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]]>Well, there went your hopes for New Year’s Resolutions…
Nearly two weeks gone by already since people all over the world and vowed to never do “THIS” again… or to finally get down to doing “THAT”…
And no doubt after a couple weeks, the gyms are already emptying out again… as life transformation hopefuls everywhere start to get more “realistic.” Typical, right?
On the other hand, it’s possible you didn’t set a New Year’s resolutions this year at all.
With a growing cynicism around new year’s resolutions failure rates, many of us just shrug them off as an exercise in futility. And then plenty just procrastinate until January slips off into the distance and yet another chance at life renewal passes by…
But Look, January Isn’t Over Yet!
And if there’s one thing the cynics DO get right about New Year’s Resolutions, it’s this – there’s no magic power tied to the specific date of January 1st. So if you’re kicking yourself already, wondering if you should have jumped on the self-improvement train before it was gone, it’s not too late to set goals for 2023 at all.
Here’s something to keep in mind.
All these studies regarding the resolution failure rate are all over the place! They make great headlines, but do a quick Google search and you immediately see articles from various sources claiming anything from around 40% all the way up to 80% of people fail their resolutions.
Perhaps a more important question is this: how often do people fail their attempts at life change OTHER times of the year? I think we all know the answer — a lot, right?
Because change is ALWAYS a challenge.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should stop trying to improve your life.
So Are There Actual Benefits To Setting Goals Around The New Year?
Or is this custom just as silly as hoping the Easter bunny drops off colored eggs in April?
LiveScience writes: “A 2002 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that those who made a New Year’s resolution were 44% more likely to succeed in that goal after six months than those who did not make a resolution but were interested in changing a problem later.” So yes, embracing the tradition of renewal pinned to the start of the New Year may actually be a great way to get your life on track, no matter what the cynics say.
Reporters love a controversial headline. But mentioning high failure rates of resolutions without mentioning the higher failure rates of goals in other times of the year paints an incomplete picture.
Everything about the world we evolved in moves in cycles.
So whether or not the exact date of January 1st “means anything,” per se, syncing yourself up with cycles aligns perfectly with the human tendency to follow seasons of birth, death, and renewal as we move through life. Instead of getting cynical about it, why not embrace the fact that this is how human individuals and societies have functioned as long as we’ve existed?
By taking it seriously, you can leverage it as a source of motivation and enthusiasm, an opportunity to think about how things went last year and set out some ways you want to improve coming into 2023 (even if it’s not the 1st anymore).
Add in the power of rituals and placebos to change your results in life, across the board, and there’s really no reason NOT to take the tradition very seriously.
Also, keep this in mind…
Starting Late Offers A Chance To Avoid Common Resolution Mistakes
Instead of beating yourself up for procrastination, let’s look at the bright side.
Many 2023 goal-setters have already begun to give up and fail…
But by starting now, you have an opportunity to sit down and get more intentional – rather than just making a knee-jerk resolution because it seems culturally appropriate or because a couple of your friends thought it would be a good idea.
Some of the common mistakes people make in their resolutions include:
- Being Too Ambitious (Or Too Conservative) With Your Goals – Overly-ambitious or unrealistic goals can create excitement, but it’s also a great way to set yourself up for failure. On the other hand, goals that are too small and easy can feel pointless. Some experts will warn you away from audacious goals completely, but think about it this way: not quite reaching something huge is a whole lot better than crushing it at something insignificant. You may very well end up a lot further ahead in life by “failing” at the former. Plus, if you consider the let-down many high achievers report when they do get to their own finish line, it doesn’t hurt to always leave yourself something to strive for. My advice? Set goals that light your fire but then break these bigger goals down into milestones so you can create a little momentum starting out and yet still have something left over to work towards.
- Failing To Engage In Systems Thinking – Another pitfall when people strive for change, regardless of the time of year, is their goals are focused more on outcomes than the system or process that produces said outcome. Yes, failing to plan or create a roadmap that gets you from A to Z is a great way to strike out with your new year’s resolutions in 2023. Whether you’re trying to achieve something or stop doing something, define exactly what that looks like, and then define exact steps that will get you there. Finally, define times when you will implement these steps. The process of change doesn’t happen with good intentions alone — you need ACTION. (Read my “27 Mind Hacks” article for how-to advice on systemizing behavioral change.)
- Leaning On The Social Media Brownie Points – Of course, this is a huge problem in today’s attention-addicted social media society. Perhaps you’ve been told you need to hold yourself accountable to a goal or behavioral change by leaning on support from the community and making a big announcement. But this article from Psychology Today tells us people who publicly share their goals are less likely to follow through on them (and getting compliments on progress makes it even worse!). Why? It’s possible you get an emotional reward from a social media announcement (“Hey, look at me and how driven and disciplined I am”), and this may dampen the allure of actually working toward that goal and achieving it. So forget the social media brownie points, or at least save them until you’ve actually earned them!
- Not Getting Specific Enough With Your New Year’s Resolutions – Again, it’s about setting clear, measurable goals – not making some broad, vague intention. “I will lose X pounds in X months” is way more powerful than “I will get slim again.” Write down exactly what you want to accomplish, and if possible, attach it to a specific time-frame or deadline so there’s zero question at all when you finally hit your target. Some other examples include “I will increase sales revenue by X in the first 3 months of 2023,” or “I will put $X in a savings account every single month in 2023.” (Here’s another article on how to create clearly defined goals.)
- Trying To Do Too Many Things At Once – Finally, don’t fall for the trap of shooting for too many big changes at once. Sure, we’d all like to quit drinking, cut down to a 6-pack, seduce an attractive new lover, and build a successful million dollar per year business… all in 2023, please… but let’s pace ourselves here. In his article, “The Scientific Argument For Mastering One Thing At A Time,” James Clear makes a convincing, research-backed argument that even ultra-specific, time-sensitive goals work best when you stick with just one or two. If there are other areas of your life you want to improve in the meanwhile, keep your efforts in these areas small and manageable (perhaps by using the “Tiny Habit” method). You’ve only got to slay one big dragon at a time to create radical life momentum as the years go by. Alternatively, break your year up and focus your entire energy on different pursuits at different times.
Listen, Only YOU Can Decide To Be More Proactive This Year!
The difference between people who succeed at improving their lives…
…Versus those who don’t…
…Often comes down to the power of self-belief. As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
And what could be more self-defeating than deciding you won’t even try? Just because some article on the internet told you that you’ve only got a 30%, 20%, or 10% chance of success?
After all, they give us a similar line about the business failure rate, and yet there are entrepreneurs all over the world who build their fortunes in business regardless – just like Ford did.
So my advice?
It’s still January and you’ve still got a whole year ahead of you. If you don’t believe there’s any magic in new year’s resolutions, what’s the harm in convincing yourself that there is?
The only thing worse than failing at a well-intended behavioral change…
…Is failing to even try.
Are You Using FocusMe To Defeat Digital Distractions And Achieve Laser Focus?
Click the button to learn more about how this attention-saving software can help you implement practical behavioral change in 2023 and beyond!
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]]>The post Discipline Vs Freedom: 7 Ways To Win the Battle For Your Time When You Work Online appeared first on FocusMe.
]]>Today’s hard-charging entrepreneurs and personal development gurus…
…They’re all about SELF-DISCIPLINE.
Jocko Willink (not a cheesy guru type at all, to be fair) even wrote a book called “Discipline Equals Freedom.” It’s an amazing read, of course, and quite on target. You can’t expect to get far in this world if you don’t develop some level of ability to sit your tail in a chair and just get things done.
Day in and day out.
Well, today I have a confession to make. It might come as a bit of a shock considering I created the most powerful procrastination-beating app on the web (or maybe not, if you really think about it…).
But here it is.
Sometimes I feel like the self-discipline line of hustle culture is a little bit too nailed to the wall.
I Mean Do You Really WANT To Be A Discipline Machine?
After working with thousands of remote workers and online business-folk over the years to beat digital distraction and focus better, I’ve come to realize the struggle between discipline and freedom goes super DEEP. Especially with people like us who’ve purposely chosen to work remotely.
After all, the whole IDEA of becoming a copywriter, a web designer, a software engineer, an online product creator, a blogger…
…Whatever…
…Was to create more freedom in the first place!
And so it’s a cold bucket of water in the face when you realize you actually need MORE discipline to make the whole “mobile lifestyle” thing a reality.
So you implement a laundry list of productivity tricks in an attempt to get it all on track. But you can’t help but fight yourself! Pushing back on these changes (good ole’ “Monkey Mind” in action).
Because bottom line: That freedom “value” is strong within you.
You don’t just think freedom is a “nice idea.” It’s one of the most important priorities you have!
And you probably don’t WANT to let it go, right?
So the question becomes…
How Can You Embrace Self-Discipline While STILL Allowing Room For Spontaneity?
This is the point where those infomercial-type guys would lie to you.
And tell you that, yes, you can have the best of ALL possible worlds.
You can live as free as you’d like, they’d say, wandering around the planet like a beach bum, your hair messed up and your dirty toes poking out at the world. Slosh through mai tais on the beach while closing deals and the money keeps coming in like clockwork…
I won’t feed you that line, I promise.
The truth is that (unless you’re extremely talented and extremely lucky), you probably can’t have it all. There is, however, some room to strike a balance.
And after all these years growing FocusMe to what it is today…
…I’ve stumbled across a few invaluable tricks that allow me to maintain a sense of freedom and spontaneity (even if just a sense of it) while still making the magic happen.
I’ll tell you about 7 of my favorite ways to give yourself that permission in just a moment…
But first let’s get something out of the way.
A Warning About The Psychology Of Procrastination
And How Reframing “Work” In Your Mind Frees You From Your Mental Traps
Before we get into these 7 tricks of work freedom…
…I’d feel a bit irresponsible if I didn’t address the psychology of procrastination first (as it pertains to the desire for “freedom”).
Because just telling a procrastinator they can be as spontaneous as they want with no filter at all… Well, in some ways that’s like telling someone with a history of alcohol abuse that, sure, they can just have “one” drink whenever they want.
After all, experts say one drink is good for you. 
Obviously that’s problematic.
So let’s peel back the psychology of procrastination for a sec. And see if we can determine where your hunger for freedom comes in.
Because fair upfront warning here.
Your hunger for freedom may be a big reason you procrastinate in the first place!
Fortunately there are some proven strategies for weakening its grip on your thought processes.
Procrastination As Discomfort Avoidance (And How To Fix It)
Have you ever heard of Rational Emotive Therapy?
(Or its more recent offshoot, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?)
REBT was created by a cranky old man named Albert Ellis as recently as the 1950s. But the foundational principles of REBT go back a lot longer than that.
In fact, Ellis developed this branch of psychology from age-old principles of Asian, Greek, and Roman philosophy before going on to turn it into one of the most successful forms of psychotherapy known to man.
In the “EFTP Psychotherapy Guidebook,” Milos Lazarevic and Vladimir Djuric write, “In general REBT is arguably one of the most investigated theories in the field of psychotherapy and a large amount of clinical experience and a substantial body of modern psychological research have validated and substantiated many of REBTs theoretical assumptions on personality and psychotherapy.”
I’ve often heard it said that REBT is more research-backed and evidence-based than any other form of psychotherapy.
Point being, this isn’t just theory here!
According to Healthline, REBT is particularly effective with a wide range of what we generally think of as psychological disorders, like depression, anxiety, phobias, rage, guilt, aggression, sleep problems, eating disorders, and more.
And yes, it helps with addiction and alcoholism too (bringing our previous analogy into a clearer perspective).
Plus REBT has also been known to help with PROCRASTINATION!
Here’s How REBT Gets You Out Of The Freedom Trap
We often think of these types of conditions as problems with your brain. Or something in your innate nature.
Like people with depression who try to medicate their way out of it instead of addressing lifestyle causes that likely contribute. Or addiction recovery programs that teach their “patients” that they have a disease they can never really be cured of.
And procrastinators who just assume it’s a part of their nature that’ll never change.
(Some of these statements are controversial, I know, but REBT has had great success in practice.)
One of the core tenets of REBT is that your self-sabotaging emotions are instead caused by irrational beliefs you hold in your mind. While emotion can be analyzed as a chemical response, the way you STRUCTURE your thoughts, i.e. the things you tell yourself, are what trigger the emotions you feel to begin with.
And emotions are hard to fight, so they lead to repeating behaviors you don’t want. Even when you intend the opposite.
REBT teaches you to work on the belief, or the thought first. And then the emotion will correct itself.
Where Does "Freedom" Come In?
A major source of procrastination is an innate desire to rebel against the discomfort of having to do something against your will.
REBT has a term for this inability to handle discomfort. They call it “low frustration tolerance” — an alternative name that might click with us freedom-seekers is “short-term hedonism.”
And often that’s all it really is when you tell yourself something limits your freedom.
You get a new job or start a new business, and at first, you’re killing it. But after some time goes by, you secretly start to resent the work. You resent the clients hitting you up with their demands. You resent your boss. You resent your co-workers. You resent even the very thought of clocking in.
Because in your mind, you believe, “Well, I SHOULD be able to do whatever I want to do.”
“No one SHOULD have control over my time and focus but me.”
And because these work demands require what feels like a limitation on freedom, you rebel against them and fall off the rails. And start procrastinating.
Because work is uncomfortable and your brain doesn’t like discomfort. Until everyone gets burnt out on your behavior, and even if they keep you around, the work relationships deteriorate and your results suffer.
Rational Emotive Therapy teaches you that you can control your feelings by controlling how you frame work in your mind.
All You Have To Do Is Change The Way You “Talk To Yourself” About Work
The actual words you use when you “talk to yourself” CREATE the feelings you have. By rewording those thoughts intentionally you can change the way you feel.
So while I still think you CAN entertain some of your hunger for freedom, it also helps to redefine the idea stuck in your head that says work somehow imposes upon freedom. Or that it isn’t “fair” to have to work because it feels uncomfortable.
You feel bad when you say to yourself:
“I hate this because it makes me feel uncomfortable and trapped.”
Statements Albert Ellise might prescribe include (yes, for when you talk to yourself):
“My work actually CREATES freedom because it provides the income to take uninterrupted time off work and do the things I actually want to do in life. By focusing more now I can buy more free time later.”
Or even questioning your feeling that you “deserve” to not have your freedom imposed upon. Or that you “deserve” to never feel uncomfortable.
Albet Ellis would have you tell yourself:
“Who am I to deserve to never feel uncomfortable? No human in the history of the world has been able to completely escape discomfort… So of course I’ll be uncomfortable sometimes, and that’s fine.”
And:
“Who am I to deserve to feel completely free of work or any responsibilities at all times? No one in the history of the world has ever been so free, so what makes me so special? Since there’s no reason I should be free of all restrictions and limitations, I can just accept that this is part of life.”
If any of this sounds confusing, over-simplistic, or airy, I get it. Rational Emotive Therapy is a fascinating field of thought, and you could spend years digging into it. But it’s well worth the journey if you want to break your stickiest mental traps.
Meanwhile, I did promise, so…
Here Are 7 Freedom Tricks For Embracing A Flexible Lifestyle When Working Online
Freedom Trick #1: Keep A Flexible Weekly Schedule
Just because you’re learning to reframe your desire to be free…
…Doesn’t mean some of the aspects of living spontaneously aren’t worth enjoying. So I’ll just say this.
While it works well for some people, there’s no law on the books that says you HAVE to work the same days every week. And of course, you don’t have to work full weeks at all.
There are some real freedom-friendly benefits to living on your toes too.
Again, isn’t this why most of us decided to work for ourselves anyhow?
If you can afford it in your job or business, for example, work for three days really hard one week, and then take the rest of the week off. Work a week straight (if nothing else is really going on anyways) to buy some time for a longer break in the future. Mix it up to roll with the punches in life — or just to keep things interesting.
I even know some guys who work every single day for a while (against all advice to the contrary). Because they know a week will come where they just want to break loose and put it all aside.
Kind of like banking up your time off until you need it…
Another cool idea would be to travel around the world or country, working for a few days at a time at every destination before hitting the road again. Believe it or not, yes, some people do pull this off and build successful businesses in the process.
Not everyone can do stuff like this, of course.
But in a few other professions it’s the norm. Consider oil workers — some work for three whole months straight and then take three months off. Wilderness firefighters. Alaskan fisherman. And hey, if a guy can pull nets from the water with frozen fingers for weeks on end, why can’t a knowledge worker bring a little bit of this element to work in order to take longer breaks?
Even as the founder of a growing software company, I try to finish my weeks on Thursday. Hey, I still struggle to make it happen every week, but it’s sure worth trying. The point is it’s all up to you!
Freedom Trick #2: You Don’t HAVE to Work Specific Hours Either
It flies against everything time management experts tell you. And I’m probably contradicting advice I myself have given a million times.
But there’s a certain “freedom” magic retained when your days start as a blank slate.
Meaning, you commit to getting X many hours in (let’s say 6, so we can put some numbers to this) by the end of the day, and you will. And you have your 6 top things you absolutely need to get done.
However, there’s no perimeter staking your schedule to the ground.
And other than meetings, most of your work isn’t attached to specific times.
Maybe you have a rough schedule from 8 am to 3 pm, and during those hours you usually knock out your day before enjoying the afternoon and evening.
But one day you’re just not feeling it. So you decide to jump and head out for an adventure. Hey, sometimes a creative brain NEEDS that (and the work often comes out shoddy if you power through those moments).
Go for a hike, hit the gym, take a friend up on an offer to meet for lunch. Come back and finish up your last few hours in the early evening this time.
If you have this kind of control over your schedule, why not use it?
Freedom Trick #3: Build the Right Systems To Step Away More Often
You’ll probably never reach a point where your business is completely hands-off.
Unless, I suppose, you grow a large enough team to completely step outside and treat it like an asset (“Built to Sell,” anyone?).
That doesn’t mean you don’t stand to benefit from smart systems — even in your job, if you’re a freelancer or employee.
Work ON your business, not in it, as they say.
- If you’re a freelancer, outsource your cold emails or hire a researcher.
- Automate client appointment bookings with Calendly.
- Some entrepreneurs hire someone to handle their email management (no different than a secretary, really).
- Are you losing your days to marketing processes that would be handed off to a pro?
- Can you record and use a transcription service instead of taking notes on important videos?
- What else can you SYSTEMIZE?
Break down everything you do on a daily basis, and then hunt down software tools or dependable services to make it easier.
Even when scaling is not your aim, the more you outsource or automate pesky things that take up unnecessary time and energy, the more you profit in flexibility and freedom.
Freedom Trick #4: Put Together A Robust “Mobile Work Kit”
You’re probably more productive with a regular home office and a set routine, but spontaneous and freedom-lusting folks like you should at least have the OPTION to move around sometimes. To stuff your office in a backpack and hit the road when the mood strikes.
With the right “toolkit,” you can pack up the bag, jump in the car, and take off on a whim. Not the most efficient use of time, but sometimes it’s the best use of your LIFE.
This might be as simple as driving down to your favorite coffee shop or restaurant for the morning to change your scenery. Or taking a serious road trip and renting a hotel room by the ocean another town over. Maybe flying somewhere for a real vacation (you ARE taking vacations, right?).
What you DON’T want is to get to your destination and realize you can’t get your work done because you can’t get a good internet connection, because you don’t have access to the right files, because you left your good headphones at the house, or because you bought a lousy laptop that sucks to work on.
Put together a “bug out” bag — not for when Armageddon hits but just so you can disappear whenever you feel like it and not fall too far off the work wagon.
What Tools Keep You More Productive On The Go?
Some ideas to consider include:
- A portable laptop stand, an external keyboard, and an external mouse (just for a more comfy setup in coffee shops).
- A portable wifi device (if you’re really serious about staying on the move, consider getting more than one for backup).
- A hi-speed laptop charger.
- A backup laptop power bank (you could get a power inverter to charge in the car if you plan to be camping or off-roading).
- Robust tablet computer. Sometimes it’s nice to just be able to check in to work, edit docs, or send emails without pulling everything out. Tablets make that much easier.
- A good backpack and some organizers for all your cords and chargers. You’ll feel a lot less chaotic on the move if everything in your work arsenal has a “home” in a well-organized backpack. Don’t run yourself ragged constantly guessing where to find the things you need.
- A high-end headset and mic. Don’t get caught up in a coffee shop or noisy environment unable to have an important conversation. Of course it’s best if you can do these in a hotel room or at home, but flexibility is a strength when you work online.
- Google Fi and a compatible phone. These days you can get one phone and travel most places in the world without interrupting your service. Google Fi is probably the best option if you don’t mind being stuck with a compatible phone.
Spontaneity Trick #5: Turn Your Phone Into A Work Device
This deserves some special mention outside of your mobile work kit because it can play such an integral role in your everyday business if you do it properly.
Gary Vaynerchuck often says your phone should make you money, not take your money. Spot on!
And hey, I know you probably can’t run your entire business from your phone. But you CAN set your phone up to at least handle some of your workload.
What’s stopping you from parking on the beach and batching your most phone-friendly tasks into an hour or two of work? These tasks need to get done, but maybe they don’t need to get done from the house.
Some Phone-Friendly Tasks You Can Get Done From Anywhere?
- Manage your daily emails.
- Conduct research via online articles, Kindle books, or YouTube videos.
- Edit Google Docs.
- Brainstorm, take notes, or even scratch pieces of content out in a notes app.
- Speak your thoughts into a recording app.
- Post on social media.
- Conduct Skype or Zoom meetings from the comfy, warm seat of your car.
- Book meetings and set up reminders in your Calendar.
- Plan your week, month, or year.
- Brainstorm your systems improvements.
If you get really good at this, you’ll learn you can get a lot of work done on your computer. I’ll be honest, you might see the costs of mobile data go up if, for example, you’re listening to Youtube videos to study for projects or sharpen skills away from the computer.
But imagine the freedom of knocking out a couple hours of work as you walk across town to the barber shop or to do a little shopping. Getting exercise while still knocking items off your work to-do list.
All these technologies are commonplace these days. So instead of doing what most people do — complaining about how they invade our lives or, even worse, wasting all your down moments chatting on Facebook, embrace this stuff to get more work done from more places.
Warning: Your phone is definitely a pit of distraction, so make sure to streamline it if you don’t already. Delete apps that are likely to drag you off course, or consider using FocusMe to lock yourself out.
Freedom Trick #6: Get Things Done Without Any Digital Tech At All
- Bring a notebook along and you can sit anywhere, set aside the phone completely, and still create content, map out website designs, brainstorm business strategies, whatever… The best material often comes out this way. You might find the pen and paper and a lovely setting really helps you break through creative blocks. Entire articles or even sales pages just spill out in one sitting sometimes when you step away from the screen. Daunting biz obstacles that have been wearing you down can melt away in the blink of an eye.
- Carrying a smaller notebook in your pocket on long walks and hikes is another great way to brainstorm new ideas for business or for content. And a handy way to multipurpose your time in the gym.
- Record interviews with clients and other important business contacts. Listen to them on an mp3 player from anywhere. Pack your ipod with business podcasts so you can study anywhere.
- Sometimes I go sit down at the bay across town and listen to this stuff while taking in the view.
- In “Million Dollar Productivity,” Kevin J. Anderson even talks about writing books while hiking! He uses Dragon Naturally Speaking software and a headset that records as he goes. The files can be uploaded later and transcribed by Dragon, even sent to an editor to be cleaned up before the next redraft. Of course, a nice recorder paired with a transcribing service can get you halfway there.
Freedom Trick #7: Practice Extreme Focus When It’s Finally Time To Work
If you want more breathing room to wander about the world (or just your local town) sometimes, make sure you’re ultra-productive when you do sit down to work.
Because the best way to gain more free hours?
Do more with the time you’re switched on, something the average worker fails miserably at. A study of nearly 2,000 UK office workers found the average person did less than 3 hours of actual hours of work every day…
What in the world? Why??
Because most people just aren’t efficient on the job. They take twice as much time to do something because they’re multitasking. They’re constantly pulled away from work tasks by distractions, some of which eat up hours at a time.
But imagine if you could get 5 or 6 hours of ACTUAL efficient work done every single day. This might seem minor in the context of an 8-hour workday. But if most people REALLY do less than 3 hours of work, you could be working twice as fast as everyone else…
…And still take more time off!
That’s the real power of using software like FocusMe to get more out of the time you work. It helps create tunnel vision to hurtle towards your goals.
FocusMe introduces a lot of ways to fix that problem.
- Work in focused blocks using FocusMe’s distraction-blockers, so you can hold off the distractions and hone right in on what needs to get done when you sit in your chair.
- Use our handy online usage stats to get an accurate view of how much you’re actually doing everyday.
- Confine yourself with computer restrictions that don’t let you do any work outside of a 6-hour period. According to Parkinson’s Law, work always swells to fill up the time you give it. So if you force yourself to get your workday done within a certain time-frame, you’ll be forced to come up with ingenious ways to get it done faster. Sure, that goes against what I said about not working to a set schedule, but remember, different things work best for different people.
- Set up a pattern of work and rest blocks using the Pomodoro timer, so you can get up early and crush more out in 6 hours than most people do in 10, then take the rest of the day off.
These things are what helped me finally achieve my 4-day weeks even while running a software company! It’s why I created FocusMe in the first place…
Of course you can start embracing deep work principles now if you really try, but FocusMe does it a whole lot better. Go here if you’d like to try it out for yourself (free trials available)
What It Really Comes Down To Is “Permission”
Yes, you absolutely should implement strategies in your life to become more productive. But you don’t have to implement it all. Sometimes you just need to give that freedom-loving side of you a little permission to breathe too.
As long as you do have an efficient relationship with your work, what can it hurt?
After all, is moving faster always the best use of your time on Earth?
Or can you accept that freedom is important too? Can you keep your schedule open-ended and flexible enough that when you do sit down to work you can be 100% present and focused on what’s right in front of you?
As long as you’re disciplined and focused in the most important ways — like sticking your nose straight to the grindstone when it’s go-time, you can afford to be more care-free and spontaneous in others.
Which is the type of life you meant to live from the beginning of all this…
Consider this. There are probably millions of people all over the planet living in the most remote places, running businesses from tropical islands and quiet mountaintops. Surely you can enjoy some of that yourself from time to time.
Now get to work.
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]]>The post Strategies for Encouraging a Healthy Work/Life Balance Within Your Business Culture appeared first on FocusMe.
]]>To get the most out of your team, you must help them rest.
You want the best results from your team. To achieve that, you probably push them to be as productive as possible. While some pressure is healthy, overdoing it could be damaging your team’s performance.
Setting an unachievable standard could be detrimental. Over 35% of employers commit this mistake when they strive for perfection. This pressure forces your team to overwork, which leads to worse results in the long run:
- Studies by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found overwork correlates with health problems. Like: impaired sleep, depression, and heart disease. These make it harder to concentrate, causing decreased productivity.
- Research reported by Sarah Carmichael (Harvard Business Review) indicates the stress caused by overworking makes internal communication harder. Leaving your team more likely to make mistakes.
- Alan Kohll (Forbes) has shown insufficient breaks are the leading cause of job burnout. Leaving your team unable to concentrate and perform at their best.
Pushing your employees to be more productive does the opposite; causing burnout and reduced productivity. To overcome this, you must encourage a healthy work/life balance. After all, research by Korpela and Kinnunen found a healthy work/life balance increases energy levels and rigor over time.
1. Embrace “Flextime”
Every member of your team is unique and productive at different times. So why are you forcing them to work the same hours?
A recent study by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics evaluated 503,358 people and discovered the conventional work routine is not optimal. We are least productive in the morning and reach our peak at 1.30 PM. So why are we encouraged to start early, and eat lunch when we’re most productive?
According to Kristen Knuston (neurologist at Northwest University), our circadian rhythm dictates when we are most productive. For that reason, we all work best at different times.
Use this to help your team achieve a healthy work/life balance. Why expect your team to work eight hours, when they will only be productive for five? Instead, let them decide when they work by embracing “flextime.”
On most flextime models, employees are free to work whenever. Provided they meet goals, deadlines, and weekly hour requirements. Rather than procrastinating, they can go out during their non-productive hours. So, they can still go to their child’s soccer game in the middle of the day.
Focus on Productivity, Not Hours
Time doesn’t equal productivity. Some employees need the full day to achieve results, while others only need a few hours.
Adrian Gostick (Forbes) reports a lot of employees work long hours to impress their leaders. But that doesn’t mean much. Most are only productive for three hours and procrastinate for the rest of the day. Best-selling author Adam Grant puts it best:
“In complex and creative jobs, it makes little sense to pay attention to hours at all”
Rather than insisting they spend all day in the office, put a greater emphasis on productivity. Doing so will promote a healthy work/life balance. Provided they meet goals, they can then do whatever they want with the time they would usually be procrastinating.
2. Promote a Healthy Lifestyle
Adopting Flextime is a great way to give employees time to focus on themselves. But how can be sure your team are looking after themselves? They could be filling their time with personal stressors that contribute to burnout.
So what can you do to make sure your team is looking after themselves during their free time?
2a. Give them the tools
Not everybody has the means to live healthily. But doing so brings a range of benefits. Regular sleep, exercise, and a healthy diet have all been proven to raise stamina, improve mental clarity, boost the immune system and make us more engaged and productive.
To make sure your team can live healthily, create an employee well-being hub. One that provides things like: online fitness courses; online (and in-person) mindfulness lessons; and guides on dealing with stress and eating healthier.
2b. Give them Room to Unplug
With deadlines approaching, it’s common for staff to work through breaks or past home time. But that will lead to a decrease in quality. Researchers agree it leads to mental fatigue and burnout. To overcome this, give your team room to relax and switch off:
- Implement mandatory breaks. Having short intervals through the day to make a coffee or change scenery is a good way to reset and reduce stress levels. Knowing this, you could implement mandatory breaks – such as a five-minute walk every hour.
- Leave work at work. Remind employees they’re not expected to work at home. Cease communication and don’t give them access to work devices. Time at home is to relax, switch off and spend time with family.
2c. Bring home to work
Trying to maintain a healthy home life isn’t easy. To promote healthy family relationships, encourage your team to bring their home to work. A successful example of this is LinkedIn’s “Bring in your parents day,” where employees were invited to have family members visit.
Events like these let your team spend time with their loved ones. It’s also a great way to motivate your staff. According to research, being reminded of the people your job is financially supporting naturally motivates us to work harder.
3. Implement Business Software to Manage Your Workforce
Managing your team’s progress and making sure they are resting can be a challenge. How can you spot when they’re burned out? Or they’re at an unproductive point of the day and should take a break? To help, we recommend using FocusMe. This tool is managed centrally by you and will automatically run on your teams’ online devices. You can use it to:
- Track your worker’s usage. See how long your team is spending on each app and pinpoint their most used. You can analyze teams or individuals and monitor their behavior; their last online interaction, and when their device is in idle.
- Block the apps outlined by you. FocusMe will block apps and websites on your teams’ devices during hours chosen by you.
You can then use these features to support your team’s well-being. Possible suggestions include:
- Blocking work-related apps after work hours, so they cannot access them and are not tempted to work through the night. Doing so guarantees they switch off and relax.
- Blocking distracting apps during work hours. Doing so will help your team focus and achieve their goals quicker; meaning they have more time to relax after.
- Identifying when a member is least productive. If someone’s computer sits in idle at the same time every day, you could recommend they go home or spend time with family and come back later (rather than just procrastinating).
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]]>The post Why Clearly Defining Your Goals Is Key To Success appeared first on FocusMe.
]]>Clearly defining your goals is what turns a dream into a reality. Unlike dreams, goals are measurable, achievable and inspire us to action.
Here are some ideas for how to define your goals and draw up a plan of action that will bring them to fruition.
We all have dreams and aspirations for the future, it’s one of the defining features of our species. Yet, most of these dreams and aspirations will remain exactly that, meaning that what we really all have a lot of are fantasies. To create a new reality, you need more than just dreams and good intentions. In fact, you need quite a few things – hard work, dedication, knowledge, possibly some startup capital and often at least a little bit of luck. However, there is one thing that is even more fundamental than any of these. Clearly defining your goals and making step-by-step plans for how to achieve them is the only way you will ever turn a dream into a lived reality.
So, what’s the difference between a dream and a goal? For starters, goals are measurable. They’re also achievable, meaning they’re within the realms of physical possibility, which gives you a lot of wiggle room but unfortunately rules out some of the fun stuff like faster than light travel and going back in time. Most importantly, however, goals are a something you are actively trying to achieve rather than passively dreaming about or hoping for. Without clearly defined objectives, we are forever doomed to chasing shadows.
Setting and achieving goals
Dreaming is a fundamentally creative process. Setting and defining your goals, on the other hand, is a wholly practical endeavor that requires logic, planning and organization. It’s also the single most important piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting things done. We tend to think of success as something that requires attributes such as talent, intelligence, advanced skills and an exceptional understanding of the world around us. These are all admirable qualities that will certainly help. Yet, not everyone who has achieved something grand possessed all or even any of these qualities. What these people all have in common, however, is a form of single-mindedness that allows them to focus on their goals and block out all distractions. This is the true key to success and the mentality that must be cultivated in order to achieve it. In order to do so, it’s vital to have a clear idea of what you need to focus on, which means clearly defining your goals and creating a plan to achieve them. This process starts with just a few simple questions:
What do I want to achieve?
If you can’t sum it up in one or two sentences, your goal is not clearly defined and you’ll never achieve liftoff, never mind reach your destination. Examples of clearly defined goals include: “I want to create an Amazon affiliate business selling sustainable children’s toys and generate $10 000 profit a month within one year of launch” or “I want to complete the 2022 Ironman Hawaii in under 6 hours”. As you can see, these are specific, measurable and achievable goals. This overarching ambition is the foundation on which you will build. It provides a destination and a direction of travel. Importantly, it’s also something you can visualize clearly in your mind’s eye.
Can I break it down into smaller sub-goals?
While clearly defining your goal is important, it can also be intimidating. Big goals can seem far away and impossible to achieve. That’s why it’s important to break your goal down into smaller sub-goals or milestones. If your goal is create an Amazon affiliate business, you’ll need to do market & product research, create a blog or website to drive traffic, create an Amazon affiliate account, etc.
All of these tasks can be done individually and are a lot less intimidating than the idea of creating an entire business. Once you’ve broken your goal down into these milestones, you can start to tackle them one-by-one.
How long will it take?
Once you have identified your milestones, the next step is to create a timeline that will help you to stay on track and achieve maximum efficiency. You don’t have do each task consecutively or only concentrate on one at a time (unless it’s impossible to move on without completing one or more of them first). If you’re training for an Ironman, you wouldn’t swim every day for a third of the year, then move on to running every day for the next third and spend the last portion of the year cycling. By the time the event arrived, you would already have lost a great deal of your swimming and running fitness.
Try to set deadlines that are both realistic yet also challenging. Trying to move too fast will just demotivate you while giving yourself too much time will encourage laziness.
How will I measure my progress?
As we’ve already discussed, it’s important that your goals are measurable. Simply “losing weight” or “being more financially secure” is not enough. Abstract goals like this leave far too much room for interpretation, excuses and kicking the can down the road. If you can’t measure your progress through metrics or some kind of objective criteria, finding motivation will be a constant struggle and you’ll likely give up before the job is done. If your goal is to earn $10 000 within a year of launch, where do you want to be after 3, 6 or 9 months? If you’re going to complete the Ironman in under 6 hours, what kinds of times do you need to be doing for each discipline at various points in your training regime?
What obstacles could stand in my way?
Next, you need to consider the challenges you may face. While you can’t account for everything, having some idea of what might stand in the way of you achieving your goals will help immensely. This could be anything from financial or time constraints to your own personality, a political situation or coming changes to regulations, technology, etc. While you may not be able to prevent a problem just by knowing it exists, you can plan around it and minimize your chances of being unexpectedly derailed. However, analyzing challenges isn’t a once off exercise. You’ll need to do this sporadically throughout the process of pursuing a goal to avoid being blindsided. Finally, always expect the unexpected. There are very few things in life that go exactly to plan. Coming to terms with this will help you to stay light on your feet and react effectively when unexpected challenges inevitably arrive.
What do I need in order to make it happen?
Now that you have defined your goal and you have a clear idea of how you’re going to get there, the final step is figuring out what resources, tools, skills, knowledge or outside expertise might be required to make it happen. Some things may be essential, while others could be considered ‘nice to haves’. You can’t train for the cycling leg of the iron man without a bicycle, but you don’t necessarily need a professional coach. Equally, you can’t start a website for your affiliate business without paying for hosting, but you don’t necessarily need a web-designer to create your site if you’re willing to put the time and effort into to learning how to do this yourself. That said, having a coach or designer would substantially increase your odds of achieving your goal. Ultimately, it’s up to you to weigh up what resources you have at your disposal and how best to use them. Talking of which…
The ultimate focus tool: FocusMe
If you’re serious about being single-minded in the pursuit of your goals, you’ll need every advantage you can get. In the age of infinite scroll and constant digital distraction, it’s easy to get pulled off track. That’s why we created FocusMe, the most powerful productivity tool available today. Whether you’re looking for a way to increase day-to-day productivity while working online or avoid digital distractions such as social media and gaming, this is the tool that will empower you to make it happen.
Learn about how it works, check out reliable third party reviews or get started right away by clicking the big shiny button below (don’t worry, we’ll still explain everything)!
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]]>The post Effective Ways to Manage a Remote Team appeared first on FocusMe.
]]>Boost employee productivity, morale, and efficiency while working from home.
Managing a team can be difficult at the best of times, especially when you’re in charge of a large team. But the global pandemic has made things much worse. As remote work became a necessity, most managers face an entirely new team dynamic. Imagine trying to boost productivity and maintain a strong relationship when faced with:
- A lack of face-to-face communication.
- Less information about your team and their results.
- Social isolation.
- Entirely new technology and frameworks, as businesses adapt to remote working.
- Distractions at home.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM,) 71% of employees are finding remote work difficult. But it’s here to stay: in a recent Gartner Poll, it was revealed that 90% of employers are letting their staff work from home, despite a vaccine being available.
Most of us were thrown into the world of remote work. If you’re a manager, you’ll need to work to keep your employees engaged and productive. before the pandemic, a quarter of US workforces already worked remotely, so there is plenty of advice out there.
Here are research-backed ways to manage a remote team.
1. Establish Accountability by Having a Daily Check-In
Tracking employee progress can be difficult. But a lack of direct communication could make it near impossible. If your team has a deadbeat worker who doesn’t care about the task, they’re going to feel less accountable when working from home. With no in-person reviews, they might think they can get away with less work.
Alternatively, if you have staff members you can’t trust – and have to frequently monitor their work – then without supervision, standards might slip. While at home, lazy staff might think their subpar work will go unnoticed.
For that reason, leadership strategist Brent Gleeson (Forbes) believes it’s essential that remote workers have daily check-ins. They’re an opportunity for you to set tasks, track progress and hear feedback. If someone is behind, you’ll quickly clock it.
Not just any check-in. Lazy and deadbeat workers might try and hide behind emails or experience a diffusion of responsibility over text. So face to face video calls are crucial. There’s nowhere to hide, and employees will feel accountable for something if you directly ask them to do it. In-person chats are also a great way to build an emotional connection with your employees.
Set Rules for Engagement
Having rigid daily meetings isn’t realistic. When you’re in the office and have a question, you can walk over to your colleague and have an impromptu meeting. Or if something urgent comes up you just reschedule. For that reason, setting meetings at a certain time might not be beneficial.
On the other hand, not having any set check-ins might leave employees not communicating, and you in the dark about their productivity. For that reason, Gleeson recommends each manager defines their rules for engagement. His research indicates that doing so makes remote work becomes more flexible and efficient. It outlines expectations regarding frequency, means, and ideal times that everyone should be communicating.
For example, your team might have the following rule: “We have daily check-ins at 4 PM via Zoom, unless you’re with a client. In cases like these, you can send urgent matters via Slack.”
These clearly defined rules are a happy medium. They’re rigid enough to punish deadbeat employees who are too lazy to stay in touch, while simultaneously offering the same flexibility you have in the office.
2. Use Objectives to Increase Focus
The disruption of the pandemic has made it difficult for people to focus. Consider the distractions of mobile phones, family members, and TV in the house. Or the sleepless nights caused by serious worries of unemployment and personal sickness.
With so much going on, some members of your team might lose sight of what they are working towards. In a remote business, you might see:
- Instances where an employee’s supervisor is made unemployed, leaving them without a clearly defined project or team leader.
- Role definitions becoming blurred. As communication starts to fail, employees become unsure of what is their responsibility and lose sight of their goals.
In cases like these, a team might experience a decrease in productivity. Without a clearly defined goal, staff will become easily distracted, or worse, unknowingly prioritize unimportant work and neglect urgent tasks.
It’s essential that you set clearly defined objectives. Research shows that having a time frame and a goal will motivate staff, as they have a clear sense of direction. In addition, breaking down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable objectives will help employees stay on track.
Just as importantly, clear objectives offer you a measurable way to keep track of your team’s progress. Even when at home, you can pinpoint who has failed to meet deadlines and work harder to motivate these members.
Focus on Outcomes
The global lockdown influenced a lot of people’s routines. Without the morning commute, some prefer to lie in and work till later in the day. Because everyone is different, you should put less emphasis on how your team works and more focus on outcomes. Once your objectives are defined, give them room to plan and work in a way best for them.
Because you’re not seeing your team in person, leaving them to get on with a task might be a bit daunting. It does require a level of trust. But you must resist the urge to micro-manage. Research shows that employees with greater autonomy are more motivated and experience higher levels of job satisfaction.
So long as the task gets done, does it really matter how an employee works?
3. Use FocusMe
Giving employees autonomy and regularly checking in are great for tracking whether goals are met. But how can you be sure your team is as productive as they can be? If your staff is easily hitting targets, what’s to say they aren’t taking hours off work? Your daily check-in won’t pick this up when all their deadlines are met.
To find these areas for improvement, we recommend using FocusMe. Our business tool is split into two interfaces. As the manager, you have access to an online dashboard that reports on your employee’s usage. FocusMe software is installed on your team’s computer – automatically logging in on startup – tracking and blocking apps outlined by you.
This will help you boost productivity and engagement in two ways.
Tracking Progress
As the manager, you get to dictate which apps FocusMe monitors and for how long. But typically, users track business apps (like teams, word, safari,) during working hours. It’s less intrusive than other tracking tools, as it won’t monitor outside these times or beyond the scope of these apps.
From your dashboard, you can then:
- See how long your team is spending on each app and pinpoint their most used.
- Analyze teams and individuals, to closely monitor those you’re concerned about.
- See what your employee’s first interaction of the day was, and which app they used last.
- Spot when someone’s laptop is in idle, and they are away from work.
You can use these findings to pinpoint areas for improvement. Is a team using a particular app they shouldn’t be? Does someone keep having unexplained absences? Better still, this software acts as a deterrent, as research shows people work much harder when they know they are being monitored.
Killing Distractions
When you’re working from home and nobody’s watching, it’s all the more tempting for your staff to flick over to Netflix or browse Facebook. But FocusMe helps kill those distractions. As the manager, you can block apps on your teams’ computers for certain periods of time. Doing so guarantees that work has their full attention.
4. Take Steps to Improve Welfare
With your team working from home, it’s natural for them to feel isolated and alone. During the pandemic, mental health problems are on the rise, so you need to take additional steps to protect the welfare of your team. A few ways to do include by:
- Promoting team collaboration. Group tasks will encourage social interaction, emulating the sort of experiences they might have around the office. Better still, collaboration correlates with high performance: research by professor Edward A. Madden companies that encouraged collaboration were five times more likely to be high performing.
- Celebrating success. With your team stuck indoors, it’s hard for them to see the impact that their work is making. That can leave them deflated and demotivated. Celebrating wins and showing them their work is appreciated will go a long way.
Final Thoughts
Managing a team is difficult at the best of times. But the pandemic has caused a whole host of additional challenges. If you’re managing a remote team, then we recommend adopting these research-backed tips:
- Have a daily check-in to monitor progress and hold people accountable.
- Set objectives to hone your team’s focus and identify when employees are struggling.
- Use FocusMe to identify areas for improvement and block team distractions.
- Take steps to promote welfare and improve your team’s mental health.
Taking these steps will boost your team’s efficiency and productivity, while simultaneously boosting morale and job satisfaction when they are away from the office.
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