Day 317/323 / 365 Days of Fulfillment Blog

Published by BR365admin on November 15, 2019November 15, 2019

Day 323/365 – November 20 – Productivity

“Schedule Reminders in our phone the Night Before”

Remembering what errands and tasks we have to complete is a whole other errand in itself. Thankfully, today more than ever, we have the easiest tools available to remind ourselves to get something done, and this sort of ‘set-it and forget-it’ structure can very well be one the most useful organization tools at our disposal. The key is to structure our to do list around our most practical openings and other convenient times within our schedule.

I did this recently. I looked at tomorrow’s schedule, thought about when I’d have free time and when I’d have access to my phone, and set reminders for those time slots. This allowed me to make efficient use of my down time as well as knock important items off my ‘To do’ list.

Another crucial component to optimizing phone calendar reminders is to do the thing we are reminded to do in that very moment. This is a drop everything and do it situation. If not, the reminder is relatively unnecessary and can easily be forgotten about. As an added bonus to this tip I found that even writing the reminders into my calendar the night before elicited a greater memory for what needed to get done the next day.

Our goal should be to delegate as much unnecessary attention, time and energy to other convenient tools available around us, that way we can focus on what needs to get done, and complete them when we first attended them to get done. This is true bliss.

Day 322/365 – November 19 – Physical

“When the body feels weak, take a Day to Truly Rest, Recover and Come Back Stronger”

I’m not an advocate of taking many days off – just look at my 365daychallenge in 2018 as a reference – but at the same token, resting the body for the greater good of our long term performance can be just the thing we need to perform at our best.

This tip comes with high level transparency and honesty with oneself, knowing that the day off is truly needed and beneficial, hence why it’s only necessary when the body is in a truly weakened state. Every few months the body and mind just need to escape and strengthen itself with rest. We can accomplish this effectively by getting an extra few hours of sleep, eating incredibly nutritious and soul warming foods (bone broth, soup, vegetables), and stepping away from any sort of stress inducing activities, including the gym (I know! I can’t believe I just said skip the gym).

Now, this day should be used sparingly (once every quarter – if that) and be used with the intention to come back more motivated, more rejuvenated and more energized. Some great tips for a day like this would be to drink comfort beverages that can aid in strengthening the system: lemon and hot water, detox teas and lots of water are great options; foods should be cleansing as well, nothing greasy, fried or saturated, just organic natural nutrient dense foods. And activities should be passive, tranquil and calming; activities like doing a puzzle, reading a book and watching a favourite movie are ideal.

This day is all about coming back a stronger version of ourselves, not a lazier version. With that being said, I always encourage some form of light movement into a day like this. Long walks or a fluid flow type stretch session are great options. Use this day to our advantage and let this 24 hour period of healing and recovery work its magic.

Day 321/365 – November 18 – Mentality

“Structure Relaxation Blocks throughout the Day”

Relaxing and re-energizing the mind are two crucial components that can help maximize productivity, aid in less stress and attribute to a higher performing day. The goal here is to get a lot done in one day, but not at the expense of our mental health, mental clarity and physical well-being..

Relaxation blocks allow us to rejuvenate, think logically and optimize our schedule, without running into “burn out” mode, where other areas of our life get affected. For those of us who tell ourselves the narrative that, “I don’t have time to relax”, we are the one’s who need this most. There is always time to decompress and clear our mind from the craziness that may be presented to us that day. Constantly going and ignoring our exhaustion or irritation is an ineffective strategy to performing optimally, especially when comparing efficiency to hours spent working.

This can be as simple as 6 deep breaths to taking 5-10 minutes every few hours to recalculate the situation at hand. Letting our mind disconnect is a way for us to respond practically when we return to the “madness”. This 1 minute to 10-20 minute ‘unplug’ in the grand scheme of a long day will boost our productivity and more importantly, keep our sanity.

Research has even shown the effectiveness for high level lawyers, who thought going away for a week would lose them money and clients, where statistics showed the opposite; their time away from the office enhanced their ability to perform with clarity once they got back from vacation, as they felt recharged, less stressed and more balanced. Never underestimate the power of clearing ones mind. We all need it, yet rarely see the forest for the tress.

Day 320/365 – November 17 – Physical and mental well-being

“Take a Sunday Stroll down by Niagara-on-the-Lake”

Sunday hangouts in a peaceful, quaint, beautiful atmosphere are tough to match from a relaxation and rejuvenation stand point. Community spots like Niagara-on -the-Lake are designed to put our mind at ease and have us enjoy the calmness of friendly hello’s, cute shops and a blissful atmosphere. Niagara-on-the-Lake is known for its stunning Winery’s and its flower-filled, tree-lined old town features which consist of a plethora of 19th-century buildings.

But why Sundays? Sundays in particular have a carefree vibe associated with the day. People tend to be in less of a hurry, errands are not at the forefront of our thinking – that’s more so a Saturday thing – and being present seems far easier than any other day of the week. It’s important to not take our ability to be present and to connect with a friend or loved one on a more personal yet relaxed level for granted; these types of moments can aid a great deal in re-charging us for a productive week ahead, while strengthening important aspects of living a more rewarding life, such as a greater sense of meaning, connection and true engagement.

Day 319/365 – November 16 – Productivity

“Share our goals for extra ‘passive’ accountability”

It feels awesome to improve on the person we are, but unfortunately it’s not always that easy to stick to specific goals and be accountable to ourselves. If it were, we’d all be in great shape, have wicked jobs, and live thriving lives year round.

This is why I am a strong advocate for telling people what we are currently in the pursuit of. Social accountability is a real thing. It’s why we behave more appropriately when authority is around, or why we work out harder when we know someone else is watching; we feel accountable to someone else.

If we plan to cut out a bad habit for example, like smoking or eating high processed fast food, tell people at work, tell our network, and tell our friends and family what we are trying to do. It is psychologically proven that we have a harder time letting other people down, and that we do not want to look foolish to others, when compared to just letting ourselves down.

And unfortunately , in most cases, we are great at making excuses and hiding from reality when there are no eyes on us; that’s why trainers, coaches and paid classes are traditionally so effective. The accountability to our trainer, coach or teacher, and the respect of their time and effort is more likely to get us to show up on a day we don’t feel like working out.

It goes back to the basic psychology of not wanting to look ‘bad’ to others. Hell, tons of people work jobs they hate, just so they can tell others how much money they make and look successful. Back to the effectiveness of social accountability. There was some insightful research in weight loss effectiveness when we used social support, like Twitter, as an accountability tool. One of the key’s however is to do it for ourselves, and use these ‘social’ platforms or external forces as resources, not as our true motivators.

Letting someone else down, and losing their trust and respect in the process is a crappy feeling. On the other hand, it’s a great feeling to show we care about around us how committed we are and in doing so, share in their support. As an extra bonus to this external accountability, there is also a strong probability that those around us will take inspiration away from our dedication, consistency and goal driven action, that they themselves will start making positive changes in their lives.

Day 318/365 – November 15 – Problem solving

“Always Ask”

We will never get the answer we want, without asking the question first. With that being said, simply having the courage to ask, will create more success and positive outcomes in our life than we would have ever imagined. Most of us just assume the worst. We think in terms of rejection, and worst case scenario. When we think in this manner, we talk ourselves off from even trying, which is unfortunate, as a surprising amount of the time, the answer we are looking for, wouldn’t be too far off, if not, exactly what we wanted.

The other night a restaurant brought the girl I’m seeing the wrong bun with her hamburger (vegan bun, she wanted Gluten free), which we clarified quite clearly. As a joke, I said, “this means we get her meal free, right?” A few awkward laughs were exchanged between us and the server, before she left, with no clarification one way or the other. I didn’t actually really care about a free meal perse, but I thought, why not at least ask – even if it was in a somewhat joking manner. When it came time to pay, my girl’s meal was free of charge on the bill. This simple little accidental “ask”, opened my eyes once again to the effectiveness of asking. The worst that happens is they say no, which most people don’t like saying. In reality, not asking is the same as getting rejected, either way we look at it, the answer was “no”.

I constantly witnessed the same value in asking when I worked in Direct Marketing. Regardless of how confident I was that a potential customer would or wouldn’t buy, I would always finish off my sales pitch with, “Would you like to pay cash, credit or debit?” I asked. This simple assumptive ‘ask’ worked so many times, that I became one of the best sales reps in Canada and eventually went on to run my own Direct Marketing Company…What do I attribute my success to, “I asked more times than anybody else was willing to.”

Instead of being fearful of the possible response, we should try thinking best case scenario, and remember the more we ask, the more we get. Ask with confidence, and I promise you, you will get way more “yes’ ” than you ever thought possible. Just remember, the guy waiting for the girl to ask him out, who didn’t know he existed, ever got the girl. 😉

Day 317/365 – November 14 – Mindset

“Stop Relying on others for our Success”

One common mistake I see a lot of us make when we are trying to create or achieve something of importance, is relying too heavily on other people. It’s important to have trusting relationships, and have a strong network that can help us grow and progress forward, however, relying too heavily on other’s to motivate us to complete our task or objective that day is injudicious. We have to be ready to lose our current form of external support, and still have the fortitude to keep on going. The external support should be viewed as a privelage, not as a necessity behind our ambition.

Let’s use a gym partner as an example. We never want to solely rely on a gym partner to get us out the door and into the gym. This lack of control created by putting our fate in someone else’s unpredictable hands can quickly become the reason behind our downfall. Gym partners are a great idea, but they can’t be used as an excuse not to go to the gym, if the other has to bail.

If we really NEED some help to stay motivated, hire someone. This is one effective way that relying on others can work. The goal should still be to learn as much as we can, that way, dependence slowly lessens, while understanding what our motivation is behind our ambitions.

Just remember, no one will ever care as much about our goals as we do, so we cannot expect anyone else to give us more than 70% of their attention to our needs, regardless of how benevolent they seem/are. Remind ourselves that we need to be the leader of our destiny, and that we have to be willing to go it alone for a period of time and not lose that same sense of ambition. If we don’t develop this strong form of grit, and continue on our path of complete reliance, we will inevitably fall short of our deepest desires.

Someone who understands this concept deals with loss of support with poise and grace, and eloquently reconstructs their path and network accordingly; they don’t break down and stop moving, they simply slow down and keep moving. With this consistent attitude, doors open far more frequently and opportunities are more visible.

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