Monthly Archives: June 2017

Talk with Tom: Episode #20 | TwT Motivational Minute: Heart Talk to Heal Tension

 

In this Talk with Tom Motivational Minute, Tom tells us how we can use the tool of a heart talk to resolve tension that might have built up over time.

Every month, in just 30 minutes, Tom shares topic after topic to Grow Your Life and Build Your Business. If you’re not already a subscriber, join us. Talk with Tom is 100% free, and there are special benefits available only to our subscribers, so be sure you subscribe yourself on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts, and we look forward to seeing you right back here on the last Wednesday of every month with Talk with Tom.

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8 Ways to Gain Energy Naturally

 

#GrowYourLife

 

Life Area: Personal

Do you often find yourself running low on energy late in the day? Or, do you occasionally wake up already tired? Energy Management is as key to success as Task Management and Focus but few people realize that. Conventional wisdom taught us that if you slept eight hours a night, ate right and exercised well, you would have all the energy necessary to accomplish a successful day.

We now know that there are many ways to gain energy, both naturally and unnaturally. It can be easy and convenient to grab an energy drink or coffee when you’re feeling tired, but a cheap-and-quick energy drink will leave you feeling even more fatigued than you initially were once it wears off. Try these natural, clean and easy methods for increasing your energy:

8 Ways to Gain Energy Naturally

 

STAY HYDRATED. The more water, the better. Staying hydrated keeps your body functioning properly, which in turn keeps your energy levels up. Here’s the popular rule of thumb my clients have heard me say time and again: Drink half your body weight in ounces every day.

REMEMBER CAFFEINE IN MODERATION. Natural caffeine in coffee, green tea, or black tea is a great way to boost your energy level. Caffeine has also been found to stave diabetes, dementia and migraines.

INCREASE YOUR MAGNESIUM INTAKE. Halibut, whole grains and nuts (particularly almonds and cashews) are rich in magnesium. If those don’t appeal to you, take a daily natural supplement. A Department of Agriculture study found that women who had more magnesium in their diet could workout longer and harder at the gym.

GO SMALL. Eat smaller meals more often. By eating a small meal every two to three hours, you maintain your brain’s steady flow of nutrients and avoid fatigue. If you prefer less frequent, larger meals, make sure you don’t skip any. FYI, a portion is the size of your fist.

ADD ANTIOXIDANTS TO YOUR DIET. Blueberries, artichokes, and tomatoes are great examples of foods full of antioxidants, a clean energy source (meaning they can protect the body from energy swings). Continue reading →

Some Alternatives to SMART Goals

 

smart goals hard goals pure goals clear goals

#GrowYourLife

 

Life Area: Personal

You’ve heard me say, write, live SMART goals. That is:

SMART GOALS:

S   pecific
M easurable
A  chievable
R  ealistic
T  ime bound

Here’s three other acronyms I came across for you non-conformists:

PURE GOALS:

P  ositively Stated
U  nderstood
R  elevant
E   thical

CLEAR GOALS:

C  hallenging
L  egal
E  nvironmentally Sound
A  greed
R  ecorded

HARD GOALS:

H  eartfelt
A  nimated
R  equired
D  ifficult

Tom Hart Success Series 7-Day Goal Setting Challenge

For more on goal setting, check out my recent blog post Mid-Year Goals Check-in and dive deep with my 2016 Goals Series of blog posts: [here’s #1] [and #2] [#3 is linked here] [find #4 here] [and last in the series #5] and read [this blog post from the 2015 archives]. To learn how to write an action plan for goal achievement read [this post].

My crash course for this year is my 7-Day Goal Setting Challenge – A Guide to Help You Set Your Goals, Create a Plan of Action and Begin Achieving Them IN ONLY A WEEK! I describe it in detail in this Talk with Tom podcast episode on the subject [here].

Download my FREE 7-Day Goal Setting Challenge eBook – A Guide to Help You Set Your Goals, Create a Plan of Action and Begin Achieving Them IN ONLY A WEEK! [Download for FREE here].

 

In continuation of a sampling of the 100 Things Successful People Do from the book of the same title by author Nigel Cumberland (but not all 100 🙂 Here’s another 5:

1. Have the courage to fail

2. Seek wisdom and use it

3. Model the best

4. Sleep well

5. Laugh more.

 

One of my missions in life is to move and inspire people to live their highest vision.  It is my honor and privilege to serve you in this way.  I make it an absolute MUST to inspire each and every one of you to STEP UP and live the life of your dreams, NOW, and not settle for less than you can be, do, have, say or believe.

There is no better endorsement than that of a friend, so if you like what you’re reading or are using my many resources, tell a friend to join the Tom Hart Success Series Community, to receive email notifications of new blog posts and Talk with Tom podcast episodes, learn of upcoming events, and other news, by visiting my website  and clicking on the offer to receive my FREE monthly resource by leaving their email address (we respect your privacy and do not tolerate spam and will never sell, rent, lease or give away your information to any third party).

Mid-Year Goals Check-in

 

#GrowYourLife and #BuildYourBusiness

Life Area: Personal

Nearly half the year has past to achieve your 2017 goals and I want you to ask yourself the following question: Are you on track to…

  • …make more money?
  • …spend more time with loved ones?
  • …travel as much as you want?
  • …live the life you dream of?

If your answers had you shaking your head or feeling disappointed, might I suggest taking action to get you back on track?

To help give you a little nudge, download my FREE 7-Day Goal Setting Challenge – A Guide to Help You Set Your Goals, Create a Plan of Action and Begin Achieving Them IN ONLY A WEEK!

 

7-Day Goal Setting Challenge

 

Continue reading →

Try Time Blocking Instead of a To-Do List

 

ideal week sample time blocking#GrowYourLife and #BuildYourBusiness

Life Area: Professional

 

Many of you know my simple time management technique. You start with a brain-dump to create a Master Task List, then from that develop a Weekly Task List, with your Top Three becoming your Daily To Dos.

 

When combined with my Ideal Week time blocking method (found on my FREE Resources page) you may find it easier to manage your time and your tasks.

 

TIME BLOCKING

 

Time blocking is essentially assigning your tasks to different time slots of concentrated work throughout your week.

 

Why Time Block?

Organizing your tasks into time blocks helps you prioritize better. Assign your number 1 task to your number 1 time slot. Your number 1 time slot may not necessarily be your first time slot of the week…make it your best time slot based on the cycles I talk about below.

 

There is also a psychological reason why time-blocking makes more sense. In what is known as the Zeigarnik effect, which basically states that we remember what we haven’t done better than what we have done, an uncompleted task weighs on us, leading to stress and insomnia. However, when we have all of our tasks placed into a specific time slot, we sleep more soundly knowing everything that needs to get done is assigned a time to get done.

 

Cycles and Biorhythms

I’ve written here before about the Pomodoro productivity method which recommends at period of focused work, usually 50-60 minutes, followed by a brief break of say 10 minutes. In spite of having a three hour block of time, be sure to “break” it up.

 

Before you start calendaring your time slots, think about how your energy and work both flow. Are there work cycles that could affect how much uninterrupted time you will have? And what times of day do you have the most energy or are best suited to do the tasks you need to do? “Don’t schedule a hard task in a time of day where you typically lag, and don’t schedule a big task in a small amount of time. Wishful thinking can’t change the reality of your schedule,” Cal Newport adds in his new book Deep Work.

 

Here’s how it works: Remember this: your Master Task List may contain 100 items but you know from previous mentions here that the Paraeto Principle states that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts. The same holds true for your tasks. They will break out like this: 10% will be your highest priorities at any given time (with 20% of those yield 80% of your results). The bottom 10% WILL NEVER GET DONE. And the 80% in the middle will slide up and down, be replaced, drop-off, etc. So here are the numbers from your brain-dump of 100: 10 will be of highest priority (2 will be game changers), 10 will never get done, and 80 will constantly be on the move to completion or deletion.

Continue reading →