You probably have heard about daily journaling many times, as it’s a frequent subject of discussions about personal growth. The question is, why?
DAILY JOURNALING WORKS
Yes, if the question is why then the simple answer is BECAUSE IT WORKS.
Let me ask you a quick question:
“Do you journal?”
Have you answered yes? Great! Have you answered no? Maybe you must start trying.
Do you know what another answer we frequently get for this question aside from a simple yes/no?
“I know I should, but no I don’t.”
Interesting, right?
HOW YOU CAN JOURNAL AS A HABIT
Most people – at least in the business world, say that they know they should do journaling as a daily habit as it would be good for their business, but still end up not doing it.
I’d say…
The very first thing to do is just get a pen and a notebook, and start writing even without much thinking – just let your thoughts flow. Believe me, you’ll be amazed!
Also… a tip: Refrain from using the word “should”, as we know that when we use it, we most of the time end up not doing them, because of how the thoughts enter our subconscious. Instead, let’s tell ourselves: WE HAVE TO – so our subconscious won’t end up having too many excuses.
WHY SOME PEOPLE DON’T JOURNAL
Going back to what I mentioned, the answer here would be as simple as: They don’t know where or how to start.
Why? Because before they even begin to write they think of things like:
“I’m no writer”.
Or
“I feel like my thoughts are too complicated”.
But hey…
Let go of those thoughts because they don’t make sense in journaling.
In journaling, you don’t need to be a professional writer – that ain’t the goal of that. It ain’t not for publishing, yeah?
Same as if you feel your thoughts are too complicated… exactly why you must write them down! Know how things suddenly become so organized after writing them down and being able to clearly ponder? That’s also how it is in journaling.
So again, just let go… And just start writing. 🙂
WHY DO JOURNALING?
Journaling helps you organize your thoughts – helping you make more conscious decisions. It’s a tool to find YOUR WHY, sort your feelings, comes up with new ideas, discovers yourself and your inner being… and many more!
Plus, you’ll realize how much of a big help it actually is when you have something to come back to and reflect on. You’ll see your personal progress, you’ll see how far you’ve come by, and you’ll see things you still need to improve and work on.
TIPS ON WHAT TO WRITE
If you are a beginner or just planning to start journaling soon and looking for ideas to write about… Here are some:
1. Your Activities + Feelings
What have you been up to recently? How did you feel about them? What did you enjoy the most or what bored you to death?
2. Significant Events + Your Reactions
What happened today? Are there things that made you feel happy or sad? Were there words uttered you liked or didn’t like hearing? Were there sudden changes? How did you react?
3. Future Plans + Essential Steps to Take
What do you plan for yourself in the next 3, 5, or 7 years from now? What are the necessary steps to achieve them? Does the current thing you’re doing resonate with your future plans?
You can start with those 3 things for now, and see how they affect you personally. You’ll be surprised how those simple things can help make you realize huge things!
Also, make it fun! Don’t force yourself to sit endlessly long with your journaling… So if you get tired of it after 10 minutes – just stop without guilt. 😉
Do you feel like you’re often tired? Did you know that there’s a connection between tiredness and our mitochondria, as these are the membrane-bound cell organelles that generate or produce our energy?
Now you might be asking, how do we get our mitochondria to generate MORE ENERGY so we feel LESS TIRED?
Great question, as there might just be a recipe on how to get that needed energy boost.
RECIPE FOR GETTING MORE ENERGY
If you feel like you get tired easier than others (e.g. always falling asleep earlier despite doing less work, or not finding the energy to do more because of tiredness), then you might want to consider taking a look at your inner power station – your mitochondria.
HOW IT LOOKS LIKE
The tiredness would sometimes be so bad that it is restricting the patient in their everyday life… holding them back from the life they would like to live.
TIREDNESS HAS DIFFERENT CAUSES
There might be many different reasons for your tiredness – and some are easier to cure than others.
But everyone can do things to make them feel better.
In my work in health care, I see many patients searching for help for their tiredness. Very often that is a sign of something else, as tiredness is not an illness in itself, but a symptom, or a signal that there is an imbalance with something.
Still, another common explanation for energy loss is a hectic life at both work and at home often leading to an unhealthy lifestyle – you end up in a negative circle.
INACTIVITY & POOR DIET
Often, it’s inactivity and a nutrient-poor diet that leads you to a state of lack. You sleep too little, watch too much, and move too little as your eyes are always focused on the screen.
LIFESTYLE, NOT AGE, DOES MATTER
It is not about age or gender – it is about a lifestyle bringing your immune system out of balance.
A disturbed function of the mitochondria in the cells is a central explanation for this lifestyle tiredness. The mitochondria that we have in all our cells deliver energy.
They are like miniature power plants.
TIREDNESS CAN PROTECT YOU TOO
A new interesting theory is that tiredness is a protective mechanism for our health. It’s our body’s way of telling us to pause and take a rest because we need to.
So what are the things that we can do to help our mitochondria gain some balance in giving us the energy we need?
1. ADJUST YOUR DIET
One good thing to do is to adjust our diet to a mitochondria-friendly one.
Lots of greens, berries, and nutrient-packed food with high levels of vitamins and minerals – this diet is what the mitochondria love!
2. MIND YOUR EATING TIME
It is also important “when” we eat.
This schedule is based on 3 main meals a day – and only minor or no eating in between. We are not made for a constant energy intake, and it’s advisable to have at least a 12-hour long break from food intake between supper and breakfast.
Even better if it is more than 12 hours – I usually do 15 hours by the way. You just have to find your best version.
3. MOVE AROUND
Physical activity is also important to help the mitochondria stay in a good mood.
Doing it outdoors adds even more to the benefit. We can even say we need to get outdoors every day.
If you are not used to doing physical things just start with a daily walk of 10 minutes. It is good for your muscles, your lungs, and for your heart. It is also good for your brain to get energy from the light.
But for those of you who already do a lot of training, I will maybe have to warn you to not overdo it. Your mitochondria don’t want too much and you want to keep them happy. They need to rest – and so do you.
Now your mitochondria will cheer for you and be less tired – and so will you 😊
Why am I talking about this again and again – from different angles?
Because this is the basic way we function – there are no quick fixes and don’t complicate it – Just do it and Take care.
Coaching, mentoring, and being in peer groups… if you’re not into it, they almost seem like they’re just “gimmicks” – and unnecessary, but they have more benefits than you can imagine, especially for business growth and success.
NO MAN IS AN ISLAND
We all heard the saying, “No man is an island.” As human beings, we thrive and do better in life by being with others. We need to be part of a community. No one is self-sufficient; everyone relies on others.
This is especially important when you are a leader or in a business. You make tons of vital decisions daily and you can’t always do that by yourself. I mean we are humans at the end of the day, right?
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COACH AND A MENTOR
Coaches and mentors both ask the questions necessary for your growth – or if I may say, the questions we never thought we needed.
The difference, however, lies within their processes.
Coaches just need to know the processes and have the right questions so that they can drag the answers out from you (that’s their job) so that you feel that you are moving forward!
Mentors, on the other hand, mentally use the knowledge and expertise that they have in their field of specialty in order to provide advice & guidance to their mentees.
TAKING ME AS AN EXAMPLE
Let’s take me as an example. What do you take me for? Well, personally, I call myself a mentor rather than a coach because when faced with multiple different scenarios – I sometimes use my medical knowledge to see what is most profitable, or at least what’s most healthy for you from a “biological perspective.”
But how do you know how to find the coach or mentor you need?
FINDING THE RIGHT COACH AND MENTOR FOR YOU
You need a mentor that is better than you – someone who has more knowledge,
As a client, you don’t always need to know the answer for yourself – the mentor or the coach will help you decide what to do.
That’s why you need someone that you can trust and rely on – a mentor or coach that is not involved in your life and not someone you really know to avoid bias, so you can dare to ask hard questions and receive hard answers.
You want to succeed, and sometimes it’s not that easy… So you need someone who is better, and you need someone who is not dependent on you or vice versa on the personal side or on the business side.
ALSO, CONSIDER A PEER GROUP…
Another significant piece of advice to consider is to have a peer group. It can be both in business and personal life too!
Having like-minded people who are on the same wavelength as you bring you vibrant energy and also enhances your knowledge of the world.
PEER GROUP AS A MASTERMIND GROUP
“Birds of the same feathers flock together”.
We’re all familiar with that saying and I also call them the “Masterminds”…
Because we finish each other’s sentences and because we have more than one brain in the circle we actually learn so much more. Two or more heads are better than one, right?
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF HAVING A PEER GROUP
Broadening your horizons
Pulling each other up instead of dragging each other down
Positivity that radiates
Celebrating one another’s wins
Growing together
Solid support system
And if you feel like you’re not getting these benefits… then it just means this very one thing: You are in the wrong peer group.
Having both a mentor and peer group is key to living a better life whether it be business or personal. Surrounding yourself with goal-orientated and experienced people who are striving to better themselves will inspire you to do the same.
YOU CAN START NOW
If you’re determined to start today, you can do so! Check HERE and let’s both find out if we’re a good fit!
Essentialism, or removing the “trivial” tasks and focusing on the vital few to achieve effectiveness. What really does it mean and why is it important? And how does it help us in our daily lives?
ESSENTIALISM EXPLAINED
Wikipedia defines essentialism as the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity.
But this is not the entirety of the essentialism we’re talking about here – instead, we’re talking more about “Essentialism”, or focusing only on the “essentials”.
FIND WHERE YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE THE MOST
There’s a book called “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg Mckeown, and it talks about how you can fully design and take control of your life by doing only the things that are really “necessary” and dropping the trivial things that are not just taking your time but also unknown to you, distracting you from reaching your maximum potential by being able to make your highest contribution.
How do you know if as opposed to being an essentialist, you’re living as a non-essentialist? Well… let me ask you this question:
“Do you feel like you’re always BUSY, but when you look at your progress… they’re very little – so you know you’re not really PRODUCTIVE?”
BEING BUSY VS. BEING PRODUCTIVE
The key to success is not just working hard, but also working smart – and it’s the same as how being productive, not being busy, is the key!
But how do they differ?
Just put it this way: you can be busy with too many “unnecessary” things, but that doesn’t make you productive. You can be busy doing things that are all just trivial but when you look at them – they’re actually not taking you anywhere. Why?
BECAUSE PRODUCTIVITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT MANAGING YOUR TIME
Productivity is not just about time management alone – but also about how you spend your energy with the things you do.
Are you being efficient? Are you spending your energy wisely? What’s the use of spending your energy on too many things at once – but never reaching anywhere because you have not yet identified the most important ones where you can make your highest contribution?
ELIMINATE THE NONESSENTIALS
Let’s admit it, not everything is essential. Most people just feel a certain obligation to say yes to everything – which piles up their plate with too many nonessential things. But that can be turned around by saying NO, or by eliminating the nonessentials.
Take the late Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the first man who practiced the art of elimination. From being all busy running an empire, he decided to apply the art of elimination and started choosing his battles by considering only those that mattered most to him.
Don’t you think we must all do that? Let go of the unnecessary and focus on what is really important, to be able to make our highest level of contributions.
Now I know all these could sound overwhelming, that’s why I’ve listed down some tips you can start with!
Avoid Doing These Things To Be More Productive:
Caring about what other people think.
Caring about what others think and say will bring you nowhere. Focus on what’s important – you and your improvement. You are not born to please anybody.
Ignoring your ultradian rhythm.
Working 18-20 hours is not going to make you productive. Taking short but frequent breaks and remembering that rest is a vital part of the growth will. It’s time to break the cycle!
3. Putting off what’s most important.
When you put off important things, you do not get away from doing them – just delaying them. So, you’ll eventually have to do them but at that time, with much more pressure & stress due to procrastination/lack of time.
4. Checking your social media accounts every hour!
Social media can drain you very quickly and you won’t even notice the time passing when you get too hooked on it. Don’t be a mindless zombie and don’t let social media take too much of your precious time.
5. Saying “yes” to everything and everyone.
When you don’t set boundaries, people will constantly depend on you. When you don’t make decisions for yourself, somebody eventually will.
It’s time to put an end to betraying yourself by constantly saying yes and saving yourself from possible future chaos.
6. Comparing yourself to others.
In today’s digital world where almost everybody posts everything online, it’s a little hard not to compare for some or most people.
But remember, not everything you see online is real, and people will most of the time only post the good sides. Besides, you are not in competition with others, and our lives run at our own pace.
7. Seeking pleasure.
Instead of seeking pleasure, try to seek purpose. Not everything in life is meant to give us pleasure. Let’s try to welcome all types of feelings, as long as they align with our purpose. They are vital for our growth.
8. Checking your email incessantly.
Don’t be a hostage to your emails. Try to make it a point to log off from your email at specific points during your day.
9. Doing everything yourself.
Remember, it’s okay to ask for help. No man is an island… 😉
10. Trying to be perfect.
Don’t try to be perfect, nobody really is…. So go and cut yourself some slack, we are all just humans after all! 🙂
11. Being busy all the time.
Always remember to reflect on the things you have to do, and assess whether they’re really essential. Like the late Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, you too can choose your battles!
12. Saying “I can’t.”
Now in this one, you might be confused because I just mentioned that you at times need to learn to say no – so this applies to the things that are essential. If you see something as essential – but hard, instead of immediately saying you can’t, try first.
There is no harm in trying… and it’s better than ending up thinking about the “what ifs”.
13. Multitasking.
When you multitask, the possibility of losing focus is higher. Instead of multitasking, try setting out a routine to follow and do it one by one.
Besides… having too many things at once mostly lead to half-baked cookies.
14. Being so negative.
If you don’t like the way something is, ask yourself if there’s something you can do to change it. Constant complaining and negativity won’t fix any problem…
15. Being militant about eliminating distractions.
Go offline.
Log out, go to a quiet area, and try to focus only on completing your tasks. This way, you’ll lessen distractions and be more able to focus without the unnecessary “noise”.
16. Not working on your own agenda.
Remember how I said if you don’t decide for yourself, somebody else will? Well… it’s time you start working on your own agenda and not let someone else set the tone of your day. You can be in charge!
17. Visualizing or telling anyone your goals.
Try to keep your goals to yourself instead of going around and announcing them. Positive fantasies of success drain the energy out of ambition…
18. Running from your problems.
Grab the bull by the horns, and face your problems head-on!
And no, it won’t be easy, but this is what ultimately molds us into the person we are destined to be.
19. Trying to compete against everyone else.
Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you, or whether you think they’re doing better… Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
20. Being jealous of others.
Jealousy… or the art of counting somebody else’s blessings instead of focusing on yours.
What can help is reflecting also on the things that you have but they don’t, this way, you will realize that not everybody can have everything in this world, and you can make your peace with it.
21. Doing the same things over and over without taking a break.
If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes, you need to distance yourself and try to see the bigger picture to see things clearly.
22. Being anywhere but here
Be present! Put the phone down, turn it off, and look up. You will not know what you are missing in life if you are constantly attached to your phone.. 😉
GET HELP IF YOU NEED
If it feels hard to decide what you want to do on your own – get a mentor. Reach out if you need help. It is always important and there will always be things that you can support.
Check HERE to see if you feel like we’re a good fit.
Planning needs to be part of your daily routine to boost productivity and keep yourself stress-free as much as possible.
Did you know that in the Military, they’re taught and trained to have a plan before starting their day? It’s actually called “P.O.D”, which stands for “Plan of the Day” – but it actually is for the next day! Which means… Even before the day comes, they already have a plan for that day!
Why do you think they do that?
Let me share with you my scenario when my kids were young.
I literally do the same – preparing and laying out their clothes for the next day! Because if I don’t prepare things the night before and if I start the day without a plan – it will be messy!
That’s like in the military, right? They wake up very early, so instead of stressing themselves out first thing in the morning, they already have their uniforms laid out – saving so much time and energy.
If you’re gonna ask me when I did the same, was I effective? VERY MUCH!
DO YOU SPEND SOME TIME PLANNING?
Without a plan, you will not be prepared. Without a plan, your mind will be messy and you will be stressed.
Instead of just following a structure you set, you’d be disorganized and in the end, after losing so much energy, you’ll even realize you weren’t able to do things properly!
Doesn’t sound great at all, right?
PLANNING FOR PRODUCTIVITY TIPS
1. Do it every day, until it becomes a habit
When you do things every day, it naturally becomes a habit, and making it a habit is GREAT, because then – you won’t even need to think or spend too much energy forcing yourself to do it, because you’ll JUST DO IT, sometimes even unconsciously – but hey, it’s worth it. 🙂
Tip: The best time to plan? In the evening before you sleep, or first thing in the morning when you wake up.
2. Enjoy it
Once it becomes a habit, it won’t feel as if you’re forcing yourself to do it anymore. It won’t be “something that I need to do” anymore, and when you’re past that stage, try to learn to enjoy the process.
To let you in on a little secret, planning my day feels like meditation to me, plus relaxing music always helps. 😉
3. Have a checklist
When you plan, write them down! And when you write them down, make sure that every task you accomplish will be checked off your list 🙂 This way, you know which ones are left or those that are done. You’ll have more time to plan, rearrange, and brainstorm!
4. Add numbers to your list
When I say add numbers, I say… choose your priorities! Which ones must be done first? Which ones have a tighter timeline? Or maybe if there’s no timeline to follow… Some start with the hard ones while some start with the easier tasks. To each his own!
5. The pomodoro method
Ever heard of the Pomodoro method? Work on a task for 25 minutes or more, then have a 10-15 minute break before proceeding to the next.
This works! I do this because, without breaks, we get overwhelmed quickly.
6. Decide what to do in your free time wisely
On your breaks when you do the Pomodoro, decide on what to do during those times. Do something you love! Sing, dance, cuddle with your family members and cuddle or play with your pets… Anything at all!
7. Give yourself some credit!
Don’t just work and work and work and work… you’ll experience burnout. You also have to cheer yourself up and give yourself some credit for doing a job well.
Maybe you can reward yourself – buy that ice cream or any of your comfort food, book a retreat over the weekend – or get your hair or nails done! Rewarding yourself is a good habit, you’ll be recharged and motivated to face the next challenges. 🙂
8. Reflect
Before sleeping, remember and reflect on your day. How did it go? What did you like, and what did you not like? What was fun doing, and what was not? Did things work out the way you intended them to? If they didn’t, how did you respond?
Reflection is important for everybody. When people reflect, they can plan how to bounce back and come back better.
In the book “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg Mckeown, it was mentioned a lot of times how if you do not plan your day, somebody will end up planning it for you – your family, your friends, your boss…
So, have a plan! And if things don’t work out as you intended them to, it’s okay – remember to focus only on the things that you can control. 🙂
GET HELP IF YOU NEED
If it feels hard to decide what you want to do on your own – get a mentor. Reach out if you need help. It is always important and there will always be things that you can support.
Check HERE to see if you feel like we’re a good fit.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
