Why You Should Never Stop Moving Forward

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” — Albert Einstein

This quotes resonates, and yet I’d argue that worse than falling over is staying completely still.

Stagnant.

Resting on past successes and settling in to certainty and comfort.

Success and accomplishment feel amazing in the moment, but those feelings can also hold us back from starting something new again. We can hesitate to put ourselves back out there, worried that our next effort won’t be as good as the last.

Scared that people might think about us differently if we don’t have the same triumph again.

But one thing I have learned from the best innovators, entrepreneurs, athletes, and business leaders is that it is critical to push beyond this fear.

We need to start again — to force ourselves back into the arena where results aren’t guaranteed.

“The key is to never stop moving forward,” says Ed Catmull, President of Pixar and Disney Animation, in his New York Times bestselling book, Creativity Inc.

Catmull knows a little something about creativity, success, and consistently putting yourself out there — he pioneered the computer-animated film industry, and then led Pixar to 14 consecutive #1 box office hits and 30 Academy Awards.

And yet he freely admits that, “Early on, all of our movies suck.”

Catmull requires his team to endure the inevitable mess at the beginning of a project in order to produce great work in the end. And he doesn’t allow complacency after success. He believes that getting started again and making needed adjustments along the way is far better than remaining still.

Always moving forward means embracing that attitude of relentless progress, even if it isn’t pretty at times. Even when it is slow and barely noticeable.

It means being committed to learning, experiencing, experimenting, and doing.

It means having a bias toward action, not being paralyzed by the pressure of perfection.

As famous author Margaret Atwood said, “If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” This coming from someone who has written more than 40 books.

The key is to always start again.

Get back out there.

Never stop moving forward.

“To me, if life boils down to one thing, it’s movement. To live is to keep moving.” — Jerry Seinfeld

Why Curiosity Is The Key To Breakthrough Creativity

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it fuels high levels of creativity in us.

In fact, curiosity has been found to be just as important as intelligence in order to succeed and navigate our increasingly complex world.

Perhaps that’s why author Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote an excellent book about creativity called Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear (not to mention one of the bestselling books of our time Eat, Pray, Love), says that following our curiosity instead of our passion is the real key to an interesting and creative life.

This approach leads to creativity because it enables us to lean into uncertainty with a positive attitude — relaxing and opening our minds to new ideas, skills, and ways of solving problems.

As Albert Einstein said, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

Developing curiosity is like building any other new skill or habit — it takes repeated practice. As Gilbert says, “If you want to live a curiosity-driven life, you must commit to being vigilant about looking for what’s piquing your curiosity.” Her advice is to follow what is interesting to you, even if that interest is faint at first.

This instinct came naturally to us as children, when we had curiosity coursing through our bodies, excitedly exploring new experiences.

Artist and author Erik Wahl describes this youthful mindset in his inspirational book, Unthink: Rediscover Your Creative Genius, saying “In our early years, you and I consistently embodied the key traits that drive constant creativity. Curiosity ruled our senses. Enthusiasm ignited our actions. We did not fear what we did not know — instead we thrived on the process of discovery.”

However, as we get older, we often lose this sense of novelty and exploration.We tend to favor certainty, security, and a simple way of making sense of the world. Ironically, it is only once we become adults that our brains are developed enough to process new discoveries and turn them into concrete ideas and strategies.

In order to spark new levels creativity as adults, we need to get back in touch with our childlike curiosity. We need to observe, explore, ask questions, and again venture into the unknown.

Opening our minds in this way will help us thrive in our current jobs and secure new opportunities. Curiosity is one of the top traits employers are looking for when making hiring decisions, because it is a key indicator of other great workplace qualities such as empathy, creativity, innovation, and the ability to learn quickly.

If you are more of an introvert, it could help to reframe curiosity as a form of research. You might love reading a book or poring over information to expand your mind, and you could take that same mentality into new experiences and interactions with other people.

Ultimately, the more we follow our curiosities, the more we’ll be able to connect the dots and combine new discoveries with what we already know.

Our unique past experiences and knowledge, combined with a passion to learn and discover more, leads to truly original and breakthrough creativity.

Why You Should Keep An Accomplishments List

Many of us rely on plans and to-do lists to prioritize our time and stay on track for the future, but what about after we complete those tasks and projects? Should we just check things off the list and move on?

It turns out there are numerous benefits to writing down and celebrating our past accomplishments on an ongoing basis.

Here are just a few reasons to keep an Accomplishments List:

• Looking back at our past achievements produces a satisfying happiness boost. Thinking about our wins makes us feel like a winner.
• Focusing on what we achieved and what went well can enhance our overall view and positively change the way we remember the past (even if we experienced challenges or failures in that same time period).
• Being reminded of past successes motivates us to work hard for more accomplishments in the future, thereby producing an ongoing cycle of success and achievement.
• Keeping an Accomplishments List keeps us focused on our actual productivity and what we get done — not just how busy we are.

A bonus is that if you work in an office with annual performance reviews, keeping a weekly Accomplishments List will yield a large pool of successes to choose from at review time to remind your manager just how great your year was! If you relied on memory alone, chances are that you and your boss would forget about many of the things you achieved weeks or months prior.

Wondering how to get started with an Accomplishments List, and how to make it part of your regular routine?

In the terrific new book, How To Have A Good Day, author Caroline Webb cites the example of an office worker who made it a habit to block out the 5:00-5:30 p.m. window every Friday to write down the single best thing she achieved that week. That is almost always a quiet time at work, and a great opportunity to reflect on the week that just went by. And while she blocked out a full half hour, she acknowledged that the practice really only takes 5 minutes.

As for me, I like to maintain an ongoing Accomplishments List that I keep in my email inbox. I add to it every time I complete a task or project that I am proud of, and then I email the updated version to myself so it stays toward the top of my inbox.

Keeping the list in a visible place keeps my past successes top of mind, which tends to improve my mood, and adding to the list feels fantastic. I keep the running tally throughout the year, and then file the list away and start a new one at the beginning of each calendar year. That helps me to mentally celebrate the past year, and then “turn the page” for the year ahead.

It really doesn’t matter how you do it — the key is to get your accomplishments out of your head and down on paper while they’re fresh. Keep the list going and make it a habit to look back and acknowledge what you’ve achieved.

Once you make this part of your routine, don’t be surprised if your Accomplishments List becomes just as valuable as your To-Do List!

The Benefits and Simplicity of Meditation

I recently wrote a piece ranking the Top 20 Habits for Happiness, Health, Productivity, and Success. The list is subjective, based on my research, reading, learning from experts, and personal experimentation over the years.

Although the list has generally been well-received, readers pointed out one noticeable omission:

Meditation.

While there are habits on the list that relate to mindfulness (e.g. Singletasking — Doing one thing at a time and paying attention while doing it), meditation as a specific habit doesn’t show up.

And that’s because I had never tried it.

There is an abundance of information out there about meditation, but until now I hadn’t really paid much attention to it.

But now that I’ve had a chance to take a closer examination, the benefits are undeniably profound.

Meditation improves our physical health, including lowering blood pressure, boosting the immune system, and increasing our ability to cope with stress.

And meditation has been shown to bolster our minds — actually changing the brain in ways that lead to reduced levels of anxiety and depression, improved attention and concentration, better self-control, and greater overall psychological well-being.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that meditation is a favorite practice among celebrities and business leaders alike. Steve Jobs was famous for his devotion to mindfulness and meditation as a pathway to stress reduction, mental clarity, and creativity. And here are just a few more examples of high-profile people who de-stress with meditation:

• Jack Dorsey, CEO and Co-Founder of Twitter and Square, wakes up at 5am every day to meditate
• Oprah Winfrey has a meditation ritual that she practices every morning
• Anderson Cooper attended a week-long mindfulness retreat for a story we was working on, and the experience was so impactful that he now integrates meditation and mindfulness into his everyday life
• Jennifer Aniston says her daily meditation practice kick-starts her day, reduces her stress levels, and makes her happier
• LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner blocks out time on his calendar every day to think and meditate, and has talked about the importance of meditation in the business world

All of these benefits and examples had me ready to get started, but I was still under the impression that meditation was a mysterious, long and complicated process reserved primarily for Buddhist monks.

But it turns out that meditation is actually incredibly simple, as I learned while reading Chris Bailey’s best-selling book, The Productivity Project. In fact, only a few minutes of meditation can produce amazing results.

Meditation is this easy (adapted from Bailey’s book):

1. Find someplace quiet where you won’t be interrupted, and sit upright in a relaxed but alert position (a chair works well for most everyone)
2. You can keep your eyes open or closed, whatever helps you feel more alert and focused
3. Set a timer for how long you want to meditate (it is recommended to start with 5–10 minutes. Bailey, for example, now meditates for 30 minutes per day)
4. Focus on your breath. Don’t try to control or analyze your breath; just observe it and the physical sensations that take place in your body as you breathe in and out
5. When your mind wanders — and it will wander — just bring your attention back to focus on your breath and the physical sensations. You’ll have to do this repeatedly while you meditate

That’s it. And this simple practice, as Bailey says, “helps you regain control over your attention — and by extension, your brain — and prevents it from wandering when you don’t want it to.”

This simplicity had me ready to take the plunge.

While this all seemed easy enough to do myself, as a total newbie I decided to get started with guided, 10-minute meditations via the Headspace app upon the recommendation of a friend.

I just completed the first 10 consecutive days and it has been a simple and welcoming way to get going. I just press play and am guided through the process each day, and have settled into a nice routine. I have been meditating for 10 minutes first thing in the morning, followed by exercise (on most days I go for a 30-minute run in the morning).

I’m only at the very beginning of integrating meditation into my daily life, but I already appreciate the way it clears my mind, slows me down, and centers me for the day ahead.

I’ll share more experiences as I make meditation an ongoing daily habit, but I am now convinced of its remarkable benefits and surprising simplicity.

Top 20 Habits for Happiness, Health, Productivity, and Success

I am fascinated with the habits that affect happiness, health, productivity, and success. I read everything I can get my hands on related to these topics and continuously experiment with new tactics to see what works in my own life. Based on my research, reading, learning from the experts, and personal experimentation, here are the 20 best habits that I have found for happiness, health, productivity, and success.

20. Be generous — Spending money on other people has been shown to lead to greater well-being and happiness than spending it on yourself.

19. Ask more questions — And actually listen to the answers. Creativity and leadership expert Paul Sloane, author of 17 books including The Innovative Leader, believes that asking questions is the single most important habit for innovative thinkers.

18. Make Your Bed — Gretchen Rubin, best-selling author and happiness researcher, says “When I was researching my book on happiness, this was the number one most impactful change that people brought up over and over.”Making your bed starts a chain reaction of other productive habits throughout the day.

17. Celebrate — Pause to enjoy your successes before moving on to the next thing. David Campbell, former senior fellow with the Center for Creative Leadership, said it best: “Celebrations are the punctuation marks that make sense of the passage of time; without them, there are no beginnings and no endings. Life becomes an endless series of Wednesdays.”

16. Smile — The simple act of smiling reduces stress and increases happiness, even if you’re faking or forcing the smile. Putting on a happy face actually makes you happier.

15. Buy experiences, not things — An extensive amount of research shows that experiences actually bring people more happiness than material goods.

14. Say no more often — Trying to do everything usually means not doing anything very well. Journalist and success researcher Shane Snow says that often “the thing holding us back from success is our inability to say no.”

13. Be on time — Being on time is one habit that accomplishes two very important things — it melts away stress and improves relationships at the same time. New York Times best-selling author Greg McKeown recommends adding a 50% buffer to the amount of time you estimate something will take in order to show up on time.

12. Choose a good attitude — Attitude is a decision that we make every day (and often throughout each day). Strengthen relationships and increase your chances of success by deciding to have a good one.

11. Block off time on your calendar to think — Take inspiration from Bill Gates, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos by building uninterrupted thinking time into your schedule.

10. Don’t check email first thing in the morning or last thing before bed — This approach is championed by Tim Ferriss who says that email first thing derails your priorities for the day and email right before sleeping gives you insomnia. Putting this into practice has been a life-changer for me.

9. Do one thing at a time — Do one thing at a time and pay attention while doing it. Giving our attention only to the task at hand enables us to accomplish more while feeling less anxious and less scatterbrained. On a related note, put your phone away when you are spending time with another person and give them your undivided attention.

8. Wake up early — Get a jump-start on the day and tackle your most important task first-thing. Take inspiration from early risers such as Richard Branson, Michelle Obama, Anna Wintour, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and more.

7. Limit your daily to-do list to your 3 most important items — And watch your productivity skyrocket. Chris Bailey, best-selling author of The Productivity Project, says this habit is one of the absolute best ways to positively impact your work and life on a daily basis.

6. Write down the 3 things you are most grateful for at the end of each day — Having an attitude of gratitude has been shown to improve mood and physical health. Lewis Howes, best-selling author of The School of Greatness,says “If you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”

5. Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants. — This is the philosophy endorsed by renowned author and food researcher Michael Pollan. Eat your way to health with these 50 foods, recommended by neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter.

4. Read — Reading is one habit ultra-successful people have in common. Business leaders such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk say reading has been critical to their success.

3. Get 8 hours of sleep per night — Anything less won’t cut it, says Dr. Mike Dow, best-selling author of The Brain-Fog Fix. The experts recommendestablishing and sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day (including weekends).

2. Maintain close relationships — Social connection is the greatest predictor of happiness, according to Harvard researcher and happiness expert Shawn Achor who has studied the topic for more than a dozen years.

1. Exercise — “The single-most powerful tool you have to optimize your brain function,” says John J. Ratey MD in his best-selling book Spark. Exercising daily (even for as short as 30 minutes) has changed my life more than any other habit!

These 20 habits have stood out for me as the best of the best.

How about you? What habits do you have that should be on the list?

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Andrew Merle writes about good habits for happiness, health, productivity, and success.  Follow him @andrewmerle on Twitter.

The Reading Habits of Ultra-Successful People

Want to know one habit ultra-successful people have in common?

They read. A lot.

In fact, when Warren Buffett was once asked about the key to success, he pointed to a stack of nearby books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”

Buffett takes this habit to the extreme — he read between 600 and 1000 pages per day when he was beginning his investing career, and still devotes about 80% of each day to reading.

And he’s not alone. Here are just a few top business leaders and entrepreneurs who make reading a major part of their daily lifestyle:

• Bill Gates reads about 50 books per year, which breaks down to 1 per week
• Mark Cuban reads more than 3 hours every day
• Elon Musk is an avid reader and when asked how he learned to build rockets, he said “I read books.”
• Mark Zuckerberg resolved to read a book every 2 weeks throughout 2015
• Oprah Winfrey selects one of her favorite books every month for her Book Club members to read and discuss

And these aren’t just isolated examples. A study of 1200 wealthy people found that they all have reading as a pastime in common.

But successful people don’t just read anything. They are highly selective about what they read, opting to be educated over being entertained. They believe that books are a gateway to learning and knowledge.

In fact, there is a notable difference between the reading habits of the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy. According to Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, rich people (annual income of $160,000 or more and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million-plus) read for self-improvement, education, and success. Whereas poor people (annual income of $35,000 or less and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less) read primarily to be entertained.

Successful people tend to choose educational books and publications over novels, tabloids, and magazines. And in particular they obsess over biographies and autobiographies of other successful people for guidance and inspiration.

There are many examples of successful people dropping out of school or foregoing a formal education, but it is clear that they never stop learning. And reading is a key part of their success.

If reading as a pathway to success isn’t enough to get you motivated, consider these health benefits of reading: Reading has been shown to help prevent stress, depression, and dementia, while enhancing confidence, empathy, decision-making, and overall life satisfaction.

Whether reading is already a way of life for you, or you’re just getting started, here are some book lists to consider:

• 9 of Warren Buffett’s Favorite Books
• 17 of Bill Gates’ Favorite Books
• Books Extremely Successful People Read (From President Obama to Bill Clinton to Sheryl Sandberg)
• 20 Books that the World’s most successful people read and recommend
• 25 Must-Read Books for Success

And here are a few lists of 2016 must-reads:

• 10 Must-Read Business Books for 2016 (Inc.)
• 16 Must-Read Business Books for 2016 (Forbes)
• 9 Business Books to Read in 2016 (Stanford)

Happy (and successful) reading!

The Power of the Three-Item To-Do List

Want to see your productivity skyrocket?

Limit your daily to-do list to the top three most important things you want to accomplish for the day.

Do this same process at the beginning of every week for the week ahead.

It’s that simple.

This habit turbocharges your productivity because it forces you to prioritize the most significant things you want to achieve, and then causes you to have laser-like focus in getting them done.

Best-selling author and productivity guru Chris Bailey writes extensively about this technique, referred to as “the Rule of 3”, in his new book The Productivity Project. Bailey says that out of the thousands of productivity tactics he has experimented with, the Rule of 3 has emerged as one of the absolute best ways to positively impact your work and life on a daily basis.

As he says, “having just three items to focus on throughout the day and week will help you stay centered and accomplish more, even on days when everything hits the fan.”

In order to make this process work, it is essential that you write out these three main focus areas before cluttering your mind with “reactive” tasks such as checking email, voicemail, or social media. It is vital to prioritize what you want to achieve before being inundated with other peoples’ needs.

It’s also a good idea to reference your calendar for the day and week to see how much time you’ll have to devote to your top tasks, and possibly shift around your meetings and commitments in order to concentrate on what really matters.

As you think about putting the Rule of 3 into practice, Bailey suggests just starting on a daily basis in order to quickly realize how effective it can be, and then adding the weekly exercise from there. And make sure that your top 3 items are challenging yet also realistic and achievable in order stay motivated and ride the momentum from getting them done.

After you list out your 3 top items to accomplish, it is okay to jot down additional small tasks to take care of during the day (such as remembering to RSVP for a party, writing a thank you note, or dropping off mail at the post office). What’s important is that you prioritize and focus your energy on your top 3 items, and tackle smaller tasks as time permits from there. And that you measure your productivity based on how successful you were at accomplishing your main 3 things.

As Bailey says, “To accomplish more and spend time on your highest-impact tasks, you have to act on them on a daily basis.”

The Rule of 3 is one of the best ways to do exactly that.

Why You Should Be On Time

Being on time is one habit that accomplishes two very important things — it melts away stress and improves relationships at the same time.

So why, then, do so many of us constantly run late, keep others waiting, and in general cut it far too close?

It certainly has something to do with the fact that we’re overcommitted and busier than ever.

But another reason for our tardiness is that we simply don’t leave ourselves enough time.

When planning our commute or how long an activity will take, we tend to think in best-case-scenario terms. Since we have gotten up and out the door in 20 minutes before, that’s the math we use when deciding the time for our alarm wake-up call. Because we have made it to the restaurant in 10 minutes in the past, that’s how long we expect it to take again. We want something to take a certain length of time, so therefore that’s the amount of time we allocate.

Sometimes it does go perfectly, and how nice is that? Everything goes smoothly and our day comes together like a well-orchestrated puzzle.

But oftentimes it doesn’t.

There is unexpected traffic, or we just can’t find the right outfit to wear. Our toddler needs to make a last-minute bathroom stop before we can head out. We can’t find a parking spot, or didn’t realize how much time one wrong turn could set us back. We didn’t think about how long the walk from the parking garage into the restaurant would take. Or any number of other unexpected events.

That is why Greg McKeown, New York Times best-selling author of Essentialism, recommends adding a 50 percent buffer to the amount of time we estimate something will take. That might seem overly cautious, but McKeown reminds us to think about how often things actually do take 50% longer than anticipated. So if you estimate it will take 20 minutes to get to your business meeting or daughter’s piano lesson, leave the house 30 minutes ahead of time instead.

As McKeown says, “Not only does this relieve the stress we feel about being late (imagine how much less stressful sitting in traffic would feel if we weren’t running late), but if we do find that the task was faster and easier to execute than we expected (though this is a rare experience for most of us), the extra found time feels like a bonus.” Better yet, these days our mobile devices actually enable us to pass time in a productive way — check emails with the extra time, make a quick phone call, or read that article you’ve been meaning to finish. Being early doesn’t have to feel like wasted time.

Reducing stress has been shown to lead to a strengthened immune system, better cardiovascular health, less depression, and an overall more enjoyable life. So remove one unnecessary source of stress in your life by committing to being on time.

Another reason we are often late is that we simply haven’t prioritized punctuality. We haven’t deemed it important enough to show up at the time we were supposed to be there. Sometimes we think it just isn’t that big of a deal.

But thinking this way is a mistake.

If we made a commitment to an activity, we should show respect by being there when we said we would (otherwise we shouldn’t make the commitment at all). Even when we’re going to activities that we don’t consider “high priority”, showing up late still makes us feel guilty and stressed, not to mention being disrespectful to the people we are meeting. It implies that our time is more important than theirs, which hurts both our reputation and our relationships.

So stop trying to fit in those last-minute emails before heading out the door. Get in the car earlier than you have to. Don’t put yourself in the situation of having to come up with excuses for being late.

Instead, be known as someone who is always on time. And watch your life change as a result.

How To Get Your Best Night’s Sleep

You probably already know that sleep is one of the most important habits in our lives. Sleep has been shown to do all of the following:

• Improve learning, creativity, and memory
• Boost alertness and mood
• Support a healthy body weight
• Reduce the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia

These are just some of the benefits of sleep that Dr. Mike Dow talks up in his New York Times best-selling book, The Brain-Fog Fix.

And while these benefits of sleep might not surprise you, it could be eye-opening to learn that we are sleeping an hour less per night now than we did just a generation ago, and nearly three quarters of Americans report not getting enough sleep. In fact, a recent survey showed that Americans average just 6.5 hours of shut-eye per weeknight, which is less than all but one of the other countries included in the study (only Japanese slept less).

If that stat of 6.5 hours per night seems pretty good, Dr. Dow says to think again. He asserts that we need to be getting about 8 hours of sleep per night, and anything less just won’t suffice.

If you want to establish a healthy relationship with sleep, a good first step is to prioritize it in your life instead of always staying in overdrive. The experts also recommend to establish and stick to a consistent sleep schedule, ideally going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day (including weekends).

But what if you still just can’t seem to fall asleep?

Here are some tips from The Brain-Fog Fix for a consistent good night sleep:

• Regulate your wake and sleep cycles by exposing yourself to as much light as possible during the day, and limit exposure to light in the evenings
• Open your blinds and turn on lights immediately upon waking
• Go outside for a walk or a run in the morning to get some sunlight (and some exercise)
• At work, position your desk to face a window
• Nap in the mid-afternoon if needed (Keep it short to about 20 minutes so nighttime rhythms aren’t disrupted). This might not be realistic for everyone, but an increasing number of companies offer on-site nap rooms for a short midday snooze
• Shut off electronics close to bedtime, saying goodnight to your TV, phone, computer, and tablet at least an hour before you go to sleep
• Remove electronic devices from your bedroom altogether. A great way to spend time before sleeping is to read a real book under dim lighting
• If you absolutely must use your devices in the evening, make sure to turn them to the dimmest setting possible to reduce blue light exposure
• Take a hot shower or warm bath before bed for relaxation and to set your body temperature for sleep
• Keep your bedroom cool, between 66–68 degrees. However, make sure your feet are warm otherwise you might not be able to sleep (consider wearing socks)

I have also found that it helps to keep a notepad next to my bed to jot down anything on my mind at bedtime, including a short list of what I want to accomplish the next day. Getting these things out of my head and onto paper often provides the peace of mind to fall asleep. On a similar note, Lewis Howes, New York Times best-selling author of The School of Greatness, recommends the nightly practice of writing down the three things you are most grateful for. This is a great way to get in the right mental place at bedtime.

So whatever you’re doing late at night, shut it off and go to sleep instead. For most people, sleeping in is not an option and therefore going to bed earlier is the only way to get the recommended amount of sleep.

Hopefully the above tools and tips help you create the best sleep routine that works for you.

Sweet dreams!

Why You Should Choose A Good Attitude

You can choose a good attitude, starting today, and improve just about everything in your life.

Attitude is a decision that we make every day (and oftentimes throughout each day), and choosing to have a good one builds relationships and opens doors like few other habits or behaviors can.

New York Times best-selling author Jon Acuff covers this topic extensively in his excellent new book, Do Over. He says that choosing a good attitude “is the one thing you can do right this minute to actually shock your boss, improve your work relationships and dramatically increase your long-term odds of an awesome career.”

Acuff believes that deciding to have a good attitude is one of the best ways to be successful. And it makes sense — People want to help others who display gratitude, positivity, and optimism. Creativity also flourishes with an open 

Throw a Party! Why It’s So Important to Celebrate

I am the type of person that tends to think “What’s next?” after reaching a goal. Even when I have great success in work or in my personal life, somehow my mind shifts to how I can sustain it, or what the next achievement or accomplishment will be.

I used to think that success by itself would automatically make me pause and reflect. But I now know that, at least for me, it needs to be a very conscious effort to take time to enjoy and celebrate progress and milestones.

I also now realize the importance of doing so. And I’m not alone.

This past weekend I flew to Atlanta for a last-minute trip, along with 6 of my college roommates, to surprise our friend who was graduating from his medical residency after 5 long years in the program. The surprise was orchestrated by our friend’s wife who knew that nothing would mean more to her husband than the chance to spend the weekend with his family and closest friends. And we all made the trip from various locations around the country (SF, LA, Boston, NY, & Baltimore) for a weekend filled with catching up, celebrating, and reliving the old days (and perhaps a bit too much food and drink).

And it worked. I’ll spare you all the details of the weekend, but will share just this quick passage from a thank you email our friend sent right afterwards. He said, “I don’t think I have ever been that surprised! I had a great time the whole weekend and it serves as a reminder how much I want to make it a priority of mine to find time for us all to get together.”

This email is just a small example of the incredible number of benefits that come when we take the time to celebrate. Celebrations actually boost our well-being — and this is true for major milestones and daily wins alike.

One of the main reasons celebrating is so important is because it reflects an overall attitude of gratitude and enjoying what we have, instead of focusing on what we don’t have or only on what we want in the future.

According to research conducted by Professors Dr. Robert A. Emmons and Dr. Michael McCullough (University of California Davis and University of Miami, respectively), people who cultivate a daily attitude of celebration and gratitude have more energy, less stress and anxiety, are more likely to help others, exercise more frequently, sleep better, have improved physical health, and actually make greater progress toward achieving personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based). And it doesn’t take great effort to get these results — these benefits were reported by people who simply made a weekly list of things for which they were grateful.

Celebrations of milestones and goals achieved provide us the opportunity to take a much-needed break, to reset, and then to set even bigger and bolder targets. Additionally, celebrations let us reflect on the right path forward before setting out on it, and to build confidence for the future by acknowledging what we’ve been able to achieve in the past.

Celebration is important not only for individuals, but also for teams.

In fact, the best leaders in business make sure to take time to celebrate their teams’ successes before delivering the next assignment. As James Kouzes and Barry Posner say in their comprehensive book about leadership, The Leadership Challenge, “Exemplary leaders know that promoting a culture of celebration fuels the sense of unity essential for retaining and motivating today’s workforce.”

Kouzes and Posner stress time and again in their book that celebrations are critical to teamwork, trust, and shared values in an organization, and in order to create an environment of energy, rejuvenation, and fun. The proof is in the results — the book’s research shows that “People who work for leaders who more frequently celebrate rate their leaders’ effectiveness nearly one-third higher compared to those who say their leaders celebrate less.”

But perhaps David Campbell, former senior fellow with the Center for Creative Leadership, said it best: “Celebrations are the punctuation marks that make sense of the passage of time; without them, there are no beginnings and no endings. Life becomes an endless series of Wednesdays.”

So unless you live for Wednesdays, make it a point to put celebrations on the calendar, and to get together for some fun with colleagues, family, and friends. Celebrations give us something to look forward to as well as to appreciate what we have.

Besides, who doesn’t love the host of a good party?! Which brings us back to the beginning and the title of this post — Throw a party!

The Science of Smiling

When we are happy, our natural response is to smile. But if you flip that around, does the reverse hold true? When we smile, is our natural response to then be happy?

Science says yes.

In fact, even faking or forcing a smile reduces stress and makes you happier.

That’s what psychological scientists Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman found when they conducted a clever study to test this connection. The researchers had their participants put chopsticks in their mouths to produce one of three facial expressions: a neutral expression, a standard smile (a “half” smile that stays located by the mouth), or a Duchenne smile (a big one, ear to ear). Only half of the 169 total participants were instructed to smile.

Then the participants were asked to do a series of stressful, multi-tasking activities (such as tracing a star with their non-dominant hand by looking at a reflection of the star in a mirror). The researchers monitored the heart rates and self-reported stress levels of the subjects while they completed the tasks.

The results showed that the people who were instructed to smile had lower heart rate levels and less stress after the activities, and this was especially true for those with the biggest Duchenne smiles. But even those who weren’t told to smile, yet had their mouths forced into a smile by the chopsticks, came out of the tasks feeling more content and less stressed than the neutral expression subjects.

Based on the findings, Sarah Pressman (one of the researchers who led the study) said, “The next time you are stuck in traffic or are experiencing some other type of stress, you might try to hold your face in a smile for a moment. Not only will it help you ‘grin and bear it’ psychologically, but it might actually help your heart health as well!”

Another study looked at the effect of facial expression on depression. The experimenters, Eric Finzi (Cosmetic Dermatologist) and Norman Rosenthal (Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School) worked with 74 subjects who all had major depression, and either gave them a Botox injection between the eyebrows that prevented frowning, or a placebo saline injection that did not affect the facial muscles.

The findings showed that, 6 weeks after the injection, 52 percent of the non-frowning Botox group showed a reduction in their depression, compared to only a 15 percent improvement rate for the placebo group. The results indicate that putting on a happy face actually makes you happier.

It seems that the simple act of a physical smile, authentic or not, tricks your brain into thinking you’re actually happy. Smiling also triggers us to think back to joyful memories, further improving mood.

In addition to lifting mood and reducing stress, other research has shown thatpeople who smile are thought to be more friendly and likeable, and smiling actually makes those around you cheerier as well.

All of this shows that the old sayings actually deliver great advice — it’s time to turn that frown upside down, grin and bear it, and say cheese!

Why Single-Tasking is the New Multi-Tasking

In our busy and hectic lives, the ability to focus has become more important than ever.

Harnessing our attention requires minimizing distraction. And for all of the benefits and efficiencies modern technology brings, digital tools have also become some of our biggest distractions. These distractions fill our days and make us feel busy, but busyness and productivity are two different things.

As #1 New York Times best-selling author Tom Rath says, “Staying connected is now remarkably easy. As a result, getting anything of substance done is not.”

In Rath’s book, Are You Fully Charged?, he notes that people unlock their cell phones an average of 110 times per day, including 9 times per hour during peak evening hours. He reports that workers sitting in front of a computer screen are interrupted at least every 3 minutes, and forfeit 28% of each day to distraction. In fact, only 1 in 5 people say they have the ability to focus on one thing at a time at work.

So how can we take control over our devices and tune in to our own minds? Here are some recommended strategies:

• Do not check email first thing in the morning or last thing at night. This approach is championed by Tim Ferriss, who says that email first thing derails your priorities for the day and email right before sleeping gives you insomnia. Putting this into practice has been a life-changer for me.
• Finish the most important item on your to-do list in the morning before checking email, social media, or responding to phone calls.
• Shut off instant alerts and notifications when you are trying to focus (phone ringer, email notifications, social media alerts, push notifications, etc.). Consider an internet blocker if you are really struggling with procrastination.
• Set specific times to check social media, email, and phone calls.
• Shut off all electronic devices (TV, Phone, Computer, Tablet, etc.) 1 hour before bedtime for a better night sleep and to be more productive the next day. A great use of this time before bed is to read a real book.
• Only use your phone when you’re alone. Put your phone away when you are spending time with another person. You made a choice to be with that person, so give him or her your full attention and watch your relationship improve. Phone time and meal time definitely do not go together.
• Consider going completely phone-free for one full day each weekend.

What all of these tactics really do is help us to focus on one thing at a time. It turns out that “single-tasking” is actually the best way to get important things done. As Dr. Mike Dow, psychotherapist and best-selling author of The Brain-Fog Fix, says, “Mindfulness — doing one thing at a time and paying attention while doing it — is a powerful antidote to the barrage of distractions that come at us day and night.” Giving our attention only to the task at hand enables us to accomplish more while feeling less anxious and less scatterbrained.

Digital interruptions are more prevalent and persistent than ever before.

Those who have the ability to tune out the distractions and tune into themselves will truly be set apart from the rest.

The Science of Generosity

Could it be that generosity is actually an important secret to happiness and success?

It seems that way.

There has been quite a bit of research recently showing that giving money away makes people a lot happier than spending it on themselves.

And it turns out that giving to others produces an emotional boost for people all over the world, regardless of whether they have a lot of money to give or not.

In one of the largest studies to date on the topic, a team of leading researchers (from Harvard Business School and the University of British Columbia, among others) looked at data from more than 200,000 people in 136 countries around the world. They looked at all parts of the globe, from Canada to Uganda, and consistently found that spending money on other people led to greater well-being and happiness. This result held true for rich and poor countries alike. The study found that it doesn’t matter how much money you have — if you spend some of it on other people, you will personally see the benefits (in addition to the people you’re spending it on, of course).

In fact, the researchers found that donating to charity boosted happiness to a similar degree as doubling your household income!

Additional research, cited in the fascinating book “Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending” by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, shows that giving your money away makes people happier and physically healthier. And it doesn’t take much. The authors note that, “Spending as little as $5 to help someone else can increase your own happiness.” Apparently the dollar amount you give is not nearly as important as the perceived impact of the donation — If you can see your money making a difference, it will make you happy regardless of the monetary amount.

So it seems that doing good actually does you good.

But is generosity also linked with greater professional success?

Dr. Adam Grant, the youngest tenured professor at University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School, wrote a book on the subject, called “Give and Take.” In it, he shows that an overwhelming majority of the most successful people are incredibly generous. And that helping others actually drives their success. Therefore it should come as no surprise to hear that Warren Buffett has pledged to give away 99% of his fortune, or to see that Jack and Suzy Welch believe that “the best, most effective, most awe-inspiring leaders share one pronounced trait: They love to give raises.”

One study even found that giving your money away actually causes greater wealth.

Economist Arthur Brooks collected data (along with his Harvard University colleagues) from 30,000 American families in 41 different communities located all across the US. After breaking down all of the stats, he found thatwhen people donate to charity, they then go on to actually achieve greater wealth. And this wasn’t just a correlation — it was directly caused by the charitable gift.

Brooks said of the findings, “If you have two families that are exactly identical — in other words, same religion, same race, same number of kids, same town, same level of education, and everything’s the same — except that one family gives a hundred dollars more to charity than the second family, then the giving family will earn on average $375 more in income than the non-giving family — and that’s statistically attributable to the gift.”

He actually found the same thing when running the numbers to look at volunteering or donating blood — those activities also led to people doing better financially.

But how can this be explained?

Well, psychologists and neuroscientists have identified a few ways that giving could lead to success. Research from the University of Oregon found that charity activates parts of the brain that are associated with meeting basic needs like food and shelter — indicating that our brains know that giving is good for us. Other experiments have shown that people are promoted into positions of leadership after they are witnessed giving charitably. Or perhaps we are just hard-wired as humans to get an emotional boost from helping others, which leads to more life satisfaction, better social interactions and networking, being more engaged and more productive in business, with greater wealth as a result. It isn’t easy to perfectly understand this phenomenon, but the benefits of giving continue to be proven.

However, when asked, people still think they’ll be happier if they spend money on themselves instead of other people.

If you’re one of those people, think again.

Of course we need to take care of ourselves and make sure our own needs are met, but perhaps it’s time to rethink at least some of our spending habits. And to spend more on the people and causes we really care about.

After all, it turns out the smart money is on giving it to others.

Time Is Our Most Valuable Asset (And How To Get More Of It)

Research suggests that once people earn $75,000 per year, making additional money has no positive effect on emotional well-being and happiness. It seems that money is important to ensure our basic needs are met and a decent standard of living, but beyond that point there is little evidence that material purchases (including fancy homes and expensive cars) produce lasting happiness.

While much attention is given to monetary and material affluence, it appears as though time affluence is a better predictor of personal happiness. And, it makes sense — We are busier than ever, more technologically connected than ever, and often our days are spent rushing from one activity or obligation to the next. So the ability to gain control over our time, and direct it in the most meaningful ways, has become increasingly important.

Wall Street Journal best-selling author Jon Acuff believes that time is our most valuable currency, and I agree with him. In fact, Acuff asserts (in his inspirational book Start) that “time is the only honest indication of what matters to us.”

So, when you look at your calendar over the last day, week, month, or year, is your time spent consistent with what is important to you and the person you want to be — whether that’s experiences with family and close friends, making a difference in other people’s lives, pursuing a new business idea, learning a new skill or sport, working, exercising, or something else of significance? If not, the first step to spending your time more thoughtfully is to take control of your calendar.

But how can you rescue some time back in order to focus it in the most meaningful areas?

A good place to start is by saying “no” more often. As #1 New York Times best-selling author Tom Rath says, “The next time a new opportunity presents itself, think carefully before making an ongoing commitment. If it is something you feel you should take on, determine what other activity you might need to let go of. When you are struggling between two choices,remember there is always a third option: doing nothing. In many cases, declining both options is the best route.”

Trying to do everything usually means not doing anything very well. Perhaps that’s why journalist and success researcher Shane Snow says that often “the thing holding us back from success is our inability to say no.”

Snow notes in his book, Smartcuts, that some of the most successful people also save time by sticking to rigid routines and simplifying decision-making.This is why Steve Jobs often wore the same thing every day (black turtlenecks and Levi’s 501 jeans) and why President Barack Obama stocks his closet with only gray or blue suits. President Obama has said, “I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”

And then of course we can actually buy time, a notion that is endorsed in the eye-opening book, Happy Money, about the best ways to spend our money. The authors, Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, say that “by permitting ourselves to outsource our most dreaded tasks, from scrubbing toilets to cleaning gutters, money can transform the way we spend our time, freeing us to pursue our passions.” Yes, outsourcing costs money, but it’s a great use of it.

Dunn and Norton also talk about taking back time by reducing the hours we spend on two key activities — commuting and watching TV. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans spend more than 100 hours per yearcommuting to work, which is more than the two weeks of vacation that most workers take annually! Additionally, an American spends on average abouttwo months per year watching television! Of course television can produce a lot of pleasure, but we probably don’t need 4 hours of it per day.

There is no doubt that we live busy lives with many things competing for our attention. But we can take control of our calendar by implementing just some of the ideas in this article.

Say “no” more frequently. Establish routines to automate decision-making. Outsource unpleasant tasks. Live closer to work. Cut down on TV watching.

And, finally, unplug. Minimize interruption and distraction by checking email fewer times per day and disconnecting for a little while.

After a certain point, money and possessions don’t matter much. Time is more precious. So maximize your time and prioritize the things that are most important to you.

It’s actually pretty simple.

How will you spend your time?

How to Have an Attitude of Gratitude

It is that time of year when giving thanks is top of mind. The holiday season, and Thanksgiving in particular, causes us to think about all of the special things in our lives and express gratitude for them. This is a favorite time of year for many, in large part because we are surrounded by loved ones and visibly reminded of all that we have to be grateful for.

If you’re like me, you wish this feeling could last all year long. Just imagine feeling proud, thankful, and joyful on an ongoing basis, not only during the holiday season.

A major step in that direction is developing an “Attitude of Gratitude,” according to New York Times best-selling author Lewis Howes. Howes writes extensively about cultivating a grateful mindset in his highly-inspirational new book, The School of Greatness. As Howes simply says, “Life is better if you develop an attitude of gratitude.”

But what exactly does that mean and how do we do it?

An attitude of gratitude means making it a habit to express thankfulness and appreciation in all parts of your life, on a regular basis, for both the big and small things alike. As Howes puts it, “If you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”

Here is a menu of tactics (just pick a few!) he endorses to help develop this mindset:

• Wake up every day and express to yourself what you are grateful for
• Tell whoever you are with at the end of the day the 3 things you are most grateful for
• Tell whoever you are with right now (significant other, friend, family member, etc.) the three things that you are most grateful for in this moment
• Start a gratitude journal — Express gratitude in this journal every night by noting the things that you are grateful for, proud of, and excited about
• Acknowledge yourself for what you have done and accomplished in the last day/week/month/year. Instead of comparing yourself to others, give yourself credit for the big and small things you have been doing!
• Acknowledge other people and thank them for inspiring/helping/supporting you — oftentimes people wait their whole lives to be acknowledged (and yet it happens far too infrequently)!

If the gratitude process is hard to get started, begin by asking yourself, “Whatcould I be grateful for?”, and see if the ideas start to flow. This is a mindset habit that is recommended by Tony Robbins in his book, Awaken the Giant Within.

Every day won’t be perfect, but focusing on what we are grateful for tends to wash away feelings of anger and negativity.

And in addition to improving mood, recent studies show that feeling and expressing gratitude leads to better physical health as well. Paul Mills, a Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, conducted studies that looked at the role of gratitude on heart health.

Among other things, he found that participants who kept a journal most days of the week, writing about 2–3 things they were grateful for (everything from appreciating their children to travel and good food), had reduced levels of inflammation and improved heart rhythm compared to people who did not write in a journal. And the journal-keepers also showed a decreased risk of heart disease after only 2 months of this new routine!

So try adopting some of the above tactics, even just one or two, in order to develop an overall grateful mindset. It takes a bit of work, but having an attitude of gratitude is one of the most impactful habits for a fulfilling and healthy life.

Here’s to Thanksgiving all year round!

Give the Gift of Experiences (Not Things) This Holiday Season

As you do your holiday shopping, consider buying experiences for the people on your list, instead of material things, if you truly want to make them happy.

An extensive amount of research has shown that experiences actually bring people more happiness than material goods, which can be explained by a number of reasons:

• The happiness spike for material items is short-lived, whereas experiences produce joy during the anticipation of the experience, the actual experience itself, and then from the memories afterwards
• Experiences tend to bring us together with other people, and social connection is another key to happiness
• Experiences often lead to better stories and conversations, helping us to relive the experience and bond with others (even if they weren’t there for the actual experience)
• Experiences are more likely to be defining moments in our life, and associated with how we see ourselves or who we want to be
• Experiences are often more unique and distinctive when compared to material items

So instead of a new shirt or watch, or even a new car, consider these gift ideas instead:

• A special meal
• Sports or concert tickets
• A trip
• Lessons to learn a new skill (sports, music, language, cooking, etc.)
• Theater, Movie, or Museum tickets
• A gym membership or exercise classes
• Wine tasting

Better yet, improve your relationship with the people on your list by taking part in the experiences with them. A dinner with friends or a night out to enjoy live music can be a lot more impactful and memorable than a new iPod or laptop.

If an actual experience isn’t possible or out of your price range, then opt for products that will lead to an experience. Experience-oriented products that help people learn or develop new skills (such as books, sporting goods, or musical instruments) have been shown to increase happiness and well-being.

Bottom line: Keep experiences top of mind this holiday season and you’ll make everyone on your list happier as a result!

The Sleep Routines of Successful People

Ever wonder how much sleep ultra-successful people get? Are they all super-human and able to operate on barely any sleep (unlike the rest of us)?

Well, it does appear that’s the case for some — for example, Donald Trump claims to sleep only 3 hours each night and PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi gets only 4 hours of nightly shut-eye. But the majority manage to get at least 6 hours, as you can see in the list below detailing the sleep habits of 10 highly successful people:

• Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX: 6 hours (1am — 7am)

• Tim Cook, CEO of Apple: 7 hours (9:30pm — 4:30am)

• Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft: 7 hours (12am — 7am)

• Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group: 5–6 hours (12–5/6am)

• Jack Dorsey, Co-founder of Twitter: 7 hours (10:30pm — 5:30am)

• Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL: 6 hours (11pm — 5am)

• Barack Obama, President of the United States: 6 hours (1am — 7am)

• Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO of Amazon.com: 7 hours (10pm — 5am)

• Ellen DeGeneres, TV Host: 8 hours (11pm — 7am)

• Donald Trump, Presidential Candidate: 3 hours (1–4am)

You can read more about their sleep habits, as well as plenty of other successful people, in this excellent infographic from Home Arena (a home store in the UK).

Although there is a range in the number of hours they sleep, there do seem to be some trends in their sleep habits. Most notably, everyone in the above list is a (relative) early riser, waking by 7am. The variance really comes in their bedtimes, with some turning in before 10pm while others don’t hit the pillow until the early am hours. It seems that those who manage to get more overall sleep tend to do so by getting to bed earlier.

Wondering how to establish a better bedtime routine for yourself?

A good first step is to establish and stick to a consistent sleep schedule, ideally going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day (including weekends). Also keep these tips in mind at night to set you up for a good night sleep:

• Read a real book (not on an electronic device) to help wind down

• Write down the 3 things you are most grateful for

• Write down the 3 things you want to accomplish the next day

• Turn off your cellphone (or put it on airplane mode) and other electronics

• Keep your room dark, quiet, and cool (between 60–67 degrees)

• Keep a notepad next to your bed to write down anything else on your mind

Here are over 30 more tips to maximize your sleep quality.

Whether the amount you sleep is closer to Donald Trump or Ellen DeGeneres, adopting a healthy bedtime routine will help you get the most out of your sleep.

Exercise Habits of Ultra-Successful People

What is one habit nearly all highly-successful people seem to have in common?

Exercise.

Exercise has been credited as Richard Branson’s number 1 productivity secretand the number 1 thing super-successful people do before 8am.

Here are exercise habits for some of the world’s most successful people:

• Barack Obama, President of the United States: Exercises for 45 minutes a day, 6 days per week. He exercises first thing in the morning, alternating between lifting weights one day and doing cardio the next
• Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group: Wakes as early as 5am to kitesurf, swim, or play tennis in the morning. He claims he gets 4 hours of additional productivity every day by keeping up with his consistent exercise schedule
• Mark Zuckerberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Facebook: Works out at least 3 days per week, usually in the form of taking his dog running first thing in the morning
• Anna Wintour, Vogue Editor-In-Chief: Wakes up at 5:45am so she canplay an hour of tennis every morning
• Condoleeza Rice, Former U.S. Secretary of State: Gets up at 4:30am to get in 40 minutes of cardio, usually on a treadmill or elliptical machine
• Mark Cuban, Owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks: Does an hour of cardio per day, 6–7 days a week. He does the elliptical and stair gauntlet, plays basketball, and takes kickboxing and other gym aerobic classes
• Tim Cook, CEO of Apple: Wakes at 4:30am and hits the gym several times per week. He also enjoys cycling and rock climbing.

Whether it’s running, tennis, or kitesurfing, these highly-successful people clearly prioritize exercise into their busy schedules.

If starting (or sticking to) an exercise routine is on your New Year’s Resolution list, consider following public heath recommendations to get in some type of moderate-intensity aerobic activity for 30 minutes at least five days a week.

Here are some additional exercise tips for optimal brain performance that are outlined in John J. Ratey’s best-selling book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

Exercise certainly seems to sharpen the minds of today’s top business leaders, and maybe it will help give you an edge in the New Year as well!

The Beauty of Blank Space on Your Calendar

It is very easy these days to find ourselves overcommitted and overwhelmed as we try to “fit it all in.” There are many demands for our time and attention, pulling us in a thousand different directions, and countless distractions to derail us from what really matters.

It is all too common to find ourselves busy nonstop throughout the day without any space for real thinking. After all, when our lives are so hectic, isn’t it an unrealistic luxury to set dedicated time aside for thinking and reflecting?

That is the default mindset for many, but author Greg McKeown provides an alternative viewpoint in his New York Times best-selling book, Essentialism (a fantastic book about doing less, but better, in all areas of our lives). He says,“The faster and busier things get, the more we need to build thinking time into our schedule. And the noisier things get, the more we need to build quiet reflection spaces in which we can truly focus.”

McKeown cites Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, who schedules up to two hours of uninterrupted time on his calendar every day. Weiner started this practice when back-to-back meetings began consuming his schedule. Initially, blocking out blank space felt like an indulgence, but now he credits it with being his single-most important productivity tool.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos follows a similar model. He has been known to keep two days per week unstructured in order to think, generate new ideas, and take a long-term perspective instead of getting buried in the day-to-day.

Another example is Bill Gates who has habitually taken a week off (twice a year) simply to read and to think. Just in case this only seems possible for Gates at this stage in his career, it turns out that his “Think Week” ritual dates back to the early 1980s and has been maintained during even the most stressful business times at Microsoft and his foundation.

As McKeown says, “No matter how busy you think you are, you can carve time and space to think out of your workday.” Maybe it could be first thing in the morning instead of checking email, or in the afternoon as an alternative to social media.

Whether it is two hours per day, two days per week, or two weeks per year, we need to make it a point to block out time specifically to think.

This space is vital in order to prioritize our life and work, and to focus our energy in the most meaningful areas.

But it will only happen if we deliberately design it into our calendar.