A Good Life Is Built on Ordinary Days

We are a product of our daily habits.

The small things we do every day usually have a bigger impact on our lives than the grand things we do once in a while.

That’s because habits compound.

A 30-minute run doesn’t transform your health. One healthy breakfast doesn’t change much. Reading a few pages of a book won’t suddenly make you wiser.

But do those things most days for years, and they start to shape who you are.

It’s similar to investing. The individual deposits don’t seem like much. The compounding is where the magic happens.

So when I think about living a productive, healthy, fulfilling life, I try to focus less on the macro and more on the micro.

What can I do today that makes today a little better?

Here are the daily habits that improve my life.

Wake up early

I recognize that some people are naturally early risers and others are night owls. But our modern world tends to reward morning people, especially if you work a job that gets going around 9am.

The earlier I wake up, the more time I have to live on my own terms before the demands of the day begin.

On weekdays, I typically wake up between 5:30 and 6am.

Coffee + stretch

I’m usually the first person awake in my house. One of the first things I do is make a cup of coffee and slowly go through a full-body stretching routine.

I don’t rush it.

I focus on my breathing and let my mind wander wherever it wants to go. Often, without consciously trying, I start thinking about what matters that day.

The combination of coffee and stretching wakes up my mind and body at the same time.

Read and/or journal

After stretching, I usually read a few pages or write in my journal.

If something is bothering me or I’m having trouble making sense of a situation, writing is often the fastest way to untangle my thoughts.

If my mind is calm, I’ll read.

Sometimes that means religious reading that helps ground me in values and how I want to live. Other times it’s simply a book I’m excited about.

A few quiet pages in the morning can influence the tone of the entire day.

Exercise

Once my mind and body are awake, I’m ready to move.

Most mornings that means a 30-minute run outside.

Running is exercise, but for me it’s also therapy. I’m almost always calmer, clearer, and more focused at work after I run.

I don’t push especially hard. The goal is to enjoy being outside, breathe fresh air, let my thoughts move around, and have some time alone.

I also lift weights once or twice a week and usually play tennis a couple of times per week.

The specific activity matters less to me than moving my body every day.

No phone for the first 2–3 hours

You may have noticed that none of my morning habits involve a screen.

That’s intentional.

I try not to check email or social media for the first two or three hours after waking up.

Those early hours are mine.

I can wake up, think, move, read, and decide what matters before I start responding to everyone else’s priorities.

Most days I first check email around 8am, roughly two and a half hours after waking.

Eat a healthy breakfast

After my morning run, I eat a high-fiber breakfast.

My usual bowl is oat bran mixed with psyllium husk, chia seeds, cinnamon, walnuts, and wild blueberries.

It’s not glamorous, but I like it, it fills me up, and it works for me.

That is probably a decent description of many good habits.

No meetings before 10am

I try to avoid meetings before 10am, and ideally before 10:30.

That gives me the first part of the workday to focus on whatever matters most.

I find that my entire day feels better if I make meaningful progress on my highest-priority task before getting pulled into meetings, messages, and other people’s agendas.

I’m happy to spend much of 10–12 in meetings. I just like protecting that first hour or so.

Eat a lunch that keeps my energy steady

For lunch, I usually eat something like a salad with grilled chicken, plenty of vegetables, nuts or seeds, and occasionally quinoa or farro.

I generally avoid a heavy lunch because I know what happens next: my energy crashes.

I’d rather finish lunch feeling satisfied but still alert.

When possible, I eat outside. Even a short break from the office environment helps reset my brain.

Walk after lunch

If my schedule allows, I’ll take a 10–20 minute walk after lunch.

There’s a peaceful path behind my office that makes this especially easy.

The walk helps me digest, gets me back outside, and creates a clean break between the morning and afternoon.

If I can’t walk after lunch, a mid-afternoon walk works too.

Drink water throughout the day

I usually keep a glass or bottle of water nearby.

I’m not obsessively tracking ounces or carrying around a gallon jug.

I just sip water throughout the day.

Simple, boring, effective.

No meetings after 4pm

When possible, I also try to avoid meetings after 4pm.

That gives me the final stretch of the day to finish important work, close loops, and leave the office feeling like the day actually ended.

There’s something underrated about walking out the door with a clear mind instead of five unfinished thoughts bouncing around your head.

Put the phone away at home

I usually get home around 6 or 6:30pm.

I might do one final email check before going inside, but once I’m home, I try to put my phone in what we call the “phone foyer” — a spot in the kitchen where it docks and charges.

The simple act of physically putting my phone away helps me be more present with my family.

Otherwise, it is far too easy for work email or social media to follow me around all night.

No email for the last hour before bed

I avoid email during the final hour before bed.

Very little good comes from discovering a work problem at 9pm.

Whatever feels urgent at night usually feels much more manageable the next morning.

Protecting the final hour of the day helps protect my sleep, too.

Read and/or journal before bed

I usually read for 10–20 minutes in bed.

Reading tends to make me sleepy in a way that scrolling never does.

If my mind is still active, I’ll journal instead.

Once a thought is out of my head and on paper, my brain seems much more willing to let it go.

Go to bed early

On weeknights, I’m usually asleep by 9:30 or 10pm.

I aim for roughly eight hours of sleep, so if I want to wake up at 5:30 or 6, the math is pretty straightforward.

That means starting to wind down around 8:30.

Not exactly a wild nightlife.

But it works for me.

I’m looser with all of this on weekends, and of course life regularly gets in the way.

That’s fine.

The point isn’t to execute a perfect routine.

It’s to have a collection of small behaviors you can return to again and again because you know they make your life better.

None of these habits are especially dramatic.

That’s actually what I like about them.

A good life probably isn’t built through a handful of extraordinary days.

It’s built through thousands of pretty ordinary ones.

My Philosophy on Diet and Exercise

There is a lot of complicated and confusing information out there about diet and exercise.

But that is primarily because “experts” want to sell books or patent their own method.

In reality, the true experts agree on the fundamentals that are most important for a healthy life. And that shared understanding is what is most important to know and incorporate into our own routines.

I have read countless books and articles about diet and exercise, and experimented for many years with what works best in my own life. After all of my learning and testing, here are my key takeaways on diet and exercise:

Diet

There is no doubt that diet plays a central role in health and vitality.

The one thing that all experts agree on is the bulk of your diet should be fruits and vegetables. If you follow just that one piece of advice and make fruits and vegetables at least 50% of what you eat, you will be light years ahead of most other people.

Eat a variety of whatever fruits and vegetables you like (the only things that don’t count are white potatoes or any type of fried vegetables like French Fries). There are valuable nutrients in all fruits and vegetables, so fill your plate with them. If you do that, you will also be crowding out most of the bad stuff.

The rest of your plate can be filled with healthy protein and whole grains. If you are vegan or vegetarian, you can get protein from all kinds of beans, nuts, and seeds. If you eat meat, it is fine to add in some fish, chicken, or beef. But meat should be considered a side dish or condiment, not the main course. Avoid processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and cold cuts.

Whole grains provide a great source of fiber. You can round out your plate with unprocessed whole grains such as oats, quinoa, or wild rice. Minimize processed grains such as bread and pasta, unless you are an especially savvy shopper and know how to avoid the junk (which is hidden in nearly all packaged bread these days).

Applying this philosophy, a great meal would be a large salad with lots of veggies, quinoa, and some salmon. Or a veggie stir fry over wild rice. Or oatmeal with a heavy dose of mixed berries and walnuts.

If you build your plate around fruits and vegetables, and round it out with healthy protein and whole grains, there just won’t be room for the real problem foods (such as white bread and pasta, and packaged sweet and salty foods). And even when you do indulge from time to time, it won’t be that big of a deal if you normally eat according to this philosophy.

As for beverages, drink water, tea, and coffee (without milk/cream or sweeteners ). A little bit of alcohol is okay, but limit it to a drink or two at night. Avoid sugary drinks such as fruit juice and soda.

This all probably sounds like common sense eating principles, and that is exactly the point. Stick with these basics and forget all of the other complicated stuff. You will be much healthier as a result.

Exercise

Movement should be an essential part of daily life.

The current exercise guidelines call for 150–300 minutes of exercise per week, which equates to about 30–40 minutes of exercise per day, assuming you exercise most days. I think that gets it about right.

I recommend dedicated cardio exercise for at least 30 minutes per day, with 1–2 off days per week (which would give you at least 150 minutes of exercise for the week right there). I personally go for a 30-minute run in the morning at least 5 days per week, but your form of exercise can be whatever you enjoy most (walking, swimming, cycling, etc.). And feel free to mix it up from one day to the next. I run at a moderate pace, just enough to make me breathe heavy and get a sweat going.

I also recommend some of your exercise be a bit more vigorous (in addition to, or in place of, some of your moderate exercise days). I turn up the intensity by playing squash 1-2 times per week, which taxes my body and my mind with the complex movements and strategy involved. You can dial it up a bit with a sport you enjoy (e.g. soccer, basketball) or any other type of workout that you like (Peloton, group fitness classes, etc.).

You should also build in some strength training and flexibility exercises at least two days per week. You could make this a part of your weekly routine by doing yoga and/or light weights on your cardio off-days (or lighter workout days). While the bulk of your workout routine should be cardio, incorporating some strength training will keep your muscles and bones strong, and flexibility training will keep your body loose and pliable (counteracting the cardio which tends to tighten you up).

To summarize, get at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise nearly every day. Dial up the intensity for 1–2 of the workouts. And round out your routine with strength training and yoga 1–2 days per week.

Beyond your dedicated workouts, use your body as your mode of transportation as much as possible. Walk or ride your bike to work or to the store if that is a possibility. Make it a habit of always taking the stairs. If your default mode is to use your body to get places, you will rack up even more meaningful physical (and mental) benefits.

If you do track your activity, a good goal is at least 10,000 steps per day (factoring in your dedicated workouts and all other activity throughout the day).

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There you have it — my philosophy on diet and exercise. This approach takes into account all of my learning and personal experiences, and is built around basic and highly-effective guidelines.

I truly believe if you eat and move in this manner, you will add energy to your days and healthy years to your life.

Andrew Merle writes about living well, including good habits for health, happiness, productivity, and success. Subscribe to his email list at andrewmerle.com.

The Note-Taking Habits of Highly Successful People

Want to know one common habit among successful people? 

They get things out of their head and down on paper (or some other note-taking device). 

In fact, Richard Branson has been known to carry a notebook with him everywhere he goes, and credits writing things down as one of his most powerful success habits. 

The billionaire founder of Virgin Group is not alone – here are some other examples of highly successful people who swear by note-taking:

• Bill Gates is an avid note-taker, preferring to use old-fashioned pen and paper, despite being celebrated for his computer genius.
• Entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss uses the Evernote app 10+ times per day for all of his note-taking, research, and brain decluttering (Adam Savage of Mythbusters is a huge fan of Evernote as well).  Ferriss previously detailed a highly-rigorous (and more old school) notetaking routine.
• Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is rarely spotted without her spiral-bound notebook.
• Two of J.K. Rowling’s most prized possessions are a pair of small notebooks, which contain her very first scribblings about Harry Potter.
• Taylor Swift immediately records a voice memo on her iphone whenever she has song ideas.

Note-taking (in various forms) is clearly as relevant today as it has been throughout history, when Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Pablo Picasso all relied on their pocket notebooks.  

Of course now there is no shortage of note-taking apps, from Evernote to OneNote to Google Keep, and beyond.  And there is a hot debate about whether note-taking digitally or by hand is superior - with pen and paper seeming to still have the edge for learning and information retention. 

This old-fashioned method has the support of productivity guru David Allen, author of the classic book Getting Things Done, who has said that “the easiest and most ubiquitous way to get stuff out of your head is pen and paper.” 

This tried-and-true system is still so popular because it “requires no power source, no boot-up time, no program-specific formatting, and no syncing to external drives and the cloud,” according to David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog. 

I prefer the analog approach as well.  I carry a pen and notebook with me wherever I go, opting for physical over digital for my note-taking.  I find that this method helps me focus and absorb the most important information, even if I sacrifice some speed and efficiency along the way. 

Even when reading books, I choose to underline key passages by hand, and then transcribe my top takeaways into a real notebook after I am finished reading.  And I always keep a notebook by my bed to get things out of my head for a peaceful night’s sleep. 

Whatever method you choose, the critical part is that you free your mind from excess information. Behavioral science expert Caroline Webb, author of the excellent book How to Have a Good Day, implores us to “Write it down as soon as it comes to mind. Use your intelligence for getting things done, rather than trying to remember what you need to do.”  She says it doesn’t matter if you use real paper or an electronic version, as long as you get your thoughts, worries, and ideas out of your head as soon as possible.  This is absolutely true for me – if I don’t write it down, I don’t remember it. 

Going a step further, Branson says that the most important part of note-taking is having the discipline to “go through your ideas and turn them into actionable and measurable goals.”  

That is what today’s most successful people are doing, and why Branson asserts that notetaking should be an essential habit of every leader. 

Duly noted.

Why I Love Reading Real Books

I read a new book every 2 weeks or so, which adds up to about 25 books per year.

As a rule, I always read at least few pages every day. Often it is a lot more than that. I squeeze reading in whenever I can — primarily weeknights before bed and then throughout the weekend.

Of course this pales in comparison to some notable voracious readers, such as Bill Gates (50+ books per year) and Warren Buffett (500+ pages per day).

I read books primarily to learn, grow, and feed my curiosities. This means that I mostly read non-fiction books about my passions of personal development, healthy lifestyle, and business/marketing.

While I certainly learn every day on the job, books are a gateway to deeper knowledge within my profession and a way to dive into areas unrelated to my day job.

My personality is best-suited to deep exploration of a limited number of subjects, rather than casually flipping from topic to topic. Therefore I greatly prefer reading full books over magazines, online articles, or any other type of micro-content. I highly respect the amount of time and expertise it has taken an author to research and craft a 200+ page book, and I relish the process of immersing myself in that one area for an extended period of time.

Since knowledge is my primary reason for reading books, I always read with a pen in hand so I can underline key passages as I go. Then, after finishing each book, I go back through the underlined sections and manually write out a ‘one-pager’ of my key takeaways in a notebook. I have been doing this for the past five years, which means I now have well over 100 one-page summaries of the books I’ve read. This makes it easy and convenient to go back and reference the points that resonated with me most.

I always feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment after finishing the three-step process of reading, underlining, and transcribing these one-pagers. It is at that point that I feel truly ‘done’ with a book and ready to move on to the next one.

This amount of effort might seem crazy to some people, especially since I am not being paid and nobody is asking me to do it. But reading books in this focused manner gives me so much joy precisely because it is what I want to be doing. Even after a long work day, I find it energizing to take on this additional learning during my ‘down’ time, because it is how I choose to spend the time.

I have found that there are typically one or two brilliant nuggets from each book that stand out from the rest, and those key insights often serve as the basis for my articles. Reading therefore not only fulfills my interests, but also serves as a springboard for sharing what I learn. I figure if these insights help me, they likely will help others as well, especially for people who do not have the time to read as many books as I do.

I always read real, physical books — I don’t own a Kindle, Nook, or any other type of e-reader. I spend most of my work day in front of a computer screen, so I choose to be digital-free during my reading time. Holding and reading a book relaxes and invigorates me — and it is one of the few activities that can cause me to totally lose track of time.

Some of my best days have been spent reading and writing, oftentimes in a book store or coffee shop (and disconnected from the internet and social media). While I certainly appreciate the convenience and cost-savings of Amazon, nothing beats the physical browsing and shopping experience of a real book store (and I’m clearly not alone, as evidenced by Amazon now opening physical locations).

I also make sure to read books to my children every night, in hopes of turning them into lifelong readers.

In case you are wondering, here are some of my favorite books:

Personal Development, Productivity, Healthy Lifestyle

• The 4-Hour Workweek and Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
• Are You Fully Charged? By Tom Rath
• Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind Edited by Jocelyn K. Glei
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
• Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
• The Blue Zones Solution by Dan Buettner
• Spark by John J. Ratey, MD

Business and Marketing

• Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
• The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott
• The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
• #AskGaryVee by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek
• Stand Out by Dorie Clark

If you are looking for additional reading inspiration, here are the Top 10 Business Books of 2016 as well as a few other top lists for 2017:

• Inc: 20 Life-Changing Books You Must Add to Your List for 2017
• Forbes: 10 Best Books for Entrepreneurs in 2017
• Fortune: 10 Business Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read in 2017
• TIME: Best Non-Fiction Books of 2017 So Far
• Stanford: 12 Business Books to Read in 2017
• Observer: 5 Books Bill Gates Says Will Make You a Better Person
• HuffPost: 33 Titles to Add to Your Shelf in 2017

Happy reading!

This is the Best Advice Tim Ferriss Has Ever Received

I had the opportunity to interview Tim Ferriss last week.

During the course of our conversation, he told me about the best advice he has ever received — advice he got as a teenager that has guided his life and career to this day:

“You are the average of the five people you associate with most.”

Since those teenage years, Ferriss has heeded this advice and gone on to amass four #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling books (including The 4-Hour Workweek and his most recent, Tools of Titans), over 150 million downloads of his podcast The Tim Ferriss Show, as well as highly-successful early-stage investments in companies like Uber, Facebook, and Alibaba.

Tim explained to me that carefully selecting his inner circle — both personally and professionally — has been essential to his success. “Choosing very carefully the people I surround myself with, or the people I work collaboratively with on projects, has been extremely critical,” says Ferriss.

It should therefore come as no surprise that Tim has partnered with Vince Vaughn for his latest venture — a new TV series called Fear{less} with Tim Ferriss, produced by Vaughn’s Wild West Productions.

The series will feature Tim in front of a live audience, interviewing world-class performers and business leaders (such as illusionist David Blaine and ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen) about how they have overcome fears and crafted unique paths to success.

Tim Ferriss and David Blaine / AT&T AUDIENCE Network

As interesting as this new series sounds, I was equally curious to understand what specifically led to Ferriss taking on a large new commitment. As fans of Ferriss know, he fiercely protects his time and says no to the vast majority of opportunities that come his way (and advises his readers and listeners to do the same). It turns out this opportunity was different — in large part because of who was involved, and how they engaged with him.

Ferriss was approached by Vaughn (a fan of Tim’s podcast) and AT&T exec Chris Long (the series airs on AT&T’s Audience Network) — both of whom had seen Tim’s TED talk on overcoming fear. Vaughn and Long explained that they were very familiar with Tim’s work, detailed what specifically they liked about it, and then asked him what he would like to do in television.

This means they came in prepared and framed up an opportunity in a way that would be relevant and beneficial for Tim. “It was a collaboration right from the outset, including someone I have been a fan of for a very long time,” says Ferriss.

At this stage in his career, not only does Tim carefully scrutinize who he works with, but he also prioritizes genuine, mutually beneficial collaborations. In this case, of course Ferriss is offering his time, talent, and name recognition, but he is also receiving significant value in return. He told me the entire series was filmed in a span of only two weeks, perfectly suiting Tim’s schedule (he famously likes to ‘batch’ activities), and enabled him to grow professionally by applying his podcast interviewing skills to a new visual medium, and in front of a live audience.

Trying new things in this manner also perfectly fits with how Tim defines himself. “I very genuinely view myself as a professional Dilettante of sorts,” he explains. He has literally built his identity around being a professional amateur and human guinea pig.

So what does this mean for the rest of us?

Of course we can’t all rub shoulders with Vince Vaughn and David Blaine, or fully dictate the terms of our work and lives.

But we can apply some of the same success principles as Ferriss. For example:

• Surround yourself and collaborate with the right people who truly value you
• Ensure each new commitment helps you grow personally or professionally
• Select new opportunities that align with your self-identity or personal mission
• Be mindful of your time commitment (and schedule disruption) for new ventures

Of course Tim is fortunate to now be in a position to take on only the most ideal projects. But it is clear that following this approach is what helped get him here in the first place.

Above all, remember that you are the average of the five people that you associate with most.

Make sure to choose those relationships wisely.

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“Fear{less} With Tim Ferriss” premieres May 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on AT&T AUDIENCE Network available on DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW and U-verse. Learn more at Tim.blog/fearless.

The Easiest Way to Make a Great First Impression

I tend to be fairly introverted when meeting people for the first time, especially in large group settings.

I often get nervous or anxious when first arriving to a party or industry event, particularly when I don’t know many people who will be there. It all seems a bit overwhelming and I typically think more about myself and if people will like me instead of actually enjoying the experience.

I usually warm up and relax after a little while, but I have always dreaded those first few moments. And the discomfort of the introduction phase has led me to avoid certain social situations altogether. Therefore, I have been on the lookout for ways to be more confident and at ease when meeting new people. And I know that this is critical because people decide whether they like someone within the first few seconds of meeting them.

Until recently, I haven’t had a go-to system when meeting people for the first time. But I have now learned that there are a few incredibly easy things to do to ensure a great first impression. It all comes down to three things, according to human behavior expert Vanessa Van Edwards: your hands, your posture, and your eye contact. In Van Edwards’ excellent book Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People, she details the three most important things you can do to make a powerful first impression.

Show Your Hands

“The absolute easiest thing you can do to improve your first impression is to keep your hands visible”, says Van Edwards. This means keeping your hands out of your pockets and in plain sight whenever you meet a new person. The simple sight of your hands puts people at ease and makes you seem more trustworthy, well-intentioned, and likeable. Van Edwards notes that job candidates who use more hand gestures in their interviews are more likely to get hired, and the most popular TED talkers use more than double the amount of hand gestures compared with the least popular TED speakers.

You also want to go in for the perfect handshake when meeting someone new. Van Edwards says the skin-to-skin touch of a handshake produces the trust-inducing hormone oxytocin, so make sure to opt for the full shake instead of a more distant wave, high five, or fist bump. Never pass on the opportunity to shake someone’s hand and make sure it is effective by keeping your hand dry, vertical, and firm.

Credit: Vanessa Van Edwards

If you keep your hands visible and give a great handshake, you are well on your way to a memorable first impression.

Stand Like a Winner

People like to be associated with winners, and we are sized up right away (like it or not) to determine if we look more like a winner or a loser. In fact, it has been shown that having a high degree of confidence is more important than reputation, skill set, or history to earn the trust of potential clients.

Standing like a winner means projecting confidence when first meeting someone. Van Edwards says the perfect posture (what she calls Launch Stance) includes the following four elements:

• Keep your shoulders back and down
• Keep your chin, chest, and forehead straight in front of you or slightly up
• Keep space between your arms and torso
• Keep your hands visible

Credit: Maggie Kirkland/Honeysuckle Photography

If you maintain this broad-stance posture when meeting someone new, you will showcase confidence and a winning demeanor, helping you to make a great first impression.

Make Eye Contact

The third and final element of making a powerful first impression is using the right amount of eye contact. Similar to a good handshake, eye contact produces the trust-building chemical oxytocin. We like people who look at us more, and therefore it is important to resist the urge to shyly look away when we meet someone new. People (myself included) often worry about making too much eye contact, but that is unlikely to happen. Van Edwards says that we should hold eye contact for 60–70% of the time when having a conversation with someone. It is especially important to hold steady eye contact during the first few seconds of an interaction.

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There you have it — implementing just these three easy steps significantly increases your chances of making a great first impression.

I certainly don’t expect to altogether eliminate my nerves or anxiety when entering a big social gathering or work event, but I am now able to change the way I approach these situations. By focusing on these three habits — visible hands, winning posture, and strong eye contact — I am now able to enter new situations with confidence and build trust right away.

These simple steps are helping me to make a memorable first impression, and I hope they do the same for you.

Wake Up With This 9-Minute "Snooze" Ritual

I pride myself on being a morning person and having a highly-productive morning routine. 

I consistently get 7-8 hours of sleep, religiously go for a 30-minute run in the morning, always make my bed, and even block out the first hour of my work day to tackle my single most important task.  

But I’ll admit that it has always been hard for me to get out of bed.  I have struggled with this for as long as I can remember. 

It has been common for me to set my alarm for 6am, only to snooze several times and not get out of bed until 6:30 or later.  Somehow the warmth of my bed just seems impossible to leave, even if I know that those 30 minutes of snoozing are not actually restful or restorative. 

To make matters worse, I also pride myself on time management, and yet I know that those 30 minutes of snoozing are a total waste of time. 

So I have been in search of an effective way to actually wake up when the alarm goes off.  And I think I have finally found the answer. 

I have learned that I need to ease into the day.  It is essential for me to have a bridge between the peaceful night’s rest and the commotion of the day.  I have found that there just isn’t anything that reliably causes me jump up and excitedly rush out of bed (other than realizing I’m late for a meeting!). 

Understanding this about myself, I started thinking about meditation as an ideal start to the day.  I know all about the benefits of meditation, and have tried to work it into my routine in the past, but have not consistently made time for this practice in my schedule.  There just has never seemed to be enough time in the morning to meditate, along with everything else I try to fit in before heading off to work. 

So that got me thinking about using my “snooze” period more productively.  It occurred to me that I could swap my snooze time for meditation time - if only I could get out of bed.  And then I thought to myself, “Why even get out bed?”  Maybe I’d be more successful waking up and sticking to a meditation practice if I removed the barrier of actually leaving my bed.  And that’s exactly what has happened. 

It turns out that my need for slowly easing into the day, interest in meditation, and love of maximizing time have all combined for the perfect wake-up solution. 

I still set my alarm for 6am.  And I still hit the snooze button.  But now that snooze button starts the timer for my meditation session.  I simply sit up in bed – a much lower threshold than actually getting out – and spend the snooze period meditating. 

My meditation is nothing fancy.  I sit up in a comfortable position with my back against the wall, supported by two pillows.  And then I just close my eyes and focus on my breathing.  Whenever I notice my attention wandering, I just bring my focus back to my breath. I do this repeatedly for nine minutes (the duration of one “snooze” on my settings) until the alarm goes off again.  And remarkably I have not once fallen back asleep. 

I’m sure this isn’t the textbook meditation technique, but I do know that I feel calm, centered, and ready to start the day after my 9-minute snooze meditation.  I then drink a glass of water (that I keep next to my bed), slowly get out of bed, and continue on with my morning routine. 

This simple process means that I am getting out of bed 20 minutes earlier than I previously was, all while fitting in a morning meditation, and getting into the right frame of mind to take on the day.  And I’m not sacrificing any quality sleep. 

This wake-up ritual is working wonders for me, and I thought it could be helpful for other habitual “snoozers” as well.  I hope it works for you.         

Here’s to a great morning!

Here's a Recipe for a Great Weekend

During the busy workweek, I tend to be pretty good at maximizing my time and productivity.  I enjoy the challenge of finding pockets of time amidst a packed schedule, and tuning out distractions in order to do my best work. 

But I have struggled in the past to create a great weekend routine.  The unstructured nature of weekends, and ample free time, has sometimes left me feeling overwhelmed or not knowing where to start.  I have always looked forward to weekends as the optimal time to have fun and relieve stress, but haven’t consistently spent my time in a way that produced these results.  Therefore, I wanted to take a more strategic approach to weekends in order to increase my enjoyment, relaxation, and regeneration. 

After much experimentation and research, here are the best habits I have found to maximize happiness and rejuvenation during those precious weekends. 

Consider this a recipe for a great weekend:

Avoid Work Email and Social Media

You will never gain perspective or fully experience life if you are constantly buried in email or scrolling through social media.  The weekend is the perfect time to disconnect – avoiding all work email and social media.  If this seems like a major step, consider implementing this for just one of your weekend days to start (Saturday has been the easiest day for me to apply this tactic).  In general, I believe in minimizing technology on weekends, but not eliminating it altogether – for example, you might want to call or text people to make plans, email an old friend, or relax by watching a movie on Saturday night.  All of these are perfectly acceptable and rely on some use of technology. 

Spend Time with Friends and Family

Celebrate the end of the week in the company of friends and family.  Social connection is the greatest predictor of happiness, and also vital to our health.  Our close relationships can get crowded out of the busy workweek, so it is critical that we make time for them on the weekends.  Make it a point to get at least one social activity on the calendar each weekend.  I have found it helpful to keep a list of people I’d like to see, and then reference this list as I schedule social outings for upcoming weekends.  Last-minute get-togethers can be great too, but they might not happen if you don’t plan ahead. 

Exercise

I am a huge believer in the mental and physical benefits of exercise, and the weekend is an excellent time to bring some variety to your workouts.  If you do the same gym routine or morning jog every weekday, try mixing it up on Saturday and Sunday.  Use the extra time to go for a long hike, bike ride, or even just a nice walk outside (or whatever other sport or activity you like to do, whether that’s spin class, skiing, tennis, or tai chi). 

Get Outside

It is all too common to spend most of our weekdays inside and in front of a computer screen.  So use the weekends to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air – if the weather is great or not.  I have found that my happiness is often proportional to the amount of time I spend outside.  Track how many hours you spend outside on Saturday and Sunday, and see if you can increase this number each weekend.  It will likely do wonders for your mood and outlook on life. 

Enjoy Good Food and Drink

I love a great meal and glass of wine.  Meals can sometimes be rushed on weekdays, so I like to slow it down and savor a great dinner on Friday or Saturday night (either cooking at home or going out).  I think of weekend meals as a special treat, and am always happier when I take the time to really appreciate them. 

Do What You Love to Do

This might seem obvious, but the extra time on weekends gives us the opportunity to do more of what we love to do.  I actually recommend the practice of writing out what you love to do (for me, this includes spending time with my wife and kids, traveling, watching sporting events, listening to music, reading, and writing).  Whenever I need some inspiration, I just reference the list of things I love to do and start doing them.  This list will be unique to every person, but spending more time doing what you love on the weekends will make for a very happy couple of days.  And I find that this good feeling often lasts well into the workweek.     

So there you have it – a recipe for a great weekend! 

If this list seems daunting, just think about how many of these elements can be combined together.  For example, you can enjoy a great meal in the company of friends, or make it a point to always exercise outside on the weekend. 

Incorporate these weekend ingredients into your life and make the most of your precious "off" days!  

Make Mine O'Clock Part of Your Morning Routine

In order to be successful, it is essential to make progress against your top priorities before responding to other people’s requests.

This means starting each day in proactive mode — doing the work that is most important to you before turning your attention to the ‘urgent’ needs of others.

I recommend protecting the first hour of each work day — what I refer to as ‘Mine O’Clock’ — and attack it on your own terms.

Taking this hour, every morning, to make progress against your short- and long-term goals will add up to big wins over time.

On the flip side, if you don’t guard the first hour of your day — and instead spend it responding to email or rushing off to meetings — your most meaningful work will get crowded out. The day will quickly be eaten up, and your energy drained, before you even get started on our own projects.

Take the following steps to make Mine O’Clock part of your morning routine:

1. Block off the first hour of every work day

• Set a daily recurring appointment in Outlook (or other calendar you use) so this time is preserved and shows others you are booked
• Do not schedule meetings or calls during this hour
• Respectfully decline or ask to reschedule all meeting/call invites during this hour, unless mandatory. If there are meetings scheduled during this time that are required, consider starting your day an hour earlier in those instances

2. Establish your daily to-do list in advance

• Limit it to 3 (or fewer) critical items
• I recommend writing out your to-do list the night before

3. Begin the day with your single most important task

• Find a quiet place to work where you will not be interrupted
• Start your day working on your single most important item. Once complete, move on to other critical to-dos from there
• Avoid email and social media during this hour

It might seem selfish to devote the first hour of every day to your own priorities, but this routine will actually increase your productivity and impact for your company.

And it is highly likely that your boss and co-workers will respect (and perhaps follow) your routine, especially when they see your increased performance.

Oftentimes you’ll accomplish more in the first hour taking this approach than you otherwise would all day. Completing something significant first-thing gives you momentum and can set off a chain reaction of high output throughout the day.

Just imagine how much more effective we would all be if we completed our most important task of the day first thing in the morning.

There are 8+ hours in a typical workday. Protect the first one for your most meaningful work.

Are you ready to make Mine O’Clock part of your morning routine?

Follow This 4-Step Routine Every Friday

Don’t make the mistake of treating Friday like any other workday.

Having a specific and intentional routine on Friday will set you up for a relaxing weekend and a successful following week.

Follow this 4-step process every Friday to maximize your productivity and peace of mind:

1. Block off your calendar for all of Friday afternoon

This means not scheduling any meetings or calls after 12 noon on Friday (trust me, your co-workers will thank you for this), and declining all invites unless they are absolutely critical (e.g. mandated by your boss).

With some open space on your calendar, now you will be able to close out the week on your own terms.

2. Spend 2+ hours working on unfinished top-priority tasks

If there are still any major outstanding items on your weekly to-do list — specifically ones that will cause anxiety and stress over the weekend — now is the time to tackle them.

Find a quiet place to work where you won’t be interrupted, and spend a couple of focused hours on these top-priority tasks, completing them or getting them into a good place before the weekend.

Once progress has been made against these big items, you can turn your attention to the little ones.

3. Spend 1 hour cleaning out your inbox

Scroll through your entire inbox for emails or calls that slipped through the cracks during the week.

If sending a response or giving a quick call back will only take a few minutes, do it right away.

Consider whether some of these items really need to be done at all. If they aren’t that important — and you will never actually get around to doing them anyway — just delete now and save yourself the stress of seeing them again.

Do make a note of any items that are important and require more time to complete, and will need to wait until the following week. It can alleviate pressure (and is a nice courtesy) to take a moment to quickly respond, saying you’ll get back to them with a more in-depth answer next week. This leads right into the next step.

4. Write out your to-do list for the following week

With a clear understanding of where things are being left off with all big and little items, you can now prioritize what you will do the following week (and equally as important, what you will not do).

It is critical to take time on Friday to write out your to-do list for the next week. Your top priorities will be much fresher than trying to do this on Sunday night or Monday morning.

This will also give you the peace of mind to know that your top priorities have been captured on paper, and will enable you to hit the ground running the next week.

Limit your weekly to-do list to no more than 3–5 essential items.

And that completes the fourth step of the routine.

* I know I said this was a 4-step process, but there is a bonus step that might be most important of all.

5. Leave the office early

At this point in the day, you have made progress against your major projects, cleared out as many minor-but-necessary items as possible, and set yourself up for a successful week ahead.

With a highly-productive Friday afternoon in the books, it’s time to get out of the office early.

Even leaving at 4 or 4:30pm will make your weekend feel significantly longer.

You deserve it!

Top 10 Business Books of 2016

I love to read business books that help me learn and grow, but sometimes it is hard to know where to start — especially because there are 11,000 new business books published every year.

To help narrow down my reading list, I went in search of the best-of-the-best business books from the past year. I researched just about every top media outlet that has been publishing “best-of-2016” lists, including Fast Company, Inc., Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, Success, and Amazon.

I then cross-referenced the lists to see which books showed up multiple times. It turns out that, among the seven lists I studied, only 10 books made the cut more than once.

That made an easy cutoff point for an overall Top 10 Business Books of 2016 list. A “list of lists,” if you will.

I figure that if more than one top business media outlet believes a book is among the very best from the past year, that book is certainly worth my time (and yours).

The order of the Top 10 below is based on the number of times that book showed up on the various media lists I examined. For example, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, is ranked No. 1 because it landed on five of the seven top lists I read, two more than the next closest competitor (the number of top lists for each book is listed in parentheses after the author’s name below).

For tie-breakers, I referenced the book’s ranking from the lists I researched, as well as customer reviews and ratings on Amazon.com.

If you keep reading past the overall Top 10 below, you will see the full list from each of the media outlets I studied (as well as links to Amazon to purchase any of the books).

Happy (and successful) reading in 2017!

TOP 10 BUSINESS BOOKS OF 2016

1. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth (5)

2. Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum by Neil Patel, Patrick Vlaskovits, and Jonas Koffler (3)

3. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport (3)

4. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant (3)

5. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (2)

6. Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Dr. Robert Cialdini (2)

7. Only Humans Need Apply: Winners and Losers in the Age of Smart Machines by Thomas H. Davenport and Julia Kirby (2)

8. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Startup Bubble by Dan Lyons (2)

9. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (2)

10. Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley by Antonio Garcia Martinez (2)

And now here are the Best Business Books of 2016 as selected by the top media outlets I researched:

Fast Company Top 10

1. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

2. Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice by Clayton M. Christensen, Karen Dillon, David S. Duncan and Taddy Hall

3. Here’s the Plan: Your Practical, Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood by Allyson Downey

4. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

5. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Startup Bubble by Dan Lyons

6. The Signals Are Talking: Why Today’s Fringe Is Tomorrow’s Mainstream by Amy Webb

7. Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future by Joi Ito and Jeff Howe

8. The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

9. The New Alpha: Join the Rising Movement of Influencers and Changemakers Who Are Redefining Leadership by Danielle Harlan

10. The Content Trap: A Strategist’s Guide to Digital Change by Bharat Anand

Inc. Top 10

1. Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent by Sydney Finkelstein

2. Only Humans Need Apply: Winners and Losers in the Age of Smart Machines by Thomas H. Davenport and Julia Kirby

3. Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum by Neil Patel, Patrick Vlaskovits, and Jonas Koffler

4. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

5. Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change: Inspire the People and Succeed Where Others Fail by H. James Dallas

6. Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp

7. If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy? by Raj Raghunathan

8. Hell Week: Seven Days to Be Your Best Self by Erik Bertrand Larssen

9. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

10. The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want by Dave Kerpen

Forbes Top 10

1. Keep It Simple: Unclutter Your Mind to Uncomplicate Your Life by Joe Calloway

2. Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

3. Scrappy: A Little Book about Choosing to Play Big by Terri Sjodin

4. Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Dr. Robert Cialdini

5. Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It by Dorie Clark

6. Gift-ology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals and Strengthen Retention by John Ruhlin

7. Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observation Skills by Jim Gilmore

8. How to Wow: 68 Effortless Ways to Make Every Customer Experience Amazing by Adrian Swinscoe

9. Dealstorming: The Secret Weapon that Can Solve Your Toughest Sales Challenges by Tim Sanders

10. All About Them: Grow Your Business by Focusing on Others by Bruce Turkel

Fortune Top 10

1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

2. Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

3. The Power of Broke by Daymond John

4. The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani

5. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Startup Bubble by Dan Lyons

6. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

7. Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum by Neil Patel, Patrick Vlaskovits, and Jonas Koffler

8. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

9. Building the Internet of Things by Maciej Kranz

10. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Financial Times Top 10

1. What Works: Gender Equality by Design by Iris Bohnet

2. Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Dr. Robert Cialdini

3. Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built by Duncan Clark

4. Brazillionaires: Wealth, Power, Decadence, and Hope in an American Country by Alex Cuadros

5. Only Humans Need Apply: Winners and Losers in the Age of Smart Machines by Thomas H. Davenport and Julia Kirby

6. The Innovation Illusion: How So Little Is Created by So Many Working So Hard by Fredrik Erixon and Bjorn Weigel

7. Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley by Antonio Garcia Martinez

8. Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism by Jeff Gramm

9. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

10. The 100-Year Life: Living and working in an age of longevity by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott

Success Top 5

1. A Paperboy’s Fable: The 11 Principles of Success by Deep Patel

2. Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum by Neil Patel, Patrick Vlaskovits, and Jonas Koffler

3. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

4. Chief Marketing Officers at Work by Josh Steimle

5. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

Amazon Top 10

1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

2. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

3. Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

4. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

5. The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly

6. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

7. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

8. Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley by Antonio Garcia Martinez

9. #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur’s Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness by Gary Vaynerchuk

10. Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives by Tim Harford

Overall, there are almost 50 unique titles from the lists above — plenty of excellent business books to keep us occupied in the weeks and months ahead.

Hope you find some books that you love!

Andrew Merle writes about living well, including good habits for happiness, health, productivity, and success. Subscribe to his e-mail list at andrewmerle.com and follow him on Twitter.

Why 10pm is the Perfect Bedtime

10pm is the perfect bedtime. 

Going to sleep at 10pm enables you to get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep, and still wake up by 5 or 6am. 

That means you can get in at least a 30-minute workout in the morning – a common habit among the most successful and productive people – and still be at work by 8 or 9am. 

With exercise out of the way, and an energized mind, you are poised and ready to tackle your most important task of the day - all before lunch. 

And when you do that, you’re playing with the house’s money for the remainder of the day. 

You see, I believe a successful morning routine actually starts the night before. 

Most people have commitments in the morning, so sleeping in is not an option.  That means the only way to get a full night’s rest – setting you up for a highly-successful day – is to go to sleep earlier the night before. 

Turning in at 10pm isn’t a major compromise.  It still means that you can have a pleasant and productive evening (family time, dinner, work, TV, reading, glass of wine, etc.) without rushing to bed. 

Even if you don’t get home from work until 7pm, that still means you have 3 hours to make the most of the night before heading to sleep. 

I find that a bedtime much earlier than 10pm really cuts into the evening, and a bedtime much later than 10pm cuts into sleep time and the ability to be effective the next morning. 

Of course this is based on a fairly typical schedule that can apply to most people. 

I fully recognize that there are circumstances (an extra-long commute, getting the kids off to school, etc.) that might require a different routine.  Or perhaps you’re a night owl without any demands in the morning.   

But the principle holds true – find that perfect bedtime balance that allows you to enjoy the evening and still have a great next day.  I believe that a 10pm bedtime yields that perfect balance.  

How about you?  What time do you go to bed and what is the routine that works for you?     

How To Have More Time

If you’re like many people, you feel starved for time.

This is a result of being busier than ever, more technologically connected than ever, and often spending our days rushing from one activity or obligation to the next. It is all too common to feel overcommitted and overwhelmed as we try to fit it all in.

Although the world shows no signs of slowing down around us, fortunately there are proven ways to rescue back some of our precious time.

Here are some great ways to create breathing room in your day:

• Buy time. One way to have more time is to buy it, as pointed out by Professors Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton in their eye-opening book Happy Money. “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,” according to Dunn and Norton. Yes, buying time costs money, but it is a great use of it.
• Cut down on 2 notorious time-suckers — commuting and watching TV. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans spend more than 100 hours per year commuting to work, which is more than a typical worker’s annual vacation time. Additionally, Americans spend on average about two 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.
• Stick to routines and simplify decision-making. This is the approach Steve Jobs took by wearing 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.”
• Block off time on your calendar. New York Times best-selling author Greg McKeown says that “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.” So proactively block off time to get the things done that really matter. Bill Gates, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner are just a few examples of people who habitually put this into practice, even during the busiest of times.
• Say “no” more often. As 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.”
• Unplug. Check email and social media fewer times per day. You’ll be surprised by how much more time you have when you disconnect and pay less attention to your devices.

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 these ideas.

Now what will you do with all of the extra time?

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!