Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Changing Yourself

Tags

3%, BrainyQuote, change, Daily Routines, motivation, Netflix, small changes, The Clone Problem

“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” – Carol Burnett

Quote Credit: Brainyquote

Have you ever tried to change someone else? It’s pretty tough right? What about yourself? Also tough, right?

I’ve discussed change quite a bit on my blog, because it is constant. The change I am talking about are the changes you make to yourself. Do you want change or is someone else trying to change you? If you want change, you’ll get it done. If someone else wants you to change, you will resist.

In order to make a change in your life, you must want that change. Whether it is adding exercise to your day, meditation to your day, reading and writing to your day, or any number of things, you must make the change.

So, why is change so hard? It is hard because of the way our brain works. Our brain is terrific at automating things. Do something new and you struggle initially. Over time, the struggle transforms into something you do automatically. This is the very process I am talking about. Your brain records the actions you take. Do something enough and the neural pathways your brain uses to perform these tasks become stronger, much like adding twine to a rope. The more you do something, the stronger the neural pathway is.

So how long does it take? Some pundits say 60 days, others say 120 days. Honestly, I couldn’t care less. If you want to do something, do it. If you want to make a change, do it. If you really want to make the change, the time period that it takes to make it more subconscious shouldn’t matter.

Exercise has always been a challenge for me. I like doing it. I like the benefits that come from exercise, but some days I just don’t want to go. So, there it is. You may have something like this going on with you as well. Maybe your challenge is around a writing project, a yard project, school project, or something else. I struggle, but continue to push to get in an exercise routine in every day. What keeps driving me back to the gym? I want to be as healthy as I can be.

This brings up another discussion point—your why. Change is hard. It is impossible if you do not have a strong why. Why are you making the change? What benefit are you seeking? In order to be successful, your why needs to be stronger than your resistance to change.

What are some techniques you can use to make a change? You can put a daily reminder on your calendar or to-do app. You can have a set time during the day to do something. One of the best ways to get something solidified is to start small. Small changes build over time. These small changes build to big changes. Let’s say you have a goal and you want to begin working toward it. Instead of making a drastic change to your current life, make a small change. Small changes don’t take a lot of time or effort to do. They do, however, start building neural pathway. The stronger the neural pathway, the easier this task will become and the resistance you feel will dissipate.

Here’s my schedule for the week:

• Workout Mon-Saturday
• Meditate Daily
• Write Daily
• Writer’s Course Daily
• Python Course Daily
• Book Writing Daily
• Journaling Daily
• Reading Daily

I’m also doing a few fun things:

• I’m watching a Netflix series called 3%, which is quite good.
• I’m also reading a book called The Clone Problem, which is also good.

Well, that’s it for now. Have a great week everyone!

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Productivity Hacks

Tags

Consistency, Do Nothing Day, Follow your plan, motivation, Recurring Tasks, Take advantage of opportunities

Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay 

It’s Monday!

One of the best hacks for productivity I have ever discovered was the recurring to-do list. I don’t care what tool you use (I use Google Tasks). Having all the things listed out on my computer every day is awesome!

I wake up, mix up my pre-workout, and get to work. I can be sick, mentally out of it, or just not in a good mood, and my to-do list is there, telling me what I need to do today. It is the daily doing of things that makes such a huge difference. You still have to be motivated to do these things.

From time-to-time, I’ll do an inventory of all the things I’m doing every day and revisit my motivation to do them. Some things become tiresome. This feeling passes once I see how close I am to a milestone or achieving a goal. For example, I tasked myself with reading 48 books this year. I’m at 45! This is just one goal I am talking about and this leads me to my second productivity hack—consistent, small efforts. If you want to read a lot of books, read one chapter a day. If you want to get into good shape, workout every day, even if it’s only a few pushups. It’s the little things we do consistently that contribute most to our accomplishments.

That being said, life will happen. We get sick. Family issues will crop up. We do something that will disrupt our programmed day. You run your schedule, your schedule does not run you. What if a childhood friend comes to town and wants to do something? Blow off your day and hang out with your friend. What if you’re not feeling well? Stay in bed and take care of yourself.

Another productivity hack I have found to be really helpful is the “do nothing day”. My do nothing day is on Sunday. Sunday is the day I do not follow a schedule or set any expectation for myself, other than sleeping in, getting in some good movies, playing some games, and enjoying myself. It is the one day I do what I want. This makes Monday so much easier to execute. I am totally rested and ready to attack the week.

 

What productivity hacks do you use to accomplish your goals? Reply in the comments below.

To summarize:

Hack 1: Use a recurring task list

Hack 2: Consistent small activities build into big achievements

Hack 3: Your schedule does not rule you

Hack 4: Take a “do nothing day” each week.

 

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Jury Duty

Tags

Adapt, Exercise Bands, Hacks, Improvise, Intertuptions, Jury Duty, motivation, Overcome

I am on the hook for potential jury duty this week. I wanted to pass this along, because if I am selected, my postings will be on hold during this time. I’m obligated to call into the court every day to find out if I need to report. They could select me today – Friday.

Life hands us all kinds of little surprises. These surprises can pose minor or major disruptions to a person’s schedule. This is where your ingenuity comes into play. As mentioned in previous posts, of all the daily things I do, exercise has always been a difficult one. Recently, I purchased exercise bands to overcome any issues with my workout schedule.

Some things that can disrupt a workout schedule, particularly in Michigan, is the weather. When I lived in Phoenix, weather was never an issue. Here in Michigan weather is a major issue to deal with. Whether it is a blizzard, ice storm, or thunderstorm, these make it difficult to get to a gym. Exercise bands allow me to get a decent workout, when I cannot get to the gym. The brand I use is: Serious Steel Exercise Bands. These bands come in 6 different weight levels. You’ve got to be a little creative with some exercises, but they work. These bands are easy to travel with and ensure I do not miss a workout other than blowing it off myself.

I also use a workout app called “5MHW”, which stands for the 5-minute home workout. I like this little app because it provides 6 different routines, ranging from cardio, legs and butt, abs, upper body, yoga, and pilates. My favorite workouts are the ab workouts, upper body, legs, and pilates exercise routines. Again, this little routine allows me to do something, when other options are not available. I use these workouts with any weight work I do with the bands.

This week’s schedule, pending on my jury duty will remain the same. I use a laptop primarily for my work, so it will go with me to the court, so I can still get some things done. I’ll be working on my book, posting to the blog, my spiritual exercises and religious readings, exercise routine, yard work, and coding on Codecademy.

I hope all of you have a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – You Don’t Need Motivation to do What You Love

Tags

Commitment, Dedication, Exercising, Focus, Learning, Meditating, motivation, passion, Reading, Writing

Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

Happy Monday!

What do you have planned this week? I had a great conversation with my wife yesterday. She just placed 2nd and 5th in two different bodybuilding categories at a competition in Las Vegas. I asked her what she did to get into the shape she got into for the competition. Here’s a bit.

Two workout sessions each day in the final 8 weeks. She does 1 hour of cardio (treadmill) followed by 45 minutes in the Sauna. She eats only chicken, rice, oatmeal (dry), protein shake, and egg whites. In the last 4 days, prior to the competition, she ate only chicken with ¼ cup of rice in the evening. Her weight training sessions are an hour to an hour and a half after a long day of work (she’s a special education teacher). She eats about 1.5 lbs of chicken each day. The only thing she can drink is water. No coffee, no tea, no soda, no protein shakes, nothing.

Sounds tough right? Not if you are driven, dedicated, and motivated and love what you are doing. My wife loves exercise and lifting and competing. To her this is not that big of a deal. She inspires me.

The picture above is in Las Vegas this last Saturday. So proud of my wife!!!

So what do you want to do, but can’t seem to get yourself to do? Take a measure of your motivation. Do you really want to do this? Is there something else you would rather do? Find something that really motivates you. Maybe your drives lead you to writing a book, starting a business, learning a new language, traveling, or something else. Find that thing. Find the thing you can dedicate your time to without breaking yourself against your own willpower.

We all need to exercise and eat right. These are a given, but we don’t need to put ourselves into a situation like my wife does. She does it because she loves it. Find that thing that you need to put a little effort into, but is really effortless. We all have that one or two things that we are excited about.

Here are the things I enjoy every day. I love exercising, reading, writing, meditating, and learning. I also love video games, movies, and music. I exercise every day. I read every day. I write every day. I meditate every day (twice), and I love learning (I’m learning computer programming via Codecademy). Initially, I had to figure out how to get all these things into my day. Once I figured out how to get all of these things into my day, I moved to tracking them by putting them on a to-do list that repeats indefinitely. I used Google tasks for this process. Google tasks is available in your Gmail account, can be displayed to the right of Google calendar, and is an app you can download to your phone. Since most of my work is on my computer, I keep track of what I’ve done and what I haven’t done on my computer using the task list in Google Calendar.

Start small, especially if you are trying something new. When I built my reading habit, it was literally reading just a few pages each day. Now I’m up to a chapter a day. I read a few pages in my Bible and then I read a chapter.

What about scheduling you ask? Well, that depends on your life. I’m retired so my schedule is a little more dynamic. I tend to just tackle what I need to in no specific order. My exercise routine used to be first thing in the morning, but that’s tough when either my Mom or I have to be home to take care of my Dad. He has “episodes” where he literally passes out and someone must be here every day with him to make sure we are around to revive him if this happens. So, I have to work around my Mom’s errands and such so one of us can be with Dad. No problem. I can exercise with my exercise bands, I can use one of my exercise apps. The rest is all at my computer, so not a big deal.

You may be working, so you’ll have to look at what you want to do daily and physically schedule this stuff in on your calendar at specific times. Find out what you are truly passionate about and get to work.

Here’s my plan for the upcoming week:

• Read 1 chapter daily
• Write one section in my book daily
• Read my Bible daily
• Exercise – Cardio and Weights, Bands, or Calisthenics daily
• Meditate 2x daily
• Complete one lesson on Codecademy daily

I hope each of you has a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Cardio

Tags

Cardio, Exercise, Focus, habits, healthy living, motivation, workout

20 minutes cardio – broke a good sweat today.

See you at the finish line!!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Cardio

Tags

Bodybuilding, Cardio, Exercise, healthy living, motivation, Persistence, workout

Workout:

Cardio 20 minutes HIIT

See you at the finish line!!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Sticking With It

Tags

Analysis, Changing Course, concentration, Important, motivation, Re-Defining, Re-focusing

Image by Erich Westendarp from Pixabay 

No better picture (depicted above) better explains what I’ve been going through the last few weeks. So many directions, so many goals, so many things. It’s so easy to go overboard (at least for me) when you are achieving what you want and you want more of it. The problem with this strategy is you find yourself spending too much time on too many things and this dilutes the efforts you are making on what’s really important. The key question: What is important?

I mentioned in a few posts how I’ve felt out of it lately. Lost, like I just moved to a new place and haven’t figured out where I am or what to do. I did some research. The research explained that this mindset comes throughout our lives from time-to-time. It suggested that the best action to take during these times is to re-examine one’s goals. We should take time to assess what we are doing. Do we want to continue? Do we want to change course?

I decided this was wise counsel. So I set out and looked at all the things I’m pursuing. I found a few things that needed changing.  I have always been the guy who wanted to do it all. The problem with that strategy is that you spread yourself too thin. You get everything done, but you sacrifice the deep focus required to get things done well.

So, I went through my rituals and eliminated my list down to the most important things I want to do in each of my critical areas: physical, spiritual, social, and mental. I am focusing on exercise (physical), spiritual exercises (spiritual), spending time with my loved ones (social), and writing/reading/learning (mental). My new list:

 

• Exercise daily
• Work on my book daily
• Learn to code daily
• Spiritual Exercises Daily
• Reading Daily

These are my critical daily tasks. If I can improve physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially, I’m good. I have to say this exercise helped. I feel more motivated. I also got myself feeling normal again. I don’t have that “out of place” feeling anymore.

If you ever feel out-of-place like I have, try this exercise out. It helped me. Have a great week, all!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Making Time and Focusing on What Matters

Tags

Focus, Making Changes, Making Choices, Making time, motivation, New Rituals, Retirement

Photo Credit: Image by Jonas Svidras from Pixabay 

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” – Paul J. Meyer
Read more at: Brainyquote.com

What’s going on this week? I’m working on my book, going through a web development course, hitting the gym hard using Kris Gethin’s 4-week Muscle Building Trainer, and following the rest of my rituals.

Recently I changed my daily rituals. I always add and add and add to my daily routine, until it becomes untenable. This resulted in an audit of my daily to-dos and I came up with a neat idea–minimize my daily to-dos to a certain number and not add anything else. This has helped greatly.

My focus is important. I always want to read, write, contemplate, and exercise daily. These are my priorities. My core focus is on writing my books and spending some time learning something new each day. I finished a course on Aristotle’s Ethics yesterday offered by Hillsdale College. Now I am moving through an NLP course. It is long. It is about 179 online sessions, but really fascinating.

What is my motivation? It’s simple. I just want to be productive in retirement and take advantage of the time I have now to do the things I didn’t want to put time into when I was working full time. This is the key. You have to make time for things, even in retirement. Retirement doesn’t change what you are motivated to do. You still have to discipline yourself to go to the gym, set aside time to contemplate the spiritual things, read books, learn, and write. Trust me, there is no difference between what you do now and what you want to do. Everything you commit to doing, requires you to NOT do something else.

My Mom got her second cataract surgery today. Everything is ok. She has to go back to the doctor tomorrow to check the eye after it’s had some time to calm down, but there were no issues with the surgery. While I was there in the office, they had Women’s World Cup soccer on the television. Germany trounced the Rwandan team 4 – 0.

That’s it for today, folks! I hope you have a terrific Monday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – My New Torture Device

Tags

Achievement, Bodybuilding, Cardio, Exercise, healthy living, motivation, Persistence, Stair Stepper, workout

Today’s workout was interval training. I chose the stair-stepper for this routine’s cardio source.

20 minutes of interval training. 1 minute intense, 2 minutes slow. Great workout and a good sweat!!

See you at the finish line!!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Failure Builds Character

Tags

Character, failure, Learning, motivation, Persistence, primitive brains, Success

Image by yogesh more from Pixabay

“You Learn More From Failure Than From Success. Don’t Let It Stop You. Failure Builds Character.” – Unknown

Quote courtesy of http://www.briantracy.com

Failure. We all fear it. It’s interesting when you think about how our brains work. The brain doesn’t like change. It doesn’t like trying new things. It doesn’t like this because change is fearful to that part of our brain that warns us about danger.

Why? Well, our ancestors needed to be warned about everything by their primitive brains because mistakes could be deadly, particularly when there were creatures all around that wanted a meal. The brain’s warning system worked pretty good. We are still here after all.

How do you counteract this part of your brain to try new things? Our brains are much different from our ancestors’ brains. Our brains are much larger and have evolved to a point that we can override this prehistoric brain. We can choose to make changes despite our brain’s warnings.

Our ability to direct ourselves to do things that are unknown or challenging is a gift. We still have to deal with the fear of failure and all the rest, but now we have the ability to reason with ourselves. We can evaluate an action and deem it safe, despite the risks for failure and move forward. This is challenging, but possible. It merely requires us to be persistent and push forward with our goals.

All of us are unique. Some of us see a threat while others see an opportunity. What I have found to ease my angst is to get out there and learn from other people. I learn from books, online courses, and YouTube videos. If you see someone else doing something you want to do, the fear dissipates somewhat. I say to myself, “If they can do it, so can I.”

Then there’s practice. It’s hard to learn something new without getting your hands dirty. You can read about a topic, learn about a topic, and even watch someone else does something, but it is so much different when you do it. You will make mistakes. You will mess up. Each time you mess up, you learn. You learn that this is not the way. Then, if you are paying attention, you’ll avoid that mistake in the future and go on to the next step.

Fail. There is nothing wrong with it. Learn from it. Start again. Persist. You can’t lose if you don’t quit.

This week is a busy one. I’ve got a few books to finish, a chapter to write in my book, workouts to do, and of course, posting to this blog. It’ll be a great week!

Until next time…

Dave