal-effectiveness-by-brian-tracy/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/avani-mehta/~3/z_8iOJ5zTT0/ http://www.avani-mehta.com/2010/01/07/connect-for-a-better-life/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:13:25 +0000 Avani Mehta http://www.avani-mehta.com/?p=1466

"We cannot tell the precise moment When friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, There is at last a drop Which makes it run over; So in a series of kindnesses There is at last one Which makes the heart run over." - Samuel Johnson


Connect. Whether you call it my resolution of the year, goal of the year, theme of the year or word of the year ... 'Connect' is what I am focusing on this year.]]>


“We cannot tell the precise moment
When friendship is formed.
As in filling a vessel drop by drop,
There is at last a drop
Which makes it run over;
So in a series of kindnesses
There is at last one
Which makes the heart run over.”
- Samuel Johnson


Connect.

Whether you call it my resolution of the year, goal of the year, theme of the year or word of the year … ‘Connect’ is what I am focusing on this year.

Resolutions and goals aren’t new to you. I won’t even attempt explaining them to you. Theme of the year and word of the year are alternatives to new year resolution.

Theme Of The Year

In theme of the year you pick one life area you want to work on and put all your energy into it. That life area becomes your priority, your obsession, your area of prime focus. How do I improve this life area, how can I make this better is the question you repeatedly ask yourself. And of course you work on the answers that you get.

Sometimes your journey will lead you to learning new things, sometimes it will mean experimenting on different theories to find one which works for you. Sometimes you look within to reflect everything pertaining to that life area, sometimes you go all out interacting with people in your life, people in the same boat and people who have found their answers to find a way to get better and better. Every answer will open multiple new routes for you, every route taken will lead to a better you and a better life.

The beauty of taking theme based approach is that it is highly action oriented. You don’t wait for anything to happen. You make things happen. You don’t wait for life to throw something at you to work upon. You actively seek and create opportunities to work on the focused life area. You create mini goals, set milestones & action plans as you move forward towards improving your life area. You follow the cycle of Act-Reflect-Learn-Act. There is nothing passive about this method.

Word Of The Year

In word of the year, you pick one word which resonates with you. One word which you would like to experience in you / your life. How you do that is not important. How will it lead to improving your life in areas you want is not important. This word pulled you because somewhere within there is something you need to experience & learn. Living a year with this word can lead you to it.

What you are asked to do is simple – every opportunity you get to be that word, to experience that word, to make that word real for you, do so. Stay with the word for the entire year and ask yourself how do I manifest this in my life? And follow through with whatever comes up. The path will lead you to places you need to visit, it will satisfy needs deep within which you didn’t know existed, it will open new areas for you which otherwise you possibly might have missed.

The beauty of taking word based approach is that you don’t know where will it lead you. Word based approach encourages you to own the word. You own it in such a way that it enmeshes with you, it becomes part of who you are and what your personality is. It becomes you. And because you own the word, it affects all areas of your life. Sometimes in ways you didn’t foresee while choosing the word. So often we keep working on known faults and the true reason for failure or lack of growth remains hidden. So often our understanding of what’s the problem is way away from the actual one. Word based approach brings to light these hidden areas, these blind spots in your life. It provides you with opportunities to expand yourself, it challenges you to grow and reach beyond yourself in every area of your life.

Connect

I read about ‘word of the year’ approach on Christine’s blog (whom I found via a guest post by Lance of Jungle Of Life). As I read Christine’s explanation of ‘Word of the year’, word ‘Connect’ immediately popped up. I knew Connect is the word for me. Christine has given a long list of words as examples from which we can choose. I went through each word, none of them felt as right as Connect to me. And so Connect it is.

Co-incidentally, the theme that I was interested in picking up this year was ‘Getting Social’ – which loosely translates into Connect. My plan is to work on theme based and word based approaches together with a common focus – Connect.

When I think of Connect, I immediately think of Dialogue, Compassion & Friendship.

• Connect is about taking that first step towards friendship, or many more steps if needed.
• Connect is about creating and nurturing loving bonds through conversations and understanding.
• Connect is about forming new friendships and strengthening old ones.


What does Connect mean to you?

More importantly, what theme/word are you picking for yourself? Which word pops up and attracts you to own it, which word calls you, which word do you wish to live for the entire next year?

Further reading:
December is Word-of-the-Year Month at Christine’s Blog. People who took word based approach for current year share their experience. Truly inspiring accounts worth reading.


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