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Tag: personal growth

3 Ways To Stop Running Out Of Time

Do you ever feel like there’s not enough time?

I’m sure we’ve all felt like this on a weekly, if not daily, basis.  The familiar feeling of running out of time to complete all you had in mind for that day, along with a never-ending to-do list. We need to start realizing there will always be something that needs to get done, there will always be one more unchecked box.  We don’t have control over time but can control how we approach it.  The difference lies in our attitude towards this race against time. We need to start creating the space and the time for what and who is actually important to us.  In order to stop running out of time, we must learn to master it.

Below I’m sharing my 3 tricks for igniting this change:

  1. Change your relationship with time.  You can start doing this by immediately stopping the negative talk. Anything along the lines of “I don’t have enough time,” “I’m screwed,” “I’m swamped,” is no longer part of your vocabulary.  Stop programming the idea that there isn’t enough time in a day – this will only hinder you by increasing stress and overwhelm.
  2. Be intentional with your time.  Recognize which of the experiences throughout your day are truly important, the ones that give you the feeling of purpose and happiness.  Learn to fully enjoy the 5 minutes you have with your kid before she goes to school.  Slow down just enough to really be present in the moments that matter.
  3. Cut yourself some slack. We can’t do it all, it’s as simple as that.  Taking care of yourself and prioritizing your health and happiness is more important than the items on your to-do list.  You will receive no benefits from running yourself into the ground.  Give yourself a break, go with the flow and stop pushing yourself.

Check out the resources below if you’re wanting to hear more on this topic! What is your experience with time? Let me know in the comments!

Resources:

 

The Ultimate Guide to Money

I recently did a podcast series all about money. Today I’d like to break it all down with the goal to provide clarity on your relationship with money and move you in a more positive, understanding direction when it comes to your finances.

What Is Your Money Story?

We all have one. Your money story is about your beliefs, feelings, view and relationship surrounding money.  The best place to begin when identifying your money story is to take a look at your upbringing. Typically, our parents relationship with money often shapes our initial views and beliefs.  Think about it, what did you hear growing up – ‘money doesn’t grow on trees,’ ‘money isn’t everything,’ ‘ you must spend money to make money,’ the list goes on.  Was there debt or was money never a problem? Think about how you were raised around this topic and which beliefs you have carried with you into adulthood.  One part of my money story is a belief I inherited from my dad which resulted in less than ideal spending habits.  Once I went off to college I quickly went into debt, now this was simply my own spending as my parents paid for my tuition. I spent money as if I were making money, with the mentality that I’d make up for it later. The result was about $120,000 of debt once I graduated – not so great.  This belief was what I was brought up with and is quite different from the way I live my life now. I was able to check my attitude and money mindset, make some changes and evolve my money story.  I now have check-in’s on a monthly basis regarding how I currently feel about my money situation, asking myself – what is my money story today?  Now ask yourself, what parts of my money story would I  like to change?

How Do You Want To View Money?

My view on money in the past versus the present could not be more different. In the past, I would make it and then promptly spend it. One turning point in my money story was when I transitioned from working a 9-5 into becoming an entrepreneur. I am now more about investing, looking for things that add value and simplifying. Which is a stark contrast to my previous views on money where I had an issue with constantly consuming, accumulating unnecessary items and overspending.  I was able to change my view on money and shift my mindset into an attitude of allowing money to work for me.  Part of this is also gaining clarity on how we view debt.  We will all experience debt at some point in our lives whether it’s student loans, a mortgage or something as small as a cell phone. It’s important when diving into your money story, to acknowledge any fear or anxiety surrounding money – and this typically comes up when we think of debt.  Reflect on your past and present views of money, what shifts would you like to make?

How Do You Handle Your Money?

A vital part of being on top of your finances is keeping track.  No matter if you work a 9-5 with one income stream or run your own business with multiple, it’s important to be aware!  Once you start tracking the ins and outs of your income including expenses, debt, taxes and more, you will gain clarity surrounding your flow of money.  This will also help you to stay accountable, hold yourself responsible and ensure you’re clear on your full financial picture.  Do you currently keep track of your finances?  What can you improve on?

What Is Your Money Mindset?

The last step is to think about your goals and what you have in mind for your future.  What is your current reality and what do you have to do to reach your goal. Or better yet – who do you have to become to reach that goal?  You may require a shift in mindset, a change in habit or a re-wiring of your money beliefs. A perfect resource for uncovering this is Kate’s book, Money: A Love Story and her accompanying course, the Money Love Course.  Creating more abundance is possible and those seemingly unreachable goals are achievable – it usually only requires a simple adjustment.

Once you’ve fully reflected on the questions above, you need to create a game plan for moving forward.  This could be setting up the business you have right now to be completely sustainable or starting a side business you love.  Ready to take real action?  Check out the resources below and make the change now!

Resources:

TheFreedomFamily.net
MoneyLoveCourse.com
SustainableSuccessWorkshop.com
Kate’s book, Money: A Love Story
Project Life’s Money Series: Episodes 061 – 066
Smart Passive Income
Entrepreneur on Fire

Simple Strategies To Boost Motivation

How do you stay motivated when you’re not feeling it?

We all have off days where we just don’t have the motivation to get stuff done. Sometimes this is okay and we can take the day, other times (especially as an entrepreneur) we need to find a way out of this rut and back to work.

My strategies to refocus and boost my motivation consist of stepping away from work, stop trying to force it and taking a break.  My methods for these breaks are activities that change my mental state, get me pumped up and make me feel inspired. A few of my go-to’s are:

  • Getting outside
  • Working out
  • Changing locations
  • Watching motivational content from people such as GaryVee

All of these help to eliminate distraction, refresh my mind and refocus my energy. When I’m lacking motivation it’s important for me to weed out the unnecessary thoughts, step away from distractions such as social media and simplify the direction I want my renewed ambition to go.  

When I do go back to work I choose the top three objectives I need to get done and put all my focus on completing those. One resource that helped me to hone in on how to guide my focus is Deep Work by Cal Newport.  Check out Project Life’s Episode 060 all about the process of Deep Work and how it goes beyond the idea of focus into simplifying other aspects of your life.

In order to continuously function happily in our business and life, we need to constantly regenerate that motivation and excitement.  Realize the importance of recharging and prioritize your self care in order to take these necessary breaks.  Let’s be honest, when you force your work, you often don’t produce the best results because it’s not exactly coming naturally.

So next time you’re feeling stuck, try the following strategies:
  • Stop forcing yourself to work when you’re simply not feeling it
  • Cut yourself enough slack to take a break and walk away
  • Choose an activity or action that makes you feel pumped up, inspired and helps restore your internal balance
  • When you return to work, choose your top three tasks to place your focus

The activities or actions you choose will be different for everyone, what are some of yours?

How To Start Making Quick Decisions

Today I’d like to share my thoughts on the value behind making decisions quickly.  

This past month, Kate and I had to move out of our current home much sooner than expected. We were put in a situation where we needed to find a new home in a short period of time and do a complete move.  Within a few days we went into action, made those important decisions and found a new place to live.  We made the decision quickly with confidence, signed the lease and moved onto the next big thing.

[Hear more about our move and decision making process! Check out Episode 040: Quick Decisions on Project Life with Mike Watts]

To some people, this situation sounds stressful and something that would take them tons of time.  We don’t exactly think that way. What would have happened if we stressed, went back and forth multiple times, mulled over the details that each home had to offer?  The result probably wouldn’t have been that much different.

Here’s my quick how to guide on making quick decisions:

  1. Recognize that decision fatigue is a real thing and it will stop everyone in their tracks. If you don’t commit to making the decision quickly from the start, it will slow you down. 
  2. Be okay with the possibility that you might make the wrong decision.  Even with a poor decision comes the silver lining of personal growth and development. You grow when you make a decision, especially if you have to go back and fix it.  Spending your time dwelling on a single decision for days, weeks or months on end will keep you stuck in one place with no room to grow. 
  3. Have perspective.  Whatever your decision is regarding, always keep the bigger picture in mind. Life is not meant to be spent in a perpetual state of limbo, there are more important things to focus your energy on. 
  4. Look forward. Focus on what is ahead and take action! Action is what keeps us moving forward and it’s the only way we can evolve.


What is your process for making decisions? Let me know in the comments below!

The Habit of Personal Responsibility

Do you take responsibility for your actions?

With recent events including the actions of our current president, I feel like I’ve witnessed a whole lot of blame, non-accountability and generally, a lack of ownership.

Taking it down a notch and simply reflecting on our own lives – are you making sure you’re accountable for your thoughts, decisions and actions?  Do you hold yourself accountable or play the victim?  Sometimes it is easier to dodge this responsibility because it forces us to take a good, hard look at ourselves.  This self reflection and awareness based on our actions and reactions can make us uncomfortable.  

And I think that’s a good thing.

Taking personal responsibility for each action in your life, helps us to grow.  This personal growth and improvement within ourselves is invaluable and can only come from being uncomfortable and facing it head on. It helps us reach our full potential, shift old mindsets and ultimately, transform into the person we aim to be.  It helps us to re-set the old stories and limiting beliefs we had against ourselves and feel that power to change. To be comfortable with being uncomfortable.  Self-examine and learn rather than blame and deny.

[Want to hear more on this topic? Check out Episode 029 of Project Life]

And as always, whenever you make a positive adjustment within yourself, it immediately has a positive effect on everyone around you.  Blaming those close to you for your decisions or pushing the responsibility towards anyone but yourself, will not benefit you or anyone else involved. Putting that time and effort into improving yourself, improves everything surrounding you – including these relationships.

Next time you’re faced with a situation that requires you to take personal responsibility – check yourself, take ownership and get ready to grow.

Have an experience regarding accountability? Let’s hear it below!

What is Enlightenment?

I’ve started to notice that our society labels enlightenment as something you achieve, a goal to accomplish, a win.  I think it’s a little more than that.

I believe it’s closer to a feeling, not a singular achievement.  If I can feel a little more enlightened every day, I’m doing something right.  It seems we’ve started to believe it can only be felt through methods such as meditation, but I’ve found it when doing something as simple as hanging out with my daughter Penelope.  I’ve tested out a few different ways to feel enlightenment in my daily life, so I thought I’d share a few with you.

A while ago I completed a program surrounded around the Wim Hof Method.  Essentially, it’s a combination of breathing techniques, mindset shifts, along with cold exposure.  While it may not be for everyone, I really enjoyed the process and will probably try the program again in the future.

I’ve experienced enlightenment through the simple acts of going about my daily life.  I’ve gained clarity listening to podcasts, peace while playing with my daughter and insight while driving around in my car.  When you struggle to create time in the day, you can choose to create moments in time where you are open to feeling enlightened.

In an episode of The Kate & Mike Show, we chatted with Rebekah Borucki.  Rebekah is the author of You Have Four Minutes To Change Your Life and we spoke about how taking even a few minutes to yourself in the day can be life-changing – and it is. 

Whether one of these resonates with you or not, find out what enlightenment means and feels like to you.  If it’s taking a few moments to gain clarity, seeking out calmness, or practicing an activity that gives you confidence – I promise you the search is worth it.

What is enlightenment to you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

If you’d like to hear more on this topic check out Episode 018 of Project Life with Mike Watts

Download my free “3 Tools You Need to Make Your Business Life Easier Starting Now” checklist.

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