5 Great Steps To Building Self-Confidence & Becoming Popular

How would you like to become more popular and welcomed by people in your social or business circles?

Well, you can be, by learning how to be more charming in every interaction with others.

The deepest human need is the desire to feel important. When you go through life building self-confidence and making other people feel important and valuable, they will like you, welcome you, and open every door for you. This is how to become popular both professionally and personally.

If you are in business, becoming a charming person, making others feel important, will help you in every business situation, from negotiating terms to borrowing money to influencing key customers.

If you are in sales, the way customers feel about you, and feel when they are with you, will determine your level of sales and referrals more than any other factor.

In your personal, family and social life, learning to be more charming will make you more popular, desirable, influential and persuasive than any other quality.

How do you become a genuinely charming person? Here are five behaviors you can practice with every person to make him or her feel more important:

1. Smile In Every Interaction

Each person has a deep-down need to be accepted unconditionally by other people, without judgment or criticism.

And how to express this “unconditional positive regard?” Simple! Just smile. An open, honest, happy-to-see-you smile warms people’s hearts, makes them feel important, and causes them unconsciously to like you from the first moment.

2. Say “Thank You” Early And Often

Everyone loves to be appreciated for something, anything they have done for someone else.

When you say the magic words “Thank you” early and often, you make people feel important and happy, raise their self-esteem and increase their desire to help you and do things for you.

3. Give Genuine Compliments

Whenever you admire the possessions, traits or accomplishments of others, they automatically feel more important and valuable! As Abraham Lincoln said, “Everybody likes a compliment.”

Admire people’s choices in clothing, hairstyles, cars, briefcases, purses or office layout. Admire their homes or apartments. Admire their degrees or certificates. Whenever you compliment a person on something he or she has obviously invested time and emotion in achieving, you boost their self-image and build high self-esteem. As a result, they find you to be “charming.”

4. Give Praise And Approval Often

Give praise and approval generously, for both small and large accomplishments. Whenever anyone does anything worthwhile, tell them how good they are, and what a fine job they’ve done, building self-confidence and high self-esteem.

One definition of self-esteem is: How much a person feels praiseworthy.

When you praise your spouse and children, your staff and coworkers, your customers and suppliers, you make them feel more important, and cause them to see you as “charming.”

5. Give Them Your Full Attention

People feel valuable and important to the degree to which they are listened to and respected.

Whenever you listen closely to another person when he is talking, his self-esteem goes up. His brain releases endorphins, nature’s “happy drug,” and he feels good about being in your presence.

You always “pay value” to a person by listening attentively, by hanging on every word. When you do, he or she warms up to you and begins to find you “charming.”

Go through life looking for little opportunities to make people feel valuable and special. Smile at them as if you are glad to see them. Thank them regularly. Compliment them sincerely. Praise them lavishly. And listen to them when they speak building self-confidence and promoting high self-esteem.

Soon, almost without effort on your part, everyone will be talking about “what a charming person you are.”

Thank you for reading this article on how to become popular through unconditional positive regard, building self-confidence and promoting high self-esteem. Please share and comment below!

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What Does Being Authentic Really Mean to You?

I was reading about character vs. characterization in novel writing, and this led me to contemplate what it means to be authentic. When writers craft a novel, they need characters and need to develop the characters in a way that makes them feel real to readers. This means the writers have to know as much about the characters as possible, from eye color to habits to prime motivation in life. This is called characterization. Character is what is demonstrated when a character in a novel faces a challenge-shows their true colors, as the saying goes. It's the stuff they're made of, when push comes to shove. It's the same for us.

It's fairly easy to create a characterization, a presentation, of ourselves for others to see and believe: we can let them see whatever we prefer they see. With others, we can pay attention to what they say and do, and even what we intuit about them when we're with them, which gives us more information beyond what we see. But all of this leads to the question: what is authenticity really about?

What if it's really about how you feel about yourself, rather than what you say or do, or how you look? After all, any of us can at anytime say and do things that don't feel authentic to us but we believe is what is expected of us, or dress a certain way, whether it feels natural or not. Do you believe that to be truly authentic, you have to spill every bean about yourself to everyone? Can you keep anything private or be discerning about who you share what with and still be authentic?

As I pondered these questions, I thought about the fact that the world is peopled with introverts and extroverts. People have traits of both, but in their individual quantities. Carolyn Gregoire wrote the following in an article for The Huffington Post: "As recently as 2010, the American Psychiatric Association even considered classifying "introverted personality" as a disorder by listing it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), a manual used to diagnose mental illness. But more and more introverts are speaking out about what it really means to be a 'quiet' type."

I admit that for a long time I believed that outgoing people (extroverts) were demonstrating the one and only way to be authentic; so, because I'm a more quiet type (80% introvert, according to an online test I took), I judged myself as not being as authentic as someone who says, or seems to say, whatever they feel like saying about anything, and to anyone, at any time. To all you introverts out there, if you've been feeling less authentic because you're a more quiet type or because you feel a certain way and it clashes with what some believe is more "normal" or authentic (or commercially viable) behavior, you can relax and be yourself. You can gladly laugh at those online poster images that say things like "Introverts unite--in your separate homes." You get the joke better than anyone.

Gregoire included a list of 23 signs of an introvert in her article, which I'm going to share here as well as some comments about extroverts. Keep in mind that some people you might call an extrovert may actually have a bit or a good bit of introvert in them, just as introverts have a bit or a good bit of extrovert in them. You may resonate more with some of what's listed below than with others--we're all composites when it comes to our personality. Here are the 23 signs (my comments are in parentheses):

1. You find small talk incredibly cumbersome. (As an introvert, I'll say that's putting it mildly. Too much small talk can make introverts feel tired and annoyed-it's like static on a radio to them. Introverts can and will engage in small talk, but it doesn't take long for them to look for or wish for an exit. A number of aspects that follow can all be tied back into this one. Extroverts, however, will carry on conversations about anything and enjoy it well enough, if not a lot.)

2. You go to parties -- but not to meet people. (Introverts, when they do go to parties, go to see people they know, to be with people who accept them as they are and they can be relaxed around. If they do connect with a new person in a real way, they'll enjoy it. Extroverts tend to be "the more the merrier" types.)

3. You often feel alone in a crowd. (Introverts don't like crowds, or like them in small doses. They have to mentally prepare themselves for crowds. Again, extroverts tend to be "the more the merrier" types.)

4. Networking makes you feel like a phony. (Introverts prefer deeper conversations that lead to real connection. They know it may take a lot of small talk first, to find someone who will engage in deeper conversations (see No. 1). And, yet again, extroverts tend to be "the more the merrier" types.)

5. You've been called "too intense." (Introverts prefer deeper thoughts and conversations-they need them because that's their nature. They'll engage in lighter conversations, but only for so long. This doesn't mean extroverts don't enjoy deeper conversations, but they don't fuel and feed many extroverts as they do introverts.)

6. You're easily distracted. (This refers to an introvert being in an overly-stimulating environment, which stifles clear or deeper thought and engagement. Introverts may zone out in such situations, in order to conserve energy. Extroverts are comfortable in overly-stimulating environments; it fuels them.)

7. Downtime doesn't feel unproductive to you. (Downtime is a necessity for introverts. They need it to recharge their batteries and to stimulate their creativity. A whole day alone with a good book or some other downtime experience is like heaven to an introvert. Longer is even better. Extroverts tend to thrive on stimulation that comes from others and activities. They can take only so much alone time; introverts can take only so much social engagement.)

8. Giving a talk in front of 500 people is less stressful than having to mingle with those people afterwards. (For all the reasons listed above and below. Extroverts are eager to mingle.)

9. When you get on the subway, you sit at the end of the bench -- not in the middle. (Or prefer end or back seats wherever you go-like in a theater, for fast getaways, if needed. Extroverts like to be in the mix.)

10. You start to shut down after you've been active for too long. (Introverts are often more sprinter types than marathoners, activity-wise. Extroverts have a different kind of energy reserve.)

11. You're in a relationship with an extrovert. (Introverts like to sometimes ride the "waves" with an extrovert. Notice I said "sometimes." That need for quiet, alone time is always there-an introvert can actually feel or become unwell if they don't get enough of this. Extroverts may or may not understand this need, may or may not think it's a strange way to be. Life is for living, is an extrovert's motto. The introvert lives life, just from a more inward perspective.)

12. You'd rather be an expert at one thing than try to do everything. (Introverts like to and need to focus. It's more about how well they function and feel best than about what they do; though, they need to feel aligned with what they do. Extroverts are more outwardly adventurous. An experience, for its own sake, may be more important than alignment with it, for an extrovert.)

13. You actively avoid any shows that might involve audience participation. (However if picked, an introvert might get into it, if the participation is brief enough. An extrovert might deliberately attend such a performance and even volunteer, vigorously.)

14. You screen all your calls -- even from friends. (Sophia Dembling, author of "The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World," said, "To me, a ringing phone is like having somebody jump out of a closet and go 'BOO!'" Introverts prefer to be mentally and energetically ready for phone calls (see No. 1). Plus, when deep in thought, which is often, they don't respond well to being disturbed. Extroverts love to engage anytime. It's stimulation that feeds them.)

15. You notice details that others don't. (Unless an introvert is distracted by an overly-stimulating environment, they notice details; and these can be physical ones, but often are inner ones, like emotional dynamics. Extroverts, like introverts, notice whatever they attune to, but it may be more about what someone says than why they say it.)

16. You have a constantly running inner monologue. (Introverts tend to prefer to think before they speak; and as natural thinkers, they think and process thoughts all the time. Extroverts are more comfortable with speaking first and thinking about it later. They're also more comfortable acting without thinking it through first. Both of these aspects are something introverts sometimes wish they were comfortable doing, but the fact is they aren't. Both of these are things extroverts sometimes wish they hadn't done, but it's their nature.)

17. You have low blood pressure. (A scientific study said introverts tend to have lower BP than extroverts do. This makes sense, since introverts look for deeper meanings and have all that quiet alone time to do it in. Extroverts are out there, living on the edge, for the most part. There's going to be a certain amount of stress in that way of living.) 

18. You've been called an "old soul" -- since your 20s. (Again, introverts tend to prefer to think before they speak, which can seem like wisdom to others (sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't). Extroverts tend to be more in-the-moment types-the time is now, to speak and act, which is sometimes wise and sometimes isn't.)

19. You don't feel "high" from your surroundings (Like, say, at big parties. Extroverts respond to their environments differently than introverts-they align with the energy, while introverts look for what and who they are in true alignment with).

20.You look at the big picture. (Introverts tend to be okay with details and facts, but can also engage abstract concepts, as well. Some extroverts are, again, in-the-moment types. What's happening in front of them is what's happening. Introverts tend to look for the undercurrents and dynamics.)

21.You've been told to "come out of your shell." (Introverts come out of their shells when they feel like it, thank you. But they keep their shells close by. Extroverts have shells, and sometimes they visit them.)

22.You're a writer. (Some introverts find it easier to communicate through writing; plus, all that time alone to think charges up their creativity. This doesn't mean extroverts don't write, but the ones that do likely have enough introvert in them to support this. Many extroverts would prefer to speak than write. The alone-time it takes to write might be too much for them. They may prefer to dictate their writings and have someone else type them up.)

23.You alternate between phases of work and solitude, and periods of social activity. (Too much activity can stress and tire an introvert. They know how much socializing, work, and downtime works for them. Some extroverts have to wear themselves out before they realize it's time, or past time, for downtime.)

We cannot all be the same, or some of us aren't needed. We need extroverts to enliven life and moments and stimulate the energy so it doesn't go stale. We need introverts to keep things real, to provide the bigger picture, and to calm things down. Life is like a musical composition: We need the notes (extroverts) and the rests between the notes (introverts). If a composition is all rests, there's no music. If it's all notes with no rests, there's no pause to breathe, and performers and listeners alike will pass out or gasp for air. To those of you who are extroverts, thank you for what you offer to the world and to introverts who benefit from "just enough" excitement from time to time. To those of you who are introverts, did you notice how many of the 23 are about being authentic? So if you were comparing yourself to extroverts, as I was, stop it. Both are authentic. Both are needed.

I think it's more important that you feel authentic than "appear" authentic to others so that you then perceive yourself as authentic. Authenticity comes from within, never from outside of you. Who are you comfortable being in your everyday life? Who are you--what is your true character or nature--when you face challenges? It's okay to be who you are and it's okay to discover who that is as life presents changes to and for you. It's okay to share as much of your authentic self with others as you feel comfortable with; but be sure to share it with yourself. Know thyself. Love thyself. It's a good practice, one you'll appreciate.

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How to Improve Your Mood Right Now: 3 Simple Habits

I often write about how a good start to your day often leads to having a good day in general.

A social, an energetic or a productive start sets the context for your day.

But on some days you may not get a good start for some reason.

Maybe you slept badly. Or the maybe grey skies and cold summer rain is dragging your energy down.

Or you might have lost that positive momentum during a hard first part of the day and after lunch you feel tired, low or lost in a somewhat sad or uninspired funk.

What to do then? Is that day lost and should you just aim for a better day tomorrow?

Well, today is not over yet.

Maybe you can still make something good out it.

Here’s how I do that by breaking the negative mood and getting a new start.

1. Appreciate what you have.

The simplest of my most commonly used pick-me-ups.

I take about 2 minutes and sit in silence.

I tell myself: OK, I might not feel so good right now, but what can I be grateful for and appreciate in my life?

I usually come up with one simple thing like:
My tasty food.
My health.
That I have a roof.

That one thing opens up my mind. It redirects my thoughts from the negativity.

Then I build upon that one thing. I make mental jumps from the roof, to the warmth in our home, to the fluffy cat sitting beside me on the sofa, to that I can work from home as the rain pours outside.

I make those small mental leaps by just moving my attention around in the room I am in. Like skipping from stone to stone over a stream. And I take the time to slowly appreciate all those things.

This changes my mood to a happier, warmer and more open one.

2. Act as you would like to feel.

Emotions work backwards too. So if I want to become more positive or enthusiastic then I act in the manner of a person who is positive or enthusiastic.

I might not feel like it. But I do it as best as I can anyway. I may for example:
Think of the task I have in front of me as something exciting and fun.
Answer some emails or talk to someone in a positive and enthusiastic manner.
Assume rapport if I feel unmotivated, negative or nervous before some kind of meeting (assuming rapport is to I think to myself that I am meeting one of my best friends just before the meeting and that puts me in the right mood and headspace).

3. Think for a minute and give someone a genuine compliment.

Here’s a fun one I use quite often and that will not only lift my own mood.

Spend one minute coming up with something you really and genuinely appreciate about someone in your life that is in the same room as you at some point during the day. Then tell him or her the genuine compliment you have come up with.

She or he will be happy. You’ll feel good about yourself and get positive feelings too from the now smiling, happy and complimented person. And so the mood for the both of you is changed for the better.

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6 Quick Questions to Help You Simplify and Free Up Time for What Truly Matters

“Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.”
Charles Richards

There are many important things in life.

Your family and friends. A hobby perhaps. Working out and staying healthy. Reading, learning and growing as a person.

But finding the time for what is most important in life is not always easy. It sometimes feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day.

But even if it may not feel like it, there are often ways to improve how you use your time. This week I’d like to share 6 of the best questions I have found for doing just that and for shaking yourself out of a rut.



1. What are the top 3 most important priorities in my life right now?

With a lack of focus on what is most important in your life it becomes easy to spend too much time and energy on aimless actions or work. On things that aren’t really that important but you do out of old habit or because of other unhelpful reasons.

To keep your attention in the right place it is essential to remind yourself every day of what is truly most important to you.

So ask yourself: what are the top 3 most important priorities in my life right now?

Write those three things down on two notes and put one in your work space and the other one on your bedside table.

2. What are the 1-3 most common distractions that keep me from doing my work in a focused way?
Figure out how you can prevent those things from distracting you. It could be by:
Shutting the door to your office.
Putting your phone on silent mode.
Having notifications for your email or instant messaging program/app shut off.

3. What are the 1-3 most common distractions that keep me from having quality time with the people closest to me?

The answer could for instance be your smart phone, TV-shows you just watch out of routine and not because you like them very much or bringing your work back home.

Then figure out how you can reduce or eliminate those distractions.

4. What is one healthy limit I can start setting in my life this week?

One of the smarter ways to simplify your life and to free up time is to set limits.

Here are a few key areas that you can set powerful and healthy limits for:
Your daily input. Reduce the number of blogs, newsletters, magazines, book clubs, podcasts, TV-shows etc. you follow. Just keep the ones you are really getting something out of.
Email. Just check and process your email during one chunk of time once per day. Instead of checking it 10 times or more each day.
Social activities. Write down a list of the social activities you are involved in after school or work. Maybe you are involved in a club or an activity that it is not as fun or rewarding as it used to be. Maybe you want to rearrange your priorities a bit to focus on something else this winter and in 2017.

5. How can I minimise or eliminate one thing I may have missed?

What else can you eliminate or minimise besides the things listed above? Some meetings at work or in school? Redditing or some online forum you hang out on a lot?

Really question and reconsider your own daily and weekly habits regularly instead of moving along in the same old tracks just because it is what you usually do.

6. What is one piece of unnoticed or misused piece of free time during my regular day?

There is often quite a bit of open travel- or waiting-time during a year.

What will you use such time for as we approach the end of this year and go into 2017?

Perhaps you would like to read more while riding the train or while waiting for a meeting to start. I, for example, often listen to podcasts while I’m out and about or while waiting for a meeting.

Even if you only have 10-20 minutes of commuting time each day you still have a many, many hours in a year that you may want to, at least partly, use in a new way.

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4 Ways to Juggle Entrepreneurship & Parenthood Successfully

When people talk about settling down and starting a family, it’s always understood that they would be focusing more on being parent than being a career man or woman.

The point is, people are so used to seeing single entrepreneurs who have all the time in the world for their business. Most believe that entrepreneurship is a huge risk. And that someone who has a commitment to wife and kids can never handle the position.


How to Juggle Entrepreneurship & Parenthood

While many people think both these roles are hard to do side by side, there are some who succeeded and juggled parenthood and entrepreneurship successfully.

How did they do it?

The following is advice from successful parent-preneurs:


1. Prioritize Your Commitments

“Nurture your family as much as you nurture your business. Your business may take care of your family but your family will care about you.” – Brian Gatti of Inspire Business Concepts

With family and work all vying for your attention, how do you know which one to prioritize?

First things first: As a parent, you want to spend most of your time with your child. You want to be with your boy in every of his soccer game. Or with your girl in ever of her ballet recital.

But as a business owner, you also have to shoulder the responsibility of being an entrepreneur if you don’t want to let your clients, partners, and employees down.

So how do you do it?

Be realistic about what you can accomplish. Take the time to plot out the things you need to do at work and at home. Don’t take in more work more than you can handle. There are also times when you need to focus more on your business so you have to make up for the time you lost for your family by scheduling family time on the weekends.
Get involved with your child. Despite being busy, you can still be a good parent by being involved with your child in everything he does. This includes making time to attend his school activities, and making up if you miss one because of a work commitment.
Keep a routine. Routines make everything easier and faster. Find your own time flow where you can work and still spend quality time with your kids as often as they’d like.
Have a back-up plan. Imagine having an important meeting with a client or a work deadline happen during one of those days when your child is sick. Plan beforehand, if you fail to do these things on schedule.
Put important things on your calendar. All the things that have to be done without fail during that date should be scheduled. If it’s not on your calendar, then it’s not something to do.

2. Hack your Time

“I recommend [to] not check your work email 10 minutes before your bedtime, nor 10 minutes before your child will wake up from a nap. You never know what will be in that inbox that may cause excessive excitement or worry regarding your business! Better to leave it for a time when you know you can calmly respond to any pressure from work.” – Arlissa Vaugn, Special Event Painter

Most work-at-home parents often don’t have the time to work for eight hours straight compared to those who work in the office. The good thing is you can always hack your time.

So you can do everything on schedule and get more done even with less working hours.


The following are time hacks you can incorporate on your work day:
Cook for two meals at once so you can simply fridge the other half and have it for the next day.
Shop groceries online and simply pick it up on the store so you don’t waste time shopping.
Do things in batches. For example: commute and reply work emails, water the plants and wash your car.
Have your dry cleaning set to pick-up and delivery.
You can save far more time if you remove distractions while you work.


3. Outsource / delegate work

“As a mama, we try to do it all. But after having twins in 2010, I quickly realized I couldn’t be the mama I wanted to be if I was in front of the computer or on the phone and watching kids at the same time. I found myself completely stressed and overwhelmed, feeling like a failure as a mom and an entrepreneur. Getting childcare, be it a babysitter or a supportive friend, allowed me to finally focus 100% of my energy on my biz when I was working and 100% on my family when I wasn’t.” – Rachel Cook of The Yogipreneur.

Being a parent entrepreneur means that you might not be able to take in important meetings due to family activities. That’s why it’s critical that you train your staff or hire someone to take your place during these episodes.

You can’t do it all alone so you have to ask for other’s help. You should use every kind of tool or opportunity to make everything work easier for you. Here are some ways successful parent entrepreneurs get their work done:
Outsourcing Online – There are many freelance services online like freelancer.com or PeoplePerHour where you can find great freelancers to help you in your business. You can let them do work that takes up too much of your time. Or work that you don’t know how to do like web design, editorial, and content writing.
Get a Virtual Assistant – Hire someone who can help you schedule everything and manage work for you while you’re away from the office. Delegate all petty things so you can free up your mind to deal with the important stuff.
Teach your kids to help – If your kids are old enough you can teach them to do simple things around the house like taking out the trash, doing the dishes, or their own laundry.


4. Grow Your Parents Network

“Focus on money making and network-building tasks first—so for me, fiddling around with where a graphic goes on my website is last, after finishing projects for clients and doing networking activities” – Kathy Catlin Davis of Inspired Abundance

Having children grows your ‘parent network’ as you meet other families through playgroups, school, and your neighborhood.

This helps you earn your place in their community which can be beneficial for you to meet interesting people that can turn into valuable contacts or even partners in business.

Parents that are like-minded in business may turn to each other for advice and strategies in financing.

These parent networking events are great ways to find help in growing your business. You might even find it amazing how other parent’s business ambitions will inspire yours. So take time and grow these parent connections while you bond with your kids.


Summary

At the end of the day, it’s all about reflecting on what’s important to you and finding ways to reach your goals. You can have a multi-billion business and become a committed serial entrepreneur while still getting the award for the best mom/dad in the world.
Are you juggling entrepreneurship and parenting? Leave a comment below.

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6 Great Techniques for Staying Focused At Work

Do you struggle to focus while you work?

How often does it happen when you’ve been sitting at your desk for hours only to look back when the day is over and feel like you’ve accomplished nothing?

Or maybe you’re trying to work on something only to constantly be interrupted by email notifications, your smart phone beeping, or yet another interruption by a team member.

6 Techniques for Staying Focused At Work

Every day feels like a never-ending battle to keep your attention on what’s important, but more often than not distraction is winning the day.

This is a shame.

Because in many ways what we choose to focus on is the most valuable resource we have. We should treat it accordingly.

The good news is that if you set things up to maximize your focus, you’ll be able to get more done in any given day than you ever imagined. Below are 6 great ways to develop laser-like focus while you work:


1. Build Your “Focus Muscles” Like a Weightlifter

The same principle that weightlifters use to get stronger can also be used to develop your ability to focus. The only way for a weight lifter to get stronger is to stimulate his or her muscles with more and more weight. If not, the person’s strength will stagnate.

Studies show that we only have the ability to do a maximum of four or five hours of focused work per day. This is what we should aspire to work up to. However, just like a weightlifter’s strength does not come overnight, you slowly work up to your four or five hours per day of focused work.

When starting to build your focus muscles, doing an hour of focused work is a good starting point. But start at whatever point would be a challenge for you but still doable. So if an hour is too much start with 15 minutes and build from there.


2. Work In Focused Blocks of Time

Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr helped popularize the idea of “periodization” for entrepreneurs in their book, the Power of Full Engagement. Periodization in this context means we should work in a series of focused “sprints” throughout the day followed by periods of recovery.

A popular application of this strategy is the Pomodoro Technique, which advises us to work in a 25-minute burst followed by a 5-minute break. This 30-minute block is known as a “Pomodoro session.”

After four Pomodoro sessions you would then take a longer break.


My personal preference is to work for longer focused session of around 55 to 60 minutes followed by a 10-minute break (I use a kitchen timer to time my sessions). Experiment and see what works best for you.


3. Have a “Break Ritual”

Have you ever planned on having a quick 5-minute break to check something on the Internet only to come back from an “Internet black hole” 45-minutes later and have no recollection of what you just looked at?

You’re not alone.

Many well-meaning entrepreneurs struggle to stay focused because they don’t manage their breaks properly.

In addition to spending too much time surfing the Internet and checking our smart phones during our breaks, other culprits include getting distracted on long eating breaks and taking too much time talking to our friends and colleagues.

So how to fight against these ‘time robbers’?

By implementing a “break ritual.”

This means you’ll decide ahead of time exactly what you’re going to do during your breaks. I highly recommend you stay away from technology during these break rituals.

In fact, my preferred ritual is to “just sit there.”

Meaning after my timer goes off I’ll simply walk to the room next to me and sit down and relax for 10 minutes. No checking email, no looking at text messages, nothing. I find this is a great way to relax and clear my mind.

Another benefit: the 10 minutes seem to go by much slower than before when I would get lost in Internet-land during breaks. Other good things you can do during break rituals include stretching and going for a walk.

4. Schedule Your Distraction Time

In his book Deep Work, Georgetown University professor and MIT graduate Cal Newport presents the novel idea that instead of scheduling breaks from distraction to focus, we should schedule breaks from focus to distraction.

Meaning we should block out specific times when we’ll allow ourselves to check our smart phones and emails, but we should avoid these distractions at all other times.

We want to make not being distracted our “default” state.

This is one of the true secrets or “hacks” to being more productive. Numerous scientific studies show that the constant switching between stimuli has a negative effect on our ability to focus. When we force ourselves not to do this, we take our “attention power” back, which makes focusing much easier.

To do this, we need to schedule our “distraction sessions” into every work day. Preferably later in the day to allow time for us to get our focused work done earlier. It is during these distraction sessions where you can check email, your smart phone and your favorite social media sites (if you really have to).


5. Manage Your Energy For Maximum Focus

Managing your energy is one of the best ways to improve your ability to focus. We do this primarily through proper diet and exercise. A diet designed for productivity will not only give you the energy you need to stay focused throughout the day but will also give your brain a boost.

The keys to a productive diet are:
Eat plenty of healthy fats (including avocados, fatty fishes and nuts).
Eat plenty of greens (including leafy green vegetables like kale and spinach and broccoli)
Stay away from all processed sugars.

Similar to diet, exercise not only will give you energy throughout the day, it’s also been shown to improve brain function as well. And what type of exercise you do is much less important than the fact that you do exercise at all.

At a minimum, you’ll want to engage in 20-minutes of moderate exercise at least three times per week. But also look for opportunities to move your body whenever possible: take the stairs, park your car a little farther when you go to the store, carry a hand basket at the grocery store instead of pushing a cart around if you can. All of these things make a difference for both your energy levels and your health.
6. The 3,515 Year-Old Secret For Improving Mental Focus

Did you know that one of the most amazing “hacks” for improving your mental focus has been around for over 3,500 years?

What’s more, this secret is completely free and can do wonders to improve your focus in as little as five minutes a day.

I’m talking about meditation.

Meditation has been called a “mental workout” for your mind and that’s exactly what it is. We talked above about building your “focus muscles” while you work. Think of meditation as a way to further train your focus muscles so you really “stretch” them during work time.

Many top running coaches have their athletes train their legs with weights in addition to their strenuous running workouts to prepare them for their races. Think of meditation as “weight training” that will help you perform even better at the race that happens everyday at work.

A great way to get started with meditation is to sit comfortably and simply focus on your breath: take a slow deep breath through your nose and say the word “in” to yourself while you do this. Then slowly exhale while silently saying the word “out.”

Repeat this for five minutes. Once you can do that, slowly build up to 10 then 20-minute meditation sessions.


Summary

To summarize, we just covered six great ways to develop laser-like focus while you work:
Building your focus muscles
Working in focused blocks
Having a break ritual
Taking breaks from focus
Managing your energy
Meditating

If you implement these strategies one by one, your days of struggling to focus and get things done will be over forever.

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