Functional Solutions For Living

My friend Todd Brown over at Strategic Profits sent me this email today that many of you might find useful.  It is not directly related to health and wellness per se or to the other things we talk about here, but I think anyone who is in business or who is interested in being more productive would benefit greatly from putting these “tips” into action.

Trust me when I say that if anyone is an expert on productivity, it is the crew over at Strategic Profits…Especially Rich Shefren who has personally coached me.

10 Tips To Become A Super-Productive Entrepreneur…

By Todd Brown

If you’re at all like most Internet marketers, you have a desire to increase your productivity and… plain and simple… just get more done.

As somebody who used to struggle on and off with being consistently productive, here are 10 recommendations (in no particular order) you can use to be a HECK of a lot more productive in 2009.

1. Use self-imposed discipline…

In other words, put yourself in a position where you have to get XYZ done. For example, instead of waiting until you have the Power Point presentation done to schedule the webinar… schedule it today and announce to your list, so you then MUST get the presentation done.

2. Every project, task, milestone you work on should have a deadline…

Periodically throughout your workday, ask yourself… “does what I’m working on have a deadline”. If not, put one on it. If it’s not worthy of a deadline, dump it.

3. Only check your email 2x a day… and never before getting at least one hour of focused work done…

I try never to check my email before noon and then not again until 4PM.

4. Have the least amount of unscheduled time each day…

In other words, try to schedule every hour of your work day. This has been one of the most effective productivity tools for me personally.

5. Have productivity goals, along with your financial and business goals…

In other words, have goals for focused time and completion of tasks.

6. Have rewards at incremental stages of your goal achievement…

Far, far off goals tend NOT to motivate us. Close goals, that we can see, tend be a lot more motivational.

7. Pre-schedule repetitive tasks into your calendar in advance.

If there are certain things you do every week, they should get a permanent place in your calendar and they should be treated just like an important appointment.

8. Monitor the time it takes you to go from idea to implementation; and try to speed up the process…

9. Try to estimate the amount of time every task will take, then put it in your schedule with a start and stop time…

This will force to work faster and more efficiently. Think… the day before vacation.

10. Regularly consider the consequences of not doing something or of procrastination…

Hope you found these useful…my current favorite is number 3 as I can really get thrown off track by email.

Until next time…

Kind Regards,

A

Greetings everyone!  My site seems to be possessed today so please ignore the unusually small print and the Frugal them logo at the top. When I get time, I will have to chanel my inner nerd and figure it out…either that or I will Skype my good buddy and go to guy for all things nerd and London’s most badass badass, JJ Jalopy of JJ Jalopy.com.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program…

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of spending some quality time with four of my favorite women friends.  I absolutely love it when they bend their rules and let me in on their “girls night out!”

What I learn in these evenings and from these amazing women is priceless!   I always make it a point to pay deep attention.   Not just to what they are communicating but to how they are communicating it…to how they are holding their drinks, how their bodies shift, the look in their eyes, the tone of their voices.   That too me is where most of the truth lies, where our unmet needs can be found.

Several times during the course of the evening the topics of relationships and attraction came up.   We shared our stories and our perspectives.

At some point I had this thought about how we approach the energetic pattern of attraction and wondered what it would look like if we turned it inside out and upside down, and saw something new in there that may be useful for us to think about…

When you find yourself attracted to another person, realize that that attraction is an indication that you have a gift for them.

When we first meet a person we are attracted to, we often instantly and unconsciously attach our stuff to them and see some kind of promise.  This can and often does manifest as something less than useful.  We may think he or she has something to offer and they may but in reality, something different is usually occurring…

If we do not know ourselves well and are unaware of our unconscious drives and patterns we can really get ourselves into trouble.  Many people do this over and over…

They attract or are attracted to people and situations that confirm their unconscious beliefs.   This could be a wonderful thing but more often than not it is not.

It is often shocking how we turn ourselves and others into projects!

However, that is an entirely differnt topic so for the sake of time and continuity let’s get back to the intended topic!  See how I averted an ADD moment…there is hope for me yet!

If we are aware of this gift and give it with integrity, give it with love, we connect and create something beautiful, something that is much greater than the sum of its parts.

The gift could be encouragement, could be a smile, could be anything…just give it with no expectation of something in return and enjoy the connection you have created with them.

Try this simple practice:

Next time you find yourself attracted to someone take a moment to ask what it is that you can give them that will aid their progress in life or enrich them in some way.

I think it is also important to remember how the ego likes to feel special and how it is especially adept at wedging itself into any aspect of our lives as it can.  So when you ask yourself this question, remember that the best things we have to offer anyone are often very simple and very ordinary.  ”Small things with great love” as it has been said.

Don’t get hung up on finding an answer…just rest in the question and let life do the rest.

Until next time…

Kind Regards,

Anthony

Greetings everyone! Today’s post will have to be very brief.

I have my son and his two friends with me and have been elected as their activity director. We have quite a day planned…kayaking, a picnic, a music festival with movies and snacks to top it off.

But before we embark on our adventure I’d like to sneak a few minutes to share this simple yet effective exercise that will help put you in the alpha brainwave state, which is a state of relaxed alertness.

This state is good for reading, learning and other mental activities.

Although I don’t have time to go into details, essentially there are four basic brainwave states…beta, alpha, theta and delta.

Depending on what state you are in, different personal resources and abilities are available to you.

With the right knowledge, training and practice, you can change your brainwave states to tap into these various resources and abilities.

The mind is a powerful and mysterious thing and this is one of many wonderful ways to befriend it and tap into its full potential.

Why let it use you when you can use it!

Again, this exercise is used to put you in the alpha state and maybe a little into the beginning of the theta state.

Here’s how:

• Hold an imaginary tangerine in your hand. Experience the weight, color, texture, and smell of the tangerine.

• Gently close your eyes and place the tangerine so it delicately balances on the top, back part of your head. Touch that area gently with your hand. Become aware of the feeling. Now, imagine that tangerine floating up and behind your head, 6 to 12 inches.

• Imagine your field of vision opening up.

• Maintain the relaxed feeling of alertness as you open your eyes and begin your desired activity.

Wasn’t that easy? Keep it up and soon you will be on your way to rearranging the furniture with your mind!

All kidding aside, you can use this exercise anytime you want to relax, focus, optimize learning, optimize memory, sharpen mental acuity or to tap into other inner resources.

If you would like to learn more about the various brainwave states and how get into and benefit from them, let me know…I’d be happy to share a little more.

Well, I’m on the run!

Until next time…

Kind Regards,
Anthony

The other day a received and email from a reader who had a few questions regarding my last two posts and felt uncomfortable doing so publicly.

She seemed overcome with some kind of nebulous fear that prohibited her from getting close enough to her own mental, emotional and physical state of being to see how she was truly feeling and thinking. She called it dread. She said that she knew deep down inside that her story was not true and that she would be best served by letting it go.

She related to me that this fear became very vivid and turned to “dread” whenever she would even think about sitting still and tuning into her thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, etc due to the uncertainty of what may arise.

This is not uncommon at all.

We had a nice chat and eventually got to the heart of the matter.

I am not at liberty to reveal any specifics, but I can say that what it all boiled down to was a fear of death…literally and figuratively.

She somehow equated looking into and letting go of her “story” as a form of death. She had so many secondary gains that to move on with her life involved the death of her present self. A present self that was constructed of past stories…mostly stories of being a victim. Although being that victim and identifying with those particular stories was the root of much of her suffering, she still got something out of it.

For many of us, just sitting still and not-doing is a frightening thought…we might have to face ourselves and not like what we see.

We may see that our stories are complete and utter bullshit!

Then what? I mean what’s the big deal…we’ve only built our lives around them!

However, it is of the utmost importance that we realize that our bodies, no matter how imperfect they can seem, are our homes. If we do not feel safe there, we will not feel safe anywhere.

That is why so many of us turn to sugar, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, sex, shopping, drugs, constant talking, gossiping, working out and the list goes on an on. Obviously, being a yoga-head is better than being a crack-head but you get the point.

So many people just want to be anywhere but where they truly are and feeling what they are truly feeling.

Please understand that I am not saying our stories are meaningless. They are not. In fact they are important but I would like to stress that…

Our stories are just that…stories…and should not be mistaken for who we are.

If something horrible happens to you or you do something horrible, it will have an impact on your life. But suffering arises when we identify with that story. We make movies out of our memories and watch them over and over. They become a whole production. And like I stated in the last post, they are very compelling and vivid!

I do want to state that I am talking about those of us who are relatively mentally, physically and emotionally stable. Not those of us who suffer from certain mental disorders, who have suffered a recent trauma or have post traumatic stress syndrome.

So where am I going with this? I’m never quite sure what direction these posts are going to go when I write them but my point is this…

The more we practice allowing ourselves to feel everything, to feel the seeming discomfort of the continuous change and transformation taking place in our lives, the more comfortable, at peace and at home in our own bodies we become.

I find it a bit ironic, a bit funny, very beautiful and very comforting that life unfolds in such a way that what is unknown becomes the known, becomes familiar and what was once very bizarre or weird becomes completely normal.

I am not talking about addressing (through therapy or another means) issues and overcoming what we view as obstacles in order to be happy and free from suffering.

I am also not talking about getting involved in some kind of religious or spiritual practice so that we can become Liberated or one with God.

In fact, these sorts of things often arise out of delusion and are ways of distracting ourselves or escaping from meeting ourselves where we are and living our lives with conscious awareness.

They are also frequently another way, albeit a more refined and covert one, to get caught up in expectations and the part of ourselves that is always trying to get something or go somewhere…our seeking and grasping mind.

So sit down somewhere quiet and comfortable (not too comfortable), take a few cleansing breaths, resume normal breathing, smile and meet yourself where you are without expectation, without a goal, without wanting to be, do or have anything.

Just simply look in a state of alert presence and allow whatever arises in the mind and body to be.

It may seem awkward at first, evening frightening…then again, it may feel wonderful and like a big relief.

Whatever arises, good or bad, just let it go.

Do this for at least 10 minutes preferably longer. Do it often throughout the day…

When you do this, a far greater intelligence is accessed, an intelligence that is far greater than our normal and limited human mind.

Most of us cannot walk around in this state…we have things to do, kids to deal with, bills to pay and goals to accomplish.

But it is a way to be with what is, internally and externally, in a way that allows us to put more space around it so we can see things much more clearly, from a birds eye view so to speak.

When we learn to see the entire picture and put it into practice, things don’t look or feel so bad. In fact we will see things like compassion, understanding and gratitude arise. We see what is truly important and how our life touches and affects the lives of others…especially the lives of those we love or who are closest to us.

It’s okay…don’t be afraid to hear your life’s song.  Don’t try to do or fix anything if it seems out of tune.  It is not!

Listen…

Watch…

Allow…

Pay attention to your life…

That is all…

How else can you do what is best for you, those you love, your community, your country and the world when you are miles away, maybe galaxies away from yourself and your life or are so close that you are blinded?

Until next time…

Kind Regards,
A