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.

This Habit Will Change Your Life

What if there was one habit that could achieve all of the following:

• Improve your learning ability and grow brain cells
• Alleviate stress, anger, anxiety, and depression
• Increase focus, attention, and alertness
• Improve mood
• Build self-control, resilience, and motivation
• Boost confidence and social activity
• Reduce the risk of age-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other forms of Dementia

Not to mention strengthen your cardiovascular system, lower blood pressure, regulate glucose levels, reduce obesity, boost your immune system, and fortify your bones.

If one habit could do all of this, would you build it into your lifestyle?

It turns out that this habit does exist, and it has been scientifically proven to do all of the above.

This habit is called Exercise.

John J. Ratey MD details all of this in his best-selling book, Spark, calling exercise “the single most powerful tool you have to optimize your brain function.” Ratey is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a widely recognized expert in Neuropsychiatry, and has conducted extensive research to prove the remarkable effects of exercise on the brain. I highly recommend Spark for anyone who would like to better understand how exercise improves brain health.

But if you are short on time and just want to quickly know what to do, here is Ratey’s recommended exercise regimen for optimal brain performance:

• At a minimum, we should be following the Public Heath recommendations which call for some type of moderate-intensity aerobic activity for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.
• Going a step further, Ratey says it is best to do some form of aerobic activity 6 days a week, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Go on the longer side for 4 of the days at moderate intensity (65–75% of your maximum heart rate), and then 2 of the days should be on the shorter side at high intensity (75–90%). Make sure not to do the high-intensity days back-to-back in order to let your body and brain recover.
• For your aerobic exercise, activities like running, cycling, or swimming are great, but the best type of aerobic activity is really whatever you will truly be able to build into your lifestyle. If you haven’t been active in a while, the best way to begin is to start walking.
• On your shorter, high-intensity days, add some form of strength or resistance training to build muscles, strengthen bones, and protect joints (do 3 sets of your exercises at weights that allows you to do 10–15 repetitions in each set).
• Make efforts to mix in more complex activities that will build skills, challenge the brain, and help you stay agile — for example rock climbing, martial arts, gymnastics, dance, yoga, pilates, or balance drills. Racket sports are especially great because they simultaneously tax the cardiovascular system and the brain. According to Ratey, “The combination of challenging the brain and body has a greater positive impact than aerobic exercise alone.”
• Ratey talks up the benefits of exercising with other people. Social interaction is great for health, reduces stress, and boosts motivation. “Exercise cues up the building blocks of learning, and social interaction cements them in place,” says Ratey. So consider joining an exercise group to get going and keep you on track.

Overall, Ratey’s advice for people is to “get fit and then continue challenging themselves.” He advises to do something almost every day, but keep your program flexible and keep adapting to try new things.

Exercise is incredibly powerful for both the mind and body. We’re awake for at least 16 hours each day. Spending just one of those hours (or even half an hour) exercising will be the most important thing you do all day!

Why You Should Take Your Eye Off The Ball

Many of us become so focused and determined to reach a goal, that we create tunnel vision in our relentless pursuit of the end result. We know what we want to achieve and obsessively follow the steps that we believe are necessary to get there.

And this system works…to a point. This single-minded approach is often highly productive and reliable. Grit and drive will generate consistent results, and are two of the most important qualities for success.

But they don’t necessarily yield breakthrough innovation or creativity.

Take those qualities and add a willingness to explore things off of the expected path, and you have a formula that can produce greatness.

This is a concept that best-selling author Frans Johansson writes about in his book, The Click Moment, which is about seizing opportunity in an unpredictable world. Johansson says, “You need to take time, even schedule time, to explore things that are not directly related to your immediate goal. You need to take your eyes off the ball in order to see and connect the possibilities around you.”

One of the examples Johansson uses is Howard Schultz, who traveled to Italy in 1983 to attend an international housewares show to look at kitchen appliances, coffeemakers, and other items with the intention of bringing them back to Starbucks stores in the US (Schultz at the time was Starbucks Director of Retail Operations and Marketing). Starbucks was not selling coffee by the cup at the time, instead focusing on home-brewing equipment and specialty beans. But it was Schultz’s experience walking around Milan and stumbling upon the city’s popular espresso bars (including the friendly baristas, opera music, comfortable chairs, and café lattes) that gave him the “aha” realization that coffee was meant to be communal and social, enjoyed in a friendly and public atmosphere. “It was like an epiphany,” Schultz said.

Schultz, now Starbucks Chairman and CEO, brought this communal coffee concept back to the U.S. and, needless to say, revolutionized his company and the entire coffee-drinking culture in America.

Just imagine if Schultz had stayed focused on the housewares convention and not explored Milan.

Johansson says that if we always keep our eyes on the ball, we lose the ability to notice what’s around us, and miss the opportunity to make surprising connections. As he says, “We are conditioned to focus on the business at hand. There’s something satisfying about predictable, steady progress. But this approach makes it difficult to expose ourselves to the unplanned moments that enable us to uncover the ideas and opportunities that others have not.”

Here are some tactics that Johansson recommends to create and capitalize on moments of deliberate randomness:

• Schedule time to do something unscripted or unplanned (this requires leaving some flexibility in your schedule and not packing it with meetings)
• Explore and search for inspiration in fields, industries, and cultures different from your own
• Create diverse working teams (across functions, backgrounds, cultures, genders, ethnicities, ages, interests, levels in the organization, etc.)
• Organize social events
• Attend conferences, lectures, museums, and shows not directly related to your field
• Read 5 magazines you have never read before (and are not directly tied to your business)
• Take a day off
• Listen to and follow your curiosity

Some of this might seem like a waste of time and a distraction from the task at hand. And sometimes that’s right. In fact, most people probably think this way. But that’s also why you can have a competitive advantage by taking your eye off the ball.

So change it up, give yourself a break, and you might just put yourself in the position to create unexpected and game-changing discoveries.

Why You Should Do Your Work First, Others’ Work Second

I stopped checking my email first thing in the morning several years ago after reading Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek. He said that one simple change would be a life-changer, and it has been for me.

The reason why it works is because it enables proactive work first, reactivework second.

Even when we have clear top priorities for the day, checking email first thing can easily derail those plans by compelling us to react and respond to other people’s “urgent” needs. And before you know it, the day has been totally eaten up, and our energy drained, before we can get started on our own projects.

This is why Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, says “It would probably be best if managers went to the IT department and asked that email not be distributed between 8 and 11 every morning.”

The experts say that it is key to block off time in the morning whenever possible to do the work that is most important to you, including focusing on long-term projects without an immediate payoff. If you don’t build big-picture meaningful work right into your daily calendar, it will always get crowded out by the small stuff.

Best-selling author and researcher Tom Rath reinforces this point by saying,“What you will be most proud of a decade from now will not be anything that was a result of you simply responding.” He recommends to, “Manage your communications, online and offline, instead of letting them run your life. If you don’t, you will inadvertently spend a majority of your time responding to other people’s needs instead of creating anything that lasts.”

We are busier than ever and there are dozens of things every day to divert our attention, so it now seems that that maintaining our focus is actually our biggest competitive advantage. Entrepreneur Scott Belsky, named to Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business List”, says that “Whatever the future of technology may hold, the greatest leaders will be those most capable of tuning into themselves and harnessing the full power of their own minds.”

It is actually easiest to get sucked into a day of busyness and bouncing from one urgent thing to the next. Perhaps that’s why the best leaders and creative minds seem to agree that giving ourselves time to think, and focusing on our top priorities before others’ needs, is a key to long-term productivity and success.

In a world filled with distraction, I know that I’ll keep looking for ways to harness my attention and preserve more space to focus on the big picture. AsHenry David Thoreau said, “It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”

Now just imagine if there were no meetings and no email before 11am — perhaps that is the way of the future!

The Life-Changing Benefits of Coffee & Wine

This might be a bold statement, but I think coffee and wine might just have life figured out. And for 3 main reasons:

1. They slow us down — In a world where we’re busier than ever, moving faster than ever, and more connected (technologically) than ever, coffee and wine are the perfect beverages to balance us out because they slow us down. Both coffee and wine are meant to be sipped, savored, and enjoyed slowly. They relax us and settle the chaos, even if just temporarily. In a world where faster is often considered better, wine and coffee deliver the opposite — the perfect excuse to slow the pace and enjoy the moment.
2. They build relationships — Both coffee and wine are meant to be enjoyed with other people. You meet a friend for coffee or catch up over a glass of wine. Coffee and wine are relationship-builders because they are “activities” that happen between people, not just beverages consumed by people. It is often said that relationships are the most important thing in life, and how your life is best measured. And just think about how many relationships have been forged or developed with coffee or wine as the main facilitator.
3. They are healthy — OK, OK, in moderation. But many studies have shown that both coffee and wine have health benefits when consumed in moderation(1 glass of 5 oz. red wine per day for women, 1–2 glasses of red wine per day for men, 2–4 cups of 8 oz. coffee per day). When consumed in these amounts, both coffee and wine have been shown to increase life span, improve blood flow, reduce the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, and lessen the risk of depression, just to name a few of the benefits. There are plenty of articles and studies to support these claims, but here is just one from Time.com from March 2015 entitled, “Should I Drink Wine?” in which all 5 of their experts gave drinking wine a big thumbs up

And here is a great article that details nine specific health benefits of coffee, including everything from lowering the risk of Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, to reducing the symptoms of Parkinson's, to slowing the progression of dementia.    

In fact, in Dr. David Perlmutter’s book called “Brain Maker”, he notes that on the Greek Island of Ikaria, home to the highest percentage of 90-year-olds on the planet (not to mention 20% fewer cases of cancer, half the rate of heart disease, and almost no dementia), “they generally drink wine and coffee daily, stay active long past 80 years old, and remain mentally sharp to the very end.”

So while all of this doesn’t necessarily mean start drinking wine and coffee if they are not a part of your current routine, it probably means you can feel good about it if you already are!

And wine and coffee seem to solve a few of life’s big problems — I’ll drink to that! Cheers.

Disclaimer: I fully admit that wine and coffee are 2 of my favorite beverages. In fact I really only drink 3 types of beverages at all — coffee, wine, and water.

Why You Should Ask 10 Questions Tomorrow

Ask 10 questions tomorrow.

You’ll be amazed if you do.

You’ll learn something new, stimulate ideas, or be inspired. You’ll hear something that will make you laugh, make you think, or maybe change your life in some way (big or small).

Questions lead to conversations, and conversations lead to important and lasting relationships.

It all starts with a question.

Creativity and leadership expert Paul Sloane, author of 17 books includingThe Innovative Leader, believes that asking questions is the single most important habit for innovative thinkers. He says, “Brilliant thinkers never stop asking questions because they know that this is the best way to gain deeperinsights.”

But here’s the thing — A question is really only a question if you actually care about the answer. Questions are meaningless if you aren’t engaged or interested in the response. You can’t just absentmindedly check a box with this exercise.

Learning from others is a conscious choice. It is an attitude and a mindset. It is believing that there is something interesting on the other end of your question.

This is a concept that Bernie Roth, Co-founder of the Stanford Institute of Design, writes about in his inspirational new book, The Achievement Habit.Roth says, “Even on a subconscious level, people pick up on it when you’re asking throwaway questions. Don’t fill the space with them. If you’re going to ask your co-worker ‘How’s your day?’ be present for the answer.”

It is easy to go through the day focused internally or talking about ourselves, or believing we already know the answers. Or asking questions for the purpose of making ourselves look good, or jumping in to someone’s answer because we have something seemingly better to say. Roth cautions against this, saying “Even if you think you know what they will be saying or you have heard it before, don’t interrupt or tune out. Don’t be in your head preparing your reply while they are talking. Be willing to lose your thought no matter how brilliant it is.”

Other people shy away from asking questions because it could make them look unsure or uninformed. But having the confidence to ask questions is actually an indication of great strength and leadership.

Your worldview and perspective will only truly expand when you engage externally with sincere questions and conversation.

Whether those questions are directed towards your spouse, friends, co-workers, neighbors, or complete strangers, ask 10 of them tomorrow.

Maybe the answers will help solve a problem you’ve been struggling with, or spark a new idea, or entertain you for a few minutes. Maybe they’ll lead to a new relationship.

Genuine questions will certainly lead to something valuable.

No question about it.

How to Deal With a Frustrating Email

We have all been there before. An email comes in that makes your blood boil. Someone got their facts wrong, or accused you of something you didn’t do, or asked a question that just rubbed you the wrong way. Whatever it was about, the email had you fuming.

In this situation, the temptation is to fire back right away, going into attack mode to make things right and quickly get across your point of view.

Whatever you do, resist this temptation. Don’t respond right away. Even if it feels urgent.

In fact, the more annoying the email, the more important it is for you to take time before responding.

As best-selling author and human behavior researcher Tom Rath says, “When you face a brief psychological stressor, it helps to simply hit the pause button in your mind. The more something gets under your skin, causes your heart to race, and makes you breathe a bit more quickly, the more important it is to step back before speaking or typing a single word.”

Remember that an email is in writing and it is forever, so resist the urge to quickly get into a war of words. Taking time almost always brings more clarity of mind, and yields a more appropriate and productive response.

Harvard University neurology professor Rudy Tanzi has outlined a 4-step process to deal with these types of stressful situations:

1. Stop yourself from doing what your initial reaction dictated
2. Take a deep breath
3. Become aware of how you are feeling
4. Recall a past event that gave you a feeling of happiness and peace

Bernie Roth, Co-founder of the Stanford Institute of Design, cited this process in his new book about productivity and success, The Achievement Habit. Roth believes that it is only necessary to take the first three steps in most cases, but concludes that “taking a deep breath in any situation never hurts.”

Taking time before responding gives you better perspective on the situation, and will result in a more coherent response. Take a walk around the block, talk to a friend or family member, or do something else to calm yourself down. Give yourself at least an hour before writing back. And it might be best to take it off of email altogether, and instead handle it in person.

Taking a break before responding shows that you can control yourself and have a rational conversation, even when emotions are high. I have definitely been guilty of an all-too-quick response that only made things worse, so now I’ll be trying to think of the steps outlined above instead of hitting reply right away.

An angry email is almost always regretted!

Make Your Bed Change Your Life

 

I make the bed every morning as one of my household “duties.” Now, perhaps this task is expected of me, but I also know that it makes me feel better before heading off to work. And it definitely makes me feel better to come home to a neat and clean bed at the end of a long day, instead of a rumpled one. Pretty obvious, right? On the surface, it makes perfect sense why I (and many millions of others) perform this “chore” daily.

But I didn’t realize that the simple act of making the bed just might be the world’s easiest success habit. Not because it automatically brings upon fortune and fame, but primarily because it starts a chain reaction of other productive habits.

As Charles Duhigg notes in his fascinating book, The Power of Habit, “making your bed every morning is correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of well-being, and stronger skills at sticking with a budget.” Making your bed is what he calls a “keystone habit,” something that kick starts a pattern of other good behavior. And since it happens at the very beginning of the day, you’re apt to make better decisions for the remainder of the day thanks to your bed-making routine (exercise is another good example of this concept).

Navy Seal William H. McCraven, commander of the forces that led the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, echoed the same sentiment in his 2014 commencement speech at the University of Texas. He advised graduates, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

If success and productivity aren’t enough, turns out making your bed is also one of the most effective and easiest triggers of happiness. 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.”

So if you want to accomplish something first thing in the morning, set off a chain reaction of other success-building habits, and contribute significantly to your happiness, perhaps start by making the bed and then let the rest fall into place!

And it only takes a couple of minutes. Sounds like a good deal to me. Sweet dreams!

Why You Should Be A Morning Person

What is one thing most successful people have in common? They get up extra early and make the most of the morning. Here’s why:

Waking up early gives you time to think before the buzz of the day begins. To put it simply, the early morning is “you time” — a time to lay out your priorities for the day and make progress against them, before others are demanding your time and attention. It puts you firmly in control of each day.

Of course it is awfully hard to get out of bed, but that’s exactly why early risers have the competitive advantage over everyone else. They tackle the day while others hit the snooze button.

Here are just a few examples of ultra-successful early risers:

• Virgin Founder Richard Branson wakes up at 5:45am, even when he’s on his private island, and uses the morning for exercise and breakfast before starting work for the day
• First Lady Michelle Obama starts her day at 4:30am for a workout before her kids wake up
• Apple CEO Tim Cook gets up at 3:45am every day to catch up on email, hit the gym, and make a Starbucks run before heading to the office
• Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz gets up at 4:30am to get a workout in (often a bike ride with his wife) — and of course to make some coffee to get his day going
• Disney CEO Bob Iger rises at 4:30am and uses the early morning to read the paper, exercise, listen to music, catch up on emails, and even watch TV
• Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour wakes at 5:45am to play an hour of tennis before work demands hit
• GE CEO Jeff Immelt wakes up at 5:30am and gets in a cardio workout while reading the paper and watching CNBC

Did you notice another consistent trend among all of these ultra-successful people? Everyone’s morning ritual includes exercise as a key component.

In addition to the overall health and fitness benefits, studies have shown that moderate-intensity exercise for 20+ minutes produces a mental and emotional boost for the following 12 hours! This means that these business leaders are likely more clear-headed, effective, and productive at work as a direct result of their morning workout. The exercise time also allows them to think and problem-solve without interruption, so they hit the ground running once they get into the office. Morning exercise is an incredibly efficient use of time.

In addition to waking up extra early and exercising, here are a few more morning habits to get your day moving in the right direction:

• Drink 16 oz. of Water Upon Waking — Rehydrate after your 7–8 hours of sleep
• Make Your Bed — Making your bed every morning is correlated with better productivity throughout the day
• Eat a Healthy Breakfast — Fuel your body for the demands of the day (led by energy-packed fruits and vegetables)
• Drink 1–2 Cups of Coffee — Give yourself a morning boost while reaping the proven health benefits
• Catch up on the News — Use the quiet time to know what’s happening in the world around you
• Prioritize Your Day — Establish your top priorities and think about how to tackle them

All of this sets you up for success before your “work day” even begins, whatever form that may take for you. Being a morning person isn’t reserved for just C-level execs. Everyone will benefit from implementing these good habits.

Think it’s not possible for you because you need the extra sleep? The experts would say to get to bed earlier the night before to make the early wake-up call tolerable.

These tips and success stories help motivate me to get out of bed when all I want to do is sleep a bit more, and hopefully they also inspire you to make the morning your secret weapon!

Benefits of Morning Exercise

I never go into a big day without running first thing in the morning.

There is no doubt that running in the morning makes me better at work throughout the day — I think more clearly, multi-task better, and overall have a more optimistic outlook on work and life.

Knowing I’ll be sharper all day is exactly the motivation I need to get out of bed at 6am when sometimes my body is screaming for more sleep. The overall health and fitness benefits are nice bonuses, but it’s really the mental benefits that keep me running each morning, day after day.

Morning is also the time when nothing else gets in the way. When I used to put off working out until later in the day, something would inevitably pop up — being buried in work, an unexpected meeting, last-minute requests, a co-worker’s birthday celebration, or just general laziness and fatigue. But nobody is looking for me at 6am (helped by the fact that I don’t check my iPhone before lacing up and heading out)!

I find that my morning run also gives me a great opportunity to think about the day ahead and my top priorities. Sometimes this gives me the aha moment I need to have a breakthrough at work, and at the very least it gives me a chance to think about things — work or personal — without being interrupted or distracted. Once I get to the office, the day is often jam-packed with meetings, conference calls, and other demands. So my morning run really sets the tone and calibrates me for the day ahead.

And I see all of these benefits with just a 30-minute run at a very manageable pace (9–10 minute mile). I rarely run any longer on the weekdays, but it’s all I need to feel better for hours and hours after the run finishes. Maybe it’s mental, but now when I don’t run, I feel lethargic, cloudy, and more irritable. My thinking isn’t as crisp and I’m sure my friends, family, and co-workers notice a difference in my attitude.

I will admit it is really hard to actually get out of bed, but once I do, it’s pretty easy to throw on a pair of shorts, t-shirt, and running shoes and go out for a 30-minute jog. Even on days when I’ve slept poorly the night before, I find that pushing myself to go out for the run actually makes me feel better than if I would have gotten an extra 30 minutes of sleep. But I definitely highly value my sleep and aim for 8 hours per night if possible (asleep by 10pm).

And it’s a nice bonus that I run in the mornings with my wife and push our 2-year old daughter in the running stroller. So it makes for a little extra family bonding time.

I started running in the morning about 10 years ago and it has changed my life and career. So I wanted to share my routine just in case it might be right for you too.

I’m sure there are other forms of excercise that produce similar mental benefits, but running is what I do and what works for me — Inexpensive, limited equipment, and available right outside my door. But first thing in the morning is the key.

I just finished an inspiring new book by Tom Rath called, “Are You Fully Charged?”, and in it he notes that just 20 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise has been shown to improve mood and make people feel better for 12 hours afterwards. So I’ll include a short passage from his book to finish this post that sums up why I run in the morning — hope it helps!

“Working out in the evening is better than no activity at all, but if you work out late in the day, you essentially sleep through and miss the boost in mood that exercise produces. The more activity you get in the morning, the less likely that 12-hour mood boost will go to waste…Instead of thinking about exercise in the morning as something that will drain your energy, as it sometimes does over the first few days of a new routine, keep in mind that it will eventually give you more energy throughout the day. Even brief activity can produce major gains in creativity and productivity. You simply think better when you are active.”