Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Don’t think. Do.

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Achieve, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Execute, life hack, Mind Tricks, Monday, motivation

I recently saw a TikTok by Arnold Schwarzenegger. It shows him explaining his morning routine. He feeds his animals, he gets on his bike, he rides to the gym, and he works out. He used the words, “Don’t think. Do.”

How many times have you let your mind talk you out of something you know you need to do, but end up losing to the internal argument you have with yourself? I know I have. You come up with all kinds of justifications as to why you can miss a day of work, blow off your homework, or put off some other important task.

I think Arnold’s advice is good. If you just execute without thinking, you’ll get the job done. You’ll get that thing off of your to-do list. Then you can think about how disciplined you are, and how you got that thing done for the day.

With the things we enjoy, we don’t normally go through these mental gymnastics, but exercise, writing, literally anything we deem as work or somewhat uncomfortable, we will always be tempted to blow them off for something more comfortable, like binge watching a television show, playing some video games, or doing something else we identify as more enjoyable.

You can’t fight yourself on multiple fronts. So, I wouldn’t try to “force” yourself to do too many things your internal workings are rebelling against. Pick one or two things you want to turn into habits and apply this way of thinking to them. Don’t think about them. Do them.

To build an exercise routine, I knew that if I did not go first thing in the morning, or on the way home from work, I would not go. I would come up with some lame excuse and it wouldn’t get done. So, I get up, mix my pre-workout drink, and head to the gym. I don’t give myself time to think about it. When I get to the gym, I’m ready to go. Once, I’m done, I always feel a sense of accomplishment.

You can use Arnold’s technique for anything you want to get done. Give it a whirl. You have nothing to lose.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Routines

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Accomplishment, app, Exercising, Learning, motivation, Routine, security, Social, Spiritual, To-do

Routines are motivating because if they are set up right, you hit all the things you have set out for yourself to do each day. I use Covey’s way of balancing out my life by hitting 4 key areas: Mental, Physical, Social, and Spiritual. Mental is taken care of by my daily learning and reading. Physical is taken care of by sleeping, drinking plenty of water, exercise, and eating right. Spiritually I do a dream and experience journal, do my spiritual reading, do my spiritual exercises, and work through my spiritual discourses. Socially, I interact here with you, on my different social media feeds, and with family and friends. I also get a lot of social interaction when I game. I also have weekly, monthly, and annual things to track. My routine covers all the bases, and keeps me on track. I use an app called Toodledo to track all of the things I need to do and literally let this app tell me what’s next.

For some this may seem tedious. It is tedious at times, but the feeling of accomplishment and knowing I am doing all I need to do overcomes these feelings of tedium, when they arise from time-to-time.

There will always be something that throws a wrench in the daily routine, but for the most part, my flexible schedule allows for interruptions and wrenches.

If you do not have a routine currently, simply write down some things you would like to do each day that help build you up. Read a little, write a little, learn a little, exercise a little, do something spiritual (walking in the woods, closing your eyes and contemplating, reading some poetry, etc.). Have some system to remind you of these things each day. Then, simply do them. At first, you’ll struggle like I did. But over time, they will all become habits and you’ll just do them on autopilot.

The motivation kicks in when you have the security that all of your important things are getting done, you are building something, and you aren’t missing anything that you need to do.

Well, that’s all I got for today.

Have a great day, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Visualization and Focus

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Control, Execute, Focus, Goals, Kris Gethin, motivation, Plan, Visualize

We visualize what we want all the time. We visualize where we want to eat, what we have to do during the day, and what we would like to do. Visualization is the first step at creating anything. Once we visualize something, we begin thinking about how to achieve that state. We put together a plan, we break that plan down into steps, and then move through these steps until our visualized goal is achieved. If the plan is faulty, we simply figure out where we went wrong, set up some new steps, and then walk through those. We continue this cycle until we achieve the visualized goal.

“Checklist Goals” by Glenn Carstens-Peters/ CC0 1.0

Focus is necessary for this to happen. Our brains can only focus on one thing at a time. I am focused on this blog posting right now. The steps to achieve my visualized communication are pretty much on automatic as I’ve posted over a thousand times here.

Focus allows us to see a step in our plan through to its end. What happens when we are interrupted? We are pulled from our current focus to something else. It may be something enjoyable or it may be an interruption. Regardless, the change in focus delays our ability to get a specific task completed. Then we have to return our focus to the task at hand to get it done.

Do you live in a household that is disruptive? If so, you’ll want to get up early in the morning before anyone is up to get your must dos done. I am doing that now. Most of my household will not be up for a few hours. During that time, I get the bulk of my daily to-dos done, this included. It allows me to stay focused and plod through each task on my list. When I am done, the day is mine, the day is my family member’s who want to talk about this or that, need me to do something for them, or any number of random things.

“People Crowd” by davide ragusa/ CC0 1.0

There is a workout trainer I follow quite intensely. His name is Kris Gethin. One of his key statements is: “Control your environment; do not let it control you.” What he is referring to is workout discipline, diet discipline, supplement discipline, and sleep discipline. The key to getting what we want is to focus on the things that will give us the biggest bang for our buck–buck being time. The next thing is to focus on those things that will help us achieve the results we seek with the least amount of effort.

When you become practiced at visualizing what you want and then apply the focus to achieve that visualized goal, you are truly a powerful person. Many visualize, but fail to follow through on their visualizations. Others are good at visualizing and putting together the steps, but lose focus so easily, they never get anything done.

So today, take the time to truly visualize something you want to do, think through the steps it will take to get from where you are now, to where you want to go, and then execute. It is very motivating to go through this process and achieve success with it.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Have a great Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Rewards

Tags

Drive, Focus, life hack, motivation, Pomodoro, Rewards, Schedule

You ever wake up Monday morning and just do not want to get out of bed and face the day? This happened to me once in a while when I was working. I didn’t like the feeling and thought about this for a bit. How could I make Monday or any day something to be excited about?

I came up with a neat little hack.

If you have read my blog at all, you realize I’m a big fan of the Pomodoro technique. The Pomodoro technique literally operates on periods of deep focus, followed by breaks. The break is a nice reward, but you can go even further. Here are some ideas:

1. Fill up your mug.
2. Listen to one of your favorite songs.
3. Get in a little mobile game play.
4. Call a relative or friend to check in.
5. Have a nice snack, like a chocolate.

Anything you can do to improve your mood is key. These little things, and many more I couldn’t recall, are really useful. They make the day fun, and when you’re working through your Pomodoro intervals, time flies, because you are so focused on what you need to be doing you aren’t constantly watching the clock.

Well, that’s it for now, folks. I hope you have a great Monday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Flexible Schedules

Tags

Busy, calendar, Flexibility, motivation, Scheduling, Task apps, Time pressure, Todos

It’s Monday! I’m a little late getting this posted because of a scheduled maintenance on one of the family’s vehicles. I hope all of you had a great Monday today.

I’m a firm believer in flexible scheduling. I have a list of things to do and work through that list daily. Sometimes I get everything done early in the morning. Other times, I nibble away at my list in spurts.

I used to be very regimented in my scheduling, but found myself missing the times I had scheduled things over and over again. Finally, I decided to just list the things out I had for the day and knock them out whenever I could. This works for me and the motivation to get things done is not associated with guilt anymore, since I don’t have a specified time to do anything. As long as I get that thing done for that day, I’m good.

Do you find yourself in the same predicament? If so, try a flexible schedule. List out what you need to do the night before or at the beginning of the day. Then simply knock out each task and check it off of your list. If you have repeating tasks, I’d recommend using a task organizer like Todoist or my favorite, Toodledo. It saves a lot of rewriting time and never forgets what needs to be done.

Flexible schedules can be a lifesaver for you super Moms out there, who have kid’s schedules to deal with, a job you work at, and a home to share the chores. It can be overwhelming, but with a little ingenuity and flexibility, you can still knock out a lot of stuff that you care about and still maintain the crazy schedules you deal with.

For the working man, these schedules can also help. When I worked, my time off at night was when I tackled my personal stuff. I got my exercise on the way to or from work. At night, after dinner, I’d work on my things, with the tv on in the background. It worked.

Well, that’s all I got for today. It doesn’t matter when you get your tasks done during the day. All that matters is that you got them done. Try flexible scheduling. It has been a great thing for me.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – When Mondays are Good.

Tags

Career, Excitement, job, Monday, motivation, passion, Schedule, Weekends

For many of you, who are still in the workforce, Mondays can be a real drag. They used to be like for me. Now that I’m retired, Monday is like any other day, yet, it still holds the stigma that I held for so many year.

One thing I discovered very quickly when I retired is the need for a schedule. So, I do my work during the week and take the weekend off. It’s nice to still look forward to the weekend like I used to. The key difference is that the work I do during the week is an absolute joy.

I love blogging, writing, learning, reading, and gaming. I enjoy the chores I do around the house and I really enjoy the position I hold in a non-profit organization. It is terrific. I hope all of you can retire and enjoy the things you love. It’ll make your Mondays a lot better.

Motivation is always easy when things are good and we do the things we love. It is harder when we have to do certain thngs that we don’t want to do. Some of you may have a job that is not to your liking, but need so you can make a living. If you’re really desperate, get that resume cleaned up and get yourself out there for a new job. Trust me. If you are doing what you love, it doesn’t feel like a job.

Well, that’s it for this week’s dose of Motivation. I hope all of you have a great Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Bad Weather

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Bad Weather, cocoa, Coffee, energy drink, life hack, Mood, motivation, Music, Rain, Snow, tea

Well, we’ve got snow in our weather prediction. It has dipped about 40 degrees in a matter of hours. We have some real crazy weather in Michigan.

How do you stay motivated during bad weather? Have some good tunes in your car, an audio book, and a good pick-me-up. Whether you like tea, coffee, or an energy drink, have one with your drive to work.

We had a great coffee shop across the street at my last job. As soon as our morning meeting was over with, we’d all head over to get one of their coffees. Boy, were they good. We also had a coffee maker in the office, but it was not as good as this place.

The other thing I’d do is keep a nice umbrella in the car. There’s nothing that will spoil a day more quickly than getting caught in a rain or snowstorm without an umbrella, ruining your outfit, your hair, and all the rest.

They say that happy people carry their weather with them. Being in a good mood should not be impacted by the weather, but so many are. What makes you happy? Good music, good food, or a piping hot cup of coffee? Whatever it is, make sure you bring it along.

When I worked, I would pay for an audible subscription. During bad-weather days, I would take my time and listen to an audio book on the way in. It’s a great way to knock out a book and it is also a great way to keep your mind off of the bad weather and pass the time during a long commute.

These are all life hacks that helped me get through my long commute in the morning and keep myself sane. Anything you can do to keep a good mood and maintain your motivation is key.

What life hacks do you use to keep yourself motivated during bouts of bad weather?

Have a great Monday, folks.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Jordan Peterson Lectures

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Jordan Peterson, Learning, Maps of Meaning Lectures, motivation, Personality Lectures, University of Toronto

For those of you who have been following my blog, you know I love learning in every form. I like learning about trivial things, learn new skills, and learn about history, particularly military history.

I wanted to bring up Jordan Peterson because he has some recorded lectures on Personality that are fantastic. These lectures were recorded while he was at the University of Toronto. He was also a professor at Harvard in the earlier part of his career. If you enjoy Psychology, this is a real treat.

I’m watching his lecture on existentialism right now, talking about Dostoyevsky, Solzhenitsyn, and Niche. Here are the links to his lectures on Personality and his lectures on Maps of Meaning. Both of these are easily around 30-40 hours of lectures. They are outstanding.

Personality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0xBOMWJkgM&list=PLYiqiGXyix6-Np9ONLHdHgRlHayGh4mXD

Maps of Meaning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8Xc2_FtpHI&t=5s

Both of these lectures are so packed with information that you will likely be like me and have to watch them a few times before you capture everything. This is my third time through, and they are still very engaging.

I hope you get a chance to watch these. Learning to me is very motivating. I’m motivated because I know I will have a new ability, skill, or mindset. I’ll have a new foundation to grow from. Knowing how transformative learning can be, I’ll likely be learning new things until I leave this world. It makes me feel more alive than when I am not learning.

I hope you have a great Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Relax Time

Tags

Fun, good music, Hobbies, Hot Bath, motivation, Productivity, Reading, Relaxation, Sauna

It’s another Monday and it feels great. I had a great weekend. It was relaxing, and I got a lot done. I gamed a bit, enjoyed some reading, and had some good times playing with our new puppy.

I’ve written this before, but it’s worth repeating. When I have a great weekend, filled with fun, relaxation, and my hobbies, I am more motivated to get back at it on Monday. Are you the same?

When we work hard or keep ourselves really busy, doing certain tasks during the week, the weekend is appealing. When we get to do what we want on the weekend, we’re ready to get back to work on Monday. I think it’s about opposites. We yearn for the weekend when we are working really hard and we crave the work when we’ve had a great weekend.

I imagine some would argue that a great weekend spurs us to want a longer weekend, but it never seems to work for me. After a few days of being lazy and indulging myself in the things I like to do for entertainment and relaxation, I’m ready to get back to work.

Some folks, particularly all you Mom’s out there, don’t have the luxury of doing what they want like I do. Some others may have to work 6 or 7 days a week. In these cases, you’ll have to pick an hour or so to wind down and do what you want. So instead of a weekend like I have, your “weekend” would be a nice bath with some music, a favorite tv show, or nice cup of coffee or tea and a good book, while you lounge on the couch with a blanket.

The diversity of activity is what is appealing to me. I get tired of doing nothing or not moving on my goals after a day or so, so the weekend time is about right. When I worked, I tried to do the same thing. I had other responsibilities like cleaning, lawn work, and that sort of thing, but I’d try to get these knocked out as soon as possible so I could chill out for the remainder of the weekend. I’d get in some game time or tv time at night, but it was short-lived because I had to get into bed at a certain time to be ready for work the next day.

Regardless of your schedule, set aside some time for your hobbies and fun time. Even if you don’t have access to an entire weekend, like I do, you can still reap the benefits of these opposing schedules. Relax time leads to a need to be productive and high productivity feeds back into relax time.

Well, folks, that’s all I got for today. I hope you all have a great Monday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Enjoying the Moment

Tags

Baby, family, Grandkids, motivation, new dog, put on hold, To-do List

Today, we got a visit from the grandkids. They have a six-month old baby. Boy is he cute. We also got a new dog. His name is Oliver. I’ll get some pics of him online in a few days. He’s worn out right now. He played and played and was totally enthralled with the baby.

On days like today, it’s best to put all the things I normally do on hold for a bit. It’s always great to take advantage of family when they visit. Catching up with them and seeing how things are going with them is terrific. George the grandson is changing the baby right now and all you can hear is “Oh God”, because she was quite a mess. Mikhayla, George’s wife came to the rescue and helped out. What a nice scene!

We’ve got George and Emily the grandkids, Mikayla the wife, and the baby Elaina. We’ve got two dogs, Bella and Oliver. Then there’s Mom, Dad, and me. It’s a great time.

Always take time for family. Life is so fleeting. Enjoy the moments you have with them. You won’t get them back.

I used to feel guilty if I didn’t get something done when special circumstances like this arise, but that was wasteful. Enjoy these moments and put your to-do list on hold. It’ll be there tomorrow.

Well, it’s time to get back to the family. Have a great day, folks!

Until next time…

Dave