Do you have a system for keeping up with paperwork and various to-do’s?
Can you improve upon your system? Take the bull by the horns!
The best system I’ve come across is Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen. (Website Link & Book Link)
If you’re just starting out, try adopting one of the easiest rules: If something requires less than 2 minutes, take care of it right then.
If you’re fairly organized but don’t have a “System,” check out GTD, particularly the 43 Folders.
The 43 Folders technique is the absolute best organization/productivity tip I have ever come across. It will make your life so much easier!!!
If you’re already using GTD, are you using the Weekly Review? Click here if you need a refresher course.
What’s your best tip for staying organized? Please share!
Today’s Daily Shoring tip is easy: Remember an accomplishment!
Think of a time you set a goal, persevered, and were proud of yourself.
It doesn’t have to be anything grand, just something meaningful to you. Take a moment to enjoy the encouraging recollection! What frame of mind were you in at the time? What helped you accomplish your goal?
Are there ways you can try to recreate that state of mind?
How do you cope with stress? Do you have healthy coping mechanisms?
First of all, if you can’t identify your coping mechanisms, chances are you’re responding to stress in a physically reactive, maladaptive way!
We are hard-wired to respond to stress in a physiological manner, which prepares us for “fight or flight.”
Until relatively recent times, the “stress” that humankind usually dealt with was a physical threat that required a physical response–either defend yourself & fight the threat, or run! For example, if the main stressor in your life was fear of getting attacked by a bear, and you came across a bear, you had to make a split second decision to either a) fight the bear, or b) run! When faced with such a life-or-death decision, your body automatically (and unconsciously) knows what to do.
In the face of a threat, your body immediately increases your heart rate, increases blood flow to your arms & legs (and away from organs used for “maintenance”), and activates the pituitary and adrenal glands, which release stress hormones into your system.
The stress hormones released during “fight or flight” include ACTH & epinephrine (adrenalin), which trigger the production of cortisol. Cortisol’s job is to increase blood pressure, increase blood sugar, & suppress the immune system (because all the body’s energy needs to go toward fighting or fleeing). Other physiological reactions to threat include dry mouth, “tunnel vision,” and shaking.
Today, our lives generally do not involve life or death scenarios–even back in the day, true life-or-death scenarios were not a daily occurrence. Alhough our stressors have changed, our bodies are still hard-wired to respond to stress in the same way–as if we’re in physical danger! The “fight or flight” response is intended to be a short term solution to a temporary (although serious) threat, and it is highly effective. However, keeping our bodies in “fight or flight” mode takes a huge physiological toll on us.
Most of our stress today does not require us to respond physically (fight or flee)–we actually need to calm our physiological responses so we can think clearly and problem solve our way out of stressful situations. And we need to avoid the negative physical consequences of a chronic “fight or flight” response–high blood pressure, disrupted sleep, and impaired digestive functioning, just to name a few.
Your Daily Shoring assignment for today is to work on a healthy response to stress! Make a conscious effort to use these coping strategies:
- Deep breathing–very effective in the moment, and it interrupts the “fight or flight” response. Remember the techniques you learned in Add a Healthy Habit? Click here for a youtube instructional video on diaphragmatic breathing by Scott van Niekerk.
- Exercise! Can’t emphasize this one enough! Exercise is a proven stress reliever, and being physically fit has a mitigating effect on the negative consequences of the “fight or flight” response.
- Incorporate a “daily reset“–a time each day that you completely relax, both mentally and physically. Think of stress and anxiety as having a “kindling effect.” If you do not totally reset your mental and physical stress, it’s the equivalent of leaving embers in the fireplace–it takes only a small amount of kindling to start a blaze. A daily reset douses the embers, thereby making you more resilient to the next day’s stress–you won’t experience an immediate spike (blaze) when stress (the kindling) comes your way. Need help? Check out the free Guided Meditations at the UCLA Mindfulness Center! The shortest are only 3 minutes long and you can listen online or download to iTunes.
Identify your “daily reset” and designate a time in your day for your reset. Even three minutes of deep breathing each day can make a huge difference!
Can you make the daily reset a part of your regular routine? Maybe add it to your morning ritual or bedtime ritual?
What’s your daily reset?
Today, I want you to pay attention. . . really pay attention. Did you know multitasking interferes with memory functioning?
When you divide your attention, your cognitive efficiency drops precipitously. Many people complain of memory problems when in fact the problem is not memory at all–it’s encoding information in the first place.
If you’re dividing your attention, you’re not efficiently encoding new information, which means there’s nothing to “remember”–the information was never encoded in the first place!
Here are some suggestions to improve your memory–practice one of these today!
- Don’t multitask (see above)
- Verbal Rehearsal–narrate your way through a task. This works even better if you say it out loud.
- Repetition–repeat the information you want to recall, 3 or more times.
- Sleep on it–if you’re trying to assimilate a lot of new information, get a good night’s sleep! Your brain will do much of the work overnight and you’ll remember much more efficiently than if you lose sleep trying to cram.
Here’s a Lifehacker article on how multitasking interferes with memory: What Multitasking Does to Our Brains.
And here’s an article about one man’s attempt to go one month without multitasking: How I Stopped the Multitasking Madness.
This article also serves as an introduction to the concept of “mindfulness,” which I’ll write about more extensively in future posts.
Which techniques did you use today to improve your memory?
Today’s Daily Shoring tip is similar to Accomplish an Easy Goal, but instead of crossing something off your list, you’re going to set a defined goal and begin working toward that goal.
Easy:
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Set a goal you can accomplish today, and it doesn’t have to be something already on your list!
It’s okay to make it something fun–accomplishing goals should not always be associated with chores or enduring something unpleasant. For example, your goal for today could be to watch a TV show, have dinner, or read without interruptions (including self-interruptions, like checking your phone or getting up to do something!).
Moderate to Challenging:
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Think about something you’ve been wanting to do or learn, and set aside time to focus on that. If you can’t spend any time on it today, figure out when you can do some research and commit to it.
Also, jot down ideas–this will get your brain going in the right direction, even if you can’t take action today. Wanting to travel, fix something around the house, redecorate, write a book, or try a new recipe? Block off an hour or two sometime this week to look further into your project, and start jotting down ideas today.
If you already have many projects in the works, then your goal is to make concrete goals for the next few days–what can you realistically accomplish? Here’s an example of setting a realistic goal:
This illustrates how a realistic goal must be prioritized (I’m consciously setting aside time to focus on it) and operationalized (broken down into concrete steps, with intermediate goals, each requiring dedicated time).Without prioritizing and operationalizing, projects tend to stay on the back burner, and you feel like you’re spinning your wheels. Instead, set a realistic goal and focus on a project that inspires you!
What goal did you set today?
