House Cleaning
For most of us, January is seen as an inflection point in life. It’s the start of a New Year; a new you; and a new adventure full of excitement and mystery.
Now the truth is, it isn’t really an infection point until you can look back and say it was.
This means sticking to your new years resolutions, achieving the goals you laid out at the beginning of the year, or simply ending the year in a much different place than you ever expected (hopefully for the better).
So today I wanted to offer some very simple advice to help increase your chances of sticking to your resolutions. In fact, the advice I am about to offer is so simple you could be acting on these very things by the end of today.
So with this in mind, lets get started:
- Eliminate Digital Distraction
- Spend the month of January monitoring what emails come to your inbox. If it’s something you you do not use or read on a weekly basis, unsubscribe (there is usually always a link at the bottom of the email to unsubscribe)
- Delete apps you don’t use - or the ones you use too much. The first part is easy. The second is usually what’s difficult. If you absolutely cannot eliminate the apps you use too much, try setting allowance times.
- Unfollow time-sucking accounts. All of us are guilty of having them. We thoughtlessly follow an instagram or facebook page and next thing we know we spend hours mindlessly staring at their content. Unfollow these accounts asap. I promise you won’t miss them.
2. Eliminate Physical Distraction
- Possessions — This is what Marie Kondo has made a living from — and there is good reason why. Decluttering frees up time, space, and money. Spend 5–10 minutes each day this month throwing out or donating items you have not used in the last 4- 6 months.
- People- This is usually one of the toughest but most rewarding. One of the best rules of thumb I have come across is ‘you are the average of the five people you surround yourself with’. In a perfect world, everyone get’s a long. The truth is, professional athletes rarely are regulars at the local bar. Surround yourself with people who do what you are trying to.
- Mental Baggage- While some will argue this technically isn’t a “physical distraction” I would argue that not dealing with it has physical consequences. No matter what you are dealing with, get help. By eliminating mental baggage and training your mind to think positively, you will be in a much better state to succeed.
3. Develop a Roadmap to Dealing with Change
As you begin to eliminate distractions and increase focus, you will inevitably begin to see change.
However, it is all but guaranteed smooth sailing as you deal with these changes. You will have to deal with a range of feelings and emotions — many of which can derail progress.
Accordingly, it is important to have a method for dealing with these feelings and emotions.
One of the simplest tools I have come across to help with such a task is a chart develped by Tim Knoster:
What makes this tool so powerful is in the ability for anyone to easily identify their current emotional state and work backwards in the equation.
Once the missing variable is identified, one can then work towards acquiring the resources they need to complete the equation.
I hope this post, if anything, serves as a supplement to any goals and aspirations my readers have for 2020.
While it is important to talk about what your goals are, it is equally, if not more important, to talk about how to achieve them. After all “execution is the chariot of genius…”
