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Dopamine Fast – Why you should start one today

Havard Mela — Fri, 02 Aug 2024 13:14:07 +0000

Why You Should Do A “Dopamine Fast” Today

The value of stillness in today’s world is underrated. It might be time for a dopamine fast.

It is simply astonishing how helpful it can be to unplug from the constant distractions we encounter online.

The big tech platforms have both a “tool component” and a “drug component”. To overcome the “drug component” that makes us addicted and waste a lot of time, we need conscious strategies.

The benefits of being conscious of our digital use are immense. If we limit our exposure, we will avoid the constant dopamine spikes we get from scrolling and overstimulation in general. Adding a few more tweaks will help us optimize our dopamine levels.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that motivates us to do stuff and gives us pleasure when reaching rewards such as sex, food, and money.

By optimizing your dopamine levels, you will experience:

Excitement
Increased motivation
Confidence and drive
Becoming more goal-oriented

Everything will feel much more exciting, and you will have much more energy to get things done.

Dopamine will give you the ability to work hard towards your goals. Without it, you will be lazy and unmotivated. I remember the days when I used the internet in an unfocused, limitless way. It turned into a couch potato, and the reason was that all the easy pleasure I got online had a really bad effect on my dopamine system.

Anything that harms your dopamine system will make you less willing to work hard and be

disciplined. As we all know, to become successful or even live happy and meaningful lives, we have to make an effort and show up every day. And that becomes easier if your dopamine system works in your favor.

So, how do we prepare for a “dopamine fast”? Here are two necessary steps:

1. Become conscious of your digital life

Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous (ITAA) has developed some great tools. However, you don’t have to be addicted to benefit from their models.

ITAA has a framework to classify different online behaviors. Determining what kinds of digital activities you need to be careful with, what are beneficial uses, and what is not an issue for you can be very useful. Using their framework made a big difference for me.

Their system is divided into bottom, middle, and top lines:

1. Bottom lines: We should abstain from digital activities at all costs.

These are our digital compulsions or addictions. When we engage in these activities, we cannot stop and we get lost in them. We lose self-esteem every time we spend time on our bottom lines. I recommend using Focusme to block your bottom lines.

2. Middle lines: These digital activities can trigger us.

Knowing what can trigger us to access our bottom lines is very important. Personally, I used to struggle with porn addiction, and for me watching porn is a bottom line. I am very conscious about anything that can trigger that unwanted behaviour, such as scrolling through Instagram or watching certain movies. Middle lines are digital activities that can lead us down the slippery slope to our bottom lines by triggering us by showing pictures and videos or evoking emotional states that make us vulnerable.

3. Top lines: These are healthy activities offline or with screens that empower us and improve how we feel about ourselves.

These kinds of activities keep us satisfied and happy and are beneficial to our lives. Top lines can be beneficial uses of technology, such as researching things, watching video lectures, recording music, and so on. Our top lines encompass healthy hobbies and activities we engage with outside tech that make our lives better.

Everyone’s bottom, middle, and top lines are different. We use different apps and digital activities online, and we have different interests and triggers. So, figuring out your bottom, middle, and top lines is a very useful exercise to gain some clarity.

By consciously thinking about what can trigger you, you are in a much better position to manage your digital use. That will help you become more aware and disciplined in your life.

2. Identify other ways you go for instant gratification

Here are some other typical ways to go for easy pleasure:

“Doomscrolling”
Playing video games
Excessive procrastination
Online gambling
And so on…

You are set when you have identified the other typical ways you go for instant gratification online.

The big benefits of a dopamine fast.

You don’t have to become a monk. Simply having some small habits you do every day can make a huge difference and reset your dopamine levels.

Fasting from dopamine isn’t possible and not desirable. After all, we need dopamine to get motivated, and it is technically impossible.

Instead, “dopamine fasting” is about minimizing exposure to cheap dopamine from social media, online porn, and so on.

Here are some examples that I have used:

No social media use for the first hour after waking
No social media use for the last hour before
Avoiding bottom lines (your problematic internet habits).
Going to the gym and leaving your phone at
Putting your phone in a different room for two hours while

If you avoid your bottom lines and also limit how much you go for instant gratification, your dopamine system will thank you.

Final thoughts

What matters most is that we limit the cheap pleasures in our lives. Otherwise, our brain’s reward system will become desensitized to the smaller pleasures in life. And your ability to work hard will disappear since your dopamine system is desensitized.

If you have too many easy pleasures in your life, the things you do to give you pleasure will produce pain.

It might not seem like fun to place restrictions on ourselves, but it will actually cause you to enjoy life a lot more and make the smaller things more enjoyable.

My life has improved by being more conscious about easy online pleasures. Having a healthy

dopamine system has also skyrocketed my ability to work hard. And the same can happen to you, too. Havard Mela is an author, coach, and digital minimalist. You can check out his website here.

If you feel it’s time for a dopamine fast, why not try FocusMe? Our FREE trial will get you on track for more productivity guaranteed! Click the button below to start a free trial today.

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How to overcome Digital Distractions?🤔

Havard Mela — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:27:32 +0000

How to Overcome Digital Distractions

Your phone is there. At the desk. Or in your pocket. In the following article, you will find out how to overcome digital distractions.

The endless pull to check it is intense. The phone can instantly take away boredom and bring pleasure. It has become a way to escape any uncomfortable feeling or sensation instantly.

Why pay attention to what is happening in the boring lecture or Zoom meeting when you can see what’s new on Facebook? Or check Instagram. But the more you scroll, the worse the inner feeling of dissatisfaction becomes. It is not only the phone. We have the same challenges with our computers while working. There is endless novelty and stimulation just seconds away, which is a real hindrance to getting anything done. Have you ever wanted to begin working for the day but found yourself checking email, scrolling through your Facebook feed, and basically doing anything but work? Telling yourself you will just check one more thing, but the longer you wait, the less appealing it seems and the harder it is to dive into it.

Before you know it, a couple of hours have passed, and the only thing you have done is to check your bank account and social media and looked at your email inbox a few more times than necessary. If this is you, you are not alone. Endless distractions overwhelm us. But it doesn’t stop at work. After work, you want to hang out with friends. You check your phone to respond to messages and plan that meetup. But what you thought would only take 5 minutes ends up taking an hour or two as you get lost in the apps and the endless novelty and entertainment they provide.

So, how do we overcome digital distractions?

As someone who has struggled a lot with distracting myself online with video games, social media, movies and porn, here are some suggestions that helped me regain control.

1. What impairs your focus the most?

Write down the things you believe impair your focus the most and stimulate you the most without any big benefits. Which digital activities or offline ones, for that matter, can you avoid that only cause harm in your life?

2. Last week’s screen time.

How much time did you spend on your smartphone last week? You can find this out by going to your smartphone’s settings and checking your screen time.

Write this number down. Then, try to think through how much time you spend on your computer or tablet for personal matters. Add the two numbers together. That should give you the total.

amount of time online outside work. This number is probably higher than what you want it to be. We are typically not willing to change before we see our situation from a place of objectivity.

3. Turn off as many notifications as possible.

When I check my phone, the screen is almost always blank. The reason is that I turned off everything except urgent alerts. You don’t need your apps to tell you to check them. I also turned off vibrate for most things. The more notifications you get, the more difficult it will be to avoid checking your phone. It is as simple as that.

The brain is promised a reward every time you receive a notification. And your brain will look for ways to experience the reward it has been promised. You can’t help yourself and end up checking your phone every 10 minutes.

So, I recommend turning off notifications on everything that is not necessary. For instance, you can turn off notifications on everything except phone calls and messages and check social media when you schedule a time for it. It is better to do things on our schedule than the schedule Silicon Valley is trying to impose on us.

Read this article to learn more about how to unplug and relax when you are too busy with work.

4. Buy an alarm clock and put your phone in a different room while sleeping.

Doing this can make a huge difference. It is extremely common to be on the phone before going to bed and reach for it straight after waking up. Putting your phone in a different room ensures you won’t be tempted to scroll through social media or watch videos while lying in bed. You will have to be there with your own thoughts, a book, or your partner. You might even end up falling asleep a lot earlier than usual as well!

Making a habit of this has helped me get more quality sleep as I am not scrolling while lying in bed, which can often steal a lot of time.

5. Simplify your digital life.

I removed all the apps I didn’t need from my phone. Do you really need ten different social apps? What about YouTube and Netflix? Do you really need those on the phone? If you really want to relax with a movie or something entertaining, isn’t it better to do that from home with a bigger screen and do it properly? The less we rely on the phone for our daily tasks, the better. The problem is not checking the good restaurants you want to go to. It is the mindless scrolling we do afterwards, which becomes way easier when we have more things to distract us. Try removing all the apps you don’t need.

6. Use Focusme

You can block certain websites from your phone and computer. It can be a great way to minimize time spent on activities you want to avoid.

7. Decide how you will be reachable.

Ryan Holiday, the author of The Daily Stoic, limits himself to three ways to contact him: email, texts, and phone calls. These are all he needs for business inquiries, friends, and family. Due to the sheer volume of requests he gets, he has to be conscious of this as a busy author, entrepreneur, and family man. But there is a lesson in this for everyone.

Unless you limit yourself to how people can reach you, you might end up having email, texts, phone calls, Instagram DMs, WhatsApp, Telegram, TikTok, Snapchat, Tinder, BeReal, Messenger, Slack, and who knows what else. If you feel the need to check a huge number of apps several times a day, you will be overwhelmed, distracted, and miserable.

There is simply no way to keep up with it all without being in a frantic blur of digital distractions, leaving you unable to focus deeply and get into the flow of your work and personal life. I used to feel bad if I didn’t check all the apps all the time, being worried I answered too late or missed out on something. Trying to limit how many social apps you have can be very helpful.

8. Find your long-term replacement activities.

For me, reading and writing have been my primary replacement activities. It is in the stillness of disconnecting from social media, YouTube, and other distractions that I have found the time and energy to read and write.

What do you want to spend more time on going forward? You may have a passion for playing the guitar and want to take your skill to the next level. Or perhaps you want to start a business but feel like you don’t have the time. Whatever it is, reflecting on what activities you want more time for can be very helpful in reducing digital distractions.

If I can do it, you can too

The more you check social media and emails and visit your favourite news site, the harder you will find it to do hard work and commit to what you care about. When we avoid constant digital distractions, our level of stimulation gets lower, and it will be way easier to work toward our goals and dreams. You will end up being immersed in real life, hobbies, and people you care about and genuinely excited about life.

I found the energy and focus to do many things that I didn’t think were possible when I managed to cut down my screen time significantly. The same can happen to you, too.

Havard Mela is an author, coach, and digital minimalist. You can check out his website here.

Do you want to overcome digital distractions? Why not try FocusMe for free? Click the button below to start your FREE trial today!

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6 Productivity Tips for Working from Home

Jon Rumens — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 18:23:03 +0000

Working from Home Tips to increase productivity

Working from home can be challenging: you might find yourself distracted by household tasks that need your attention, by your family or roommates, and you might even find you are working extra hours because you can’t focus during working hours.

If that sounds like you, it’s important that you find ways to stay productive and create a work-life balance that will positively affect your overall health. Read our tips on how to be productive when working at home:

1. Develop a schedule that works with your productivity levels

Developing a working schedule that is unique to you will help you maintain that work-life balance that you always wanted. The key here is to work on a schedule that suits you and the way you work.

A lot of the time we see tips such as work as if you are in the office, however, we don’t agree with that. We all know things have changed, so working remotely should give employees the flexibility to work when they feel productive. Pay attention to the times you feel the most productive and develop a modern-day working schedule that will set guidelines for when to work and when to call it a day.

For example, you might have a Zoom meeting with someone overseas and your schedule might need to be adjusted. When that happens, be sure to wrap up earlier than usual or sleep in a bit the next morning to make up for it.

If you are not able to have that flexibility in your line of work, then try to create a schedule based on your working hours. Set clear objectives and add tasks to your schedule depending on your productivity levels. Again, the mission here is to notice how your brain likes to work.

For instance, if you have a 9 am Zoom call every morning, don’t set a hard task right after the call. Instead, add the small task of taking down notes based on the call you just had, and slowly that will get you in the zone. Notice how you feel every day and based on your energy levels, create a schedule for the day that is doable.

Pro tip: Share or talk about your schedule with your family. That way you set boundaries in your home and can make it clear that during the hours you are working, you are not to be disturbed.

2. As soon as work is finished, step away

One of the hardest issues to get over when working from home is inactivity. Working remotely involves a lot of sitting in front of your computer for hours and hours on end until tasks are done.

If you make sure you have something else to do after work, then that will give you a source of motivation to finish up and get going. A lot of people working from home have become used to work always being there, so making sure you have a reason to step away every evening is important.

We are suggesting making some kind of plans right after work to give you that initial push. So, once you get used to this routine, then you can make sure that as soon as work is finished you get up and step away from any screens.

Go take a shower, start cooking, go for a walk, or go outside in nature and enjoy the fresh air and the sounds of birds to help lower your stress levels and relax.

3. Have a realistic to-do list while working from home

Take a few minutes every day before you start work to write down a to-do list with tasks that you can accomplish that day. Start small and use these daily points to slowly build up to a larger goal.

When creating to-do lists, a lot of us simply write down a list of final goals, for example, Schedule this week’s Email campaigns. But what steps would you need to take to schedule the email campaigns? You would need to write the email copy, create graphics, check the audience, check analytics, and check the best times to schedule the email. These are the tasks you should be adding to your to-do list.

Pro tip: Enabling yourself to achieve small goals each day could help you complete your work tasks without even realising. The sense of completing these achievable tasks in your list will also keep you motivated.

4. Track your time

If you struggle with time management, tracking your time can be a great technique to get you to focus on one task at a time. It can be easy to lose track of time when working remotely – you might get up to make a cup of tea and lose half an hour, just like that.

So, get your cup of tea, water, and snacks ready and set a timer for yourself. For example, set a timer for one or two hours to complete a task and then also set time to take a 20-minute break.

Pro tip: If you feel like you need that extra push and feel of urgency, set a timer on a clock that is visible in your peripheral. We know this sounds like a stressful way to go about it but trust us, working under self-inflicted pressure and seeing the time pass so quickly will only motivate you and help you achieve your goals in no time.

5. Avoid all digital interruptions!

If you work from home and especially work from your computer and mobile, limiting digital distraction might seem nearly impossible. FocusMe was created by Jon, a master procrastinator who wanted to take matters into his own hands. He created an app that would not only help him focus while working remotely but also block or limit digital distractions.

Our website blocker is fully customisable to block, limit or ration the use of distracting websites and apps. That way you can continue working on your computer without getting notifications from other platforms or being distracted by incoming personal emails.

With just a push of a button, what seemed impossible can now be easily controlled. Reclaim your focus by downloading your free trial today.

6. Try a fake commute

Before the pandemic, most of us used to wake up way earlier to commute to work and although we might have now gained some extra sleep and time to make breakfast in the morning, that sleepy commute was a great way to slowly get the brain gears working.

So, fake it till you make it! Fake a commute to your home office and give your brain that much-needed time in the morning to wake up and start thinking of what you want to achieve in the day.

Get up, get dressed and go for a walk. Whether it’s a short stroll or a long walk to grab some coffee, a jaunt to the nearest bakery or a run in the rain, it will help you clear your head and get ready for the day.

Read how FocusMe has helped our customers who work fr om home.

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ADHD-Friendly Ways to get Organised

Jon Rumens — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:00:14 +0000

Living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be challenging: daily activities can be a struggle to complete, and it can be hard to stay focused and manage distractions, making everything a bit overwhelming. Learn in the following article ADHD-friendly ways to get organised.

Although ADHD can be a very unique disorder from person to person, commonly those with ADHD struggle with hyperactivity and difficulty paying attention. Fortunately, medical advancements in understanding ADHD have led to effective strategies for managing its day-to-day challenges.

Whether you are a professional, a student or a working from-home parent with ADHD, adopting ADHD-friendly organisational tips can significantly enhance your productivity and daily life. Read our tips about ADHD-friendly ways to get organised:

Break down your tasks into smaller, manageable chunks

The key to completing your tasks is to break them down into smaller, manageable bits. Prioritise your daily tasks and break them down into only a few each day, not a million tasks that will most definitely overwhelm you.

For example, don’t add the task read through all your unread emails today, break it down into a smaller step that is more achievable, read through 10 unread emails today, 10 tomorrow, and so on. You can further break down your tasks into personal and work-related tasks and the ones that are top priority.

This approach prevents burnout and fosters a sense of accomplishment that will motivate you even more.

Use a content blocker to limit digital distractions

In our digital-driven world, distractions are just a click away, making it particularly challenging for those with ADHD. Customisable content blockers, like FocusMe, are invaluable tools for creating a distraction-free environment before you take on your daily tasks.

On days that you know you will have a list of tasks to complete, before anything else, we would suggest you disconnect from the digital world. By limiting access to distracting apps and websites, you get to maintain your focus on the task at hand.

Block, limit, or ration yourself off certain apps, websites, social media platforms, games, and more. Set time limits that only allow you to open your email a certain number of times per day or use our forced mode to say goodbye to scrolling altogether.

Our users have praised our tool for its flexibility and effectiveness:

“Probably the best software I’ve purchased. If you want to have more control over your digital environment, get FocusMe. Seriously, it’s the best app out there. It can do anything you want it to with unlimited customizability and if setup properly is nearly impossible to workaround. The value added to your life and mental well-being is worth 50x the asking price.”

Strategically schedule your time

As we mentioned previously, your tasks need to be manageable, so instead of attempting to conquer your entire to-do list in one go, allocate specific times for each task.

Organisational apps and calendars can help you schedule these tasks. Set reminders for short periods of time to address certain tasks and break up your day with clear time blocks for those specific chores.

Use sticky notes

We know sticky notes are not the most aesthetically pleasing options, but their use can keep you on track when you find yourself sidetracked. There is no shame in recognising that you need all types of reminders – what is important is to make organising as easy as possible.

Use them to mark where you left off or to remind yourself of the next steps. This is such a simple tactic that also reduces your cognitive load of having to remember.

Reflect on your day

At the end of the day, either when you are in bed or when you are relaxing on the sofa, make a mental rewind of your day. Reflect on the tasks accomplished, congratulate yourself and take note of any pending tasks.

This practice not only helps you plan the next day and organise your tasks but also provides you with a moment to acknowledge your progress and efforts. We hope

Remember, small progress is still progress!

Download the free trial and see the difference our website blocker can make!

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Top Tips on how to Study Smarter, Not Longer

Jon Rumens — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:03:24 +0000

Study Smarter, Not Longer: 5 Essential Tips to Enhance Your Learning Experience

Many students invest countless hours in studying, only to find that their efforts don’t yield the expected results, highlighting the importance of learning how to study smarter.

The path to effective studying isn’t always straightforward, and while individuals have unique learning processes that might work for them, there are many methods that you can use to enhance your studying.

Here are 5 tips on how to study smarter, not longer without sacrificing hours or compromising your mental well-being:

#1: Prioritise self-care

Before diving into intense studying sessions or facing upcoming exams, prioritise yourself.

Sleep and nutritious food are essential for your brain, so sleep and eat well before you start studying. Ensure to fuel up with a balanced nutritious meal and stock up on snacks that are good for brain power like walnuts, which are excellent sources of protein, and brain-boosting dark chocolate.

Additionally, make sure you take short breaks, stay hydrated, and move your body – follow a 10-minute stretching or yoga YouTube video.

Prioritising and looking after yourself before and while studying will only increase your energy levels, enhance your focus and attention span, and help you better absorb all the information.

#2: Lose the screens

Studies have indicated that it’s harder to remember what you’ve read when reading from a screen, rather than a book or piece of paper.

We know that times have changed and in many ways studying from devices can be more accessible, however, when possible, it could be best to avoid screens altogether.

Furthermore, studying on a laptop often invites other distractions, disrupting your academic focus and studying routine. Consider taking notes down or printing out online materials to give your eyes a break from screens.

If avoiding screens isn’t possible, then use web blockers to eliminate distractions completely and enable uninterrupted study sessions. With our web blocker, you can block, limit, or ration any websites and apps, or use our force mode to shut off the entire internet during your studying sessions.

#3: Talk out loud

By articulating information aloud, you engage better with your notes, and talking out loud enhances memory retention.

Some of us even do this without even thinking: how many times have you found yourself repeating out loud something that you’ve just read?

This is because we pay more attention to what we say, so next time you are studying, try writing your notes down and talking out loud.

#4: Say no to multitasking

Contrary to popular belief, if you want to study smarter and not longer, then you should banish multitasking from your routine.

When multitasking and juggling multiple tasks simultaneously, our brains switch rapidly between them, resulting in cognitive strain.

Avoid the temptation to multitask, especially when you are studying online. A quick search for content related to your studies can lead to aimless internet surfing and this takes its toll on your productivity and well-being.

#5: Embrace FocusMe

Encourage smarter studying habits with FocusMe, a tool designed to help students improve their productivity.

By offering a 30% educational discount, FocusMe offers students that first step to better time management and empowers them to create an environment free from digital distractions.

Unlock your full potential and take advantage of your educational discount here or you can also click the download button below to access the free trial

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Goal-Setting 2023: Is Skipping New Year’s Resolutions A Big Mistake?

Jon Rumens — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 07:00:17 +0000

Well, there went your hopes for New Year’s Resolutions…

Nearly two weeks gone by already since people all over the world and vowed to never do “THIS” again… or to finally get down to doing “THAT”…

And no doubt after a couple weeks, the gyms are already emptying out again… as life transformation hopefuls everywhere start to get more “realistic.” Typical, right?

On the other hand, it’s possible you didn’t set a New Year’s resolutions this year at all.

With a growing cynicism around new year’s resolutions failure rates, many of us just shrug them off as an exercise in futility. And then plenty just procrastinate until January slips off into the distance and yet another chance at life renewal passes by…

But Look, January Isn’t Over Yet!

And if there’s one thing the cynics DO get right about New Year’s Resolutions, it’s this – there’s no magic power tied to the specific date of January 1st. So if you’re kicking yourself already, wondering if you should have jumped on the self-improvement train before it was gone, it’s not too late to set goals for 2023 at all.

Here’s something to keep in mind.

All these studies regarding the resolution failure rate are all over the place! They make great headlines, but do a quick Google search and you immediately see articles from various sources claiming anything from around 40% all the way up to 80% of people fail their resolutions.

Perhaps a more important question is this: how often do people fail their attempts at life change OTHER times of the year? I think we all know the answer — a lot, right?

Because change is ALWAYS a challenge.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should stop trying to improve your life.

So Are There Actual Benefits To Setting Goals Around The New Year?

Or is this custom just as silly as hoping the Easter bunny drops off colored eggs in April?

LiveScience writes: “A 2002 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that those who made a New Year’s resolution were 44% more likely to succeed in that goal after six months than those who did not make a resolution but were interested in changing a problem later.” So yes, embracing the tradition of renewal pinned to the start of the New Year may actually be a great way to get your life on track, no matter what the cynics say.

Reporters love a controversial headline. But mentioning high failure rates of resolutions without mentioning the higher failure rates of goals in other times of the year paints an incomplete picture.

Everything about the world we evolved in moves in cycles.

So whether or not the exact date of January 1st “means anything,” per se, syncing yourself up with cycles aligns perfectly with the human tendency to follow seasons of birth, death, and renewal as we move through life. Instead of getting cynical about it, why not embrace the fact that this is how human individuals and societies have functioned as long as we’ve existed?

By taking it seriously, you can leverage it as a source of motivation and enthusiasm, an opportunity to think about how things went last year and set out some ways you want to improve coming into 2023 (even if it’s not the 1st anymore).

Add in the power of rituals and placebos to change your results in life, across the board, and there’s really no reason NOT to take the tradition very seriously.

Also, keep this in mind…

Starting Late Offers A Chance To Avoid Common Resolution Mistakes

Instead of beating yourself up for procrastination, let’s look at the bright side.

Many 2023 goal-setters have already begun to give up and fail…

But by starting now, you have an opportunity to sit down and get more intentional – rather than just making a knee-jerk resolution because it seems culturally appropriate or because a couple of your friends thought it would be a good idea.

Some of the common mistakes people make in their resolutions include:

Being Too Ambitious (Or Too Conservative) With Your Goals – Overly-ambitious or unrealistic goals can create excitement, but it’s also a great way to set yourself up for failure. On the other hand, goals that are too small and easy can feel pointless. Some experts will warn you away from audacious goals completely, but think about it this way: not quite reaching something huge is a whole lot better than crushing it at something insignificant. You may very well end up a lot further ahead in life by “failing” at the former. Plus, if you consider the let-down many high achievers report when they do get to their own finish line, it doesn’t hurt to always leave yourself something to strive for. My advice? Set goals that light your fire but then break these bigger goals down into milestones so you can create a little momentum starting out and yet still have something left over to work towards.
Failing To Engage In Systems Thinking – Another pitfall when people strive for change, regardless of the time of year, is their goals are focused more on outcomes than the system or process that produces said outcome. Yes, failing to plan or create a roadmap that gets you from A to Z is a great way to strike out with your new year’s resolutions in 2023. Whether you’re trying to achieve something or stop doing something, define exactly what that looks like, and then define exact steps that will get you there. Finally, define times when you will implement these steps. The process of change doesn’t happen with good intentions alone — you need ACTION. (Read my “27 Mind Hacks” article for how-to advice on systemizing behavioral change.)

Leaning On The Social Media Brownie Points – Of course, this is a huge problem in today’s attention-addicted social media society. Perhaps you’ve been told you need to hold yourself accountable to a goal or behavioral change by leaning on support from the community and making a big announcement. But this article from Psychology Today tells us people who publicly share their goals are less likely to follow through on them (and getting compliments on progress makes it even worse!). Why? It’s possible you get an emotional reward from a social media announcement (“Hey, look at me and how driven and disciplined I am”), and this may dampen the allure of actually working toward that goal and achieving it. So forget the social media brownie points, or at least save them until you’ve actually earned them!
Not Getting Specific Enough With Your New Year’s Resolutions – Again, it’s about setting clear, measurable goals – not making some broad, vague intention. “I will lose X pounds in X months” is way more powerful than “I will get slim again.” Write down exactly what you want to accomplish, and if possible, attach it to a specific time-frame or deadline so there’s zero question at all when you finally hit your target. Some other examples include “I will increase sales revenue by X in the first 3 months of 2023,” or “I will put $X in a savings account every single month in 2023.” (Here’s another article on how to create clearly defined goals.)
Trying To Do Too Many Things At Once – Finally, don’t fall for the trap of shooting for too many big changes at once. Sure, we’d all like to quit drinking, cut down to a 6-pack, seduce an attractive new lover, and build a successful million dollar per year business… all in 2023, please… but let’s pace ourselves here. In his article, “The Scientific Argument For Mastering One Thing At A Time,” James Clear makes a convincing, research-backed argument that even ultra-specific, time-sensitive goals work best when you stick with just one or two. If there are other areas of your life you want to improve in the meanwhile, keep your efforts in these areas small and manageable (perhaps by using the “Tiny Habit” method). You’ve only got to slay one big dragon at a time to create radical life momentum as the years go by. Alternatively, break your year up and focus your entire energy on different pursuits at different times.

Listen, Only YOU Can Decide To Be More Proactive This Year!

The difference between people who succeed at improving their lives…

…Versus those who don’t…

…Often comes down to the power of self-belief. As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

And what could be more self-defeating than deciding you won’t even try? Just because some article on the internet told you that you’ve only got a 30%, 20%, or 10% chance of success?

After all, they give us a similar line about the business failure rate, and yet there are entrepreneurs all over the world who build their fortunes in business regardless – just like Ford did.

So my advice?

It’s still January and you’ve still got a whole year ahead of you. If you don’t believe there’s any magic in new year’s resolutions, what’s the harm in convincing yourself that there is?

The only thing worse than failing at a well-intended behavioral change…

…Is failing to even try.

Are You Using FocusMe To Defeat Digital Distractions And Achieve Laser Focus?

Click the button to learn more about how this attention-saving software can help you implement practical behavioral change in 2023 and beyond!

The post Goal-Setting 2023: Is Skipping New Year’s Resolutions A Big Mistake? appeared first on FocusMe.

How to Get Work Done (Even When You’re Not in the Mood)

Jon Rumens — Sat, 09 Apr 2022 16:00:19 +0000

It’s easy to think of procrastination as something directly related to your IDENTITY especially when you are working on something and you are not in the mood to do it.

“I’m a procrastinator.”

“I can’t stick with a schedule.”

“It’s just who I am.”

But procrastination is often more related to MOOD than personality. And if you struggle to stick to a schedule or find yourself losing the discipline to stick with a project before it’s done…

…Or even get it started at all…

…A Key Area To Look Is Your “Mood Management” Skillset.

We all have bad days.

We all have times where we don’t “feel like” working.

But the high achievers, the most productive folks among us, get things done day in and day out. Rain or shine. No matter what’s going on in their lives or the greater world around them.

Think of it this way.

If your grandmother passed away this morning, how much work do you think you’d get done? How difficult would it be to stick with your schedule if you found out you had a chronic illness (even if there were no physical effects yet)?

Do you see how staying on task has a lot to do with how you FEEL?

Given that life will always have its ups and downs and our moods will go up and down with it…

Here Are Some Tips Entrepreneurs And Online Workers Can Use To Stay On Track Even When They “Don’t Feel Like It.”

Mood Cure #1: Master The Art Of State Change

Mastering your mind state is key to gaining more control over your mood swings, so bad days or bad moods don’t throw you off.

We all work with our own unique emotional landscape; however, there are many predictable ways to put yourself in a better mood instantly that work for most people Even when you don’t know what the source of your emotional sticking point is yet.

For example:

Listen to music that you love. You may want to keep a playlist on hand just for these moments.
Take a break. Sometimes if you’re not feeling the work, all you need is a little time away. Come back when you’re “feeling it” more.
Call a friend or accountability partner. Or call a client or colleague and talk about the project a bit.
Keep a file of motivational videos/audios on hand.
Practice meditation, breathing exercises, or gratitude to get more control over your mind and emotions. You can then turn to these whenever you need to!
Take a cold shower.
Jump up and down, shout, act crazy. Yes, I’m serious. Tony Robbins emphasizes this type of state change, especially at his wildly popular seminars, where he gets thousands of attendees to do this at once.

Mood Cure #2: Establish Work Patterns To Create Unstoppable Momentum

Implementing work rituals that you go through every time you sit down to focus can help to create a mood-setting pattern that you can turn on even when you don’t feel like doing anything.

By putting your “work brain” on autopilot as much as possible, it’s easier to “tune out” of everyday noise and fire it up for action when enthusiasm for action is low.

There are a lot of tricks here to help you leverage rituals to “just get going.”

One little habit to kickstart momentum makes it easier to jump right into work (even when you don’t want to).

Sit down, open a file, set a clock for 5 minutes, and then just start… doing. Make it as mindless as possible. Again, the trick is to do it everyday so it becomes a ritual.

Once you do get going, you’re thinking about the work more than your worries and you sort of lose yourself.

I know one guy who only holds himself to doing 2 hours of work every day. He doesn’t even take one day off! 2 hours is a low enough bar that he can always motivate himself. And it establishes a momentum he never loses with a day off.

Some days he puts in twice that time, or takes off on a work marathon. But either way, he puts in his two hours, and his pattern is a procrastination killer that very rarely lets him down.

Ritual in action!

Mood Cure #3: Find Other Ways To Invigorate Yourself With Movement

Tony’s method is about EXTREME movements…

..But moving on a more basic level deserves special mention too because it has such a powerful effect on your emotional landscape. Yes, move, move, move, and move some more!

I highly recommend just taking a break when you’re down sometimes and just doing something to get your blood pumping. Do some jumping jacks, a set of pushups, or put on your running shoes and go for a jog.

If your schedule is flexible, stop work and go to the gym. It can radically change your day!

And if physical exercise is a part of your daily routine, that will spill over into your daily mood as well.

Pick something simple and mindless and start there.

Simply sitting in front of a computer all day doesn’t exactly put you in peak state.

Mood Cure #4: Delegate Tasks You Don't Enjoy

Often “not being in the mood” is just about boredom.

And a low level of enthusiasm for the work.

Even if that’s not the source of your low enthusiasm on this particular day, well, it’s still MUCH easier to “break out of” a bad mood if you can get motivated enough to sit down and get the ball rolling. And that will happen a lot easier when you actually LIKE the work.

On the other hand, it can be pretty hard to motivate yourself if your day is bogged down with trivial tasks you hate.

In “The Four-Hour Workweek,” Tim Ferris popularized the idea of outsourcing lower level tasks online. Thanks to online technology, specialization, and geo-arbitrage it can be pretty cost-effective these days (even if you’re an employee yourself).

Check out platforms like Fiverr and Upwork to find quality help at an affordable rate.

Hand off your most uninspiring work. Focus only on what really invigorates and inspires you.

Setting yourself up for the most enjoyable work makes it easier to escape into a state of flow.

Mood Cure #5: Or Just Change Your Environment

Sometimes this can be as simple as packing up your bag and heading to another room, or a coffee shop down the road.

Just for the change of scenery.

It might involve moving to a new house! Or hey, a new country!

But you should also just control your current work environment as much as possible. Is anything in your environment creating emotional friction between you and your work? Is anything about your work environment irritating you?

People barging in? Put a lock on the door and set rules with family and friends about your work-time.

Traffic noises? Get some noise-canceling headphones.

Office feel stuffy? Open the windows, scatter plants across the room, and hang some beautiful pictures of scenes that inspire you.

Get a more comfortable office chair if that’s what it takes. Your comfort and satisfaction while working is paramount!

Mood Cure #6: Eat Some Ice Cream.

I mean, who can eat ice cream without ending up in a better mood, right?

I’m half kidding here.

And be careful… Because too much sugar can actually have a negative effect on mood and energy.

But the point is sometimes a small treat is a great way to perk yourself up. You could even use it as a reward for finishing the first hour or two of work if you’re really struggling to start.

For some people a “treat” might be a massage. Or a spin down a country road in their car or motorcycle.

You can even treat these mood-boosting “treats” as rewards by making yourself accomplish a little bit of work first.

Have fun with it. Work doesn’t always have to be so serious!

Mood Cure #7: But... Control Your Vices Too

People who struggle with low energy, poor mood, and chronic procrastination are often caught in negative cycles that are affecting their mood (maybe more than they’d care to acknowledge).

For example, alcohol.

This one is really common because in our society we don’t really think of it as a drug.

But it certainly is one and even known to be a depressant. So, if you binge drink a lot, it might help to pay attention to how it’s affecting your mood and your energy levels. You may very well notice a strong correlation between the weekend highs and a low that stretches from Sunday, perhaps all the way to Tuesday or Wednesday, with some early week procrastination problems.

This doesn’t just apply to alcohol — it just makes a great example because it’s a very common vice.

Excess caffeine, tobacco, or sugar intake can also make you irritable. Even food, especially carbs or sugar, consumed in excess may leave you sluggish and down.

C’mon… We know this stuff ALREADY, right? I accept that.

However, if you’re finding yourself in lethargic, crabby moods, it might be time to ask yourself if you’ve been listening to the “things you know.”

Or just “knowing” them.

Mood Cure #8: Listen To What Your Body Tells You

As the alcohol example might suggest, your moods are often closely tied to your physiology.

If you find yourself irritable, tired, or depressed… Maybe your body is telling you something. And maybe you should listen?

Sometimes it’s not eating, for example.

I’m a big believer in the powerful effects of fasting. But you may find that eating your first meal too late in the day results in you starting to get moody around noon. In a situation like this, you might find a decent meal is all it takes to brighten the day again. If so, reconsider your fasting hours or the breadth of your eating window.

Lack of sleep is another common culprit, especially in our hustle culture. Take a nap! A quick 30 minutes may be all it takes to get you up and at em’ again.

Monitor your sleep patterns over all. Modern society tells us that it’s natural to wake up early to an alarm every single day. And staying up late into the night, our houses lit up with artificial light.

Hint… it’s not!

If sleep seems to be a problem, try maintaining a more regular, earlier bedtime. If your schedule affords it, try doing away with the alarm completely and sleeping with your curtain open. Let the sun wake you instead of that blaring, unnatural alarm clock.

I use this sunrise alarm clock to wake up naturally everyday by 6:15!

Exposing yourself to that natural sunlight during the day (and perhaps wearing blue-light blocking glasses at night) is another great way to normalize your sleep patterns.

Mood Cure #9: Study Up On Stoic Philosophy

There’s a lot we can learn from the Stoics, but one of the most powerful lessons when it comes to working through life’s drearier moments is the acceptance that life doesn’t always need to be perfect.

As much as we like to think of ourselves as unique and “special,” no human is deserving of a “perfect life” that is somehow always comfortable and fun.

And it’s unreasonable to expect one.

Marcus Aurelius said:

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’”

Stoic philosophy teaches us that always expecting life to be amazing and thrilling is irrational and unrealistic. By accepting that sometimes things will be uncomfortable, and being willing to face that discomfort and work in spite of it, we build much healthier, more logical patterns of thought for work and life.

Rational Emotive Therapy teaches very similar principles. Here’s an article we wrote about this idea here.

Mood Cure #10: Visualize Your Goals

One powerful way to work in spite of a bad mood is to think of the bigger picture.

WHY are you working?

What are you working TOWARDS?

Is it money? A better lifestyle? More freedom? A greater cause?

Sit back and check in with your bigger goals and you can often tap back into that motivation to power through your darker moments.

Whatever you think about vision boards and their ability to create reality, it’s hard to deny they are a great mood lifter!

Mood Cure #11: Think Of Yourself As A Craftsman

If you’re always just working for the next payday and don’t really CARE about what you’re doing, it’s much less fulfilling.

But by thinking of yourself as a craftsman you can make the work itself become a reward.

This isn’t about the end result of your goal. You may be a web designer, for example. But have you made it a mission to be THE BEST WEB DESIGNER POSSIBLE?

Do you love the CRAFT of web design? And if not, can you learn to?

If you constantly find yourself working for clients, you may find yourself uninspired by the work. But think of what THEY’RE trying to accomplish with the website you create. How does it SERVE the world? If it really just doesn’t, you might consider focusing on a different type of client…

How can you constantly IMPROVE on what you do?

The deeper you dig into any topic or skill set on earth, the more fascinating it becomes. So I encourage you to dig as deep into your work as you can. The better you get at something, the more you learn about it, the more INTERESTING it becomes.

And you create that dynamic with your work where you can get LOST in it…

Fall in love with “deep work.”

When you have that type of relationship with your craft, all it takes is sitting down and firing up your table saw, picking up your paintbrush, or in this scenario, opening up Photoshop…

…And the entire physical world (and all its concerns) fade away. You may have to face them again later, but your work can always be a place to disappear for a while.

Mood Cure #12: Don’t Beat Up On Yourself!

Of course, one of the most vicious traps with procrastination is our tendency to be hard on yourself when you procrastinate…

…Thus making it even HARDER to work. And creating a self-perpetuating cycle.

Big trap!

So learning to forgive yourself and accept your own flaws and mistakes (as cheesy as it might sound) really is a big part of keeping yourself in a healthy enough state to get things done too.

Mood Cure #13: Make Sure To "Celebrate Your Wins"

One of the best things about learning to work when you’re “not in the mood” is this…

…Once you DO sit down and actually get something done, it’s a great little reward to yourself. And as you defy your procrastination, defy your mood, and defy the notion that life always has to be “comfortable”…

…You get small little wins.

And these wins build positive emotions. That build on themselves to eliminate the power procrastination holds on your life and your psyche.

In fact, I take a few minutes at the end of each day to write down my “wins” for that day.

And it’s amazing how much momentum this builds over the course of the week.

Of course, if I wait until the end of the week (or Monday morning) to try to remember what I accomplished, I only come up with a few items. But when I make it a point to write them down every single day, I usually end up with over 20 big wins per week…

Which drives up my confidence and boosts my motivation by allowing to start my day just a little more charged up!

Are You Ready To Work Your Way Into A Better Mood?

FocusMe is a great way to start building those small wins by creating “rules” for the way you work online.

Learn more about how you can use it to defeat procrastination and online distraction today.

The post How to Get Work Done (Even When You’re Not in the Mood) appeared first on FocusMe.

6 Actionable Ways To Unlock Your Full Potential

Brendon Cammell — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 10:06:41 +0000

What could you do if you managed to unlock your full potential, or even just a fraction of it?

The only way to know for sure is to try and find out...

We’ve all heard some (more likely many) variations of the “if humans could use 100% of the brain” hypothesis, and there are no shortage of quacks offering to help you “unlock your full potential”. The thing is, we already use 100% of our brains, while the idea of unlocking your full potential is so loaded with questions and contradictions as to barely be worth discussing.

For starters:

What exactly does someone at their full potential look like?
Is it even possible to unlock your full potential in every conceivable way?
And if not, does improving in specific areas count towards some kind of overall score?

You may be starting to think that you were lured here under false pretenses…

That us folks at FocusMe don’t even really believe it’s possible for you to unlock your full potential.

You should listen to your gut more often, it knows its stuff.

Believe it or not, for the most part, so do we.

And in our experience, when people set their minds on hard-to-define goals and godly ambitions, they miss the real opportunity.

Instead of trying to unlock your full potential, why not just focus on unlocking as much of it as possible?

Rather than aspiring to be the best you that you can be, why not just try to be a little bit better every day?

In short, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

Here are a few good places to start:

Focus on what you can do rather than what you can't

This is one of the most powerful shifts in mindset that you will ever make.

It’s also a super simple concept to understand, even if it is a little trickier to put into practice.

That’s because it’s all too easy to find reasons why things are impossible, or at least not available to us right now.

Worse yet, these myriad reasons also form the perfect excuse – cover for us to hide behind as we wallow in mediocrity.

It’s also natural for us as human beings to compare ourselves to others. In fact, making comparisons is part of what makes us human and is often a good thing.

Except when it’s not, and that happens a lot.

So, instead of spending the extremely valuable time you have (also known as your life) making excuses and comparisons, why not start focusing on things you CAN DO.

Start today: What one small thing can you do before you go to sleep tonight that will improve your overall wellbeing? Maybe it’s half an hour of exercise, or finally finding the time to video call that important yet almost estranged person in your life?

Then imagine what you can do this week, this month, this year or even in a decade or two if you really manage to adopt this attitude.

It really is that simple.

Become a master goal setter to reach your full potential

Goals are tricky things. We tend to think of any kind of goal setting as a positive, yet not goals are created equal and some can even be detrimental to your progress.

We laid out our ideas on this and how you can set achievable goals that truly enrich your life in our article on New Year’s Resolutions vs Goals, but the long and short of it is that setting airy, ill-defined goals that amount to little more than daydreaming is going to take you directly to the Square Root Of Nowhere, which is right down the road from The Sum Total Of Nothingville.

Instead, we suggest following our patented (maybe one day) and extremely simple three-step formula for setting goals that actually lead to successful outcomes and a better life for you, the setter:

1) Identify your true needs
2) Figure out what meeting them would look like
3) Employ micro-goals to guide you along the way

Like every other item on this list, it’s not rocket science – although it will take time, practice and probably a few failed attempts to truly reap the benefits.

Download this article as a PDF

Get out of your comfort zone more often

Being the thoughtful and well-read person that you are, you’re almost certainly thinking right about now that this is the kind of advice that wins people Darwin Awards, and there may well be a grain of truth in that.

But you know what they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained.

And no, we’re not talking about free soloing El Capitan, joining a cult or becoming a handler of venomous animals, although if any of those things is what you’ve always dreamed of doing, who are we to stand in your way?

Courting death and becoming a menace to society and/or the natural world aside, trying new things and approaching your discomfort head on is a good thing.

You’ll never meet that special someone if you don’t actually put yourself into social situations and exchange words with flesh and blood people, or at very least switch from Tinder to a real dating app.

Everybody and everything starts from scratch, meaning that doing so should be the least intimidating thing in the world.

And as for finding your life’s purpose (or even something worth doing on a Saturday night), if you don’t go out and explore the world in all it’s depravity and wonder then why bother wondering why it seems to have nothing for you?

Download this article as a PDF

Don't be an island

Of all the things that may or may not have contributed to humanity becoming by far and away the dominant species on planet Earth, one stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Hint: it’s not apposable thumbs, nor the mastery of fire, learning to use tools or our evolution into a bipedal species. Yes, you guess it! Our greatest strength and most valuable asset is our ability to communicate and thus cooperate on an unprecedented scale.

We’ve all heard the cliche that cliches are cliches for a reason, and one of the sayings that makes this true is that old gem no man is an island.

More accurately, and in line with 21st-century norms regarding language and equality, we might say that no person is an island (and everybody is a person).

In other words, don’t try to go it alone when there are a whole bunch of other people out there who can and are standing by to help.

You might not know them yet, but they exist and finding them should be high up on your priority list.

After all, it may not be possible to truly unlock your full potential, but when we work together doing so simply isn’t necessary.

Think holistically

Nothing exists in a vacuum. Everything in your life and in existence depends on other things.

Nothing functions without input and no single thing has meaning without relativity to other things.

If that’s too philosophical for you, think healthy body – healthy mind or a team is only as strong as its weakest link, etc.

The point is that it’s nigh on impossible to optimize just a single area of your life.

If you want to improve your memory, training your brain won’t get you there by itself. You’ll need sufficient sleep, good nutrition and low stress levels as well. If you want to create a successful business you’ll need more than just some startup capital and a few Richard Branson books. You’ll need stamina, discipline, leadership skills and the right support structures in your personal life.

A good example of how this works is the 10 000 hour rule (actually a myth), which has been called “the magic number of greatness”. It sounds logical enough that with enough practice you can master anything, and it’s undoubtedly true that practice and repetition help, but it turns out that people who start as generalists tend to match or even outperform those who specialize from a young age. This rings true from professional sports and the arts to academics and business.

In other words, it’s all about getting a balanced set of inputs and ensuring that you nurture body, mind and spirit. Who would have guessed right?

Make technology work for you, not against you

Technology plays an outsized role in humanity’s attempt to reach our full potential.

It already allows us to do things that our ancestors could not have imagined, and if we are to outlive our solar system and solve some of our more immediate existential crises we are going to need a lot more of it.

Yet in many cases, the hours of manual labor that our technology saves us from just end up in the hands of social media platforms.

For every useful app there is another that is trying to steal your time and attention.

FocusMe was created to solve this paradox, to make your tech work for you rather than against you.
How? It’s simple, the app employs powerful code that forces you to stay within the digital boundaries you set for yourself.

If you’re serious about improving your productivity while working online, this is the tool that you need. Of course, we don’t expect you to take our word for it, but maybe reliable third-party reviews by our many satisfied users will do the trick. So, if you’re ready to start unlocking your full potential by avoiding digital distraction, simply click the big shiny button below and we’ll guide you every step of the way!

Download this article as a PDF

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5 Ways To Truly Work Smarter Not Harder

Brendon Cammell — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 10:02:22 +0000

Many of us claim to work smarter not harder, but are we really practicing what we preach?

We’ve all done it – someone compliments us for completing a task in an simpler or less taxing way than the one they were aware of and we respond with something along the lines of “I prefer to work smarter not harder!”

But is that really the case?

Are you really doing everything you can to make your own life easier and ensure that your future is as bright as you like to imagine it?

If you can honestly answer that question in the affirmative, what are you doing reading an article like this one? Get out of here and go back to hanging out with the other perfect people in whatever alternate reality you came from.

For everybody else, here are some ideas about how to make work work for you:

1. Work less

It may sound too good to be true, but deciding to work less total hours each day, week or month is actually a viable strategy in the battle to work smarter not harder.

Concepts such as the four-day workweek, reduced office hours and other hybrid work models that allow employees greater flexibility are begging to gain traction. A cynic might conclude that any idea purporting to help people work less would obviously be popular, yet scientists are coming to the same conclusions.

It turns out that people really do tend to be just as productive or even more so than usual when offered the opportunity to gain additional free time if they can complete tasks faster. Nor does the quality of the work suffer. In fact, it tends to improve.

In other words, the carrot really is better than the stick. Wow, who would have guessed?

If you doubt that your job could be done in less time than it currently takes, try to take take a leaf out of the book of the growing number of ‘overemployed’ white collar workers who have found a way to hold down two, three, and in some cases even four full-time jobs at the same time (normally without the knowledge of their employers, of course).

If they can handle that, you can probably do just one job in less time if you really set your mind to it. If that really is impossible, either because your boss is a jerk who starts sentences with phrases like “Those millennial snowflakes” and “Back when I started out in this industry” or because the type of work you do simply can’t be done faster then you’ll need to consider some other options.

2. Invest in yourself

Investing valuable time and money into further education may not sound like a way to work smarter not harder, especially if you already have a lot on your plate and are looking for ways to lessen your load and not increase it. But sometimes you need to play the long game.

If you’re serious about creating a truly comfortable and sustainable life for yourself and your family, you need either substantial financial resources or a heck of a lot of knowledge – more realistically, you’ll likely be aiming for solid mixture of both.

To succeed in a hyper-competitive global economy you need an edge. Whether it’s mastering SEO, learning a new skill set that is in high demand or becoming a true expert in your current field, setting yourself apart from the crowd is the best way to shorten the otherwise long hard slog to rise above it.

On the other end of the spectrum, you could save up enough cash to buy a piece of land in a remote location and become a master of permaculture, natural building and fungi identification. Sure, you’ll spend just as many hours or more of each day ‘working’ to support your needs, but the type of work you do, where you do it, who you do it with and most of all your perception of it all play a massive role in determining whether it enriches your life or drains your vital energy.

Similarly, investing in your health and personal/spiritual growth will lead to all kinds of improvements in your life, state of mind and even your bank balance. Unfortunately, health and personal development often end up below what we consider more pressing concerns. Yes, it’s true that you need to make sure the bills are paid and get the kids to soccer practice, but perhaps the next time you’re about to turn on Netflix, play a sneaky round of Candy Crush or manage your Fantasy Football team you might want to ask yourself if that time could be better spent?

Download this article as a PDF

3. Consider going freelance

Another increasingly popular option among those determined to work smarter not harder is to switch to freelancing. While leaving the security of contracted full-time employment behind may be daunting, what you give up in certainty you gain back in opportunity. You know, nothing ventured nothing gained, no risk no reward, and all that jazz.

There are more and more fields where this is becoming possible or even the norm, while there are no shortage of websites offering to connect freelancers of all levels with an entire world of employers.

It can take time to establish yourself as a freelancer if you’re not already well-connected within your industry and there can be ups and downs, especially in the beginning. Yet this way of life also allows you the kind of flexibility that single-employer jobs cannot. Better yet, if you can deliver results for your clients, your income and reputation will grow exponentially quicker than if you were stuck in long-term contract with a single company.

Download this article as a PDF

4. Improve your time management

While the idea of switching to a four-day workweek, going freelance or retraining to become a data scientist or get a future-proof job in the green economy may sound great in theory, these strategies are not always achievable in practice or can take some time to pay dividends. If you need solutions RIGHT NOW, one of the best places to start is with good old-fashioned time management.

This route is neither glamorous nor particularly easy, but it works.

The first step to improving your time management is to do an honest assessment of your current habits. This will allow you to identify areas of your life where time could be saved and/or efficiency could be increased. This requires brutal honesty and maybe even some consultation with those who know you best.

Once you’ve identified areas that can be improved you’ll be better able to decide on viable solutions. Maybe it’s making better use of your calendar, or perhaps you need to get creative to solve issues unique to you. Here are some time-management skills you can work on and improve if you’re serious about working smarter not harder.

5. Streamline your life using technology

Technology is by definition “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes”. In its purest form, it makes our lives easier by allowing us to do things that would either be impossible using the human body alone or would require many hands, much time and backbreaking labor. It’s our species’ #1 strategy for working smarter not harder.

Of course, you already know all that because you’re reading this on a device that even many alive now wouldn’t have dreamed possible a few decades ago, connected to a world-wide-web of other devices that allow people to send unimaginable amounts of data and communicate in real-time using signals that are invisible to the human eye.

Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence promise to make our jobs so much easier that we are no longer required to do them. Although thankfully we’re still a ways away from that eventuality. For now, they seem to be best at augmenting human work and increasing our creativity.

Like it’s creators technology also has a dark side. With one hand it offers us the promise of unimaginable productivity, while with the other it attempts to steal every moment of our attention by harvesting enough data points to know us better than our loved ones.

That’s where a productivity app like FocusMe comes in. If you struggle to maintain your concentration while working in front of a screen, this is the guardrail you need. It’s simple, really, the app employs powerful code that forces you to stay within the digital boundaries you set for yourself.

If you’re serious about improving your productivity, this is the tool that will help you to do it. Don’t take our word for it though. Check out reliable third-party reviews by our many satisfied users to see what FocusMe can do for you. If you’re ready to get serious about making your tech work for you rather than against you, simply click the big shiny button below and we’ll guide you every step of the way!

Download this article as a PDF

The post 5 Ways To Truly Work Smarter Not Harder appeared first on FocusMe.

New Year’s Resolutions (bad) vs Goals (good)

Jon Rumens — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 10:00:13 +0000

How many of your New Year's Resolutions have you achieved?

hears crickets

That's what we thought...

Now, here's a method for setting goals that actually works:

As you may have gathered from the title of this article, at FocusMe we are not ashamed to admit our lack of neutrality in the New Year’s Resolutions vs Goals discussion.

We’ve got an opinion.

And we aren’t afraid to share it.

New Year’s Resolutions Suck!

So why do we continue to make them?

A quick scan of the history books (AKA a single Google search) tells us that setting airy yet aspirational goals at the turn of the calendar year has been a popular activity since sometime between the dawn of civilization and the early 19th century, depending on your preference in specialist.

Despite that yawning gap in potential periods of origin and the added billions of resolutions that going by the earlier date would add to the tally, one thing we can say with certainty is that only around 45 of all the New Year’s Resolutions ever made have actually been achieved.

And all of those were made by the most determined, intelligent and single-minded person in history – Elon Musk.

Obviously that’s a joke.

He’s really no better than you or me.

But he probably does set goals and then lay out a framework for how to achieve them.

In fact, if he’s anything like he’s made out to be, he was probably already making detailed plans about how to become Emperor of Mars at age 5.

Now, just to be clear, becoming a billionaire doesn’t alleviate stress or guarantee you more free time, and it’s really bad for the planet, so while we encourage you to aim high, let’s keep it realistic.

Here’s how:

Block out the noise

Before you even get around to setting any goals, it’s crucial that you filter out all wispy day dreams and peripheral aspirations.

What is it that you really need?

And no, it’s not a romantic partner, a new car or to quit Facebook.

It’s true that these types of things may form part of your goals or even become the ultimate aim, but they tell you nothing about what you actually need to live a richer life.

Love, the ability to move around safely and the need to escape the endless scroll on the other hand…

Now, these are things that we all need.

Notice the difference between the first list and the second?

Lovers, cars and wanting to do your part to stop Mark Zuckerberg from developing an actual formula for mind control are all good and well, but they are just one potential way to solve deeper needs.

If you can’t define your needs and the prioritize them, you’ll never be able to set clear goals for how to meet them.

And just in case the implied part wasn’t clear, chasing stuff for the sake of it doesn’t bring happiness or feed motivation.

The best way to get something done is to have a good reason to want to do so.

That’s why with this method of problem solving we start by identifying our underlying needs before even attempting to set any goals or, dare I say it, make any resolutions.

Using needs to identify goals

Of course, a need on it’s own is no more use to you than last year’s wishy washy New Year’s resolution to stop supporting Jeff Bezos’s space habit even if it meant paying a little more at local businesses.

But identifying what we really need – the thing(s) that would truly enrich our lives – gives us a foundation with which to begin setting the right goals.

It can also help us to do something else important.

It can help us to realize that we don’t always require the things we thought we wanted in order to fulfill our deeper needs, or that perhaps there is different route to fulfilling those needs.

Say you’re thinking of setting a classic resolution:

You want to go the gym at least 4 days a week and lose X amount of weight in 2022.

Those are pretty clearly defined, sensible goals, right?

Sure, but even though they might help you to fulfill your fundamental need for good health, they may are not the only way to do it.

What about all the other ways you can get in shape and improve your mental and physical health?

Never heard of anti-gravity yoga and water walking?

Maybe the reason you never stick to the gym is because it just isn’t your thing?

After all, we all know what they say about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results…

So surely we’re better off just throwing a load of different stuff at the wall and hoping something sticks?

In other words, once you’ve identified your needs the next step is to spend some time working out how they might be fulfilled.

This means coming up with some kind of selection process to help you determine the most promising routes to success, or even a single goal that you believe will get you there.

Yet even having a clear goal leaves you a long way off from actually getting anything done.

Which is kind of the point of this article and our entire business.

Which leads us to…

Download this article as a PDF

The importance of setting micro goals

Having a grand ambition or making a potentially life changing resolution feels fantastic!

They can give our lives a real sense of purpose and meaning.

But they can also be the cause a unique kind of gnawing dread.

The fear of failure.

We all face it in some way or another on a daily basis.

But when it comes to imagining big, important or long-awaited moments, this feeling can become particularly acute.

What if you actually went after your dreams and didn’t realize them?

What would you have left?

This is doubtless an unnerving thought experiment, but in truth it’s not one we need to make.

Your big goals are achievable!

You just need to break them down into smaller micro-goals that seem closer and easier to accomplish.

This is how you create your framework for success.

One step at a time.

With realistic mini-objectives that give you something to grasp on to RIGHT NOW and help you to visualize a clear path towards your ultimate ambition.

That’s it.

A simple three step process:

1) Identify your needs
2) Work out how you can meet them
3) Use micro-goals to help you get there

Our challenge to you for 2022 is put this process to the test.

To try something different.

And to never make another New Year’s Resolution.

Download this article as a PDF

Let FocusMe give you a helping hand

Let’s not sugarcoat it.

Even with a foolproof process, staying on track to achieve your goals can still be hard work.

That’s where a productivity app like FocusMe comes in.

If you struggle to maintain your concentration because of social media, gaming, news or any other form of digital distraction, these are the guardrails you need.

The app employs powerful code that forces you to stay within the digital boundaries you set for yourself.

If you’re serious about improving your productivity, this is the tool that will help you to do it. Don’t take our word for it though.

Check out reliable third-party reviews by our many satisfied users to see what this one-of-a-kind tool can do for you.

If you’re ready to get serious about beating your gaming addiction, simply click the big shiny button below and we’ll guide you every step of the way!

The post New Year’s Resolutions (bad) vs Goals (good) appeared first on FocusMe.

FocusMe

Dopamine Fast – Why you should start one today

Why You Should Do A “Dopamine Fast” Today

1. Become conscious of your digital life

1. Bottom lines: We should abstain from digital activities at all costs.

2. Middle lines: These digital activities can trigger us.

3. Top lines: These are healthy activities offline or with screens that empower us and improve how we feel about ourselves.

2. Identify other ways you go for instant gratification

The big benefits of a dopamine fast.

Final thoughts

How to overcome Digital Distractions?🤔

How to Overcome Digital Distractions

So, how do we overcome digital distractions?

If I can do it, you can too

6 Productivity Tips for Working from Home

Working from Home Tips to increase productivity

1. Develop a schedule that works with your productivity levels

2. As soon as work is finished, step away

3. Have a realistic to-do list while working from home

4. Track your time

5. Avoid all digital interruptions!

With just a push of a button, what seemed impossible can now be easily controlled. Reclaim your focus by downloading your free trial today.

6. Try a fake commute

ADHD-Friendly Ways to get Organised

Break down your tasks into smaller, manageable chunks

Use a content blocker to limit digital distractions

Strategically schedule your time

Use sticky notes

Reflect on your day

Remember, small progress is still progress!

Download the free trial and see the difference our website blocker can make!

Top Tips on how to Study Smarter, Not Longer

Study Smarter, Not Longer: 5 Essential Tips to Enhance Your Learning Experience

#1: Prioritise self-care

#2: Lose the screens

#3: Talk out loud

#4: Say no to multitasking

#5: Embrace FocusMe

Unlock your full potential and take advantage of your educational discount here or you can also click the download button below to access the free trial

Goal-Setting 2023: Is Skipping New Year’s Resolutions A Big Mistake?

But Look, January Isn’t Over Yet!

So Are There Actual Benefits To Setting Goals Around The New Year?

Starting Late Offers A Chance To Avoid Common Resolution Mistakes

Listen, Only YOU Can Decide To Be More Proactive This Year!

Are You Using FocusMe To Defeat Digital Distractions And Achieve Laser Focus?

How to Get Work Done (Even When You’re Not in the Mood)

…A Key Area To Look Is Your “Mood Management” Skillset.

Here Are Some Tips Entrepreneurs And Online Workers Can Use To Stay On Track Even When They “Don’t Feel Like It.”

Mood Cure #1: Master The Art Of State Change

Mood Cure #2: Establish Work Patterns To Create Unstoppable Momentum

Mood Cure #3: Find Other Ways To Invigorate Yourself With Movement

Mood Cure #4: Delegate Tasks You Don't Enjoy

Mood Cure #5: Or Just Change Your Environment

Mood Cure #6: Eat Some Ice Cream.

Mood Cure #7: But... Control Your Vices Too

Mood Cure #8: Listen To What Your Body Tells You

Mood Cure #9: Study Up On Stoic Philosophy

Mood Cure #10: Visualize Your Goals

Mood Cure #11: Think Of Yourself As A Craftsman

Mood Cure #12: Don’t Beat Up On Yourself!

Mood Cure #13: Make Sure To "Celebrate Your Wins"

Are You Ready To Work Your Way Into A Better Mood?

6 Actionable Ways To Unlock Your Full Potential

What could you do if you managed to unlock your full potential, or even just a fraction of it? The only way to know for sure is to try and find out...

Focus on what you can do rather than what you can't

Become a master goal setter to reach your full potential

Get out of your comfort zone more often

Don't be an island

Think holistically

Make technology work for you, not against you

5 Ways To Truly Work Smarter Not Harder

Many of us claim to work smarter not harder, but are we really practicing what we preach?

1. Work less

2. Invest in yourself

3. Consider going freelance

4. Improve your time management

5. Streamline your life using technology

New Year’s Resolutions (bad) vs Goals (good)

How many of your New Year's Resolutions have you achieved? *hears crickets* That's what we thought... Now, here's a method for setting goals that actually works:

Block out the noise

What could you do if you managed to unlock your full potential, or even just a fraction of it?

The only way to know for sure is to try and find out...

How many of your New Year's Resolutions have you achieved?

hears crickets

That's what we thought...

Now, here's a method for setting goals that actually works: