Get it Done, Setting a Deadline!

I have a lot that I want to do today! This is a busy week and I am excited, but I know that I have to get going or it will not all get done to my satisfaction. Something I learned a while back is that any task will grow to fit the time you allow it to have. Setting a deadline means getting things done!

If you are anything like me, you find yourself getting frustrated because you just can’t seem to get done in a week or a day what you wanted to. The time seems to fly by and suddenly you realize there is no way you are going to get it all done. Setting a deadline cures all that for me. It will for you too!

Parkinson’s Law states that any task will fill the time frame allotted to it. If you say that you want to cut the grass and you give yourself the week to get it done, then most likely, it will be the end of the week when you finally do it. If you say it must be done this morning, then that’s when it will be done.

I just read yesterday on Pat Flynn’s blog about procrastinators. He said that when he was in school, there were those who studied together for long periods of time to get tasks and assignments done and then those who seemed to do everything at the last minute. The last minute folks did fine. Pat says that it was about focus, but I think it was also about having a set deadline to get something done. The procrastinators would put the task into a time frame and do that task then. They played the rest of the time!

Try it out! Pick a task and set a date to do it and a time frame. I wanted this post to be done before breakfast today and so it is. What do you want to do. Let’s say that you want to get your exercises done early tomorrow. Make up your mind that tomorrow morning you will get out of bed and go for your walk, do your push-ups, whatever it is you do, first thing.

It will be easier to get out of bed and you will get done what you want, when you want.

If you are a naturally focused person, then you may not need this or you do it naturally. If you are like me, a little scatter brained, a little ADD, then set a deadline and see if it doesn’t work miracles for you. It does for me!

Living A Reactionary LIfe

I am still reading Gary Veynerchuck’s book, “Crush It”. Today I read about reactionary business. By this Gary means that we should have focus and vision, but we also need to be able to react, to adjust, to business. If you are headed in one direction and suddenly your business starts making money in another, you would be a fool to not adjust your plan.

In Lifestyle design, we talk about knowing what you want and then going for it with determination and focus. The same thing applies here. If you are focused on going one way, but life seems to be taking you another, you have to ba able to adjust your focus somewhat to get the most out of life.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my video!

P.S. Gary’s book is great. If you are trying to accomplish anything in life, this book will give you some real motivation to go out and Crush It!

Finding the Dedication to Go Out and Live!

I’m just back from my Saturday morning run It wasn’t the best I have ever done. I run a circuit of just a shade over two miles. Some days I run the whole thing, Others, like today, I have to walk part of it. It would be easy to give up after days like today, but I find that I have a level of dedication flopping around in me and I want to get back in shape.

The first thing I would encourage you to is to stay in shape. I really blew it. I have always prided myself on being in good shape, but, truth be told, I tend to be lazy. Sure, I still half-heartedly did my yoga, but the rest of the time I sat in my office chair in front of a computer and did nothing. My knees and back got so weak that they would just barely hold me up!

Now, I am trying to hold the level of dedication to do my yoga and I am trying to get back to doing it in the way I used to. I also run.

Most people, if they saw me, would day that my run is more like a fast walk or a medium jog. My legs and knees are so weak that that is about all I can do, but it is getting better. I refuse to let up on it. I want to get back to the point where I can really run, really be in shape.

Dedication to myself is the quality, the trait that I have to develop in order to make this happen. This is the only way. I have to care enough about myself to get back in shape.

Now I also have to say that I feel a certain amount of pride. Sure I feel foolish sometimes as I hobble along and am passed by a real runner, but at least I am out there.

I know people half my age, a third my age, who couldn’t keep up with me, even at my slow pace. These poor folks may not be able to move at all when they get to be sixty.

Dedication is key, no matter if we are talking physical conditioning, business, or whatever! You must have the motivation, the drive, yes, the dedication to see whatever it is you want to do through.

Do you have it? Do you have what it takes to be successful? The answer doesn’t lie in some text book or motivational seminar, it lies within you. If it isn’t there, you can build it up to whatever it is you need! Do it now! Don’t let your life fall into ruins! Find the dedication to go out and live!

Macbook Pro and Yamons

In this episode, I talk about my new Mac, making yamons, and finding things to like in life!

Take Time Out For Reflection

It’s raining today so I couldn’t go for my run. Well, I suppose I could, but I am not dedicated enough to get soaking wet. Anyway, since I didn’t go, I spent the time in meditation. Now you have to understand that I am not the world’s best at meditation. I often don’t take the time, and yet, I know how good it is for me and I try to do it often. It’s good to take time out for reflection!

It seems that in today’s world, we seldom remember to take the time we need to reflect. Without time for reflection, we can become narrow in our vision. It can make us unable to see the opportunities that come to us.

I am currently reading Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk. In the book, Gary talks to some length about crushing it, his term for going after something as hard as you can. He talks about working until 3:00am and getting back up at 6:00am to go at it again.

I understand what Gary is saying and I agree that you need to have that kind of enthusiasm and motivation if you want to make a go of a business, career, or really anything of worth. What I also believe is that you have to take care of yourself. You have to spend the time to keep your body and your mind healthy. If you take time out for reflection, it will help you keep your mind clear and in good working order.

What do I mean by taking time for reflection?

I mean taking a little time to just sit back and smell the roses. Taste, really taste your morning coffee. If you are into it, take time for some meditation.

Meditation isn’t really that hard, at least the way I do it. I am sure most zen masters would day I am doing it all wrong, but here is what I do.

I find a fairly quiet place. I sit, usually on a cushion on the floor, but sometimes in a chair out on the deck. I rest my hands in my lap and I sit. I try to calm my mind and not purposely think of anything. I let thoughts come and go, but I try not to dwell on any one thought. If I find myself thinking of one particular thing for any length of time, I try to put it away for later thought. If that doesn’t work, then I let my mind work on the problem without much interference from me. That’s it, my whole meditation program!

However you like to take time for reflection, I suggest you do so, if not daily, then as many times a week as you possibly can!

To take time out for reflection takes a little dedication, but it is well worth it. Once you have your head in the right place, then by all means, Crush It!

P.S. If you would like your own copy of Crush It!

Follow my link to Amazon and buy it. It is worth the money if you are trying to succeed!

Macbook Pro Fulfilling My Lifestyle Design

Here is what I have to write about today. I have switched from a PC to a Mac! I am writing this on my new Macbook Pro. It is certainly much nicer that my old desktop PC. It is sleek, light-weight, and I think it makes espresso, if I can just figure out how! I am still in that learning curve. There are some things different, but all in all, the Mac is pretty easy to learn.

I advise anyone who works a lot on the computer to seriously think about going Mac. It loads twice as fast as my PC, it needs no virus or spy-ware protection, and the graphics on this are way above an beyond my PC that it is not even worth mentioning. You may not think that graphics is something you care about, but last night we slipped in a DVD just to see how it was and it was better than our TV!

You may be thinking that you don’t need a computer; that you get along just fine without one. I do know several people who do not spend the time online that I do, but I personally don’t understand someone not having a connection to the greater world through the Internet.

I mean, come on people, this is the twenty-first century! It is the age of being online and this is not going away. I think that you either get with it or you get left behind! Who wants to be left behind?

Back to my shameless plugging for the Mac. I had a PC laptop that was given to me (you can tell how good that was!), but it was so slow you could go make a pot of coffee and when you came back it was still loading. It didn’t pick up my wireless router unless I was in the same room.

I haven’t tested the Mac on this, but so far I haven’t gone anywhere in the house where it is not picking up the wireless full strength, even in places the PC could not pick up anything!

You might be saying to yourself, “I thought this site was about lifestyle design and making your life better.” It is and this is just what I am saying. I have been wanting a Mac for a couple of years. I make my living on the computer and I wanted one that would do what I wanted it to do, was portable, and efficient. The Mac is all of that and a bag of chips!

Know what it is you want and what you want to do, then go after it! I wanted a Mac and I got it. What is it you want and what are you willing to do to go out and get it?

P.S. The link to the Mackbook is my shameless affiliate link to Amazon. Do us both a favor and go buy one. We both will be happy!

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