ztd habit action steps

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ZTD (Zen To Done): Forming the Ten Habits

By: Leo Babauta – he is a writer, a marathoner, an early riser, a vegan, and a father of six. He blogs regularly about achieving goals through daily habits on Zen Habits, and covers such topics as productivity, GTD, simplifying, frugality, parenting, happiness, motivation, exercise, eating healthy and more.

From: http://zenhabits.net/zen-to-done-ztd-forming-the-10-habits/

Recently I posted my new twist on the excellent GTD system, Zen To Done (ZTD): The Ultimate Simple Productivity System. An essential part of ZTD is the forming of the 10 Habits, one at a time. This post will explore why and how to do that.

Overview

One of the main problems people have with GTD, probably without knowing it, is that GTD is a series of habit changes that they try to undertake all at once. They get enthusiastic about GTD, and try and do it all in one shot, and then fall off the wagon. They get back on, and then fall off again. It’s almost like dieting or exercise – if you don’t adopt successful habit change methods, you will keep failing and eventually get discouraged and quit.

Well, if you’ve been reading Zen Habits for awhile, you know that habit changes aren’t something to be taken lightly. They can be successful, but it takes a lot of energy and focus and motivation, and it’s hard to do that with a bunch of habits all at once. I highly recommend that you start with one habit, and apply proven habit-change methodology to that habit, and then once that has become a habit, move on to the next habit.

Now, I understand that’s not easy. When you take on a system like GTD, you want to do it all at once. You’re excited and enthusiastic! Trust me, I’ve been there. But take that excitement and channel it into one habit, and you will be hugely successful. Doing one habit at a time will take some patience, but at the same time it’s not as overwhelming and it’s much easier to adopt this way. For some people, GTD can be overwhelming, and a major life change. I am an advocate of gradual life changes, ones that will last for a long time, not just for a few weeks.

If you are already good at some of these habits, and if you are good at changing your habits, it’s possible to do more than one at a time. I wouldn’t recommend more than 2-3 at a time, though, because the more you do, the less your chances of success. If you are already good at ubiquitous capture, for example, you could try adopting it as a habit along with, say, processing your

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inboxes. But don’t try to do much more than that. Start simple, and gradually add the other habits as you see fit.

Now, which habits should you adopt first? I recommend the order that they’re listed in, but that’s far from mandatory. You could easily do them in reverse or scramble them, or form an algorithm to decide. I suggest that if you don’t want to do them in the recommended order, see which ones will benefit you the most, and give those a higher priority.

Rome wasn’t built overnight, and you can’t change from being undisciplined, unorganized, procrastinating, unproductive (as I once was – I’m not accusing you of being these things) to organize, productive, with a do-it-now habit. Give yourself time to make these changes. At the end of this year, if you start now and adopt 1-2 habits per month, you will have some great habits adopted.

Habit Change Methodology

What are the methods you can use to make these habit changes successful? I won’t be able to go into much depth here, but these are discussed elsewhere on the site:

1. Commitment. Commit yourself to your habit change, big time. Make your commitment as public as possible – put it on your blog, join an online forum and tell them about it, tell your family and friends, send out a daily email update on your progress. The more positive public pressure, the better.

2. Practice. Changing your habits is a skill, and like any skill, it takes practice. Commit yourself to a 30-day Challenge, and try to do your new habit every single day for 30 days. You will be training yourself to do that new habit, over and over. If you mess up, don’t beat yourself up, but just try again. Practice makes perfect.

3. Motivation. Find as many ways to motivate yourself as possible. See theTop 20 Motivation Hacks.

4. Tracking. It’s best if you log your progress on your habit every day. This may sound difficult, but it will make your habit change much more likely to be successful. Log it in before you go to bed, placing your log next to your bed. It’ll motivate you, and will make you feel great as you look back on all your progress.

5. Support. Join an online group, or do your habit change with a partner. However you find it, get others to do a habit change with you, and it will be much easier.

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6. Rewards. Reward yourself often, early on – at the end of each of the first three days, and then at the end of every week, and then a big one at the end of your 30-day Challenge.

7. Focus. It’s extremely important that you maintain your focus on this new habit for the full 30 days. That’s why it’s hard to do more than one or two habits at a time – you can’t maintain focus. Find ways to bring your focus back to your habit. Post up signs or posters around your desk or home. Send yourself email reminders. Put it on your desktop picture. However you do it, keep a laser focus!

8. Positive thinking. This is perhaps the most important element. If you tell yourself that you can do this, that you will do it, then you will. Squash all negative thoughts, and replace them with positive ones. You can do this!

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ZTD (Zen To Done) Habits

Habit 1: Collect

Habit 2: Process

Habit 3: Plan

Habit 4: Do (focus)

Habit 5: Simple Trusted System

Habit 6: Organise

Habit 7: Review

Habit 8: Simplify

Habit 9: Routine

Habit 10: Find Your Passion

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Habit 1: Collect

From: http://zenhabits.net/ztd-habit-1-collect/

This habit is really straight from GTD with no variation. Carry a small notebook (or whatever capture tool works for you) and write down any tasks, ideas, projects, or other information that pop into your head. Get it out of your head and onto paper, so you don’t forget it.

ZTD asks you to pick a very simple, portable, easy-to-use tool for capture – a small notebook or small stack of index cards are preferred (but not mandated), simply because they are much easier to use and carry around than a PDA or notebook computer. When you get back to your home or office, empty your notes into your to-do list (a simple to-do list will work for now – context lists can come in a later habit).

A popular choice, but not necessary: the Moleskine. Any small notebook will do, really. You might also try the Hipster PDA.

I recommend analogue (paper) over digital for this habit, but if your PDA or smartphone works for you, go for it. The reason I think analogue works better is that it’s much faster – for digital, you not only have to pull it out, but you have to turn it on, go to the right program, click on an entry, and then enter through your entry system. With analogue, you just pull out the notebook and pen and write. Either way works, but I think that the simpler and easier the tools, the more likely you are to use them. Do what works for you, though.

The key with this capture habit is to write things down right away, before you forget, and to empty out your notebook as soon as you get home or to work. Don’t procrastinate with these two steps, or they will pile up and you will be less likely to do them. Stay on top of it!

Also, carry it around, everywhere. No matter what system you use, it should be very easy to carry around, and easy to jot down ideas quickly. You need to carry it wherever you go, including to bed, in stores, if you’re hospitalized, wherever.

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Habit 2: Process

Habit: make quick decisions on things in your inbox, do not put them off.Letting stuff pile up is procrastinating on making decisions. Process your inboxes(email, physical, voicemail, notebook) at least once a day, and more frequently if needed. When you process, do it from the top down, making a decision on each item, as in GTD: do it (if it takes 2 minutes or less), trash it, delegate it, file it, or put it on your to-do list or calendar to do later.

2.a. Get All Your Inboxes to Zero & Have Fewer Inboxes

From: http://zenhabits.net/inbox-master-get-all-your-inboxes-to-zero-and-have-fewer-inboxes/

Every Monday is Productivity & Organization Day at Zen Habits.

How many different ways do you get information? Five kinds of emails, text messages, voicemails, paper documents, regular mail, blog posts, messages on different online services (MySpace, Facebook, Netscape, et al) … the list could go on and on, and your processing of information certainly does. It’s an endless process, but it doesn’t have to be exhausting or stressful.

Getting your information management down to a less stressful level, to a more manageable level, and into a productive zone only takes a few simple steps. Read on for more, and your poor reading eyes will thank you.

First stage: Minimize your inboxes. Every place you have to go to check your messages or to read your incoming information is an inbox, and the more you have, the harder it is to manage everything. Cut the number of inboxes you have down to the smallest number possible for you to still function in the ways you need to. Here’s how:

1. List all the ways you receive information. You might forget a few at first, but as you remember new ways, add them to the list. The list should include digital and analog information – paper and computer.

2. Evaluate each to see if it gives you value. Sometimes we continue to check certain inboxes even if it’s not adding anything to our lives. It’s just more stuff to check. Have a pager when you also have a cell phone? Maybe the pager isn’t any use to you anymore.

3. Find ways to combine or eliminate inboxes. If something’s not giving you value, consider eliminating it from your life. See if you can go a week without missing it. For all the rest, see if you can combine multiple information streams into one inbox. For example, how many places in your home do

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incoming papers get placed? Have one inbox at home for all mail, papers from work, school papers, phone notes, computer printouts, schedules, and more. Have four email services? See if you can forward them all to one service. Get different voicemails? Try forwarding them to one service, or use an internet service to deliver them to your email inbox. At work, have one inbox for all incoming paperwork. Read a lot of blogs? Put them all into a feedreader, in a single stream of posts, instead of having to check 25 different inboxes. The fewer inboxes you have, the better. Aim for 4-7 inboxes if possible.

Second stage: Master your inboxes. This stage will sound familiar to my long-time readers, but it should be covered here: Don’t allow your inboxes to overflow. This will create a huge backlog of stuff for you to go through, and it will definitely stress you out. Instead, become the master of your inboxes. Here’s how:

1. Check and process your inboxes once a day. For some inboxes, you may need to check more than once (I check my email every hour), but don’t check constantly and obsessively. That just wastes your time and cuts into your productivity and real life. But don’t check less than once a day, because otherwise you’ll allow it to pile up. Piles are your enemy.

2. Process it from the top down, making quick and immediate decisions.Start with the top item in your inbox, and make an immediate decision. Don’t skip over it or put it back in or delay the decision. Here are your choices:

a. delete, b. delegate to someone else, c. do it immediately (if it takes 2 minutes or less), or d. defer it for later (add it to your to-do list).

In all cases, don’t leave the item in your inbox. Delete or file it. Work your way down through each item until your inbox is empty. Note: if you have hundreds of items in your inbox, it might be good to toss them all into a folder to be processed later (and schedule a couple hours to do that), and then start this process with all new items from that point on.

3. Repeat this process, to keep your inboxes empty. If you’ve minimized the number of inboxes you have, this shouldn’t be too hard. Celebrate when your inbox is empty! It’s a wonderful feeling. Remember: Don’t check them all day long – schedule your processing time – and definitely don’t have instant notification on.

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Habit 2: Process

2.b. Email Zen: Clear out Your Inboxes

From: http://zenhabits.net/email-zen-clear-out-your-inbox/

I use Gmail exclusively for email, and it constitutes a major part of my two day jobs. I get a fair amount of email each hour, and I am pretty quick at responding.

However, one thing you’ll notice about my Gmail inbox is that it is just about always empty.

It gives me a Zen feeling to have a clean inbox, a feeling of peace and calm and satisfaction. I highly recommend it to everyone. I wasn’t always like this – I had many emails in my inbox in the past. They would sit in there, sometimes unread, sometimes just waiting on an action, sometimes waiting to be filed, and others just waiting because I was procrastinating. I also had many folders for filing my email, so I could find them when I needed them. It would take me awhile to file sometimes, so I would put it off. Many people I know are the same way.

But GTD changed that (as well as 43 Folders and others), and for nearly a year now, I’ve been fairly consistent about having a clean inbox.

Here are my simple steps to achieving Email Zen:

1. Don’t check email first thing in the morning, or have it constantly on.This is a tip offered by many blogs, so nothing new here. Checking email first thing will get you stuck in email for awhile. Instead, do your most important thing for the day, or the thing you’ve been procrastinating on the most. Then check email. Better yet, do 2 or 3 things first. Also, if you are constantly checking email throughout the day, or it notifies you as soon as an email comes in, you will be constantly distracted and not able to focus on the task before you. I check once an hour, but you might have different needs.

2. When you check your email, dispose of each one, one at a time, right away. Make a decision on what needs to be done on each email.

a. Is it junk or some forwarded email? Trash it immediately.

b. Is it a long email that you just need to read for information? File it in a Read folder (or tag it Read and archive) or print it to read on the road (while waiting in line, for example).

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c. If the email requires action, make a note of the action on your to-do or ZTD lists to do later. Also note to check the email for info if necessary. Then archive the email. You can easily find it later when you need to do that task.

d. If you can respond to it in a minute or two, do so immediately. Don’t put it off. If you wait, you’ll end up with a backlog of emails to respond to, and you may never get around to it. I respond quickly, with a short note, and send it right away. That way I’m viewed as responsive and on top of things.

e. If you need to follow up on the email later, or are waiting for a response, note it on a Waiting For list. Don’t just leave it in your inbox as a reminder.

3. I have only one folder: Archive. When I respond to an email, or finish reading it if it doesn’t need response, or note it on my to-do list, I archive it. Simple as that. You could add a Read folder if you want. I usually print longer ones to read later, like during lunch or while waiting for something. Other people have an Action folder or a Waiting For folder, but I find that that’s just an additional inbox (or “bucket” as GTD’s David Allen calls it) that you have to constantly check. I don’t like to check extra folders. I have my to-do lists and my Waiting For list, and that’s good enough. So it’s as simple as pressing “Archive” on an email, and if I need to find it later, Gmail’s search is so good that it’s easy to find. I’ve never had any problems with this system.

Email Zen is that easy: check email at regular periods, take action on each email right away (or note it on a list to do later) and archive.

Ahhh. Empty inbox!

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Habit 2: Process

2.c. Three Steps to a Permanently Clear Desk

From: http://zenhabits.net/steps-to-permanently-clear-desk/

Once upon a time, my desk was cluttered with all the things I was currently working on – not to mention dozens of things I wasn’t working on: notes, post-its, phone numbers, papers to be filed, stacks of stuff to work on later. I was too busy to organize it, and if I ever did get it cleared, it would pile up soon after.

It’s a different story today. These days, my desk is always clear, except for the one thing I’m working on, and perhaps a notebook and pen for jotting down notes, ideas or to-dos as they come up. It’s a liberating feeling … it calms me … it reduces stress and chaos … it definitely makes things easier to find … and it makes me more efficient and productive.

How did I make the transformation? Well, it wasn’t an easy journey, and I’ve improved over the years, but the basic steps are outlined below. The important thing to remember is that you must have a system in place, and you must teach yourself to follow the system. Otherwise, you just clean your desk, and it gets messy again.

Much of my current system (as opposed to stuff I’ve been trying along the way) is taken almost completely from “Getting Things Done,” by David Allen (viaLifehacker & 43 Folders). A must read if you haven’t yet.

Here’s the system:

1. First, take everything on your desk and in your drawers, and put them in one big pile. Put it in your “in basket” (if it doesn’t fit, pile it next to your desk or something). From now on, everything that comes in must go in your in basket, and you process everything as below.

2. Process this pile from the top down. Never re-sort, never skip a single piece of paper, never put a piece of paper back on the pile. Do what needs to be done with that paper, and then move on to the next in the pile. The options are:

Trash it, Delegate it, File it, Do it, or Put it on a list to do later.

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In that order of preference. Do it if it takes 2 minutes or less to complete. If it takes more, and you can’t trash, delegate or file it, then put it on a list of to-dos (more on your to-do list in another post).

3. Repeat at least once daily to keep desk clear. The end of the day is best, but I tend to process and tidy up as I go through the day. Once you’ve processed your pile, your desk is clear. You’ve trashed or filed or somehow put everything where it belongs (not on top of your desk or stashed in a drawer). Keep it that way. You must follow the system above: put everything in your inbox, then take action on each piece of paper in the inbox with one of the steps listed. If an item is on your to-do list, you can keep the paper associated with it in an “Action” folder. But you must regularly (daily or weekly) go through this folder to ensure that everything is purged.

It’s that simple. Have a phone number on a post-it? Don’t leave it on top of your desk. File it in your rolodex or contacts program. Have something you need to work on later? Don’t keep the papers on top of your desk. Put it on your to-do list, and file the papers in your Action folder. File or trash or delegate everything else.

Leaving stuff on top of your desk is procrastination (and as a procrastinator, I should know). If you put it off until later, things will be sure to pile up on your desk. Deal with them immediately, make a decision, take action.

What I’ve described is a good habit to learn, but it takes time to learn it. You’ll slip. Just remind yourself, and then do it. Soon it’ll be a habit you have a hard time breaking. And trust me, once you’re used to your desk being clear, you won’t want to break this habit.

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Habit 3: Plan

Habit: set MITs for week, day. Each week, list the Big Rocks that you want to accomplish, and schedule them first. Each day, create a list of 1-3 MITs(basically your Big Rocks for the day) and be sure to accomplish them. Do your MITs early in the day to get them out of the way and to ensure that they get done.

3.a. Big Rocks First: Double Your Productivity this Week.

From: http://zenhabits.net/big-rocks-first-double-your-productivity-this-week/

Every Monday is Productivity & Organization Day at Zen Habits.

If your week is seven buckets, and you go into each bucket without planning ahead, and you fill it up with little pebbles and grains of sand and whatever other debris comes your way … soon there will be no room for the Big Rocks. Your buckets fill up faster than you know it, and once your buckets are full, you’re done. You can’t get bigger buckets.

What you can do is put the Big Rocks in first, and fill in the pebbles and sand around them.

The Big Rocks are the major things you want to get done this week. A report, launching a new website, going to the gym, spending time with your spouse and kids, achieving your dreams. These Big Rocks get pushed back from week to week because we never have time to do them – our days fill up too quickly, and before we know it, weeks have passed and the Big Rocks are still sitting on the side, untouched.

Plan your week ahead of time, placing your Big Rocks first.

This is a similar concept to MITs, except on a weekly scale instead of a daily scale. Big Rocks are your MITs for the week.

Here’s how you do it (with the unavoidable list, of course!):

1. Make a list. At the beginning of the week – Sunday evening or Monday morning – write out the Big Rocks that you want to accomplish this week. These should be the important things – if you looked back on the week and said you did them, you would be proud of having done them. Be sure to include not only work stuff, but some of the tasks that will further along your life’s goals and dreams.

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2. Keep it short. In the beginning, just have 4-6 … you don’t need to try to do 10 or more Big Rocks, especially not at first. Later, you may get better at judging how many Big Rocks you can do in a week, but for now, shoot for about one per day.

3. Place the Rocks. Look at your weekly schedule. If you don’t have one, write out the days of the week with one-hour blocks (or print out a schedule from an online calendar). Write out pre-existing appointments. Now take your Big Rocks, and put them in the schedule. Try to put them in a spot where you know you’ll get them done. Not a spot that’s traditionally too busy to concentrate, and not in a little half-hour window between meetings. Give yourself time to do it.

4. Leave space for the incoming pebbles. Don’t fill in the rest of the schedule if possible. Every morning, look at your schedule and commit yourself to doing the Big Rock(s) for that day. That’s your MIT for the day. If there are less important MITs, you can put them in the schedule, but don’t put too much. A tight schedule tends to bump into itself, pushing things back when other things inevitably take too long.

5. Do it early. If you can, place your Big Rocks first thing in the morning. Don’t schedule them for later in the day if possible, because by that time, a few fires have come up, and the Big Rock will get pushed back as always. Do it first, and then you’ve got the rest of the day for the busy-work.

6. Be Proud. When your week’s done, look back on it – if you got any (or all!) of the Big Rocks done, be proud of yourself and happy. It feels good!

How does this simple method make you more productive? Well, productivity isn’t about doing a lot of stuff. It’s about getting the important stuff done. But if you’re running around doing all the little stuff … sure, you did a lot and you were very busy, but how much did you really accomplish? Oftentimes we can look back on our week and say, “I didn’t get a lot done, but I sure was stressed doing it!”

This is a way of getting the important stuff done. Sure, you’ll still have to worry about the little stuff. But at the end of the week, you can look back and say that you’ve been productive. It makes a world of difference.

Note: You probably noticed that this post isn’t really about GTD. But I’ve found that it works incredibly well with GTD, and I’d recommend that you use the two systems together.

Update: As some have pointed out in the comments, this is not an original idea. Steven Covey (in his books 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First) and others have used this idea for a long time. I should also point out that

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the idea is not Covey’s originally (although I might have read it from him first) –he relates the Big Rocks story as one that his associate heard at a seminar. I just wanted to share it as something that works for me, and could be used in conjunction with GTD. I hope you’ve found it useful!

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Habit 3: Plan

3.b. Purpose Your Day: MIT (Most Important Task)

From: http://zenhabits.net/purpose-your-day-most-important-task/

I’ve mentioned this briefly in my morning routine, but I thought I’d explain a little bit more about MITs – Most Important Tasks. It’s not an original concept, but one that I use on a daily basis and that has helped me out tremendously.

It’s very simple: your MIT is the task you most want or need to get done today. In my case, I’ve tweaked it a bit so that I have three MITs – the three things I mustaccomplish today. Do I get a lot more done than three things? Of course. But the idea is that no matter what else I do today, these are the things I want to be sure of doing. So, the MIT is the first thing I do each day, right after I have a glass of water to wake me up.

And here’s the key to the MITs for me: at least one of the MITs should be related to one of my goals. While the other two can be work stuff (and usually are), one must be a goal next-action. This ensures that I am doing something to move my goals forward that day.

And that makes all the difference in the world. Each day, I’ve done something to make my dreams come true. It’s built into my morning routine: set a next-action to accomplish for one of my goals. And so it happens each day, automatically.

Another key: do your MITs first thing in the morning, either at home or when you first get to work. If you put them off to later, you will get busy and run out of time to do them. Get them out of the way, and the rest of the day is gravy!

It’s such a small thing to implement, and yet I’m raving about it like it’s a huge revelation. But it is. Sometimes small things can make big differences. I highly recommend you give it a go.

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Habit 3: Plan

3.c. My Morning Routine

From: http://zenhabits.net/habit-4-my-morning-routine/

Today I start a new habit: my morning routine (to be honest, I started a couple days ago). All this month I will focus on making my morning routine a daily habit.

I’ve actually tried different versions of a morning routine in the past year, and have enjoyed them immensely. I just haven’t stuck with one for a whole month or more, and that is the goal this month.

The reason I like having a morning routine is that not only does it instil a sense of purpose, peace and ritual to my day, but it ensures that I’m getting certain things done every morning … namely, my goals. I’m setting aside morning time as a time of peace and quiet, and time to take small steps each day towards my goals.

Here’s my morning routine, at the moment (subject to tweaking later):

Morning Routine

1. Wake at 4:30 am2. Drink water.3. Set 3 MITs (Most Important Things) for today.4. Fix lunches for kids and myself.5. Eat breakfast, read.6. Exercise (run, bike, swim, strength, or yardwork) or meditate.7. Shower.8. Wake wife & kids at 6:30 am

A couple of explanations: The MITs that I set for the day concern at least one item towards one of my goals, and probably the 1-2 things I MUST complete at work. There will be more that I do during the day, but my focus will be to finish at least these three MITs.

As for the exercise and meditate item, I have a schedule where I do one exercise each morning (with the exception of Fridays, where I plan to meditate for at least 10-15 minutes). Actually, I also often exercise in the evenings too, so on some days I’ll have two workouts – maybe a bike in the morning and swim in the evening, for example. My body is still getting used to this, so we’ll see how it works out.

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As for waking up at 4:30 am, I only started doing that within the last few months –before that it was 5:00 or 5:30, and before last year I woke at 6:30, so I’ve really become an early riser just in the last year. I wrote more about that here.

Look for updates to my goal of sticking to my Morning Routine this month.

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Habit 3: Plan

3.d. DO Your MITs Early in the Day

From: http://zenhabits.net/top-10-productivity-hacks-3/

Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks – little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I’ll post them all together in an overview.

Productivity Hack #3: Do the tough tasks first.

You know what those tasks are. What have you been putting off that you know you need to do? Sometimes when you put things off, they end up being things you don’t really need to do. But sometimes they are things you just gotta do. Those are your tough tasks.

Do them first thing in the day.

Been putting off that report? Start on it first thing in the morning. It will be a relief to get it over with.

If you’re not sure what those tasks are, it just takes a quick scan of your to-do lists: what’s been sitting there the longest? Is it something you really need to do? Do that task first thing.

Getting at least one of these tough tasks done first thing in the morning lifts a great load off your back and gives you a psychological boost to go forward in your day.

Only once you’ve done the hard stuff should you allow yourself to do the fun stuff (check your email or blogs!). Then take a breather and enjoy the bliss that follows a job well done.

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Habit 4: Do (focus)

Habit: do one task at a time, without distractions. This is one of the most important habits in ZTD. You must select a task (preferably one of your MITs) and focus on it to the exclusion of all else. First, eliminate all distractions. Shut off email, cell phone, Internet if possible (otherwise just close all unnecessary tabs), clutter on your desk (if you follow habit 2, this should be pretty easy). Then, set a timer if you like, or otherwise just focus on your task for as long as possible. Don’t let yourself get distracted from it. If you get interrupted, write down any request or incoming tasks/info on your notepad, and get back to your task. Don’t try to multi-task. See How NOT to Multi-Task for more.

4.a. De-clutter Your Work-space and Work on One Thing at a Time



Productivity Hack #7: De-clutter your workspace, and work on one thing at a time.

The decluttering of your work space part of it is simply to remove all extra distractions, on your desk and on your computer. If you’ve got a clean, simplified workspace, you can better focus on the task at hand.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Gather all papers on your desk (including any scraps, post-its, phone messages, etc), put them in your inbox, and process through them rapidly. (See 3 Steps to a Permanently Clear Desk)

2. If you’ve got folders or stacks of paper on or around your desk, process them and put them away as in step 1 – listing them on your projects or actions lists, and filing them out of sight.

3. Get rid of distracting knick-knacks, posters, pictures, etc. A few photos of your family is fine, but if you’ve got a lot of other stuff, it’s probably distracting.

4. Clear your computer desktop of icons. File or trash them, then turn off desktop icons so you’ve now got a clutter-free desktop. Close unnecessary windows on the computer (especially solitaire or minesweeper or whatever

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your current distracter is). Now choose a nice, serene desktop picture (and using a photo of a magazine model doesn’t qualify as serene).

Ahhh. A peaceful working environment. I also suggest using headphones if you have a problem with the ambient noise in your office, or people dropping by too much.

Now, with distractions minimized, focus on the task at hand. Don’t check email, don’t work on five projects at once, don’t check the stats on your blog, don’t go to your feed reader. Work on that one task, and work on it with concentrated focus until you are done. (See How NOT to Multi-task.) Then celebrate your achievement!

Removing distractions from your workspace and really focusing on one task at a time will greatly increase your productivity. If your distraction is reading Zen Habits … well, that’s OK. But only that one exception.

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Habit 4: Do (focus)

4.b. How Not to Multitask – Work Simpler and Saner

From: http://zenhabits.net/how-not-to-multitask-work-simpler-and/

You’re working on two projects at once, while your boss has placed two new demands on your desk. You’re on the phone while three new emails come in. You are trying to get out the door on time so you can pick up a few groceries on the way home for dinner. Your Blackberry is going off and so is your cell phone. Your co-worker stops by with a request for info and your Google Reader is filled with 100+ messages to read.

You are juggling tasks with a speed worthy of Ringling Bros. Congratulations, multitasker.

In this age of instant technology, we are bombarded with an overload of information and demands of our time. This is part of the reason GTD is so popular in the information world – it’s a system designed for quick decisions and for keeping all the demands of your life in order. But even if we are using GTD, sometimes we are so overwhelmed with things to do that our system begins to fall apart.

Life Hack recently posted How to Multi-task, and it’s a good article on the nature of multi-tasking and how to do it while still focusing on one task at a time.

This post is How NOT to Multi-task – a guide to working as simply as possible for your mental health.

First, a few quick reasons not to multi-task:

1. Multi-tasking is less efficient, due to the need to switch gears for each new task, and the switch back again.

2. Multi-tasking is more complicated, and thus more prone to stress anderrors.

3. Multi-tasking can be crazy, and in this already chaotic world, we need to reign in the terror and find a little oasis of sanity and calm.

Here are some tips on how NOT to multi-task:

1. First set up to-do lists for different contexts (i.e. calls, computer, errands, home, waiting-for, etc.) depending on your situation.

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2. Have a capture tool (such as a notebook) for instant notes on what needs to be done.

3. Have a physical and email inbox (as few inboxes as possible) so that all incoming stuff is gathered together in one place (one for paper stuff, one for digital).

4. Plan your day in blocks, with open blocks in between for urgent stuff that comes up. You might try one-hour blocks, or half-hour blocks, depending on what works for you. Or try this: 40 minute blocks, with 20 minutes in between them for miscellaneous tasks.

5. First thing in the morning, work on your MIT. Don’t do anything else until this is done. Give yourself a short break, and then start on your next MIT. If you can get 2-3 of these done in the morning, the rest of the day is gravy.

6. When you are working on a task in a time block, turn off all other distractions. Shut off email, and the Internet if possible. Shut off your cell phone. Try not to answer your phone if possible. Focus on that one task, and try to get it done without worrying about other stuff.

7. If you feel the urge to check your email or switch to another task, stop yourself. Breathe deeply. Re-focus yourself. Get back to the task at hand.

8. If other things come in while you’re working, put them in the inbox, or take a note of them in your capture system. Get back to the task at hand.

9. Every now and then, when you’ve completed the task at hand, process your notes and inbox, adding the tasks to your to-do lists and re-configuring your schedule if necessary. Process your email and other inboxes at regular and pre-determined intervals.

10.There are times when an interruption is so urgent that you cannot put it off until you’re done with the task at hand. In that case, try to make a note of where you are (writing down notes if you have time) with the task at hand, and put all the documents or notes for that task together and aside (perhaps in an “action” folder or project folder). Then, when you come back to that task, you can pull out your folder and look at your notes to see where you left off.

11.Take deep breaths, stretch, and take breaks now and then. Enjoy life. Go outside, and appreciate nature. Keep yourself sane.

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Habit 5: Simple Trusted System

From: http://zenhabits.net/zen-to-done-ztd-the-ultimate-simple-productivity-system/

Habit: keep simple lists, check daily.

Basically the same as GTD – have context lists, such as:

@work, @phone, @home, @errands, @waiting, etc.

ZTD suggests that you keep your lists as simple as possible. Don’t create a complicated system, and don’t keep trying out new tools. It’s a waste of time, as fun as it is. Either use a simple notebook or index cards for your lists, or use the simplest list program possible. You don’t need a planner or a PDA or Outlook or a complicated system of tags. Just one list for each context, and a projects list that you review either daily or weekly. Linking actions to both projects and contexts is nice, but can get too complicated. Keep it simple, and focus on what you have to do right now, not on playing with your system or your tools.

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Habit 6: Organise


Habit: a place for everything.

All incoming stuff goes in your inbox.

From there, it goes on your context lists and an action folder, or in a file in your filing system, in your outbox if you’re going to delegate it, or in the trash.

Put things where they belong, right away, instead of piling them up to sort later. This keeps your desk clear so you can focus on your work.

Don’t procrastinate – put things away.

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Habit 7: Review


Habit: review your system & goals weekly.

GTD’s weekly review is great, and ZTD incorporates it almost exactly, but with more of a focus on reviewing your goals each week. This is already in GTD, but isn’t emphasized.

During your weekly review, you should go over each of your yearly goals, see what progress you made on them in the last week, and what action steps you’re going to take to move them forward in the coming week.

Once a month, set aside a little more time to do a monthly review of your goals.

Every year, you should do a yearly review of your year’s goals and your life’s goals.

GTD Comments

David Allen says that if you are not doing your weekly review, you are not doingGTD. I agree completely, and I’d like to add to that: if you are not reviewing your goals weekly, you are not focused on achieving your goals.

Every GTDer has put off the weekly review, sometimes for several weeks at a time. Every GTDer has felt the guilt of not doing the weekly review. Every GTDer, to live up to that title, needs to get back on the wagon and do the weekly review!

It is the key to the system. Here’s why:

In GTD, you capture everything, and process it, and use context lists for your next-actions … but things still slip through the cracks. The weekly review catches all those things that slip through, and empties your head of the “stuff” that keeps your brain working overtime.

Often, even if we’re good at processing our inboxes and checking our context lists on a daily basis, we still forget to check our project lists. This means that there might be projects that don’t have next-actions on your context lists, or maybe you’ve forgotten to add a project or check it off as done. Or maybe the project’s stalled and you need to jump start it.

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Without the weekly review, the system begins to atrophy over time, until you no longer can be sure that it is complete or even working at all. Then you stop trusting it, and soon you’re not using it at all, really.

The weekly review clears your head and leaves you feeling calm and satisfied. Mmmm!

A weekly review doesn’t have to take long if you do three things:

1. Process your inboxes on a daily basis, so you don’t have a huge pile of stuff waiting for you;

2. Set aside time dedicated to the weekly review, and clear aside all distractions; and

3. Really focus on getting the review done quickly and completely.

Here are the basic steps to a weekly review:

Pull out all loose papers, receipts, post-its, etc., and put in your inbox. Process your inbox. Process your notes. Review previous and upcoming calendar data to trigger next actions. Mind dump – empty your head of everything not already in the system.

Process it as you would your inbox. Review next-action lists, project lists, waiting-on list, and someday/maybe list. Review your goals.

Note the last step: review your goals.

This is the key to keeping your goals on track – you have to review them regularly. First you have to set your goals, of course, but then you have to review them (preferably daily, but at least weekly). If you’re not, then you’ll forget about them, and when you remember them, you’ll do some things towards your goals, and then forget again. You have to have a regular review of your goals on a weekly basis in order to keep that focus.

Here’s my best tip for doing the weekly review: make an appointment, either on Monday morning or Friday morning, with yourself to do the weekly review. I suggest the mornings because by afternoon time, you are way too busy with other stuff that comes up to keep this appointment. If you do it first thing in the morning, you can get it out of the way and move on to the rest of your chaotic day. Stick to this appointment – keep it sacred – or your system will begin to fall apart.

A good article on this topic: Doing the Weekly Review, Weekly, under.

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Meg EdwardsDoing the Weekly Review, Weekly

I have been working as a coach for The David Allen Company for four years. In that time, one of my areas of interest is the Weekly Review and how to support people in doing it weekly. As one client said to me “Meg, I just finished my monthly Weekly Review.” We all know that the Weekly Review is a critical success factor in Getting Things Done. So why is it so difficult to do? I want to share some thoughts that might assist getting you up and running if you are someone who just hasn’t gotten around to doing your Weekly Review on a regular basis.

First, I want to make a confession. It took me several months before I was doing a Weekly Review in its entirety every week. The first month I only got through the first step which is collecting all the loose papers and processing them to zero. By the time I completed this, the two hours were up and I was toast.

Remedy: The day before my weekly review, I collected all my loose papers and processed them. Then when it came time to do the weekly review, I only needed to spend 10 minutes on that step. As the months passed, I learned how much time it took to process my paper to zero. I am now in the habit of having an empty inbox at least every other day if not every day. Each person will have to determine how often they need to process their paper to stay on top of their job.

Second, I found that when I was trying to implement the Weekly Review I was using that time to do work I wasn’t able to get to during the week or better yet, to chip away at my backlog of work.

Remedy: The purpose of the Weekly Review is to get a current inventory of everything you have attention on. It is not a time to do your work. As stated above, you need to regularly process your collection tools down to zero. Along the same line, you also need to build in time during the week to consistently “do” your work so you don’t have an avalanche of incomplete work when it’s time to do the Weekly Review.

Third, sometimes I didn’t do a weekly review because I never scheduled one. My reason for not scheduling one was because I had such a back log of work from the week, I thought it would be better if I waited until I had enough time to do a whole, complete, thorough weekly review rather than a partial one. Because it seemed so overwhelming, it felt like more than I wanted to deal with on a Friday afternoon.

Remedy: Schedule an hour to do the Weekly Review in your calendar and make yourself important enough to keep that commitment. You may not get through all of the review but if you keep implementing the GTD process throughout the week you will find that it will be easier to do the Weekly Review when it is time to do it

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and you will be able to incorporate more steps each week. Remember that when you are first installing a new habit, such as beginning an exercise program, it is always easier to find something else to do other than exercise. However once it is a habit, it becomes critical to your health and well being. The same holds true for the Weekly Review. In order to cultivate a relaxed controlled experience with your work give yourself a couple of months to implement the Weekly Review as a habit.

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Habit 8: Simplify


Habit: reduce your goals & tasks to essentials.

One of the problems with GTD is that it attempts to tackle all incoming tasks. But this can overload us, and leave us without the necessary focus on the important tasks (MITs).

So instead, ZTD asks you to review your task and project lists, and see if you can simplify them.

Remove everything but the essential projects and tasks, so you can focus on them. Simplify your commitments, and your incoming information stream. Be sure that your projects and tasks line up with your yearly and life goals. Do this on a daily basis (briefly, on a small scale), during your weekly review, and your monthly review.

Productivity Hack #4: Avoid Unnecessary Work.



The key word here, of course, is “unnecessary”. How do you know if work is necessary or not? You must first know what your goals are – work that forwards you towards your goals (which should probably be in line with your organization’s goals) is necessary, essential. Trim everything that is not essential, or you will be wasting your time.

If we just do any work that comes our way, we can be cranking out the tasks, but not be productive at all. You’re only productive if you are doing work that moves you towards a goal.

Someone calls you and says they need something right away. Well, they might need it right away, but that might not be your problem. Is serving this person immediately part of your job description? It might be if this person is an important client, but if they are just a co-worker who is trying to make you do their work, then that’s unnecessary work for you. Cranking out that task is a waste of your time.

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It’s good to do an inventory of your to-do lists every week or so… look at each task, and ask if it’s truly necessary, and what goal it is moving you towards. If it’s not necessary, see if it can be eliminated or passed on to the right person.

And this next step is just as important: as new tasks come in, say no to unnecessary tasks. Evaluate each request. If it’s not necessary, tell the person that you simply do not have time to do it. Tell them that you have high-priorityprojects that are due soon, and you regret not being able to help them. Refer them to someone else who might help. Be polite, but regretful. If it’s your boss, you might need to have a talk with your boss about priorities and goals. Be sure that you are both clear on what your work objectives are, and ask that extraneous tasks be assigned to someone else. Tell your boss that the extra tasks are getting in the way of your productivity.

If you do not take these steps and speak up, and say no, then you will be overloaded with work that you simply do not need to do. Cut out the non-essential tasks, and focus on those that really matter.

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Habit 9: Routine


Habit: Set and Keep Routines.

GTD is very unstructured, which can be both a strength and a weakness. It’s a weakness for some people because they need more structure. Try the habit of creating routines to see if it works better for you.

A morning routine (for example) could include: Looking at your calendar, Going over your context lists, Setting your MITs for the day, Exercising, Processing email and inboxes, and Doing your first MIT for the day.

An evening routine could include: Processing your email and inboxes (again), Reviewing your day, Writing in your journal, and Preparing for the next day.

Weekly routines could include: an errands day, a laundry day, financial day, your weekly review, and family day, etc.

It’s up to you – set your own routines, make them work for you.

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Habit 9: Routine

9.a. Example Morning Routine

From: http://zenhabits.net/habit-4-my-morning-routine/

Today I start a new habit: my morning routine (to be honest, I started a couple days ago). All this month I will focus on making my morning routine a daily habit.

I’ve actually tried different versions of a morning routine in the past year, and have enjoyed them immensely. I just haven’t stuck with one for a whole month or more, and that is the goal this month.

The reason I like having a morning routine is that not only does it instil a sense of purpose, peace and ritual to my day, but it ensures that I’m getting certain things done every morning … namely, my goals. I’m setting aside morning time as a time of peace and quiet, and time to take small steps each day towards my goals.

Here’s my Morning Routine, at the moment (subject to tweaking later):

1. Wake at 4:30 am2. Drink water.3. Set 3 Most Important Things (MITs) for today.4. Fix lunches for kids and myself.5. Eat breakfast, read.6. Exercise (run, bike, swim, strength, or yardwork) or meditate.7. Shower.8. Wake wife & kids at 6:30 am

A couple of explanations: The MITs that I set for the day concern at least one item towards one of my goals, and probably the 1-2 things I MUST complete at work. There will be more that I do during the day, but my focus will be to finish at least these three MITs.

As for the exercise and meditate item, I have a schedule where I do one exercise each morning (with the exception of Fridays, where I plan to meditate for at least 10-15 minutes). Actually, I also often exercise in the evenings too, so on some days I’ll have two workouts – maybe a bike in the morning and swim in the evening, for example. My body is still getting used to this, so we’ll see how it works out.

As for waking up at 4:30 am, I only started doing that within the last few months –before that it was 5:00 or 5:30, and before last year I woke at 6:30, so I’ve really become an early riser just in the last year. I’ve described the benefits of rising early, and how to do it, in the Blogs, reproduced under.

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Habit 9: Routine

9.b. Ten Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do it

From: http://zenhabits.net/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin, famously

“Put no trust in the benefits to accrue from early rising, as set forth by the infatuated Franklin …” – Mark Twain

Recently, reader Rob asked me about my habit of waking at 4:30 am each day, and asked me to write about the health benefits of rising early, which I thought was an excellent question. Unfortunately, there are none, which I know of.

However, there are a ton of other great benefits.

Now, let me first say that if you are a night owl, and that works for you, I think that’s great. There’s no reason to change, especially if you’re happy with it. But for me, switching from being a night owl to an early riser (and yes, it is possible) has been a godsend. It has helped me in so many ways that I’d never go back. Here are just a few:

1. Greet the day. I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, ”Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’ “

2. Amazing start. I used to start my day by jumping out of bed, late as usual, and rushing to get myself and the kids ready, and rushing to drop them to school and come in to work late. I would walk into work, looking rumpled and barely awake, grumpy and behind everyone else. Not a great start to your day. Now, I have a renewing morning ritual, I’ve gotten so much done before 8 am, my kids are early and so am I, and by the time everyone else gets in to work, I’ve already gotten a head start. There is no better way to start off your day than to wake early, in my experience.

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3. Quietude. No kids yelling, no babies crying, no soccer balls, no cars, no television noise. The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet. It’s my favourite time of day. I truly enjoy that time of peace, that time to myself, when I can think, when I can read, when I can breathe.

4. Sunrise. People who wake late miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated in full stereovision each and every day – the rise of the sun. I love how the day slowly gets brighter, when the midnight blue turns to lighter blue, when the brilliant colours start to seep into the sky, when nature is painted in incredible colours. I like doing my early morning run during this time, and I look up at the sky as I run and say to the world, “What a glorious day!” Really. I really do that. Corny, I know.

5. Breakfast. Rise early and you actually have time for breakfast. I’m told it’s one of the most important meals of the day. Without breakfast, your body is running on fumes until you are so hungry at lunchtime that you eat whatever unhealthy thing you can find. The fattier and sugarier, the betterier. But eatbreakfast, and you are sated until later. Plus, eating breakfast while reading my book and drinking my coffee in the quiet of the morning is eminently more enjoyable than scarfing something down on the way to work, or at your desk.

6. Exercise. There are other times to exercise besides the early morning, of course, but I’ve found that while exercising right after work is also very enjoyable, it’s also liable to be cancelled because of other things that come up. Morning exercise is virtually never cancelled.

7. Productivity. Mornings, for me at least, are the most productive time of day. I like to do some writing in the morning, when there are no distractions, before I check my email or blog stats. I get so much more done by starting on my work in the morning. Then, when evening rolls around, I have no work that I need to do, and I can spend it with family.

8. Goal time. Got goals? Well, you should. And there’s no better time to review them and plan for them and do your goal tasks than first thing. You should have one goal that you want to accomplish this week. And every morning, you should decide what one thing you can do today to move yourself further towards that goal. And then, if possible, do that first thing in the morning.

9. Commute. No one likes rush-hour traffic, except for Big Oil. Commute early, and the traffic is much lighter, and you get to work faster, and thus save yourself more time. Or better yet, commute by bike. (Or even better yet,work from home.)

10.Appointments. It’s much easier to make those early appointments on time if you get up early. Showing up late for those appointments is a bad signal to

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the person you’re meeting. Showing up early will impress them. Plus, you get time to prepare.

How to Become an Early Riser

Don’t make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time.

Allow yourself to sleep earlier. You might be used to staying up late, perhaps watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give. And if it is the early rising that gives, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over. I suggest going to bed earlier, even if you don’t think you’ll sleep, and read while in bed. If you’re really tired, you just might fall asleep much sooner than you think.

Put your alarm clock far from you bed. If it’s right next to your bed, you’ll shut it off or hit snooze. Never hit snooze. If it’s far from your bed, you have to get up out of bed to shut it off. By then, you’re up. Now you just have to stay up.

Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don’t allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room. My habit is to stumble into the bathroom and go pee. By the time I’ve done that, and flushed the toilet and washed my hands and looked at my ugly mug in the mirror, I’m awake enough to face the day.

Do not rationalize. If you allow your brain to talk you out of getting up early, you’ll never do it. Don’t make getting back in bed an option.

Have a good reason. Set something to do early in the morning that’s important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to write in the morning, so that’s my reason. Also, when I’m done with that, I like to read all of your comments!

Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to make a hot cup of coffee or tea and read a book. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast (smoothies! yum!) or watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that’s pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine.

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Take advantage of all that extra time. Don’t wake up an hour or two early just to read your blogs, unless that’s a major goal of yours. Don’t wake up early and waste that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! I like to use that time to get a head start on preparing my kids’ lunches, on planning for the rest of the day (when I set my MITs), on exercising or meditating, and on reading. By the time 6:30 rolls around, I’ve done more than many people do the entire day.

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Habit 9: Routine

9.c. Example Evening Routine

From: http://zenhabits.net/jumpstart-your-day-night-before-evening/

Not long ago, I talked about the importance of a morning routine … it’s a great way to incorporate your goals into each day, at the beginning of the day. This is a beautiful time of day, when all is quiet and the world sleeps.

But there’s another part of the day that I love, and that can have great benefits for you at a cost of only 10-30 minutes each day: the time right before you go to sleep.

If you’re following my advice on how to become an early riser (and if not, try it out!), then you are going to bed earlier, and perhaps reading yourself to sleep, so you won’t be so tired in the morning. Well, just 10-30 minutes before you go to bed, try going through an evening routine that can make a huge difference for your morning.

Each person’s evening routine will be different, but here’s a sample routine that’s based on something I’ve been trying, with some good ideas that most people can use:

1. Pack lunch (for yourself and the kids);2. Get your clothes (and other gear) ready;3. Check your calendar;4. Plan Your MITs;5. Review Your Day;6. Wash any dishes, clean the counters;7. Pick up so that you’re greeted with a clean house in the morning;8. Set your alarm; and9. Read yourself to sleep.

You will of course modify this to fit your needs, but you can see some of the most important elements: you’re cleaning up so that the house is beautifully clean when you awake, you are reviewing your day and planning for the next, and you are prepping your stuff for the next day so you don’t have to do it in the morning.

Create your evening routine today and get a jump start on tomorrow!

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Habit: Seek Work for Which You’re Passionate.

This could be your last habit, but at the same time your most important. GTD is great for managing the tasks in your life, and trying not to procrastinate on them. But if you’re passionate about your work, you won’t procrastinate – you’ll lovedoing it, and want to do more.

The habit to form here is to constantly seek things about which you’re passionate, and to see if you can make a career out of them when you find them.

Make your life’s work something you’re passionate about, not something you dread doing, and your task list will almost seem like a list of rewards.

10.a. Do Something That You’re Passionate About


Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks – little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I’ll post them all together in an overview. Hack #1…

This might not seem like the normal productivity tip, but give it a thought: if you really want to do something, you’ll work like hell to get it done. You’ll work extra hard, you’ll put in even more hours, and you’re less likely to procrastinate. It’s for work that you don’t really care about that you procrastinate.

For some people, this tip might not seem too practical, especially if you’re in a humdrum job that you don’t really feel like doing. It’s for you that this tip was written: if you hate your job, or are just doing it for the money, I highly recommend that you give this some thought. If you must force yourself to dowork every day, you can only do this for so long before burning out. You’ll probably quit eventually anyway, so give it some consideration now.

What do you really want to be doing right now? (Don’t say sleeping!) What do you love doing? What is your dream job, and how can you get it? Give this some thought, not just right now but for the next few days. If you can identify that job, your next step is to plan how to get it.

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My suggestions:

Do some research. Who else is doing your dream job? What is their experience? How did they get the job? What are the requirements? Research it on the internet, ask people you know, make some calls. The more info you have, the better.

What are your obstacles? What do you need to do to get there? Do you need an education? Do you need to know the right people? Do you just need to fill out an application? Do you need to learn some skills?

Make a plan. Work out some solutions to your obstacles. If you need an education or skills, you will not be able to execute this plan overnight, but if you don’t plan it out now, you might never get there. Lay out the path to your success.

Take action. Don’t wait for opportunity to come hit you on the head. Go out and grab that opportunity. Execute your plan – do at least one thing today, and each day, until you get there. It might seem like it will take forever, but if you really put in the work, you’ll achieve your dreams someday.

Be persistent. Don’t give up because you’ve been rejected a few times (or even a lot of times). Keep knocking on doors. Keep making those calls. Keep submitting your resume. Keep making appointments. Don’t ever let up. The person who is relentless will win over the person who quits.

Land your dream job, doing something that you’re passionate about, and you may never need to motivate yourself to be productive again.

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10.b. How to Find Your Passion

From: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/how-to-find-your-passion.html

If you could do one thing to transform your life, I would highly recommend it be to find something you’re passionate about, and do it for a living.

Now, this isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it’s well worth the effort. If you dread going to your job, or find yourself constantly lacking motivation, or find what you’re doing is dull and repetitive, you need to start looking for a new job. Staying in your current job will not only continue to make you unhappy, but you are not realising your full potential in life.

Imagine this instead: you get up early, jumping out of bed, excited to go to work. You might put in more hours than the average person, but it doesn’t seem difficult to you, because your work hours just zoom right by. You are often in that state of mind often referred to as “flow,” where you can lose track of the world and time, losing yourself in the task at hand. Work is not work as many people refer to it, but something that is fun and interesting and exciting. It’s not a “job” but a passion.

If you’ve got a job you dislike, or even hate, this will sound like a pipe dream to you. And if you never put in the effort to find what you’re passionate about, you’re right: such a thing will never be possible. But dare to dream, dare to imagine the possibilities, and dare to actually search for what you love, and it is not only a possibility, but a probability.

How can you find what you’re passionate about? Here are some suggestions:

Is there something you already love doing? Do you have a hobby, or something you loved doing as a child, but never considered it as a possibility?Whether it’s reading comic books, collecting something, making something, creating or building, there is probably a way you could do it for a living. Open a comic book shop, or create a comic book site online. If there’s already something you love doing, you’re ahead of the game. Now you just need to research the possibilities of making money from it.

What do you spend hours reading about? For myself, when I get passionate about something, I’ll read about it for hours on end. I’ll buy books and magazines. I’ll spend days on the Internet finding out more. There may be a few possibilities here for you … and all of them are possible careerpaths. Don’t close your mind to these topics. Look into them.

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Brainstorm. Nothing comes to mind right away? Well, get out a sheet of paper, and start writing down ideas. Anything that comes to mind, write it down. Look around your house, on your computer, on your bookshelf, for inspirations, and just write them down. There are no bad ideas at this stage. Write everything down, and evaluate them later.

Ask around, and surf for possibilities. Ask other people for ideas. See what others have discovered as their passions. Look all over the Internet for ideas. The more possibilities you find, the more likely your chances of finding your true passion.

Don’t quit your job just yet. If you find your calling, your passion, don’t just turn in your resignation tomorrow. It’s best to stay in your job while you’re researching the possibilities. If you can do your passion as a side job, and build up the income for a few months or a year, that’s even better. It gives you a chance to build up some savings (and if you’re going into business for yourself, you’ll need that cash reserve), while practicing the skills you need. See below for more.

Give it a try first. It’s best to actually test your new idea before jumping into it as a career. Do it as a hobby or side job at first, so that you can see if it’s really your true calling. You may be passionate about it for a few days, but where the rubber meets the road is whether you’re passionate about it for at least a few months. If you pass this test, you have probably found it.

Do as much research as possible. Know as much about your passion as possible. If this has been a passion for awhile, you may have already been doing this. At any rate, do even more research. Read every website possible on the topic, and buy the best books available. Find other people, either in your area or on the Internet, who do what you want to do for a living, and quiz them about the profession. How much do they make? What training and education did they need? What skills are necessary? How did they get their start? What recommendations do they have. Often you’ll find that people are more than willing to give advice.

Practice, and practice, and practice some more. Don’t go into it with amateur skill level. If you want to make money – to be a professional – you need to have professional skills. Get very good at your future career and you will make money at it. Practice for hours on end. If it’s something you love, the practice should be something you want to do.

Never quit trying. Can’t find your passion at first? Give up after a few days and you’re sure to fail. Keep trying, for months on end if necessary, and you’ll find it eventually. Thought you found your passion but you got tired of it? No problem! Start over again and find a new passion. There may be more than

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one passion in your lifetime, so explore all the possibilities. Found your passion but haven’t been successful making a living at it? Don’t give up. Keep trying, and try again, until you succeed. Success doesn’t come easy, so giving up early is a sure way to fail. Keep trying, and you’ll get there.

What I’ve outlined here is a lot of work … but it will be the best investment you’ve ever made. Follow your passion, and you will be truly happy and incredibly fulfilled. I wish you the wildest successes of your wildest dreams!

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