Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Drivers

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driver, Enjoyment, habit, Hobby, Joy, Monday, motivation, motivator, self-preservation

I was reading a few days ago about what drives people to do what they do. For some a drive comes from serious loss or pain. For others they are inspired by someone. There is no way to categorize or analyze this because there are just too many reasons for people to do what they do. So, it’s best to stick with learning about what drives you.

What drives you to do what you do? Do you like to exercise? Do you like your hobby? Do you enjoy your work? Do you enjoy companionship? General Grant, who had throat cancer late in life, wrote his memoir to support his family when he was gone. His driver was family and responsibility.

One of my drivers is competence. I like to know how to do things. I like to learn new things. Then, I like to apply those things to what I am doing every day. If there’s a new technology or app I can use to make my life easier or more efficient–I’m there. One of the things I’ve learned over time is how much better it is to know where something is, rather than memorize it. There is so much information out there. If you can’t remember how to do something, simply know where to learn how to do it.

Drivers are what get us up in the morning. Hobbies, responsibilities, passions, whatever you label them, drivers are very motivating. Sometimes we need to take a little time and really think through what drives us. Once I discovered my true drivers, it made it easier for me to find the motivation to do the things I wanted to do and the ones I needed to do.

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Intuition

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habits, ideas, insight, Intuition, Monday, motivation, Nudge, Prompting, schedules, To-dos

Have you ever gotten an inner prompting to change things in your schedule? I get these all the time. I finally came upon a really cool way to run through the things I need to do each day by using mini-days and categories of tasks so I can concentrate on one facet of my day at a time, 4 times a day. Let me explain.

I learn, read, write, exercise, and do a whole lot of other things each day. To be more efficient, I came up with the idea of using mini-days so I could do more activities in each of my high-priority tasks each day by doing something in each category 4 times a day instead of just once. Subsequently, I read 4 x each day, exercise my body 4 x each day, work on multiple writing projects each day, and so on.

You may have a different insight. This is one of the things I’ve discovered during my productivity journey. How we do things is staggeringly individual. We may get our ideas from various self-help books, but in the end, it is really about what works for each of us. So pay attention to your intuition–those inner nudges you get from time-to-time. They are usually great ideas. I’ve discovered that the more I listen to the inner promptings, the more I get. Take action on those promptings that make sense. You’ll discover as I have that your intuition can be worked out just like your body. Over time, your inner nudges will become better, and you’ll be able to trust them more. You will learn to discriminate better so you make better choices amongst all the inner prompts you receive.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. If something isn’t right, contemplate it. Think about it. You’ll start getting ideas on how to improve your current situation. They won’t come all at once. They’ll trickle in. When you get one, try it out. If it doesn’t work, wait for the next one. At some point, you’ll get the exact solution you need to improve the way you organize yourself and knock out your daily tasks, whatever they are.

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Mini days

Tags

4-hour increments, Efficiency, Mini day, Monday, motivation, Productivity, Variety

All, I read a book about 10-15 years ago. I can’t remember the name of it, but my brother passed it along. Anyway, it discussed a topic called mini day. What is a mini day, you ask? A mini day is section of your calendar dedicated to something you typically do as part of your job or personal day.

Here’s how my day looks in a nutshell:

Mini day 1: reading, writing, learning, spiritual disciplines, physical exercise, socializing, eating, 20-minute nap.

Mini day 2: reading, writing, learning, spiritual disciplines, physical exercise, socializing, eating, 20-minute nap.

Mini day 3: reading, writing, learning, spiritual disciplines, physical exercise, socializing, eating, 20-minute nap.

Mini day 4: reading, writing, learning, spiritual disciplines, physical exercise, socializing, eating, 20-minute nap.

Each part of my four mini days involves reading one of my books, watching some courses, reading the Bible, Spiritual Journaling, exercising a particular body part (legs, abs, shoulders, arms, chest, or back), socializing here and on my other social networks, writing for my blog, my book, and anything else I want to write for the day, etc.

I run each mini day for four hours. So, 16 hours of effort across a myriad of activities. I just started it, and I’m pretty happy with the results. I was prompted to do this because I was falling behind on my reading and wanted a way to keep all of my goals moving forward in bite-sized chunks.

If your calendar or to-do list is getting stale, try this out. How you break out your mini days is up to you. You may want to have a writing mini day, drawing mini day, learning mini day, and an exercise mini day. I enjoy the variety of tasks in each mini day because I don’t get bored, and I also get a lot of little things done. These little things pile up to big things, which I’ve learned since retirement.

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

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Holiday

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Chill out, Gaming, Holiday, Monday, motivation, Movies, Reading, Relax

Today’s a national holiday, so I’m taking the day. Have a great one, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Learning While Commuting

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Commute, Learning, lunchtime, Monday, motivation, project, traveling, Waiting, Work

I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but it bears repeating again. If you are still working at an office, you are commuting. Whether you have to negotiate the freeways, drive across the country, or catch a bus or subway, you’ve got time to burn on these treks each day. Why not put that time to good use?

Learning is a great way build your motivation because it helps us build our skill set. This skill set can be used to improve something we do at work, start a new hobby, or used for a home project we’ve been trying to figure out.

For those of you that drive, I’d recommend Audible, so you can listen to a book while you are driving. If you are not driving, I’d recommend watching YouTube or an educational video you get from Udemy or some other educational resource you enjoy.

Think about it. How many of you have the energy to take a learning course or something like this when you get home after a hard day’s work? Probably not that many. You may intend to, but family responsibilities may not allow that, particularly if you have kids, who have been waiting for you all day.

When I worked, I always listened to something educational or uplifting. All the news that was on, was reporting numerous accidents, bad news, or some silly duo who talked about frivolous stuff that had nothing to do with educating me. Yes, we all want to be entertained, but there is so much to learn that I tried to incorporate some type of learning each day on my way in.

You may have other times you can do this. Maybe listen to an audiobook or watch a video while you are eating your lunch, at the dentist or doctor, or on a long trip on a plane, bus, or train. All these are excellent opportunities to improve yourself, while you are just sitting somewhere biding your time.

I hope you have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Motivational Music

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Inspiring, Legendary, Monday, motivation, Music, Powerful, Visionary, YouTube

I think you’ll agree with me when I say that music can inspire us. This is a music track that lasts about an hour, but you only have to listen to this for a few minutes. Try it out. This pumped me up after about 2 minutes.

I wanted to change it up a bit today, so enjoy!

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Rewards

Tags

Games, Monday, motivation, Movies, Naps, Reading, Rewards, To-do List

Another big motivator is a reward. You do something hard, reward yourself. You finish your to-do list, reward yourself. You accomplish a goal, reward yourself.

Rewards motivate us to do the things we’ve tasked ourselves with and give us something to look forward to. When I finish a task on my list, I play some games. I love video games, so this reward motivates me to get my stuff done, so I can play. The reward must be something you look forward to. It has to be your favorite thing, whether it’s a nap, a snack, television show, or some other thing. The reward must be worth the work you do or this tactic will not motivate you.

So if you have a long list of to-dos, spread out your rewards throughout the day. Knock out five tasks and take a nap. Knock out five more and watch your favorite show. I like to sprinkle rewards throughout the day because it keeps me rolling along. There is always something to look forward to.

Happy Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Perfectionism

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Arthur Ashe, Completed, Done, Finished, Mark Zuckerberg, Monday, motivation, Perfectionism, Procrastination

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

Arthur Ashe

Arthur refers to doing something, rather than avoiding action until everything is perfect. Perfectionism is a horrible problem, particularly when it comes to doing something you want to do. I have read many articles about this, primarily when it comes to writing, but this pertains to everything. I used to be a perfectionist, and it sucks. Can you guess what I got done? Not much.

Do the best you can with what you have. If you don’t know everything, that’s ok. Do what you can, learn some, and then do some more. It is really that simple. Yet, there are still some out there who are skeptical. That’s ok.

“Done is better than perfect.” – Mark Zuckerberg.

When you think about people like Zuckerberg, Gates, Jobs, you think productivity, right? You think about how the heck do they do all the stuff they do every day? I do. It’s because they do what they can, with what they have–now.

Try stepping out of your comfort zone, if you are a perfectionist. Just get whatever job you’re doing done, skipping over the perfectionist stuff that will delay this. How do you feel when you’ve finished? How does it feel to check that off your to-do list?

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

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – The Right Tools and Delegation

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delegation, job, Monday, motivation, Productivity, Responsibility, tasks, Tools

Ever try to do something with the wrong tool? It’s frustrating isn’t it? Not only does it anger you while you are doing the task, you either avoid or dread having to do that task again. Having the right tool for the job is critical to motivation.

When I was working, I loved my job, but also loved the tools I used to do my job. I love a good tablet, phone, computer, and office gear. There’s nothing like digging into your work with a favorite tune playing on your phone with earbuds in, of course. There’s nothing like having a second screen with great apps on your tablet.

Regardless of what you do, there are tools available to complete the job. If you have the right ones–tools you really look forward to using–the job is even easier and actually kind of fun. It’s even more important when you are doing a new job or task. Investigate the tools others use to do a job. You’ll find that they use specific types of tools that make the job super easy. This combination of both fun and easy make the jobs or tasks ahead an absolute breeze.

Obviously, there are some jobs you just dread doing. They are boring, tedious, and do not take a lot of mental effort to complete. If you have staff working for you, delegate some of these tasks so that they can learn some of your job. It is your job as a leader to train your replacement, right? So, lighten your burden and pass off those tasks that others can do just as well as you can. This frees you up to focus on what you love to do, and gets the other jobs completed. Just remember: Delegation does not give up responsibility.

Recently, I had to put together some posters with QR codes for an event in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My organization was running a booth at their annual Art Fair. I did not have the tool to separate the first page of an e-book (PDF), but my sister did. She needs it for her job as a loan officer. She knocked out 7 PDFs in about 2 minutes. A last-minute request required me to do one more poster. Only this time, my sister was too busy to get it done in the time I had to get it done. Did I throw my sister under the bus and drop the ball? No. I found the tools I needed, and got the job done. I was responsible for getting this done for the event, not my sister. You see? I needed the right tool, and although I delegated the task to my sister, I was ultimately responsible for getting this done.

Well, that’s it for today, folks.

Have a great Monday!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Getting sick

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demotivator, habits, Headache, Monday, motivation, Sickness, To-dos

The ultimate demotivator is being sick. I woke this morning with a headache that is still with me. It’s hard to be motivated about anything when you aren’t feeling well. Yet, I am still completing the days tasks. Why you ask? They are all habits.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I can still work on my book, post to this blog, and do what I need to, yet, if I am really sick, the whole thing gets put aside with no guilt. Why again do you ask? Because my daily to-do list is ingrained. I miss a day or two, the habits are still strong enough to help me get the things done that I committed to on my daily to-do list.

Photo by Breakingpic on Pexels.com

Obviously, take care of yourself. If you don’t feel well, take care of it by staying in bed, taking some medication, or get into the doctor. Also realize that sickness is a huge demotivator that will impact your ability to get the things done you obligated yourself to.

We all get sick. There’s no getting around that in the human condition. When there are things you consider critical to your life, you’ll gut through them, simply because they are habits. Habits, good or bad, are hard to break. So establish those habits while your healthy, and you’ll still be able to keep going when you aren’t feeling that great.

Have a great day, folks! The Aleve I took is kicking in now, and I feel a heck of a lot better.

Until next time…

Dave