Bulletproof Confidence

2 MANUSCRIPTS
Overcoming Your Self-Doubt and
Improving Self-Esteem - Effective
Time Management & Goal Setting
Strategies to Being More Organized at
Work and Home

© Copyright 2018
By Nick Jones & Ernest Brown
All rights reserved.
 © Copyright 2018
Nick Jones & Ernest Brown

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“To become a master at any skill, it
takes the total effort of your: heart,
mind, and soul working together in
tandem.”
- Maurice Young
 CONTENTS

SECTION ONE: TIME MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIES- NICK JONES
Introduction
Chapter 1: What is Time Management?
Goals and Objectives
Effective Planning
Deadlines
Delegating Duties and Responsibilities
Setting Priorities
Spending Time Wisely
Respecting Personal Time
Effective Time Management
Chapter 2: Why is Time Management So Important for Entrepreneurs?
Improved Decision Making
Stress Relief
Working Smart
Limited Resource
Acquired Discipline
Achieve Success
Growth Opportunities
Chapter 3: The Problem of Multitasking
Is It Really Working?
Hinders Creativity
Increased Stress
Damage to Your Brain
Distraction, Depression, and Anxiety
What to Do About Multitasking
Chapter 4: Why You Cannot Get Anything Done?
You Love to Multitask
 It Is Not My Fault
Giving in to Distractions
Daydreaming
Obsession
Inability to Say NO
Self-Improvement, or Not!
Chapter 5: Where Did Your Time Go?
Disorganization
Gossip
Anxiety and Worry
Emails
Procrastination
Keeping Up with News
Social Media
Toxic Relationships
Taking Shortcuts
Chapter 6: Time Saving Strategies
Tracking Your Time
Establish a Hierarchy of Tasks
Start Your Day Early
Internet Usage
Managing Expectations
Grouping Tasks
Your Work Schedule
Meetings and Conversations
Chapter 7: Building a Rock-Solid Routine
Tips for a Successful Routine
Creating the Routine
Importance of a Routine
Chapter 8: Taming Your Tools
Choosing the Right Time Management System
Organization
Respect Your Productive Time
Using the Right Planning Apps
Appreciate Your Breaks
 Free Yourself from the Digital World
Taking Detailed Notes
Chapter 9: Priorities and Goals
What Is Important to You?
Identify Growth Drivers
Embrace Quality Communication
Assigning Timelines
Appreciate Progress
Priorities Can Change
Stay True to Yourself
Working with Mentors
Chapter 10: Sharpening Your Planning Goals
Brainstorm
Focus on the Bigger Picture
Take Notes
Organization
Vision Boards
Invest in Yourself
How to Achieve Your Goals
Chapter 11: Planning Ahead and Avoiding Distractions
Personal Accountability
Identify the Sources of Distraction
Preparation
Clear Your Workstation
Keep Your Door Shut
Working Offline
Taking Breaks
Listening to Music
Improve Your Concentration
Set and Implement Deadlines
Working After Hours
Chapter 12: Procrastination
Why Do You Procrastinate?
Overcoming Procrastination
Dealing with Procrastination
Chapter 13: Making the Most of Your Time
Planning
Managing Yourself
Setting Priorities
Stay Focused
Trust Your Instinct
The Importance of Delegation
Slow Down
Account for Your Time
Conclusion

SECTION TWO: MINDSET FOR SUCCESS-

ERNEST BROWN
Introduction
Chapter 1: Embracing the Philosophy of Growth Mindset
What is Growth Mindset
How to Develop a Growth Mindset
Chapter 2: Avoid Distractions
Why Do You Need to Avoid Distractions?
How to Get Rid of Distractions?
Chapter 3: Stay Focused
What Does the Term ‘Focus’ Mean?
How to Achieve Focus in Your Tasks?
Chapter 4: Practicing Good Habits
Why Is It Important to Develop Good Habits?
How to Develop Good Habits?
Chapter 5: Appreciate Your Manifestation Power
What Is the Power of Manifestation All About?
How Is Gratitude Relevant for Implementing Your Manifesting Power?
Swap ‘I Have to’ for ‘I Get to’
Be Grateful for the Smallest of Things
 Working on the Power of Manifestation
Chapter 6: Increase and Reinforce Your Knowledge
How Is Increasing Knowledge Linked with the Growth Mindset?
How to Increase and Reinforce My Knowledge
Chapter 7: Stimulate Your Creative, Intuitive Mind
Why Do You Need to Stimulate Your Creative Mind?
Chapter 8: Conduct Manifestation Experiments
7-Step Manifestation Experiment
What Will You Need for This Experiment?
Chapter 9: Track Your Manifestation
Why Do You Need to Track Your Manifestation?
Chapter 10: Perform Active and Passive Affirmations
How to Write an Affirmation
How to Make Your Affirmations Work
Chapter 11: Self-Guided Meditations For Manifestors
How to Use Meditation for Achieving Your Manifestation Goals
Chapter 12: Build Positive Expectations
Building Positive Expectations
Positive Affirmations
Visualization
Surround Yourself with Positive People
Devour Some Positive Mental Meals
Positive Training
Law of Attraction
Conclusion
 Time Management Strategies

Learn How to Stop Procrastination and

Master Productivity Hacks to Gain Self-
Confidence, Self-Discipline Hacks for
Leadership Habit Stacking & Greater Joy in
Life

Written By

Nick Jones
 Introduction
Time management is an important skill that determines whether you
succeed in life or not. You have an infinite amount of time. What you do with
it today will determine how much of it you can enjoy in your later years.
You have dreams and aspirations that you want to come true at some point
in the foreseeable future. These dreams can only come true if you devote
your time and energy towards making them a reality. Procrastination is one of
the biggest threats standing in your way. A lot of people struggle with it, very
few ever own up to it.
Procrastination is nothing to be ashamed of. People have been
procrastinating since the beginning of time. However, those people are not in
your future. They are not in your plans, and they do not feature anywhere in
your goals.
You have tools in your grasp that can help you to win the war against
procrastination. You have access to tools and systems that will help you be
organized, focused, and allow you to change the way you go about your day.
By changing your perspective, you have a better shot at realizing your dreams
earlier than you had planned. This also means you have more time to enjoy
your success.
In this book, you will learn some of the challenges people endure each
day, and how to deal with them. You will learn simple steps that you can
take, changes that you can utilize in your daily plan, and therefore realize
huge returns. You will master the art of improving your productivity. This is
not rocket science, but simple, reasonable, and achievable things that you can
do.
 At the end of this book, you will have realized where you lose time, some
of the things you do which are unnecessary, and how to win back your time.
You will learn how to start your day the right way. You will learn how to end
a hectic day without feeling frustrated. You have the tools to help you be
more productive at work, improve the quality of your life, and gain self-
confidence.
You have all the tools you need to become successful in life, and all you
need to do is manage your time!
 Chapter 1: What is Time Management?
If you ever want to succeed in all aspects of your life, you must understand
and appreciate the importance of time. In the recent past, you have heard a lot
of people mock and ridicule a popular phrase about everyone having 24 hours
a day. This is a statement often made by people who seem to have made it in
life, encouraging others to use their hours in the day wisely.
There are different ways to look at this. For a fact, someone who has many
people working for them in various aspects of their day honestly does not
have the same 24 hours as someone who is doing everything on their own. If
you have people working for you, you have a few hours from each of them
every day, so your level of productivity is different from someone who works
on their own.
However, there is still a lesson in time management here. It is very easy to
have lots of people lending you their hours daily but still fail to achieve
anything noteworthy. Other than the element of altruism that comes with that
statement, one thing that you should take from it is the importance of time
management.
Time management refers to your ability to use your time wisely and
effectively so that you apportion the right time to the right activities. This is
primarily about priorities and goals. Like most resources, time is limited, and
you must use it wisely. You do not want to wake up one day and wonder why
you are not making progress in life.
In time management, you have to prioritize tasks in order of their
importance, allocate more time to jobs that demand more time, and so forth.
Do not spend a lot of time on things that you can get done in a short amount
of time. Time management is not just something you practice to appease your
employers or your workmates, but it is something that, when you master it,
will be very important, even in your personal life.
The following are some of the elements that are involved in time
management, which will help you to make the most use of your day, and to
become more productive if you handle them well:
 Goals and Objectives

If you do not have any goals or objectives, what are you working to
achieve? You would be no different than a captain of a ship wandering at sea,
allowing the wind to take him wherever it pleases.
By setting goals and objectives, you are merely giving yourself targets that
you have to achieve. Meeting these targets goes a long way towards making
sure you succeed in life. It is the little milestones you accomplish that
eventually set you apart from everyone else.
Besides, having something to work towards also helps you account for
your time. You know at the end of the day whether it has been a success or
not, given how much of what you set out to do you have accomplished. This
also helps you determine how much more you need to do the next day in case
you did not manage to complete all your tasks for the day, or if you need to
put in extra hours that evening to push results.
 Effective Planning

Managing your time also calls for effective planning. Planning is about
preparing a blueprint for the day, and how to go about it. When you set goals
and objectives, you have already determined your destination for the day.
With planning, you decide how to get there.

Like most people, you might have many things that you need to get done
before that day is over. However, you cannot achieve them all at once. You
need to find a way of accomplishing each task one by one.
You must allocate the right amount of time to each task. Plan for the
challenging tasks earlier on in your day, while you are still fresh and have the
energy to tackle them accordingly. Unless you have completed a job, do not
start on something else. It is always wise to finish one task before moving on
to another, lest you end up with a pile of uncompleted tasks, which can lead
to confusion.
 Deadlines

One thing that is obvious with plans and setting goals and objectives is a
deadline. You need a timeline within which you have to complete a specific
task. You cannot do one thing forever unless you have mastered the art of
procrastination, which is eventually detrimental to your life.

While planning is vital to meet your goals and objectives, setting deadlines
is equally essential. Deadlines help you to push your limits, get that drive
needed to get you across the finish line. Working hard enough to beat your
deadlines is critical.
Meeting or beating deadlines usually makes you feel good about yourself,
bestows some self-confidence upon you and, in some cases, even makes you
feel invincible. You also get to know how well you perform under pressure,
and whether you can channel this to better use.
If you consistently set deadlines for all the work you set out to accomplish
each day, you will soon have a good idea of how much time to spend on each
task. Over time, you can confidently give assurances on how much time you
need for any assigned work, and therefore become a dependable person.
 Delegating Duties and Responsibilities

However much you love to believe you can succeed on your own, that is a
lie. Success is a collaborative effort. You must learn and be willing to work
with those around you to succeed in life.
There are things that you will have to delegate to others to help you
achieve the higher goal. You must learn to build a successful team around
you, a group of people who are capable, focused, and working towards the
same goal as you.
The delegation of duties is an integral part of time management. You set
aside tasks for people around you depending on their abilities and skills. You
must, therefore, understand and know their strengths and weaknesses.
Specialization in itself is a strength you must possess. Assigning the right
duties to the right person and at the right time allows you to achieve your
goals faster.
Remember that point we mentioned earlier about having the same 24
hours? It is not just about literally having 24 hours in a day. It is about
managing the 24 hours that people in your circle offer you over the course of
a day.
 Setting Priorities

What is more important and what is it on your list of things to do that can
be achieved much later? Time management is also about setting priorities.
Some things have to be completed before others.
When it comes to priorities, you need to understand the difference between
urgent stuff and important stuff. Something might be compelling, but it is not
essential. In this case, you can shelve it for a while, given the nature of your
goals for that day.
When setting priorities, you have to look at your goals and objectives.
What tasks do you feel need to be given top priority, considering what you
want to achieve in the long run? By setting priorities, you also have a better
shot at creating an effective plan for your day.
 Spending Time Wisely

Since you already have things worked out, how you go about them will
make a big difference. Your goals and objectives are clear. You have
prioritized the tasks on how to accomplish them, and you already have a plan.
All you need is to set things in motion and check them off your list one by
one.
You need to know how much time each activity demands. Get into the
habit of doing things at the right time and completing them when they are
supposed to be. There is a good reason why you should be completing some
tasks as and when you are supposed to.
More often than not, tasks that you complete later than they were supposed
to eventually have no use. You will have ended up wasting a lot of your time
in the process. Why are you spending a whole day working on something you
can finish in an hour? You will not just be wasting time on that task, but you
will have wasted time on other things too. Time wastage sets you back
because your work will spill over into the next day, which means you start
that day on the backfoot.
 Respecting Personal Time

Do you give your personal time the respect it deserves? Do you even plan
for personal time? The importance and need for private time is lost on a lot of
people. Even if they do make time for it, they do not know what to do with it.
So, what is personal time? Personal time is the period you set aside for
yourself. It is time you check your social media profiles and do other things
not related to your schedules or goals for the day. This time demands as much
respect as the time you devote to your work.
Taking personal time is essential as it helps you rejuvenate and feel fresh.
It helps you to learn to be a friendly person. You do not exist in isolation.
You cannot wish away the impact of social media and other things that your
social circles involve. These are important contributions to your overall
wellbeing.
You should set aside this time away from your work hours so that you do
not interfere with your productivity. It is easy to delve into social media and
get carried away. A few minutes of checking out an interesting photo or post
could lead to spending hours of your day reading interesting long threads on
Twitter or Facebook, and before you know it, the day is gone.
 Effective Time Management

To succeed at effective time management, you must organize yourself.

You must learn to follow instructions, at least starting with the ones you set
out for yourself. There is an order of doing things that you must immerse
yourself into. Start your day early. Starting early helps a great deal. Starting
your day early means that you also sleep early.
Early in the morning, get a few minutes of exercise. Exercise will give
your body that jolt of energy that keeps you going. Have some fruits or fresh
juice in the morning, or whatever it is that keeps you fully energized. Do
something constructive even in your free time. Read a book.
Have a positive mindset. Avoid all defeatist thoughts. When you set out to
achieve anything, go about it knowing that you can do it. More importantly,
set plans and goals for your day that are achievable, and realistic.
 Chapter 2: Why is Time Management So
Important for Entrepreneurs?
As an entrepreneur, you consistently take risks and make decisions that
affect a lot of people. You do all this with a bigger purpose: to succeed. For
those who manage a large workforce, you have to deal with and manage time
for a lot of people. This is one reason why time management should be an
essential part of your life.
More often you come across people making excuses for not making it on
time or completing tasks on time, or perhaps the job was too difficult for
them to handle within the given timeframe. Why does this happen? As an
entrepreneur, you cannot afford the luxury of wasting time. Once you spend
time, you can never earn it back.
There are so many ways of managing time in your life as an entrepreneur.
This is a factor that, when managed efficiently, can make the difference
between success and failure. Today some programs are specifically designed
to help you manage time better and manage your staff better. Given all the
effort that is put in place to manage time, have you ever wondered why time
management is crucial for you as an entrepreneur? Other than the apparent
success-driven approach, here are some reasons why you should learn to
manage your time:
 Improved Decision Making

Whether you are getting help from one of your managers, or you have a
list of things that you need to accomplish and cross off your own list, time
management helps you with decision making. You become a better decision
maker when you are in control of your time.

If you do not have sufficient time, you find yourself in a situation where
you constantly have to make a rash decision without thinking it through. This
is not good for your business. You make hasty decisions on gut feelings, and
there is not much thought involved. You can make an awful choice in a split
second, and regret it later on.
Managing your time allows you sufficient room to think clearly, weigh
your options, and make the right move. You will avoid jumping to
conclusions and making decisions out of poor judgment. Making the right
call at the right time can make or break your career as an entrepreneur.
Therefore, learn to manage your time well, and leave decision making to
moments when you think clearly, if possible.
Proper time management also eases the pressure off you. You do not end
up feeling you have a short amount of time to make a decision or to complete
a given task. You are entirely in control, your body is well relaxed, and you
can revel in the choices you make.
 Stress Relief

One of the challenges behind struggling to accomplish so much in a short

time is that your body is under undue pressure. The strain gets to you, and
before long, this affects your health. A lot of entrepreneurs struggle with this.
They take on too much for their bodies to handle and it never ends well.

Of what use is all your hard work and success if you have to spend all that
money on medical bills? You need to enjoy your success. Your family needs
to appreciate the person you have become. It all starts with time management.
Managing your time well means that you will have a lot of time on your
hands to spend with those who matter. You have enough time to relax, take a
walk, exercise, immerse yourself in the lives of the people who matter,
without feeling pressured to do so.
How many entrepreneurs have you come across or read about who gained
quite a fortune in their endeavors, but have always struggled to find peace
when it comes to personal relations, even with their families? These are
things you cannot take for granted, and it is in your best interest not to.
Staying in control of your time means you barely have to worry about
stress. You will not feel rushed. You will not be overwhelmed by some of the
tasks you have to accomplish. You will free yourself from the bondage of
straining each day, and you will meet your deadlines.
 Working Smart

One thing you notice with entrepreneurs who have made it in life is that
they barely work hard. Instead, they work smart. This is not just one of those
phrases thrown around to inspire people into entrepreneurship; it is a reality.
Managing time properly allows you a lot of room to focus, think about
what you want to do and how to go about it. In time, you will learn how to do
so much within a short period. How is this possible? You can address this in
many ways. One that most entrepreneurs understand so well is to delegate
duties. Choose the right person for the job, and you will have it completed
faster, and efficiently.
When you have people doing things to make things work for you, you get
the momentum to keep going. You see things working around you, and deep
down you know you have the right people working with you. So, what do
you do with the additional time earned from this?
You could think of ways to expand into other ventures. You might look
into scaling up your operations. The time you have gained by delegating
duties to others can be used for other things. You can also choose to refine
your entrepreneurial skills or leadership prowess by enrolling in a class to
learn something new.
 Limited Resource

Time is limited, and however much you try to utilize it, you can never
really have all the time you need in the world. Time is like a cake. Whichever
way you want to slice it, it will always run out. To succeed in life as an
entrepreneur, you must find a way to make the most use of the time you have.
Get the right fit for your time.
You will come across those who either whine about how little time they
have or brag about how much time they have. None of these tendencies will
ever make a difference in your life. Instead, do something about the time you
currently have.
You need to be a forward thinker. You need to be looking at ways of
effectively managing your time. Forward thinking will go a long way towards
helping you build an incredible venture. No one can stop you if you have
your sights set on the right things, and can apportion your time accordingly.
 Acquired Discipline

Time management is one of the aspects of self-discipline that all

entrepreneurs tend to be good at. You value your time, and cannot afford to
waste it. It follows that you can easily tell when someone is wasting your
time or are about to. These are some of the interactions that you get rid of as
soon as you can.
If you manage your time well, you learn to discipline yourself, and things
will always seem to fall in place for you. These are essential skills that, over
time, will make a big difference in your life, and help you achieve your goals
faster.
 Achieve Success

There are so many lists you might have come across highlighting some of
the top personnel in your industry. You will stumble upon lists like Top 40
Under 40 and wonder how these fellows got so far in life. Well, amongst
other things, they are very good at time management.

Time management and success go hand in hand. Take time and read about
those who make it onto these lists and you will realize that none of them is
excelling only at one thing. These are people who seem to have success all
around them. They are heavily invested in different ventures and are doing
equally well in all of them.
So, how do they manage to achieve it all? Amongst other reasons they will
give, time management will be the common denominator. Staying in control
of your time allows you to be in charge and monitor how things work around
you. It is much better than letting things set their course. As an entrepreneur,
you should map your course. Control your destiny.
With each day passing day, you make better decisions, you are in control,
and people keep noticing you make money moves. Being in control is how
you end up on such lists of successful people. What's more, you will soon
start attracting leaders, and other visionaries who are interested in learning
how you are getting things done. Endorsements and deals might suddenly
follow you.
You get an exposure that most people would kill for. You wake up in one
city, have breakfast in another, lunch in another and dinner in another, all in
one day. None of these things are achievable without proper time
management.
 Growth Opportunities

You are a beacon that guides your employees, or your partners. These are
people who have probably seen you grow from strength to strength. They
have seen you build your company from the ground up, and can always tell
your story to everyone they come across with a bright smile and nothing but
admiration.
The things you do, the way you go about your day, the way you handle
tasks, meetings, your interactions with the people around you, these are the
things that matter. People will want to learn from you. They will want to get a
seat at your table.
Through effective time management, you achieve so much that people
have nothing but respect for you. When your peers and employees look up to
you, this inspires them to become better. They also want to succeed in life
just as much as you have. It fosters a sense of growth in them, and you will
even notice the potential in them as they grow, nurture them, and hopefully
champion them into better leaders.
What this means is that, through time management, you can inspire a
generation. You can lift people out of their predicament and make them better
versions of themselves. You can change lives, inspire change in communities,
and make lives better. Unbeknownst to you, you will have left an impact on
people's lives. There are people around you who will forever be grateful you
came along their path in life.
 Chapter 3: The Problem of Multitasking
It is amazing how many people try to multitask, attempt to squeeze a lot of
things into a very short amount of time. More often than not, multitasking
will be considered something of a superhero move. Those who seem to have
perfected the art feel invincible. However, multitasking is not a good idea. It
might work out for you from time to time, but you might end up doing more
harm than good.
Many are the times you have envied those who multitask, perhaps because
you are unable to. You can barely keep yourself together when struggling
with one task, now imagine having to add another one. Truthfully, you have
no business worrying about your inability to multitask. If you are
multitasking, you should be worried.
Multitasking can easily interfere with your level of productivity. What you
should be doing right now is figuring out how to stop it altogether and
prioritize things.
 Is It Really Working?

You seem to be completing all your tasks. You probably think

multitasking is working for you, but in the real sense, it is not. You cannot
rush some activities. A good testament of why you should stop multitasking
is to consider a scenario where you are in a social place. Different people are
trying to interact with you, resulting in you having conversations all over the
place.
While all these conversations might be interesting, you can barely focus on
them because your brain does not work that way. The brain is wired to focus
on one thing at a time. Therefore, if you try to interact with one person, the
brain automatically sets the former conversation on the back burner. This is
why if you hold the new conversation a few seconds or minutes longer, you
will turn back and realize that the person you were holding the recent
conversation with might have lost interest or moved on to other things.
When you multitask, you get an illusion of mastery in whatever it is you
are trying to achieve. However, in the long run, what it does successfully is
take away your attention from the things that matter. You give half the
attention you should be offering, and this never ends well.
 Hinders Creativity

Studies into creativity have often revealed marvels about exploration and
time. The brain needs a sufficient amount of time to process something and
perfect it. If you keep jumping from one thing to the other, it becomes
difficult for your brain to spend quality time getting used to something.

For an entrepreneur, creativity is one of the things you hold dear. This is
how you come up with the ideas that have made you into the person you are.
In case you find yourself constantly needing to multitask, you need to rethink
your strategies.
You cannot be rushing things all over the place. You are not saving
enough time for the things that matter. You cannot innovate anymore. If you
try, you feel tired and bored and do not have that desire and drive to bring
new ideas to life anymore. When you start multitasking, your ultimate goal is
to get things done. Your concern is not about how to get them done, or the
quality, but getting across the finish line. You might even end up missing so
many excellent opportunities just because you were unable to focus on the
things that matter.
 Increased Stress

Imagine how good you usually feel when you have managed to complete
one task. Imagine the strain it has on your body and the relief you have right
after that. At the end of an important assignment, it is obvious you will feel
spent. You will need to rejuvenate. If you are working on so many things at
the same time, it becomes difficult for you to enjoy these moments.
Immediately, you are through with one task and you have to get onto
another, and so forth. At times you have to complete so many tasks at the
same time, and it becomes a risky situation for you. The stress that comes
with multitasking can wear you down.
You will struggle to see your progress clearly over time. Other people
might see it, but after a while, you might even end up losing the passion you
once had for your venture. You might barely see the point anymore.
Multitasking takes its toll on your body, and you will struggle to replenish
the resources it consumes from you each time. As time goes by, you feel
worn out quickly, you strive to achieve results, you can barely spare the time
to interact with family and friends, there is just so much going on around you,
and you cannot cope. The level of stress that multitasking imposes on you is
not something you would wish on anyone.
 Damage to Your Brain

When multitasking, you might feel you are doing better, while in the real
sense you are only succeeding at damaging your brain. Studies into
multitasking reveal that those who often multitask tend to experience a
reduction in the brain cells that regulate emotions, motivation, and cognitive
control.
You might also develop memory problems. You end up struggling to recall
information over a prolonged term. This happens both for long-term memory
and for working memory too. This also explains why a lot of entrepreneurs
who tend to multitask will not be passionate about what they once were, just
a few months or years down the line. You do not have the same desire to
succeed anymore. What you once loved has become mundane, and you no
longer have the same interest you had in it earlier.
 Distraction, Depression, and Anxiety

Based on scientific research, those who multitask often end up being easy
to distract. The distraction happens because the brain is so accustomed to
interference that it becomes difficult for it to tell the difference between an
important and a useless interruption.

If you are looking at productivity, over the long term, you are hurting
yourself in ways you cannot imagine. The toll this will take on you is not
worth the risk. You have to be at your best to meet the goals and objectives
that you set out to achieve each day.
There is always that constant worry of whether or not you are good
enough, whether you are doing things the right way, whether you are making
the right steps, whether you will finish on time, and so forth. If you multitask
often, you end up in a situation where you are always worried. You are
always under pressure, under undue stress, and your brain grows accustomed
to this. Anxiety and depression become your new normal.
You cannot keep pushing and punishing yourself like that. You have to
find a way to stop multitasking. You have to learn to create and work within
your schedules. Have a plan for your day and stick to it. Check things off
your list one by one until you are through.
 What to Do About Multitasking

While we have mentioned so many reasons why multitasking is not good

for you, it is only fair that we also present a solution. More often than not,
those who end up multitasking struggle with time management. This is why
they are unable to do what they should at the right time, and end up
squeezing everything together.
Before you get rid of multitasking, you must first understand why you are
doing it. How are you losing time? Why are you lagging so much that you
have to bundle everything together? Understand the challenges you are
facing, how they manifest, and this will help you to overcome this problem.
The following are some simple changes that you can make in your routine
to help you manage your time well, and help you stop multitasking:
Meaningless Interruptions – Know your worth. Know what is essential
and what is not. Know your real purpose, so you can snap out of interactions
that do not add value to your life at the moment. In the standard work
scenario, there is always someone trying to get your attention, or something
that is craving your attention, but in the real sense, you do not need to give it
to them. These are the things that steal your time and force you to multitask.
Do away with distractions – The most obvious distraction most people
are struggling with at the moment comes in the form of notifications. There
are so many of these to handle. At work, turn off notifications. Do the same
even when you are not at work, but need some peace. You do not need to
attend to or address some of these things right away. You can deal with them
later on.
 Learn to say NO! – How many times have you heard this, but still did
nothing about it? More often you are afraid to say no because you worry
there might be repercussions. As it turns out, at times all you need is a No!.
You have a set of priorities that you must meet, and if something or someone
is presenting an obstacle to this, politely decline.
Scheduling Mix – While we are trying to do away with multitasking, it
might not always be easy. There are instances when you might need to do
more than one thing at a time. In such situations, you need to find the right
scheduling mix for your activities. Allocate time when you are still fresh for
the challenging tasks, so you can get them done without straining.
 Chapter 4: Why You Cannot Get
Anything Done?
You are struggling to clear things off your list, and you cannot seem to
figure out why this is happening. One possible reason is procrastination. You
seem to be putting things off until a later time when you can deal with them,
but this is not working well for you either. You end up with piles of work,
schedules uncleared, and before long people can barely trust you to get
anything done.

This is a serious concern because it affects your confidence. It can break

you down and make you feel weak and powerless. To deal with any problem,
it is always wise to understand it and understand why you are having the
problem in the first place. How does this problem arise? What is it in your
environment that makes it easier for this problem to persist? How do you
make a difference? A careful look at your day and schedule can reveal so
much about some of the challenges you are struggling with. The following
reasons might explain why you are unable to get things done.
 You Love to Multitask

It is insane how a lot of people tend to thump their chests about how well
they can multitask. While you can get things done, there is nothing much to
write home about when it comes to multitasking. Multitasking is a vice you
need to get rid of if you are to be as productive as you should be.

The information age has a lot of distortion in data access. You have to
handle so much at the same time, and more often, you can barely hold down
the fort. There is this obsession that people have with getting everything done
to the point where they hardly take a moment to think about whether it is
more efficient to handle things one at a time.
Think about this for a moment – How productive do you think you will be
if you have to be on the phone with one of your clients, while at the same
time you are trying to get some mathematical formula right on your Excel
sheet? The chances are high neither of these will get the attention they
deserve. You might mess up with the formula or fail to give the client the
attention they need or deserve. You can even fail at both.
What if you paused your work on the Excel sheet, listened to your client,
addressed their needs, and then got back to your Excel sheet? The results will
be different. Multitasking creates an element of distraction, and the more you
get used to it, the more your concentration span goes down the drain.
This is one reason why you are barely getting things done, because at the
end of the day, you are either too tired from overworking your brain, or you
have a lot of things to clear. You end up with so many tasks that are almost
complete.
 It Is Not My Fault

There is more than enough blame going around in any workplace you visit.
Someone is always pointing the finger at someone else. Very few people
bother to own up and take responsibility for their actions.
One thing that blame does so well is that it steals time. It is like
procrastination. The blame game often ends up in a heated exchange of
words, or some form of go-slow while someone tries to understand why they
are being forced to take responsibility for something that is not their fault.
Blaming others also affects productivity. It affects self-confidence.
Blaming people for things that are not their fault essentially makes them feel
like they are not good enough when, in the real sense, they are not the
problem.
Let's say someone has earned a promotion ahead of you. Instead of being
happy for them, you take this as an opportunity to find every reason to
reprimand them. You talk ill of them behind their back. This is a time
wastage, time that should be applied elsewhere.
You do realize that nothing comes of gossip, right? By the end of the day,
this person will still be in the position they have earned. You will have lost a
lot of time focusing on them. You might not be a sore loser, but instances like
these make you look like one. It becomes a problem in the future because you
might need the people you are talking ill of at the moment to support your
cause for advancement up the career ladder.
 Giving in to Distractions

Distractions are all over the place. Whether you allow them to manifest or
not, is all up to you. A lot of people always complain about being distracted.
However, it is essential to understand that distractions only take away your
time if and when you allow them to.

No one can hold a gun to your head, forcing a distraction upon you. You
are responsible for allowing the stimuli that are distracting you to replicate.
You have full control of your time, but allow the distraction to take over
when you respond to it.

Take the example of responding to your messages or emails at work. There

is no pressure to do so. Unless you are expecting an urgent email or message
that has to be responded to immediately, you are under no pressure to
respond as they stream into your device. When you do, you allow yourself to
be distracted.

There is, however, a way around this. Turn off the notifications on your
phone. Put your phone on silent mode. Turn off pop-ups from your laptop.
These are things that will overwhelm you, distract you from the things that
matter, yet you have the power to take back control.
At times you have to take personal responsibility for your actions.
Distractions do not force their way into your life. They present their case, and
you allow them in. Stop allowing distractions to control your life, and you
will have more time to complete your tasks.
 Daydreaming

Daydreaming is one of the other reasons why you are not getting things
done. You spend a lot of time thinking, thinking about so much, but doing
nothing about it. Let's say you are thinking of something credible and
constructive. Can you do something about it? Can you act on it and make it
happen immediately? If this is not the case, spare yourself the trauma, and get
some work done.
Planning is an essential part of success. However, you cannot plan for the
rest of your life. Make plans and act on them. Do not make plans and keep
pushing them aside. If you do not work on the plan, it will end up being
nothing but a dream. Actualize your plans. Be proactive. Do not think and
then do very little about the things you were thinking about.
 Obsession

There is nothing wrong with wanting the good things in life. It is only
reasonable that you do. Everyone wants to wake up in a better position
tomorrow than they were today. However, you should know the difference
between wanting the best for yourself and obsession.

The problem with obsession is that you spend a lot of time thinking about
things that you do not have any control over. This raises a lot of challenges
for you, especially regarding time wasted. It can easily lead you into the
daydreaming trap, whereby you become distracted by the slightest thought of
something that you have been obsessing about.
In the long run, you might be left with nothing but regret and stress,
especially when you realize you cannot get the things you have been stressing
about.
 Inability to Say NO

This does not come as a surprise. In the workplace, if you are the person
who can never say no to anyone, you will end up with a lot of work on your
table. You will end up doing the work that is not supposed to be yours in the
first place.

When will you ever get your work done if you are continually working
hard to complete tasks for other people? The thing about this inability to say
no is that it comes at a price. If you cannot say no, it is evident that you will
also have to struggle to impress.
When you offer to do something for someone because they seemingly
asked you politely, you try to do it correctly so that they are impressed. You
try to maintain this good image in their ranks so that they see the good in you.
There is nothing wrong with helping people. Feel free to assist whenever
you can. However, how can you help someone when you can barely support
yourself? At the risk of being self-centered, you must learn to put yourself
first.
In the corporate world today, everyone seems to focus on themselves. The
attention is on what works for them, what is right for them. The sooner you
realize that people will often want to use you as a stepping stone to achieve
their own targets, the easier it will be for you to set and get your priorities
right.
 Self-Improvement, or Not!

For you to be in this position, where you are wondering why you are
unable to get things done, you have probably found yourself at the wrong end
of your schedules many times. Today there are so many self-improvement
articles, books, and even webinars that you can use to help you overcome
some of these challenges. Thanks to the internet, help is not always far away.
However, as many people do, you have access to some quality support, but
you do nothing about it. You have read so many books, articles, blog posts on
time management, procrastination, organizing yourself at work, and so forth.
You can quote more than ten phrases from the materials you have come
across off the top of your head. The problem is that, even with all this
material, you are doing nothing about changing your predicament.
You still find yourself stuck in the rat race that is disorganization. You still
struggle to get things done, and at the end of the day, you still have work
spilling over into a new day. What gives? You have to start putting into
practice the things you learn. You might not be able to address all of them at
the same time, but take small steps towards improving your situation.
It takes a lot of will and initiative for you to make the bold step and make
the changes you want. Success never comes easy – let no one lie to you about
that. Self-improvement and empowerment are a result of a personal initiative.
You commit to doing things differently. You make a personal commitment to
planning your day and working according to your schedules. What we are
getting at is the fact that you already have the answers you are looking for.
The champion you are struggling to become already lies within you. You
merely need to realize this and unleash your champion. Give them a purpose
and let your champion fight for you. Remember, you are only ever going to
be as good and strong as your will to challenge yourself from holding
yourself back. No one else can!
 Chapter 5: Where Did Your Time Go?
At the end of the day, many people struggle to understand how time went
by so fast. You wake up in the morning ready for a beautiful day ahead. A
short while later, the day is over, and you can barely remember where the
time went. This happens so often, the struggle to account for lost time.
There are several reasons why you lose time or lose track of time, and fail
to understand what happened. These are simple things that you do out of
habit to the point where they become part and parcel of your routine. Like
corruption, some of these elements become institutionalized to the point
where you can barely tell when you are losing time.
The first step towards getting back control is to understand where you lose
time, and how. This explains why most people struggle to meet their
deadlines or complete tasks on time. Examine yourself carefully, and you will
notice how some of these elements manifest.
The only thing holding you back from realizing your true potential is
yourself. Proper time management involves improving on some of your time-
wasting challenges. In case you are still not sure where your time goes, here
are some of the common ways you could be losing time each day.
 Disorganization

Instead of working on your priority tasks, you find yourself spending a lot
of time trying to find people or documents, trying to trace emails, make calls,
make follow-ups. If you are often lagging, or struggling to keep up the pace
with your colleagues, there is a good chance you are disorganized.
Unfortunately, some people are so disorganized in a very organized manner,
and they can barely tell the difference.
Do not waste time with mundane tasks. Prepare adequately for the day
ahead. Get in ahead of time. Starting your day early will help with this. Since
you are at your desk earlier, you have enough time to prepare, organize the
desk, look at your schedule and plan out your work for the rest of the day.
You have a lot of items to check off your list, so create a priority list or
order of handling your work for the day. This list will not just help you be on
the same page with your workmates, but it will also help you become more
efficient, and improve your overall contribution to the team. Do not play
catch-up anymore. Get your head right in the game!
 Gossip

You would be surprised how many times people gossip about others and
go about their business like nothing has happened. The problem with gossip
is that it takes up a lot of your time, and before you know it, the day is gone.
The juicier the story, the more time it will cost you. Talking about people
behind their back does not make you a better person than they are. Having
some of the information you seek so keenly might not even do you any good
in the long run. You will do so much better spending more time on your tasks
than gossiping.

The other problem with gossiping is that, the more you talk to someone
about someone else, the higher the chances they will have something to say
to someone else about you. Gossip creates a vicious cycle that never ends,
and creates an element of hatred in your own circle.
 Anxiety and Worry

Let's face it, there are times when worry and anxiety are a part of your day,
brought on by events beyond your control. In such cases, it would be wise to
seek help from the relevant persons. However, apart from exceptional
circumstances, worry is nothing but a waste of your energy – good energy to
be precise!
If you find yourself worrying about something, do not sit on it – be
proactive and act on it. Talk to someone, do something. As long as the object
of your concern is not on your plate anymore, it becomes someone else's
concern and allows you to sharpen your focus and think about other things.

Nothing eats up more of your time than sitting down and worrying about
something that you can do nothing about. Spare that energy and use it on
something more constructive, and you might end up with more time on your
hands at the end of the day.
 Emails

Emails have made communication easier, better, and more convenient.

However, they can become a distraction. A lot of people check and respond
to their emails instantly. While this might be a good idea, because it helps
you keep a clean email and reduces strain, it is also counterproductive.

You can easily spend most of your day checking, sending, and responding
to emails, and before you know it, you might move on to other things. So,
what should you do about this? First, set aside specific times during the day
when you can tend to your emails. Deal with all your emails at this time.
Unless you have an urgent email to deal with, stay away from your emails
outside your set email time.
 Procrastination

Time wasted will never be earned back. This is something you have to
realize with procrastination. You lose a lot of time because you do not want
to handle something when you could have already completed it all together,
and instead spend time on something else.

Procrastination is common, not just at work, but in all aspects of your life.
There are things you know you should do, but for some reason you find
comfort in putting them off just a while longer while you focus on something
else that supposedly gives you more satisfaction.
Perhaps you do not want to handle something immediately, or maybe you
are just afraid to get it done. The sooner you can start doing something, the
sooner you will have it completed and free up time to do whatever you
please.
Procrastination is a habitual vice. If it has already manifested in your life,
you should also make a habit of doing things and getting them done. Get in
the habit of completing tasks as and when they are supposed to be done. This
will gain you a lot of time over the course of your day.
 Keeping Up with News

There is always something happening somewhere, something you are

interested in. Different news items might get your attention. Information is an
attention industry. The information providers are spending lots of money by
the minute to mine data about you, and they use this to send you news items
that interest you.
If you are a sports person, they will trawl your internet usage and learn
more about the teams you are interested in. Therefore, more and more
information sources will come your way. It is very easy to become a slave to
the 24/7 news industry.
Something will always get your attention. If it is not an analysis of your
favorite team playing poorly over the weekend, it is something about a new
study that touches something you are passionate about. It could also be a
piece about a new trick that might help you save on fuel when you are driving
your car, or how to get the attention of your crush.

The more time you spend reading the news, the more time you will lose in
your day. Unfortunately, most news providers these days use all methods
possible to get your attention, even resorting to tactics that were often
common with the gutter press. While you spend a lot of time reading about
the latest scandals in government, a bigger scandal will be brewing in your
personal space – the scandal of hours lost without any returns.
 Social Media

Social media ranks highly on the list of time usurpers. It is by far one of
the most efficient ways of wasting time. The moment you open your Twitter
account, you will come across exciting stuff and, before you know it, the day
is gone. Many are those who have admittedly opened their Twitter app on
their phone at 10pm, hoping to spend a few minutes on the phone, then fall
asleep, only to realize it is 3am and the only thing sending them to sleep is
the battery running low.
Take YouTube as another good example. You check in to watch this video
link a close friend sent you about making waffles. 3 hours later, you are
watching cats babysitting, and cannot understand how you found yourself in
this predicament.
Put your phone away. If you are on your laptop, stay away from social
media networks. There are tools today that you can install which block social
media access at periods when you are busy with other things. These will help
you to become more productive.
Remember, however, that it takes a lot of willpower to do this. After all,
you can always turn off the tools and keep up with that rant on Twitter that's
got everyone talking. If you are taking a break from work, stay away from
your phone too. Take a walk, talk to someone, get some fresh air, have some
juice. Do something else other than burying your head in social media.
 Toxic Relationships

Everyone has been in this situation at some point. Toxic relationships not
only waste your time, they waste your life. You lose a part of yourself to
some of these relationships. They change you. It is not just about personal
relationships; it also applies to relationships at work, with colleagues or
clients.
You have clients who demand so much but pay very little or nothing at all.
Why do you still keep them around? The only thing this does is drain you,
emotionally and psychologically. After a while, you will be physically
exhausted too.
You should learn to value yourself, and your time. Value addition is
important. You should not focus your efforts on delivering value while you
receive none in return. Value addition is a quid pro quo situation.
Take your time and monitor how you interact with different clients. You
will realize that you spend more time with and for those who appreciate your
effort. These are clients who do not just see you as a means to an end, a tool,
but as a person, an important one, to be precise. Anyone who does not value
you right now will probably never appreciate you. You might end up putting
in a lot of work to justify yourself, your position, your presence, yet you
didn't even matter in the first place.
Appreciate yourself, appreciate your time, strive to get value for your
presence and existence, and cut off relationships that are toxic.
 Taking Shortcuts

Everyone uses shortcuts at some point. From repurposing, copy-pasting,

plagiarizing, there are so many ways. Instead of talking to someone directly,
you use someone else to get you there. It would have been much faster,
easier, and more direct if you approached them on your own.

While some shortcuts are useful, they are not the best way to go about
your day. You will lose a lot of time in the process. If you succeed, you form
a habit of using shortcuts. Eventually, you get caught.
The problem with shortcuts is that, not only do they waste your time in an
attempt to save time, but you might lose clients, damage relationships, and so
forth. Try to be more direct in your engagements, and you will never have to
struggle to account for your time.
 Chapter 6: Time Saving Strategies
Time is a resource that cannot be recovered once it is spent. You have
minimal time within which you need to accomplish a lot of tasks. What you
can do, however, is change the way you spend your time.
You know so many executives who put in more than 50 hours a week and
still manage to spend time with their families and take holidays. You also
know people who work 30 hours a week and complain about how they do not
have enough time to spend with their families. What is the difference
between these two sets of people? In which category do you fall?
The difference is time management, and setting priorities. One of these
groups understands what is essential, while the other doesn't. The secret to
time management is realizing how much time you have, and what you can do
with it. Some people even plan for the time they know they do not have. They
plan for other people’s time, and effectively make it theirs. This is what
executives do, and that is how they are able to take time off to have fun.
What lesson can you learn from executives about managing other people's
time? If you cannot control your time, someone else will manage it for you.
This is a common phrase that you might have come across in so many places,
but it is true. This is what most managers do. They have their eyes on the
bigger picture. They have plans on how to get there. They have their ideas for
their own time.

Before they whisk away to meetings, they make sure they have their teams
fully engaged. As they are busy in discussions and making presentations,
people are busy working on their agenda. A task that would take five people
6 hours can be completed much earlier, by adding one or two more people to
that group. That is how they save time.
Therefore, it is all about maximizing the time that you have. Never spend
your energy worrying about time that you do not have. If someone else has it,
and you can manage it and make it yours like managers do, go right ahead
and do it.
How do you optimize your time? How do you make sure each hour is put
to good use? Here are some useful tips that can help you:
 Tracking Your Time

You would be surprised by how many people track their time – very few.
Most people go about their day haphazardly. Get into the habit of accounting
for your time. Like money, time is precious, and you need to know where and
how you spend it. That way, when you find yourself going broke, you can
trace your steps and find out where all the money went.
Have a plan to track your time from the moment you wake up to the time
you go to sleep. If this is new to you, do not rush it, give it a try for a week or
two. Write down the things you do, how much time you spend on each
activity. Write down how much time you spend on breaks.
By taking note of these simple things, you can sit down at the end of the
week and evaluate how you spent your work week. Time tracking is an
exercise that might seem so simple, but it has far-reaching effects. Imagine
someone spends more than 30 minutes each morning just trying to figure out
what they want to wear that day. Someone else spends 15 of that 30 minutes
writing down their plan for their day, and by the end of the 30 minutes, they
will have also completed 15 minutes of meditation. Who between these two
will have a productive morning?
When you review your timestamps, you might be surprised at how much
time you have been wasting. Now keep that experiment up for a whole
month, then group similar and recurring tasks. Do the math and see how
much time you are spending on productive tasks, how much time you are
spending on breaks, how much time you are using on non-important things
during your productive hours. You should also highlight how much time you
waste in the mornings when you are full of energy.
 Establish a Hierarchy of Tasks

Carefully look at the tasks you need to accomplish. Which are the optional
ones and which are the important ones? How often do you go about your
work without making a distinction between the two?
Having figured this out, reschedule your days around the critical tasks.
Slot them in early in the morning. You are still fresh and full of energy at this
hour. It is the right time to start working on challenging tasks. Anything else
can be done later on in the day.
A big mistake that most people make is to start their day with easy tasks or
go about their day without a plan altogether. This is the easiest way to
become distracted. Besides, if you start working on the easy ones, later on,
when you try to work on the difficult tasks, your brain might not be as
cooperative as it would have been in the morning. This is also a good window
of opportunity for procrastination.
Decluttering your desk will also help you to save time. This is the time that
you would have wasted looking for something that is probably not on your
desk or concealed by files. A disorganized desk is an easy way of getting
distracted.
 Start Your Day Early

Do you know you can earn yourself more than an hour each week by
waking up 30 minutes earlier than you often do? This is 30 minutes that you
can use for so many things. Since it is too early in the morning, and no one
will disturb you with calls, you can send and respond to emails. You can also
use this time for exercise.
 Internet Usage

The internet is all over the place these days. You either have your device
connected to a data service provider, or you are using the office or home
wireless internet. A lot of the things you do today require internet access for
research.

While the internet is important to your work, you do not have to be online
all the time. Having completed your research, you can go offline and get your
work done. Let's say you are a creative writer. Save the pages you need,
download the documents you need for research, and go offline. Work on your
notes and organize your thoughts, then write the piece you need to.
Staying online will see you lose track of time. Information overload affects
a lot of people these days. The people who run media houses and news
centers all over the world have taken time to study the mannerisms of their
consumers. They know the times when people are more active, the times
when people seem to consume more content from their websites. These are
the times when they churn out titles that they know will get your attention.
It is easy to get sucked into this abyss, and once you are in, there is no
coming back. The websites will have received traffic from your end, but at
the expense of your work, and your time. Think about this: how many times
have you gone online to read the news or check a flight schedule, yet a few
minutes later you find yourself still online but reading something else not
related to the first thing you were looking for online? The secret is to set time
aside for internet access and respect it. You can even block your browser
from accessing certain websites during your busy schedule, especially social
media websites.
 Managing Expectations

Can you really do what you want to? Do you have enough time in your
schedule to squeeze it in? While it is good to make plans, try not to be too
ambitious. The only thing you will have managed to do is plan to fail. Keep
your plans reasonable. There are things that you know you cannot do, so do
not lie to yourself.
Here’s a good example. Let’s say you have noticed you have a lot of
things to do, and you are trying to make use of your mornings. You decide to
slot a gym session, preparing your children for school, laundry, and walk the
dog, all before 9am. This is preposterous. One or two of these tasks will not
be done, or will not receive the attention they deserve. By 9am, if you
manage to do all this, you will be too exhausted, you might have to take more
time to rest.
Instead of biting off more than you can chew, you can delegate some of
these tasks. Have someone walk the dog, and someone else doing laundry.
Space out your tasks accordingly. It makes your list realistic, and achievable.
 Grouping Tasks

You can save a lot of time when you group some tasks. This is a lesson a
lot of people learn when they buy their first car, for example. As you make
plans to buy the car, you think about how you will be driving wherever you
want to go. It is evident because of the excitement. You want to get a good
feel of the car. You need to feel good about owning the car.
However, after a while, you realize you are wasting fuel. You cannot be
driving everywhere. You cannot be the designated driver for everyone. You
soon realize you cannot keep going out of your way to pick people up, and
more importantly, you recognize the need to group tasks. You look at your
list for things that are missing in the house, and you create a map in your
mind of how you can pick all of them up in one trip without going back and
forth. Suddenly, it makes sense to leave the car at home some days.
This is the same concept you need to introduce into your day. Look at the
things you need to accomplish. How many of the tasks are similar? How
many of them will require you to be in the same place? You can group those
so that, when you go to that place, you do many things at once.

If you are at the office, how many tasks need you to be on the 7th and 8th
floor? Group those tasks if you can. This way, you can leave your office,
attend to them, and come back. You will have saved yourself unnecessary
trips in and out of your office.
Set aside time to make calls or answer emails. This is better than
responding to every email as soon as they hit your inbox, or making calls
every 10 minutes. You might not be able to focus on anything else. You do
not want to look like a busybody. You will also save so much time in the
process.
 Your Work Schedule

What kind of schedule do you have? How much control do you have over
it? Is it so flexible you can choose your work hours? If possible, make sure
you adjust your hours accordingly. Get things done within the set timeframe.
If you have an 8-hour shift, try to get as much work done during the early
hours of your shift. Try to spend at least 6 of those hours being productive.
You do not need to exert a lot of strain to deliver results.
When you prioritize your tasks, you save a lot of time in the process. You
end up wasting very little time. If you are unable to choose your work hours,
work with what you have and make the most of it.
Consider your commute. The more challenging your commute to work is,
the higher the chance that your first hour at work might not be productive.
Your body needs to adjust to the trauma of the commute. If you do not
commute through peak hours, you can get a lot of work done when most
people have left the office.
You can also talk to your superior about restructuring or reprioritizing
your work. Talk to them about the new changes you are making in your life.
Tell your boss you want to be more effective, and the plan you have for your
day. Together, you can work out how to get things done. They can also act as
your mentor, especially when you are just starting to work on this time-
saving plan. It is something you would have done on your own, but by
discussing it with your boss, you are bringing in someone to keep you in
check, someone that you will be answerable to. It will help you learn some
discipline about the new strategy.
 Meetings and Conversations

You might know this already – not all meetings at work are productive.
You have probably attended so many of them you know which ones you can
skip without any repercussions. Spending a lot of time in meetings only eats
up the time you should be doing something else. There is no need to attend a
meeting and listen to people talk about things that they could have sent in an
email. Get out of such meetings. If necessary, you can send a junior
representative to take notes and brief you. While some of these meetings are
going on, the movement in the office reduces, and you can complete a lot of
work without distraction.
While it is okay to talk to your workmates, holding long conversations is a
waste of time. These conversations have nothing to do with the work you are
supposed to do. It might be gossip, or you might be catching up, especially
with the person who sits next to you. These conversations give the illusion of
maintaining good friendships and relationships. However, they also take
away a lot of your time. Engage your peers, but know when to set limits to
the conversation time. Besides, you can politely tell your colleague to tone it
down a bit, so both of you can get some work going.
 Chapter 7: Building a Rock-Solid
Routine
It is easy to work through your day when you have a routine. The more
you work with a routine, the more your body gets used to it, and it becomes a
matter of habit. This is something that will get you through some of the
toughest days of your life. Once you have worked out a routine, it is crucial
that you maintain discipline going through it. Without restraint, it is
impossible to make progress. You will continuously find reasons or excuses
to do something else other than what is most important.
 Tips for a Successful Routine

To create and maintain a successful routine, the following are some of the
useful tips that should guide you:

Start Early

The earlier you start your day, the better it will be. Starting your day early
means you have to sleep early too. Waking up early will help you stay fresh
and focused. You have a lot of time very early in the day to do as you please.
You can take notes and compare how you perform on the days you wake up
early, and the days you wake up late.

Quality Sleep

There is a good reason why you are advised to get quality sleep at night.
Try to get your 7 or 8 hours. Quality sleep is vital for a lot of reasons. It is the
time your body gets to rest. It is the time your organs are relaxed and
rejuvenating. Your blood circulation will be better in the morning if you slept
well.
You constantly put your body under pressure and strain as you try to
maneuver through your deadlines, meetings, and other things you have to
complete through the day. By the close of business, your energy is depleted,
and your muscles are worn out. Besides, without proper sleep, any money
you earn will be spent on medical expenses.
There are a lot of people who visit doctors complaining about all manner
of symptoms, and upon examination, the doctor recommends bed rest.
Imagine going to a doctor, only to be told you need to sleep better.

Exercise

However pressed you are for time, you are never too pressed to find time
for exercise. When we talk about exercise, we do not necessarily mean trying
to compete in the World's Strongest Human challenge. Something sensible
will do.
You can schedule your exercise routines to suit your lifestyle. For
exercise, you can do a few stretches, run a few kilometers in the morning,
take a walk in the evening, do some sit-ups, or spend a few minutes on
meditation and yoga. There are endless things you can do for exercise.
Since you are working on a routine, keep this up for a few days and you
will notice how easily it becomes a regular part of your day. Exercise is an
excellent way to strengthen your body, mentally and physically.

Get Some Alone Time

Getting alone time is something that people never used to take seriously.
Today it is of utmost importance that you do so. This allows you to reflect
upon your day, think about the future, make plans, or relax and while away
time.
You can use this time for meditation. Some people do it in the morning,
others late in the evening. For some, they find time for it during a busy day,
and it helps them rejuvenate and come back stronger. You can create a
schedule that works just for you.
Meditation will help you take a break from the stress in your schedule, and
overcome fatigue. Other than meditation, you can also read a book during
your alone time. It is important that you pay attention to the material you
read. You are primarily feeding your mind, so you must be keen on what you
feed it. You do not necessarily need to read a paperback. You can find
something on Kindle, or listen to an audiobook. Find something that adds
value to your life, books that nourish your soul.

Importance of Milestones

You have a lot of things that you should get done by the end of the day.
Since you cannot do it all at once, you should break things into manageable
milestones. Milestones can be accomplished faster and easier. The more you
achieve them, the more psyched up you will be to take on the next one.

Avoid Perfectionism

No one is perfect out there. Things will not always go according to plan.
These are some of the facts that you should never forget. Even as you work
on creating a routine, you must remember that you are not perfect.
There are some challenges that perfectionists struggle through. You might
end up being uptight or alienating people around you. Give yourself enough
time to do things, and do them correctly. Have a list that you can follow and
work through. Be patient with yourself and those around you, especially if
either of you is not having a perfect day. Everyone has one of those off days
from time to time.

Discipline

One of the most important factors behind a successful routine is discipline.

You need to learn to respect your routine enough to be disciplined in
executing it. With discipline, you will also need to set time limits for what
you are doing. Space things out accordingly. Do not force yourself to handle
tasks in a timeframe that is virtually impossible to manage. If you have one of
those bad days when things do not seem to be working, do not beat yourself
up about it. Take a step back, and bounce back harder.
 Creating the Routine

Having looked at some guiding tips on creating the perfect routine, here
are the steps to follow when creating that routine:

Start with a List

Take your time to write a list of all the things you need to do in a day.
There might not be a particular order; just make a list. Get your notepad
ready and spend 15-30 minutes doing this. In case you are not sure how to
identify the things you need to do, ask yourself some simple questions. It is
the answers you need to note down.
Your list should include things like errands to be completed that day,
things to do before or after taking kids to school, or things you agreed to do
for your partner. Make a list of things to be done around the house when you
are around or away, technicians who might be coming over to fix something,
a meeting you have planned for the day, or a dinner reservation.
Remember that nothing is too small to be included on this list – including
brushing your teeth. You can refine the list later on.

Establish a Schedule

Since you already have a list of things to do, you can now think about
where to slot them into your day. Identify the tasks that demand a lot of
energy. It is wise to have these very early in the day. If you need to do
something that involves driving somewhere, factor in the traffic constraint,
and allow yourself enough room for uncertainties.
 A simple rule of thumb, always reserve your mornings for things that
demand a lot of critical thinking. For creatives, this is the best time to get
fresh ideas popping. As the day goes by, your coffee high should have
already dissipated, and you might be more inclined to tackle routine or boring
things.
This is the appropriate time for making appointments, taking meetings, and
so forth. Besides, interacting with other people at this juncture will help you
break the monotony that you might have in your morning schedule. Run your
errands during this time too.
Evenings are supposed to be for slower, more relaxed stuff. Declutter, play
with the kids, pack your lunch for tomorrow, make plans for the next day,
and so forth. Look at the list you had and make sure you have slotted in
everything at the right time.

Flexibility

Even though you are working to a routine, you should remember to keep
things flexible a bit. There are times when things might not always go
according to plan, and it is okay. Try to work in some wiggle room into your
program, as this will help you to take care of inconveniences and unforeseen
circumstances. Having done that, you can start putting your list together.
Match tasks with the right time and you will have the routine ready.

Evaluation

You have to evaluate the routine to see how effective it is. Try it out for a
few days. Note any changes that you experience as you work around the
routine. Is it making your life better? Do you have more time at the end of the
day? Do you feel the routine is efficient?
You should note progress after a while, or any strain it might be causing
you. If you are straining, go back to the drawing board and come up with a
new plan, or make changes where necessary.
 Importance of a Routine

Why is it essential for you to create a routine? What benefits will you gain
from having one, that you never had when you did not have one?

Efficiency

A routine helps you become efficient in everything that you do. It enables
you to reduce the time you spend on mundane or unnecessary things. With a
routine, you know what to do, and when to do it, and manage your time
correctly.

Focus

One thing that a routine does so well is help you to focus and get an
element of structure in your life. You are more organized when you have a
routine than when you do not have one. As you familiarize yourself with the
routine, things become more comfortable for you.

Proper Planning

A routine helps you spend less time planning because you already know
what to do and when to do it. You no longer have to make guesses on the
day, but wake up knowing what you need to do.

Time Saver

Time is a valuable resource. With a routine, you succeed at time

management. You have your day worked out efficiently, and this helps you to
make the right decisions about how to use your time.

Habitual Concerns

Having a routine will help you drop some bad habits and start good ones.
You are trying to reach your potential, so a routine will help you weed out
some of the things that have been stealing your time, which are not important.
At the same time, you learn some useful traits like self-discipline when
you have and follow a working routine. As you keep doing things, in the
same way each day, they become part and parcel of who you are.

Accomplishment

Routines give you a sense of accomplishment. You wake up each day with
a checklist of things to do. As you power through the day, striking stuff off
your list one by one, you feel good about the day. You feel good about
yourself too. You challenge yourself to accomplish more as time goes by.

Priorities

One of the benefits of using a routine is that you will learn the important
things and how to slot them into your day. Over time, you will also learn a lot
about yourself, and how your energy flows throughout the day. Soon it will
be easier to schedule things on your to-do list without necessarily writing
them down. This is because you know when you can free up time, and when
you cannot afford distractions.
 Chapter 8: Taming Your Tools
You have already figured out some of the important ways you can save
time or make more use of your time. You probably have some tools in place
that can guide you through it. The challenge, however, is how to tame these
tools, how to use them effectively to help you become successful in your
venture.
The thing about time is, you have very little of it to work with. Therefore,
you cannot afford the luxury of doing things over and over. You should start
doing things once and getting them right first time around. You should avoid
instances where you have to repeat tasks because this never bodes well. You
end up using the time that should have been set aside for something else.
However busy you are, you can still make sure you give everything your best
effort.
You have to increase your productivity in each task you take up. This
allows you to perform more in the limited time you have. At the same time,
try not to rush your work because no one pays for shoddy work. You might
lose your contracts, or lose your job altogether.
What you need to do is find the right mixture of techniques and tools to
help you become more productive. You have many tools that you can use to
help you live an organized life. You must learn to block distractions from
your busy time, set schedules that you can follow, and allow yourself enough
time to rest.
The following is a guide on how to achieve the perfect mix. If you already
have a system in place, you can use this to refine your system.
 Choosing the Right Time Management System

The time management business is thriving, and rightly so. Today, many
people have realized they are not making the most use of their time and, as a
result, they look for options, tools to help them become more productive.
There is nothing wrong with that. There is also nothing wrong with
entrepreneurs who realize this need and do something about it. What you end
up with, however, is a market where there are so many tools you are spoilt for
choice.
Your time management skills might not be the best out there, but realizing
this and admitting it is the first step towards a better future. Without proper
planning, you might find yourself jumping from one crisis to another without
getting time to refresh.
There are lots of systems that you can use to help you manage your time
better. Do not jump the gun and pick the first system you come across. Take
your time. Research, read, brainstorm, find out as much as you can about the
tools you come across. At times all you need to do is be more organized.
Have a look at the way you go about your day and change things around.
Have a to-do list. It might not be one of the most innovative suggestions,
but it is something that can guide you on what you need to get done
throughout the day. This list gives you structure and an order in which to do
things. You can use a straightforward list, where you check things off one by
one, or depending on the level of complexity of your schedules, you can find
a more elaborate list. These days you have lists that you can share with a
team in case you are collaborating on projects. This will also help you stay
focused because there are a lot of people involved in the project you are
working on.
Remember, just because a system works for someone you know does not
necessarily mean it will work well for you. You must keep an open mind
when going about this.
 Organization

For any of the tools you are using to be effective, you have to understand
how important the tasks at hand are. Organization is, in fact, one of the most
important things. It will help you establish and organize your list of priorities.
There is no use coming up with a list, only for you to push the difficult tasks
to a later date, and instead spend most of your day working on simpler things.
This level of procrastination will lead to your ruin in the long run.
Determine the critical tasks for the day. Tackle them as soon as possible.
The earlier you get them out of the way, the sooner you can start working on
simpler tasks, and free up time. You can also create categories for your work.
Identify things that have to be completed by the end of the day, others that
need to be completed over a certain period of time, and apportion your time
for them accordingly.
However difficult or boring the tasks set for the morning are, try to power
through them. This is the time you are at your best, and you have the energy
to handle them accordingly.
 Respect Your Productive Time

One of the first things you do when you wake up in the morning is find
your phone and go through your emails or your social media accounts. You
go through this until you have cleared all the notifications, or until you have
something pressing to deal with. You might think it is fantastic being in the
know, but in the real sense, you have started your day a distracted fellow.
Checking these platforms very early in the morning means your mind is
already interested in some story that you have come across. After all, there is
always something exciting happening on social media, something that piques
your interest.
Social media companies spend a lot of money creating and refining their
algorithms to make sure that they deliver content that is tailor-made to suit
your needs. They trawl your account, the things you like, the conversations
you have online, track the words you wish to use, and through their
algorithms they use this to send you updates about things that can keep you
hooked long enough.
Checking your emails or social media notifications is not supposed to be a
top priority task, but unfortunately most people treat it as such. If you want to
be and stay productive, create a time in the day when you check your emails,
social media accounts, and respond to whatever needs your attention. The
best time for this is in the afternoon. This is the time when most people are
not attentive, people are bored, and the energy they had at the beginning of
their day has dissipated.
Even as you do this, try not to spend a lot of time on it. Glancing at your
phone for 5 minutes can quickly turn into an hour. Those notifications will
not make a difference in your life whether you respond to them immediately
or two hours later. So what if you miss out on some celebrity gossip? They
are living their lives. What if you have not seen the banter going on about the
game last weekend? It does not change the results, and might not even affect
the results of the next game. Keep your head in the game.
 Using the Right Planning Apps

There are so many apps that can help you manage your time properly and
improve your productivity. These apps also help you manage your lists. You
can type in projects that you need to handle by the end of the day. Split the
projects into simple, manageable tasks if they are too big and set priority
levels for every single task.
If you are working with a team, one of the best planning apps is Trello. It
is ideal for creating the perfect vision for your projects. With Trello, you can
assign members of your team tasks. You create boards that are a
representation of the projects. In each of the boards, you can create a list of
things to do, and cards that represent the tasks that are incomplete. This way,
everyone has something in particular that they are working on, and they can
also see what each other has to do. If someone is slacking, anyone in the
group can nudge them to improve, so they do not lag the entire project
behind.
 Appreciate Your Breaks

Taking a break from work to relax is not bad. A break will help you
become productive. You need to make sure you are disciplined enough not to
take more time than you need. Your mind needs to get some rest, especially
after concentrating on tasks, for the longest time possible. Your body, on the
other hand, needs to rest.
It is while you are taking this breather that you might get some fresh ideas
about how to handle the challenges you are having with your projects or your
personal concerns. To make the most use of your breaks, get away from the
workplace. If you can, take a few minutes’ walk away from your office or
cubicle.
If you cannot create these breaks, your mind will automatically find a way
to create them and wander away when you are exhausted. It is not easy to
come back from this, and even if you do, you might not be as productive as
you should.
 Free Yourself from the Digital World

If you find yourself struggling to focus, there is nothing wrong with taking
a hiatus from the digital world. Many people have done it and succeeded.
You can limit your communication to the simple things: making phone calls
and checking office emails. Take a break from social media. Delete the apps
from your phone. You can even temporarily close your account, or close it
permanently.
You need time to get things running. You need time to focus and get
control over your life. Do whatever it takes. In the long run, you will look
back and appreciate the decision you made. Here’s something interesting that
most people might not be aware of – most, if not all of the people at the helm
of tech companies in the world, strive to make sure they have a buffer zone in
their homes. They have a place where there is no access to the internet, a
place where no devices are allowed inside. These are places where they sit
and relax with their families, free from the distractions from the rest of the
world. You can do the same.
 Taking Detailed Notes

Taking notes is one thing, taking detailed notes is another altogether.

Adding valuable details in your notes makes it easier for you to follow up.
You know what you were doing and what comes next. Detailed notes are
important, especially when you are collaborating with someone on a task. It
will also help you remember where to pick up from, especially if you haven’t
communicated with someone in a while.
Say, for example, you have sent someone an email. What next? In your to-
do list where you have the notification to send emails, you can include a note
that you are waiting to hear from them. This way, at the specified time of the
day you have set aside to check your notes, you know you have an email to
follow up on.
These are some of the simple things that will help you save time and make
the most use of the tools you are using.
 Chapter 9: Priorities and Goals
Priorities and goals determine your success or failure. Many people have
goals and priorities, but they are skewed or misplaced. As a result, they end
up failing, not because they did not know what to do, but because they did
not know how to go about it. Even with the right idea, it is still possible to
fail. The secret is learning the perfect balance and how to implement and
enforce your goals and priorities.
Unfortunately, most people are not so good at setting their priorities or
goals. It gets even worse when you are just starting your business. No manual
comes with this. You need to make so many decisions, some of which are
confusing, and you might not understand them well. As a result, you find
yourself focusing on things that might feel right at the moment, but in
hindsight, they were not supposed to receive the priority you gave them. This
is how you end up losing track, and if unchecked, you might lose the desire to
keep working on your project.
Your list of priorities should start with things that are important to you.
You should realize that, while it is possible for you to do anything you want,
it is impossible to do everything at the same time. When thinking about
priorities, look at them in terms of timelines within which you need to
achieve them. The following is a brief guide that will help you set your
priorities straight.
 What Is Important to You?

Whether you are thinking about priorities for yourself or your business,
you have to know what you are working towards. What is important to you?
What are the core activities you engage in, or those that your business
engages in, that are important? Priorities should align with long-term goals
and objectives.
It is through setting priorities and meeting them that you achieve your
goals. It is almost impossible to reach your goals in the timelines you set if
you do not follow your set priorities. Finding the correct answers to these
questions will also help you to understand the decision-making process for
your company or understand what you need to do as an individual to make
things better in your life.
In the workplace, it is very easy to become overrun by things that do not
matter, things that are important, but do not deserve the amount of time you
allocate for them. These include things like checking social media accounts at
work or focusing on the agendas of other people instead of working on
clearing your schedule for the day. By the end of the day, you will have
wasted a lot of time and energy. Anything that has not been completed by
close of business gets pushed to the next day, or the next week, and so forth.
You can also decide to take the perspective of competitor analysis. Study
what your competition is doing. How are they going about their business?
Study their strengths and weaknesses and understand how they are dealing
with some of the challenges you are facing in the industry. From here, you
can learn something meaningful that will help you rethink your priorities and
achieve your long-term goals.
 Identify Growth Drivers

Growth is an integral part of life. Whether you are looking at growth from
a personal point of view or a corporate perspective, you need to grow from
strength to strength. Everyone wants to improve. You want to wake up
tomorrow in a better position financially than you were today. You want to
be in a satisfying, better paying job three years down the line than where you
are today. The same applies to companies. Companies want to expand their
reach; they want to have more customers than those they have today.
Given this desire and obsession with growth, you need to discover the
things that drive growth in the industry, and from a personal level, the things
that inspire you to grow. Growth is about value addition. This is why you will
realize that not all activities in the company are responsible for growth. There
are some departments that the company can easily do away with when things
are thick financially, and the company will still be okay.
Looking at things this way, what are you invested in for the company? Are
you committed to performing duties in your department, functions that might
not help the company make strides into the future? Look at the company
objectives. Try to think about your current position in alignment with this. If
you are sure you are not adding value to the company, you might want to
think about pushing for a move into a department that makes those critical
steps. You need to be part of something bigger, something that gives you
purpose.
Doing the mundane things from time to time will only make you
irrelevant. If you feel you are not making progress at a personal level, you
should think about making wholesome changes. You need to rethink your
strategies in life. Do away with anything that does not add value to your life.
You might also need to consult an expert, a life coach or someone who has a
better grip on their life than you do.
Making some of these changes might not be easy, neither will they be a
one-person job. However, with the right guidance, you can get things done.
Even as you try to set your priorities, do not overdo it.
 Embrace Quality Communication

You need to communicate your priorities, especially if you are working

within a team. This is important because it helps to resonate ideas. They stay
fresh in the minds of your team. You avoid the scenario where people are
working aimlessly, just for the sake of getting through the day. As we
mentioned earlier, you need a purpose.
One of the reasons why most team leaders and their teams fail is because
the leaders only communicate what is relevant in the boardroom. However,
when they come to their teams, they barely communicate the priorities and
goals. It is impossible for anyone to work well in the company when they
barely understand what they are working towards. If your people are unable
to link the work they are doing to the needs of the company, there exists a
disconnect, and this will bring your team and the entire company down.
 Assigning Timelines

While addressing priorities as urgent matters, not all of them are the same.
Therefore, you should not allocate the same time to all of them. Some
demand more effort and time than others. You should, however, make sure
you have deadlines which you can meet.

Getting the right balance between what is more important than others is
very difficult. Study all the items you have listed as priorities and understand
what you need for each of them. From there, you can decide upon how to
share your time across different tasks.
 Appreciate Progress

It is important to realize how far you have come. However small the wins
are, be sure to recognize and celebrate them. This gives you the morale to
keep working to meet your goals. Whether you are working as a team, or
putting in the effort as an individual, a pat on the back can give you the
confidence you need to achieve more.
Even as you appreciate these wins, however, make sure you do not spend a
lot of time wallowing in the moment. You have to move on so fast. You need
to create momentum; you need to celebrate some of the strides you are
making early enough in your route to success. You have to remember that
each win is a sign that you are doing things right, and there is room for more.
You should not only look at this from the point of progress, but use it as an
opportunity to look back and appreciate what you have achieved. Things will
not always go according to plan. You have to prepare for that. Do not get so
used to success that you struggle to cope at the first sight of failure or a
stumbling block.
At this juncture, you also need enough time to reflect on yourself.
Personally, what has this project you are undertaking done to you? Has it
taken its toll on you? In that case, what can you do about it? If it is a project
that you are undertaking with others, what is it doing to them? What changes
are happening in their lives? Is it changing their lives for the better, or are
they having a difficult time adjusting?
If you are in charge of a team, it is essential to consider the welfare of your
team members, because this eventually mirrors back to the project you are
working on. If someone is having a difficult time, chances are high they will
not deliver quality results on the project. The same sentiment applies to you
too. Even at a personal level, if you are struggling with something in your life
as a result of the project you are working on, you will struggle to give your
best to the project. Therefore, to prioritize and meet your goals, you have to
make sure you take care of yourself. You have to align personal well-being
with the needs of the task at hand.
 Priorities Can Change

At this juncture you have learned that priorities never stay the same. They
change from time to time. Changing order of priorities is why you need to
have a list of things to do. If you have a plan to meet specific goals by the end
of the day, you cannot waste time on a task that you cannot complete for
some reason. If it is beyond you, push it down the line and move on to the
next thing on the list. Perhaps you need someone to be physically present to
complete that task, yet they are away, and can only make it back to the office
in the afternoon. It makes sense to put that task away until then.
Changing the order of priorities is not a bad thing either. You merely
understand the fact that, by changing the order, you are focusing on the things
that are more important, or achievable right away.
 Stay True to Yourself

Even as you create a list of priorities, it is crucial that you do not run away
from reality. How much time do you need to spend on tasks that you have set
out to do? Do not try to make yourself invincible when you know it is not
possible. Time is a limited resource. You might have other things to do
during the day too.
It is easier to achieve your goals and set priorities if they are realistic.
Assign the right time and deadlines to the tasks you need to accomplish.
While it is essential to push yourself to work harder, smarter, and achieve so
much more, you also have to be honest about what you can truly achieve. Do
not confuse pushing yourself with putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.
 Working with Mentors

There are so many things you might never know about yourself, your
problems, or your situation, until you talk to someone. You have people in
your life that you look up to. Consult these people from time to time. Discuss
the progress you are making in life with them. They can help you get a
different perspective and help you to see things more clearly. These are
people who can challenge you to do more, to become a better version of
yourself.
A mentor can help you in times when you are struggling to judge and
determine the urgency of events, practicality, and feasibility. As you grow
from strength to strength, it is possible to lose focus or direct your attention
towards other things that probably do not matter. Losing sight of the ultimate
goal is a reality you must face from time to time.
What a mentor does is help you to remember what you are working on.
They help you remember your true purpose, what you set out to achieve from
the onset. It is true that plans and priorities might have changed along the
line, but one thing that never changes is your ultimate goal, your true purpose
for whichever project you are undertaking. A mentor reminds you of the
important things that matter. They make sure you do not lose yourself in the
process.
 Chapter 10: Sharpening Your Planning
Goals
A lot of people leave goal setting and planning for the New Year. Soon
after that, however, they fail to keep up with the goals they set in the first
place. You must have come across this already. However, this is not about
New Year resolutions; this is about getting you through your day, through
your week and, more importantly, achieving all you have set out to do.
Without a plan in mind, it is virtually impossible to get anywhere. You
would end up meandering aimlessly. Planning goes hand in hand with
visions. What is your mission in life, in your workplace, for the day, and so
forth? There are tiny little goals that you set for yourself which, when
achieved, help you move closer and closer to your ultimate objectives.
You must have a plan already, to help you to achieve your goals. However,
they do not seem to be working. What could you be missing? Where could
you be going wrong? A good plan can fail if you do not enhance it. These
ideas need to be reviewed and honed if they are to work for you.
Even in companies, you will evaluate and review plans from time to time.
This is the only way they can be useful. Plans do not exist in isolation. For
them to work, there are elements that must align in the environment within
which you are implementing the plan. The same notion applies to your
situation.
Do not come up with a plan and keep it static. Be ready to adjust it
accordingly, where necessary. So, how do you sharpen your goals? What can
you do to make them more efficient? Your goals have gotten you this far;
now it is time to make sure they take you even further.
 Brainstorm

Humans are social beings. We continuously thrive around others. It helps,

therefore, that you brainstorm with like-minded fellows, in an attempt to
learn more about how they handle things at their end. When it comes to
brainstorming, it does not necessarily have to be with like-minded people.
You learn new things each day, and you might learn a lesson or two from
someone unexpected.
Talk to people in your immediate environment. You have probably seen
how they go about their tasks. Ask them how they are where they are today.
Find out about some of the challenges they encounter, and how they respond.
Try not to be too intrusive, though. Most people do not like that, so watch out
for the cues in your conversation with them.
The good thing about brainstorming is that you might have some
challenges that are keeping you from meeting your goals, which you have
never thought you could overcome. By talking to someone, you’d be
surprised at how similar your situations are, and their perspective on that
situation might help you to make the right changes in your life.
 Focus on the Bigger Picture

Many are the times we set goals for ourselves and lose ourselves in the
process of meeting the little milestones. These milestones are important, but
never lose sight of the bigger picture. You will come across bumps along the
road, but these should not prevent you from making progress.

You should keep a clear mind when going about this. Remind yourself
from time to time what you are working towards, and why it is vital that you
achieve it. The reminder will set you miles apart from everyone else, and as
you scale the heights of success, use that to inspire others to become better
too. In the end, you will be surrounding yourself with people who respect
you, appreciate your contribution to their lives, and who will help you walk
your path to success.
 Take Notes

How often do you take notes? Note-taking is one of the simplest ways of
improving your planning goals, but very few people seem to take it seriously.
From the moment you were a child in the early learning stages, teachers
reminded you of the importance of taking notes. It does not end with your
final exams. Taking notes is an essential part of life and will help you to
become a better person.
Note-taking gives you something to refer to. You can reflect upon the
notes at the end of the day, find where you went wrong, what you can do
about it, and so forth. The good thing about technology today is that there are
so many ways of taking notes. If you do it digitally, keep the notes
synchronized in your devices so that you can refer to them later on.
Part of taking notes is to help you stay focused. Taking notes enables you
to make sure that influences from outside influence none of your goals. You
set the goals and keep working towards meeting them.
 Organization

For you to sharpen your goals, you have to be organized. Organization

means you realize you have a mammoth task ahead of you, and you find a
way of achieving it. Success is no sprint; it is a marathon. You have to go the
extra mile to beat the rest. More importantly, you have to work harder to
conquer the personal adversity inside you.
More often it is your inhibitions that hold you back from realizing your
real potential. Break down your goals into manageable milestones. Set a plan
in motion so that one thing leads to another. This way, each accomplished
goal will get you closer to your ultimate goal.
With micro-goals, it is easier to realize the challenges or tasks in your life
that you cannot accomplish on your own. This will also enable you to realize
when, where, and how you need help, and how to get it. It is okay to ask for
help. There is no shame in it – the moment you recognize and appreciate this,
you will be open to healthy collaboration with people who can help you
realize your real potential.
 Vision Boards

Why do people create vision boards? You have probably come across this
so many times. You have been advised often to consider creating a vision
board of your own. You can create a physical vision board, a digital one, or
as some people do, have one in your mind. Whichever works for you is best.

Vision boards will act as an inspiration for you whenever you meet goals,
overcome challenges, and achieve some of the items on your vision board. It
is a constant reminder that nothing is too difficult to achieve. It will also
remind you of some of the obstacles that you had to overcome to get to where
you are, and this would be an excellent motivator.
 Invest in Yourself

In your quest to become a better person, a successful individual, you try so

many things you eventually forget to invest in the one thing that truly matters
– yourself. You have to take good care of yourself, mentally, physically, and
otherwise. Without this, all your efforts will go to waste. What use is your
success if you cannot be there to revel in it?
How often do you exercise? Do you drink a lot of water? How would you
define the relationships you have with people around you? Do you spare time
to think and have some clarity by yourself? For someone who lives by the
beach, do you ever find time to take a brisk walk along the beach in the
evening or early in the morning? Are you eating right?
These are some simple things that you might be taking for granted, but in
the long run, they will mean a lot. You have to stay refreshed, energized, and
focused on tackling each day. This will make the difference between yourself
and others around you. Get sufficient sleep. Invest in a good set of pillows,
linen, and so forth. Make sure you are getting not just sufficient sleep, but
quality sleep.
Maintain a routine. I cannot stress this more than enough times. Keep a
routine and stick to it. Routines help you create good habits that eventually
become a part of who you are. Spare time for family and friends. This is the
time that you set aside to interact with them, to talk to them, and share in their
experiences. Keep your devices away from you during this time. Nurture
your body, and you will be strong and healthy enough to enjoy the fruits of
your success.
 How to Achieve Your Goals

When you are just starting, things might look fuzzy. It feels like you are
working on a gigantic puzzle. You know what the result is supposed to look
like, but you do not know how to get there. You have thousands of pieces to
put together, and it feels like a mammoth task. You have an idea of the end
goal. What you need is a plan for how to get there.

Find Your Purpose

For you to work on something and deliver the best results, you need to
work on something you love. If you do not enjoy it, you will never be
passionate about it. So, the question you should be asking yourself is, what
matters to you? What do you want out of this?
There is a lesson in human resource management that monetary gains are
not motivating factors. It is true. Money comes and goes. However, the
personal attachment you have to your goals, your reason for waking up and
putting in hours and hours of effort, is a different story altogether. Money is
just one of the rewards you get for doing what you do.
To sharpen your goals and move closer to realizing your dream, you
should never lose focus of what matters to you. This might be the reason why
you started working on what you are. Never lose sight of this. If possible,
write it down somewhere. Put it on a frame and pin it on the wall in your
office. Your vision should be a constant reminder of why you started this. It
should also remind you of how far you have come, and how much more you
need to do.
 SWOT Analysis

The mention of a SWOT analysis usually elicits thoughts of a comparative

study between companies. However, when planning your goals, this is just as
important. When you study companies to determine their strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and existing threats in the environments within
which they operate, what you are mostly trying to do is understand that
company better.
You are trying to know what works for them, why they do what they do,
and whether it makes sense for them to keep doing so. You are looking for
opportunities that they can take advantage of, and become the next big thing
in the industry. You are looking at the stimuli in their environment that
threaten their very existence, which they should be wary of. You are studying
the business environment within which the company operates, and by the end
of it, you have a rough projection of the best course of action for the
company. You should use this concept when planning your goals.
Take yourself as a case study like a company. You must conduct a SWOT
analysis to understand yourself better. Be very honest while you are at it. You
know your strengths and weaknesses. You can even consult people around
you to confirm some of these features. Next, you need to think about your
environment. What are the opportunities that you feel you can take advantage
of in your immediate environment? What will happen if you take your
chances when afforded the opportunity?
Before jumping to conclusions and investing in something, address the
threats too. For an entrepreneur, success is the goal, but there is also the risk
of failure. What happens if you fail? Do you have a fallback plan? Do you
have cushions in place if, for example, a global financial meltdown occurs
again? Do you feel you can handle the pressure that comes with failure?
 You must be very honest in these assessments because they will help you
to make plans to achieve your goals, and map your vision for the future.

Daily Planning

Even with an efficient plan worked out, you still need to make sure you
plan each day. Looking at the bigger picture, you already have a plan in
place. What you need are smaller plans that will help you tackle each day.
Most successful people work with routines, which are simple plans they carry
out every morning.
From the time they wake up, things are set in motion. They have a
morning schedule, things they must do before leaving the house, things they
do immediately after they get to their offices, and things they do in the
evening before sleeping.
Daily planning is an integral part of helping you achieve the greater goal.
Try to plan and schedule your days accordingly. Spare a few minutes every
morning for this or set aside time in the evening before you go to sleep.
Plan your day on paper. You might have an idea of what you need to do
tomorrow but penning it on paper makes it more realistic. This should remind
you of what you need to do.
 Chapter 11: Planning Ahead and
Avoiding Distractions
Distractions are common in the workplace, and for different reasons.
When you fail to plan, you will struggle to stay focused throughout the day.
Your success is determined by how well you can plan and manage your time.
Time management is about organizing your time between some of the
challenging tasks you have to accomplish by the end of the day. A critical
aspect of time management is planning. If you have a plan and you stick to it,
there is very little you will struggle to do. Hard work is overrated. To succeed
in life, you have to be smart about the way you work.
Hard workers spend a lot of time sweating and toiling, to make sure people
see them putting in the hours. Smart workers, on the other hand, do so much
in very little time. Even when you are running out of time and the pressure to
deliver is intense, your effectiveness depends on how well you manage your
time.
Spare the time to talk to some of the high achievers you know. One thing
common between all of them is how well they manage their time. You have
to be exceptionally good at this. You should be a result-oriented person.
There are benefits of proper planning that you can look forward to,
including reduced stress, being able to use the opportunities that come your
way, an improved professional outlook, efficiency, productivity, and
confidence.
If you cannot manage your time well, some challenges will become part
and parcel of your day. These include things like poor quality of work,
missing deadlines, inefficiency, increased stress, a stalled career, and a
deteriorating professional reputation. Very soon, no one will want to
associate with you.
The lessons you learn in time management and planning are things that
will help you for the rest of your life. The experiences are not just about your
career, but also about your personal life. These are lessons you can also share
with your loved ones, your children, and coworkers.
How can you manage your time properly such that distractions become a
thing of the past? How do you become impenetrable to distractions, internal,
personal, electronic or otherwise? Here are some useful ideas that will help
you to establish boundaries during work hours, and eliminate the risk of
procrastination.
 Personal Accountability

While a lot of distractions are external, most disturbances are internal.

These are the ones that weigh you down the most. Are you okay? Have you
ever taken time to figure things out?
Life is hard as it is, and you might be going through a lot with no one to
talk to about things. You are probably feeling flighty and anxious. If
something is bothering you and taking away your peace and tranquility, get to
the bottom of it. The emotional trauma can manifest and grow into something
worse, making it difficult for you to focus on anything else.
 Identify the Sources of Distraction

If you are in a good place, you have no personal concerns drawing your
attention from work or your schedules, then you might have an external
distraction problem. Dealing with external distraction is easy. You merely
need to identify them and shut them out.

Perhaps it is one of your co-workers getting in your space. Maybe the

office setup is in such a way that you cannot maintain your focus. If there is
something you can do about it, changes that you can make, go ahead and
make them. These changes can help you get rid of distractions.
 Preparation

Take your time and read about some of the great leaders in the world. You
will notice they always have planners working on their payroll. A
professional planner might not be affordable for you, but you can still get
your preparations in order.

With this in mind, you can complete all your tasks on time. You have a list
of things that you need to do. Write these down, and plan for all of them.
Highlight the necessary steps and procedure for handling such tasks.
Preparing ahead of your day should save you a lot of time.
 Clear Your Workstation

Disorganization is not just a state of your mind; it can also come as a result
of the physical state of your workplace. Most people have a very
disorganized workstation. You have files all over the place, all sorts of items
call your desk home. There might even be so many things on your desk that
you cannot remember to whom they belong, but for some reason, you are
comfortable seeing them on your desk.

Someone who has a disorganized desk will almost always be disorganized

at work. Your desk will be a source of distraction, not just for yourself, but
also for your workmates. People will never run out of things to say about
your desk. If someone passes by, they will want to touch something or tell
you something about it.

Creating such a convenient stop-over for your fellow employees is an easy

way to become distracted and not get anything done. It starts with one person
stopping by to make a light conversation with you, and the next thing you
know, your desk is the convening point for all random office gossip. People
go for their tea breaks, grab a cup of coffee and pass by your desk for a brief
conversation. Get your desk organized and you will have made the right step
towards fighting distractions at work.
 Keep Your Door Shut

If you are lucky to work in an office plan that is not open, make use of
your door. Close the door if you are not attending to someone. Go about your
work in silence. Most offices these days favor open office plans. Shutting the
door behind you allows you the freedom to work in peace, away from
distractions by your workmates.
You will realize you are spending less time distracted than when you leave
your door open. Besides, when the door is open, it is always an open
invitation for anyone who wishes to run something by you to come in and
have a chat with you. You will end up dealing with a lot of random walk-in
meetings, at the expense of your productivity.
 Working Offline

Even though a lot of people claim they have to be online at work, this is
not always necessary. You will probably only need to be online when
checking and sending emails, or researching something. Unless you need to
be online, you have no business being online.

Going offline does not just work for your office laptop, but it also applies
to your phone and any other gadget you are using. Stay off the internet until
you have finished the task you set out to accomplish, then you can go online
and catch up on all the random items that interest you.
 Taking Breaks

Do you have plans to take a break away from work? Have you ever done
this? Most people cannot remember. Immediately you get to work in the
morning, you barely get a breather.
The strain can get to you and put you under pressure. You should know
when to take a break. Relax a bit if things are not working. Take a walk.
Reassess your position, unwind, and come back when you see things more
clearly.
 Listening to Music

Ever heard some people say music makes everything better? It is true. At
times all you need is to plug your earphones in, play some music and get lost
in your work. Playing music has proven to be useful for a lot of people. These
days it is not uncommon to walk into an office setting and find people with
earphones plugged into their ears.
If you have noise canceling headphones, this will be much better. Music
tends to give you peace. Choose the type of music you use during work
carefully, though. Some music might make you drift further away from the
task you are performing, and even distract you more than the distractions you
are trying to avoid.
There are different types of music that you can use to help you focus when
you are at work. You can listen to white noise, for example. Some people
work well with the sound of rain playing in the background, an endless loop
or birds chirping in the morning, waves at sea, and so forth. The good thing
about this is that all this is available on YouTube. You can also download and
create a playlist on your device if you are worried about your discipline when
you sign into YouTube.
 Improve Your Concentration

It is not easy to concentrate on a task for a very long time, especially if it is

a huge one. You should learn a thing or two about how to manage this. One
of the most straightforward options is to break the task into smaller units.
With a smaller task, you need a very short attention span to get it done. Do
this for all the mini-tasks you have created, and you will find yourself
focusing on and completing the task faster, and with fewer distractions.
 Set and Implement Deadlines

Setting deadlines for the work you are doing is another way of dealing
with distractions. With deadlines to beat, you have to work hard to make sure
you accomplish the task on time. You cannot afford to waste time. You know
that if you do not make it on time, there will be repercussions.

Deadlines give you an end to look forward to. It gets even better if there is
a reward at the end. The brain naturally appreciates rewards. Therefore, it is
easier to push everything aside and channel all your effort towards meeting
deadlines.
 Working After Hours

A lot of workplaces today are allowing their employees the freedom to

choose their working hours. You can consider this in case your regular work
hours are too demanding, or you find yourself struggling to make things
work.

Nobody knows your work better than you do. You know the fellows who
always make it difficult for anyone to focus. You know the people you
cannot have around you when you are working on something serious.
You can beat the system by scheduling your work hours for a time when
you cannot interact with these people. For the challenging tasks, try coming
in during the weekends to get them done. It is often quieter and more
peaceful during this time since a lot of people are busy relaxing at home or
engaged in social activities. Another option is to come in early or sacrifice
some hours in the evening to get things done.
Coming in earlier is a better option, though. You are fresh and full of
energy in the morning. If you can maintain the focus when you come in at
least one hour ahead of time, you can keep this up for most of the tasks you
need to accomplish during the day. Try to keep the positive energy and vibes
flowing. Do not let it dissipate before you utilize it fully.
 Chapter 12: Procrastination
At some point in time, you have been a victim of procrastination.
Procrastination is a challenge the entire human race has had to deal with for a
very long time. Putting things off because you do not want to deal with them
yet, or you are not ready to face them. People always have a credible reason
for procrastination. This is one of those moments of denial where you know
you haven't done the right thing, but you have a ready excuse. Procrastination
is to act against your better judgment. You find yourself doing something
when you know you should be doing some other thing altogether. It is also
losing self-control.
 Why Do You Procrastinate?

Procrastination is all about what goes on in your brain. Behavioral

scientists have studied procrastination for a long time and have determined
that, despite your intentions to do something else, procrastination seems to
pull you in against your better judgment. There is a time inconsistency that
manifests in the brain. With this time inconsistency, your brain appreciates
immediate rewards far more than future rewards.
Procrastination is a constant war within yourself, about acting and meeting
your future goals. When making plans for the future, you feel good about
them. You look forward to achieving those goals. However, instead of
addressing those plans, you think you are better off doing something else.
It is about instant gratification. You want something good, and you want it
right now. It feels much better than having to wait for it. Take the example of
working out. You have made plans to lose weight and get into the frame you
have always wanted. However, to do this, you have to stay away from certain
types of food, which you love so much. Each time you come across these
foods, you cannot help but stop to take a bite, and assure yourself that you
will start the workout regimen the next day. This is the last time you are
eating unhealthy food. You make this promise to yourself over and over
again until you give up altogether, and resign yourself to not making it at all.
The same applies when you are in your younger, more productive years.
You know putting money aside will help you save for the future. However,
the future is more than 50 years away. It feels so much better spending
money on a concert or buying a PlayStation, so you get immediate
satisfaction. Your brain appreciates instant gratification more than expected
future returns.
 Overcoming Procrastination

Everyone has put something off at a given time in their life. Some people
might call you lazy, but that is not it. What you are tackling is bigger than
laziness. You should understand it, and try to find ways of dealing with it.
You find yourself thinking you have a lot of time to do something when in
the real sense you do not.
Psychologists believe there is an element of task aversion linked to
procrastination. When you feel a particular task will be too difficult to handle,
it is easier for you to set it aside, instead of going on with it. You might be
trying to escape the distress associated with handling that task, but in the long
run, you only succeed at causing more problems. If the task was yours to
perform, you would still have to face it head-on. You might even have to deal
with it under a lot of unnecessary pressure.
The problem with procrastination is that, after a while, it becomes a
habitual vice. You might be so badly off you cannot do anything else. If
something does not satisfy them instantly, they put it off. You do not want to
be that person. There are health concerns associated with procrastination that
you do not want to happen to you. Stress and poor performance are just the
obvious ones.
Your confidence also takes a hit because no one trusts you to get anything
done anymore. Your self-worth goes down the drain. It gets to a point where
you do not trust yourself to get things done. You will end up wallowing in
self-pity, struggling with shame and guilt.
 Dealing with Procrastination

If you notice you have been having a difficult time getting things done,
you need to make structural changes to get things done. It might be an uphill
task, but making a start will get you going. Here are some tips to assist.

Stop Making Excuses

If excuses are a regular part of your life, stop making them. Learn to own
up to your mistakes. Take responsibility for your actions. You do not have to
wait for something to happen before you start doing what you should. Take
the initiative and get going.
Try to be honest. Most of the time you think you are lying to others, yet in
the real sense, you are only lying to yourself, to make you feel good about
something that is not even real. Do not wait to get in the mood. Do not wait
to get in the zone. All you are doing is delaying your work or project further.

Partner Up!

In your endeavor to stop procrastination, getting a partner for a given task

might help you a lot. Having a partner enables you to be efficient. A partner
holds you accountable for your actions. They call you out when you are lazy.
The secret is to choose a partner that can keep you on your toes. You can
pick someone you look up to, someone you never want to disappoint, or
someone you hold in high regard. It could be your immediate supervisor, a
coach, or even your co-workers.
 Set deadlines for the work you need to get done and work towards getting
that done. You must also create accountability times when you provide
reports on progress. These are times when you get in touch with your partner
to update them on the progress you have made. Since you do not want to go
back on your word or disappoint them, this will help you to push yourself to
get things done.
Remember that choosing the right partner will help you to succeed. Do not
select someone you can bully or someone you can easily talk into leniency.
Your partner needs to be a steadfast person, one who has perspective.

Stop Catastrophizing

You find yourself making a big deal out of everything, and this should
stop. You always think about how painful it might be for you to complete a
given task, or how difficult it will be, how boring it is, and so forth. The more
you do this, the more unbearable you will find the task.
None of these things you worry about will kill you. So what if the task is
tedious? So what if you feel tired at the end of it? You are still alive. You will
not even fall sick. Delaying these tasks, however, might make you sick.
Procrastination could lead to stress when you have so much to do and very
little time to work with. What you need to do might not be one of your
favorite tasks, but you have to do it.

Division of Labor

If you have a task to complete and it is too big, there is a good chance you
will always push it aside. You do this hoping to find enough time to do it, but
you rarely do. Before you know it, the deadline is fast approaching, and you
cannot even find a way to start working on it.
Any manager would tell you the best way to get some of these things done
is to divide and conquer. Split the task into phases and complete them one at
a time. As you do this, remember how far you have come, and you will
appreciate your effort and keep working harder to complete the task
altogether.
Where possible, share the task with people around you. Some functions
call for a collaborative effort if you are to succeed in accomplishing them.
Since different people are working on it, the need to push the task to a later
date does not arise. Besides, you will not feel overwhelmed by the job.
Instead, you will be looking forward to getting it done.

Get a Different Perspective

A common theme in procrastination is the desire for short-term benefits

over long-term results. Take a different perspective. Ask yourself, why are
you getting this done? What is in it for you?
Imagine, for a moment, completing the task you have been putting off for
a while. Imagine that invoice clearing – the money would feel so good resting
in your account, right? Picture yourself buying that new bike you have been
saving up for.
If you start thinking about the result, it is easier to work even harder to get
things done. You might also put in more hours to accomplish tasks faster, and
better. Taking on a different perspective is essential as it helps you have
positive vibes oozing around you. You are more confident this way, and you
become a better role model for people you associate with.
 Be Real

Build a routine, create a schedule and follow it, to help you deal with
procrastination. This is a good thing, only if you do it right. Some people get
things wrong from the very beginning. As you craft your schedule, try to
make sure it is properly aligned.
Do not create a schedule that ends up looking like you are superhuman. Be
realistic about your breaks. Be honest with yourself about the things you can
fit into that schedule. Do not put too much on your plate so that you look like
you are the busiest person on the planet.
You also have to be honest about your energy levels. You know you are
not a morning person – why on earth are you scheduling demanding tasks for
the morning? This is to help you get results, not to impress people. You
cannot achieve your goals if you are not honest with yourself.

Protect Your Environment

Some elements around you encourage procrastination. Disruptive

technology is all around you, and some of the tech you access only succeed at
disrupting your focus. Just because someone has reached out to you on email
does not mean you have to respond to them right away. Just because you
have a WhatsApp group with your workmates where you talk about your
horrible bosses does not mean you have to be on the group chatting at the
earliest convenience – even if you are the group administrator.
These are some of the things that lead you astray. You soon run out of
time, the day is gone, and you have not achieved anything. Your boss will
always be horrible, and they will be even meaner when you are not meeting
your deliverables.
 Most devices today come with a Do Not Disturb feature. You can
customize this to suit your work interests. Create new profiles for different
scenarios, so that at the push of a button, you turn off everything that might
distract you when you are busy. Better yet, keep your devices out of sight.
 Chapter 13: Making the Most of Your
Time
The world we live in is moving at a breakneck pace. It is easy to get
carried away and lose yourself in the process, and you find yourself unable to
meet your goals. No generation before us has enjoyed a better use of
technology than we have. Technology influences lifestyle changes in an
innovative way that it is virtually impossible not being able to interact with
tech, or experience the disruptions.
One thing that is obvious at the moment is the importance of time.
Compared to our parents and other generations before us, we are struggling to
accomplish a lot of things. This leaves you wondering how to make the most
use of the little time you have on your hands.
Before looking into ways of being very productive and making the most
use of your time, here are some realities that you must appreciate about your
time:
Things have changed. You end up struggling to accomplish a lot
much earlier in life than you would have had to a few years ago.
Time is a limited resource. Yes, you read that right. Time is
running out, and you have to try to utilize it wisely.
The value of time. You cannot place value on the time you have.
You, therefore, should learn how to control it, use it well and unleash
your potential.
Time is an asset. As an asset, time is a tool at your disposal. You
can save it, share it, divide it, manipulate it in any way you want.
 Productivity is the ultimate goal most people struggle with every single
day. You have things to do, you have targets to beat, aims to achieve, and so
forth. You have a lot of things to do, but very little time. How can you go
about this? How do you make sure you can achieve all you need to without
feeling the strain?
Some methods have always worked for successful people in the past. Your
case is no different. What might not be the same is their implementation
methods. Case scenarios might not be the same, but the ultimate goal,
managing your time, might be the same. Find useful ideas herein that can
make you go the extra mile, making the most use of your time:
 Planning

Planning is probably one of the first things anyone will tell you about time.
You have to plan for it. Like any other resource, you must prepare adequately
for your time. If you cannot, you will end up unable to account for how you
spend yours.

You can make plans either before you sleep or early in the morning when
you wake up. You can organize your day properly and make plans for an
entire week ahead of time. Planning seldom takes more than 30 minutes.
In this plan, you should have the day organized from the moment you
wake up to the time you go to bed. Do not be rigid in your program, and at
the same time, do not be too flexible. If you make your plans too strict, the
slightest change might set you off track. If you keep your plans too flexible, it
becomes easy for you to veer off course, since you have a lot of room to
maneuver.
Planning calls for discipline, as does execution. If you are disciplined, you
will do a lot of things in good time, and will not have time to waste. One of
the benefits of making the most use of your time is that, if done correctly, you
end up with a lot of time on your hands at the end of the day. You have
enough time left over for you to rest, spend time with the family, read a book,
or do anything that makes you a better person.
 Managing Yourself

If you cannot manage time correctly, you might fail to manage the one
thing that matters perhaps more than time: yourself. You need breaks in
between your packed schedule. You need time to relax, time to catch a
breather. When planning your program for the day, be very keen on the tasks
that demand a lot of energy. Packing these closely together will be
detrimental to you in the long run.
You should space out your plan, so you do not wear yourself out. Set
timelines for your schedules. Try to spend only the necessary time on your
assignments. If you feel it will take too much time and eat into the time set
aside for something else, reconsider and move onto the next item on your list.
This way, you do not end up with backlogs or wasting time on something that
is unachievable.
The most important thing about planning for your time is making sure that,
in between your schedules, you find time to take care of yourself. Have time
for a meal, spare time to stretch your legs a bit, or get some fresh air.
 Setting Priorities

There is a reason why you have an order of performing some tasks ahead
of others. These are priority tasks. Address priorities ahead of everything
else. You might not like them, but they are crucial. Accomplishing them as
early as possible, and when you have adequate time to rest will go a long
way.
It is always advisable that you handle your priority tasks when you are
alert mentally and when you are calm. This way, you can deal with them well
and give them all the attention they deserve.
Completing such tasks on the right footing further gives you a spring in
your step. You are more confident when you have handled challenging tasks
competently, and you can carry this into the rest of your day. Nothing can
hold you back.
 Stay Focused

Losing focus of your goals for the day is easy. There are so many
distractions around you, and succumbing to them will give you problems.
You do not always have to respond to everything that happens around you.
You have to remind yourself that you are working on something that is more
important than anything else.
 Trust Your Instinct

One of the other reasons why you end up struggling to account for your
time is second-guessing your moves. You should learn how to do things
once. Do not get in the habit of delaying decision making, or taking a long
time thinking about what to do.

Indecision is a big problem for a lot of people, especially when dealing

with tasks that do not necessarily seem to be priority tasks. Try to complete
everything you are working on before you start doing something new.
 The Importance of Delegation

You might not have the capacity to do everything on your own even if you
try to convince yourself that you are invincible. It is impossible for you to
handle everything on your own. At some point, you have to relax a little and
share some of the work with those around you.

There is nothing wrong with sharing some of your work. It is not a sign of
weakness, but a means of making sure nothing is left undone. Besides, you
cannot be perfect at everything. By delegating some of your work to people
who are more capable, you are ensuring all work receives the attention it
deserves.
This is the principle of specialization, which all entrepreneurs understand
too well. It is better to share the task with someone who is an expert at it than
leaving it to someone who tries their hand at everything. Sharing some work
with people who are good at what they do is not just about completing the
task, but it is also about getting a different perspective.
The work environment is supposed to be about collaboration. You share
ideas with people, and in the process, you can learn so much. If you are in
charge of the workforce, you should know your workers well enough to
understand what their strengths and weaknesses are, respective of your goals
and objectives for each task. If you belong to any team, you should do the
same with your teammates. Understanding what they are good at will go a
long way towards helping you succeed together as a team, saving you a lot of
time in the process.
 Slow Down

It is easy to get caught up in a rush to meet and beat your deadlines and
targets, to the point where you lose yourself in the process. As you get
through the day, it is essential that you learn how and when to slow down and
get a breather. Slowing down is a good way for you to get a better
perspective of what you are doing.
Slowing down should give you a better insight or perspective into the day
and what you are working for. It is like taking a trip through a forest. If you
drive by, you will be in and out of the woods in a few minutes, and you will
barely appreciate the sight. However, if you walk through the forest, you will
have the best view, and you will also feel rejuvenated, happier, and enjoy the
fresh air. Slowing down will help you take a step back and understand why
you are doing things. It gives you purpose. It helps you to stay focused and
remember the reason why you are doing what you are.
 Account for Your Time

Taking stock of your time at the end of the day helps you understand
where your time went. This way, you know how you spent the day, which
tasks were challenging, and helps you plan for others that are repetitive, but
challenging.

To account for your time, consider keeping a diary. A diary becomes

useful because you know exactly how and where you spent your time all
through the day. Writing this down also helps you realize time gaps in your
day, things or areas where you waste a lot of time, and come up with ideas
for improving that.
Noting things down will also help you identify trends and patterns and
how they manifest. You will determine the times of the day when you are
most productive, and when your burnout starts to show. It will also help you
understand whether you are meeting your priorities as you set them out each
day.
It is like watching a game on TV, and then at the end of the game, pundits
give an analysis of the game. They discuss the game from the beginning to
the end. They look at some of the controversial decisions in the game. They
highlight the errors that players made, some of the magical moments in the
game. More importantly, they emphasize progress since the previous game,
and any changes that were made by the coaches to their teams, and the results
of that.
This is the same thing you will be doing. You analyze your day. There is
no one better placed to do this than yourself. After all, you understand your
day better because you lived it. You look back at your decisions, you look at
the progress you have made the entire week, and decide how you want to
proceed in the coming days.
 Conclusion
Managing time is an essential aspect of success that you cannot take for
granted. If you have goals and aspirations in life, you need to start working
on them right away. Plan your days accordingly.
You now know some of the things that distract you each day, things that
contribute to the time you lose. This is time you will never get back. What
you can do is plan for the time you have right now, and the time ahead of
you. Do away with distractions. Do not just declutter your desk, declutter
your schedule and life.
Identify the relationships to which you belong. Define them and end those
that do not add value to your life. These are some of the things that are
holding you back and keeping you from reaching your potential. You might
not like the fallback, but in a few days or weeks, you will notice the
difference, and you will appreciate the decision to walk away.
Only one person is holding you back, and you look at that person each day
when you stand in front of your mirror. Challenge yourself to do things
differently, to do things better than you have done before. It is possible. It has
been done before. People are doing it all the time. Why not you? The path to
success might not be an easy one to walk, but you can streamline it and make
it manageable. The sacrifices you make right now will eventually pay off.
Your time is invaluable, and you can utilize it properly. The tips you have
learned in this book will go a long way and make you an efficient member of
whichever team you work with. You will have a defined purpose in life and
know how to work on your goals.
Good Luck!
 Mindset For Success

Discover the Millionaire Secrets, Habits

and Highly Effective People Exercises for Self-
Discipline, Use Self-Esteem and Confidence to
Achieve Your Goal & Ultimate Mindfulness

Written By

Ernest Brown
 Introduction
Do you want to be successful in life? Do you want to achieve everything
that you always wanted to? If your answers are yes, this book is exactly what
you need right now! As you flip through the pages, you will find detailed
insight on everything that you've ever wanted to know about being successful
in life.
Whether it’s embracing a growth mindset, avoiding distractions, staying
focused, practicing good habits or appreciating the power of manifestation,
this book will provide you with a step-by-step guide.
In this book, I have de-bunked common myths, introduced alternative
approaches towards success, and added plenty of actionable goals that can be
achieved by anyone. Because this isn't another superficial guide with
arbitrary goals, as you read through the chapters, you will get a better grasp
about the things you need to do, and a stronger idea about the things you need
to avoid in order to be successful.
For my readers’ benefit, I have particularly focused on the growth mindset
throughout the book. This is primarily because growth mindset is imperative
to your overall, holistic success. Remember, having fixed thoughts and ideas
won’t really take you anywhere. In order to make it big, you have to open
doors for newer and out-of-the-box ideas, step out of your comfort zone, and
do everything that makes you scared or afraid. It is only when you do such
things that you‘ll truly achieve success in life.
As you flip through the chapters, you’ll also notice that I’ve shared a
couple of my personal experiences. This is because I want to make the
subject easier for you to understand. I want you to understand that anyone
can be successful, if they follow the right set of rules and maintain proper,
consistent discipline.
While the first few chapters offer step by step guidelines on improving
focus and practicing good habits, the later ones deal with more practical
approaches concerning manifestation experiments, active and passive
affirmations, self-guided meditation and more!
So if you’re really looking to make it big in life and achieve things that are
practically impossible for others, give this book a try! It’ll definitely live up
to your expectations!
 Chapter 1: Embracing the Philosophy of
Growth Mindset
Success doesn’t come easy. It takes plenty of patience, lots of practice and
absolute consistency. But before you embrace success, there are a couple of
things that you need to do. And guess what? One of the first things you need
to do is follow and adopt a growth mindset. But what exactly is a growth
mindset in the first place and how are you supposed to adopt it? Well, that is
exactly what we will get to learn in the following sections. In this chapter, I’ll
give you a detailed insight on the growth mindset. I’ll also share some useful
snippets of wisdom that’ll help you to better embrace and adopt this mindset.
 What is Growth Mindset

A growth mindset can be best defined as our inherent abilities to develop

and nurture intelligence. This term dates back several years to when it was
first coined by a professor of psychology, Carol Dweck. Dweck conducted
research where she observed that children who assume that intelligence is
acquired have better problem-solving abilities than the ones who assume
intelligence is a single, inherent, fixed entity that can’t be altered. People with
a growth mindset believe that they can achieve anything in life with effort,
proper guidance, and persistence. These individuals aren’t bogged down by
major or minor roadblocks as they believe in their abilities to grasp new
things.
In the simplest terms, a growth mindset is the mentality that accompanies
the process of growth within your brain. It is the kind of perspective that
pushes you to do more. This is the mindset that is needed to ‘actually’ take up
activities that encourage you to feel ‘true growth’ in your system; the kind of
activities that’ll trigger your growth by manipulating your neural pathways.
The mindset develops when you learn new skills, expand your horizon
with your current skills and engage in new modes of activities and learning. It
isn’t something you inherently have, but something that you strive to achieve.
It isn’t something that has to be accomplished, but rather a constant process
of maintenance that needs to be balanced with time. A Growth mindset won’t
come easily. You need to motivate yourself to the core in order to achieve it.
You have to be entirely ‘invested’ in order to achieve it. Unmotivated actions
cannot be classified as a growth mindset, because it doesn’t have any scope
for growth in the first place. Your growth mindset is the culmination of
engaging, motivating and incredibly productive strategies that eventually go
on to positively impact the neural pathways of your brain.
 How to Develop a Growth Mindset

Developing a growth mindset is easier than you assume. All you have to
do is follow the next couple of guidelines and be consistent with your
schedule. Once you do that, you’ll soon be able to follow through with
everything that comes with this mindset.

Acknowledging and Embracing Your Imperfections

This is one of the most difficult and yet most important aspects of
achieving a growth mindset. After all, can you ever be mindful and open to
change when you’re constantly finding faults with yourself and everybody
else? Perhaps one of the best ways to start out with your goal is to constantly
reaffirm and tell yourself that, since you’re human, you are capable of
making mistakes. I personally turn out to be most authentic when I am
compelled to admit that I’m not aware of everything around me, and I do
make some mistakes. This makes me all the more likely to embrace the
imperfections in the people around me and love them despite these minor
glitches.
In case you’re struggling to adopt this new change, try jotting down
motivational quotes in a notebook. You can also set positive reminders in
your phone. For instance, if you’re heading out for something as important as
an interview or an exam, try setting hourly reminders that’ll motivate you and
remind you that you can make mistakes. As you see the reminders from time
to time, they will automatically have a positive impact on your life.
Remember, in order to achieve a growth mindset you first have to believe
in your inherent abilities. You cannot beat yourself up for everything bad that
happens in your life. Understand your weaknesses and try transforming them
into strengths. Most of us have the toxic tendency of looking back in the past
and beating ourselves up for anything bad that happened in our lives. And
this is exactly what you need to get rid of. For instance, you may not be the
most structured and organized person, but that doesn’t mean you’re terrible at
everything. If you have this weakness and understand it well, try countering it
with some positive quality like flexibility. You can always be more flexible
and open to possibilities despite being disorganized and messy.

Considering Your Challenges to Be New Opportunities

In life, we encounter new, challenging situations at every turn. Whether

it’s applying for a new position, trying a new course, or learning something
different, challenges are immense, and at times, they can get quite
overwhelming. But despite the overwhelming nature of these challenges, you
need to accept them and make the most out of them. In fact, accepting these
challenges is perhaps one of the most important aspects of developing as an
individual. The more you test your limits, the more will you get to learn
about yourself. New challenges aren’t really a roadblock; rather, they are an
opportunity to learn something new and to learn to understand yourself
better.
One of the main reasons why people are afraid to accept new challenges is
because they fear the possibilities of failure. All of us aren’t really strong. So
instead of finding opportunity in a challenge, we usually focus on the impact
of failure. This mentality is the sole reason why we stumble and stutter before
taking on something new. The possibilities of failure weigh us down, so we
try avoiding a challenge and instead follow the same path as before. We
make inane excuses in order to avoid a challenge. We do everything possible
to avoid getting out of our comfort zones.
But staying in a comfort zone solely because of fear isn’t as comfortable as
you’d assume. By avoiding a specific challenge, you’re missing out on the
opportunity to learn about yourself and understand your abilities better.
You’ll feel perennially trapped. It’s almost like you’re living a life that isn’t
true to your own potential. Your mind is clouded by thoughts discomfort,
unhappiness, anxiety, and a crippling sense that things should be different.
And this is exactly why you need to accept the challenge and try to make
the most out of it. In order to lead a life of mindfulness, with a growth
mindset, you’ll have to accept the new challenges that come your way. After
all, it is these challenges that’ll give you better opportunities in helping you
assume your true self. Yes, you will be afraid. You will fear stepping out of
your comfort zone. But if you’re really looking to grow as an individual,
you’ll have to rise above this fear, take the challenge, and use it to its
maximum potential.

Avoiding Validation

If you’re really looking to learn and grow as an individual, the first thing
you need to do is avoid seeking validation. While this is easier said than
done, once you achieve this, achieving a growth mindset will be easier than
ever. Remember, validation can never have a positive impact on your life. It
exhausts you, compels you to question yourself, and makes your life
miserable.
In order to grow in life, you have to understand two things: you can’t make
everyone happy, and all your actions won’t have the same impact on others.
If you’re really doing something you enjoy, why even bother about others?
The more you bother, the more complicated will things be. You’ll be under
the pressure of unrealistic expectations and by the end of it, you won’t
achieve anything substantial.
One of the very steps to avoid seeking others’ validation is to be aware that
we, as individuals, are stuck with our own doubts, insecurities, and
uncertainties. So before doing anything else, you need to understand your
actions. The very idea of seeking validation from others stems from your own
self-doubt. So once you’re aware of how often you seek others’ validation,
you get a chance to start working on yourself from scratch. As you identify
this glitch, you will understand yourself better. You also will develop a sense
of self-worth.
Your self-worth is the understanding of the fact that you’re loved by the
people around you, because of your inherent abilities and not merely because
of the ideas they have about you. When you tend to seek validation from
others, this sense of self-worth is relatively low. So if you’re really looking to
develop yourself, you first need to do away with this belief.

Paying More Attention to Quality

Every time I tell someone about developing a growth mindset, I observe a

weird similarity. Almost immediately after, they ask me for a timeline. As
bizarre as it sounds, almost everyone wants to know how soon they should be
achieving a growth mindset instead of focusing on the quality of the mindset
alone. Everyone wants to grow faster than the next person. Everyone one
wants to achieve the best things in life as soon as they can. And guess what?
This is exactly where they are going wrong.
Developing a new mindset isn’t really an easy job. You don’t just wake up
one morning and ‘develop’ the mindset. Contrarily, it is a tedious and time-
consuming process that involves plenty of trial and error. You need to keep
on trying and practicing things until you achieve a certain standard.
While you need to have a plan and focus on it, you can’t sacrifice quality
in order to grow prematurely. That doesn’t help at all. You need to start
everything from scratch, focus on the small, minute details and work on them
individually.
Developing a growth mindset involves a lot of change. You need to
change your habits, your course of action, your perceptions. And trust me,
this doesn’t happen overnight. You need to give yourself the time to fit into a
new role. You need to give yourself the time to develop and implement a new
mindset. It is only when you take your time that you end up growing and
developing as an individual.

Embracing Criticism Positively

Taking criticism can be challenging, let alone learning from it. But in order
to thrive and succeed, you need to embrace any criticism that comes your
way. I know; some critiques can be downright toxic. But even then, you need
to hear what the other person is trying to say. Don’t always be defensive.
When someone has a negative opinion about something you’ve done, hear
them out first. Try to understand their perspectives.
I am not asking you to follow every criticism that comes your way. I am
not asking you to go by criticism from people who are merely trying to pull
you down. All I am asking is for you to hear them out. It doesn’t hurt, does
it? As you hear them out, you will also inadvertently develop a tolerance for
hearing negative things. Right after that, you can decide which advice you
want to follow and what advice you’d rather ignore. Once you start
developing the habit of hearing and considering criticism, you will take a step
forward in developing a growth mindset.

Setting New Goals

Learning is something that never stops, no matter what! Just because

you’ve performed well on an exam or completed a project successfully
doesn’t mean you’ll no longer focus on the subject. If you’re really looking to
achieve a growth mindset, this is one of those habits that you need to do away
with. Growth-minded individuals are always on the lookout for new goals. It
is these goals that keep them stimulated; it is these goals that keep them from
wanting more. So once you’ve achieved a specific goal, try working on a new
one almost immediately.
Yes, you’ll obviously take your break before starting something new
again. But make sure that break isn’t long enough to distract you from your
cause. In order to develop a growth mindset, you need to have a relentless
quest for making it big. Being satisfied and drawing the line shouldn’t be
something that you practice doing. In case you’re easily tempted or
distracted, try writing down a list of goals in your notebook or online app. So
every time you meet a goal, your attention is automatically diverted to the
other one. When you do this from time to time, you’ll develop a habit of
trying to make the most of your life. And this is exactly how you’ll take your
final step in developing a growth mindset.
 Chapter 2: Avoid Distractions
Your ability to stay focused isn’t just another good habit—it is one of the
most essential factors in developing a growth mindset. Remember, achieving
new things is an extremely important aspect of the growth mindset, and focus
is your key to achieving new things. But how do we develop focus when our
mind itself is constantly diverted? How do you even train your mind? Well,
that’s exactly what we are going to discuss in this chapter. Here, you will find
detailed insight into the various tips you need to follow for avoiding
distractions and staying focused.
 Why Do You Need to Avoid Distractions?

Distractions can turn out to be a major roadblock in developing a growth

mindset. When you’re distracted, you no longer feel the urge or the
motivation to complete your tasks. You no longer feel like reaching higher
and reaching bigger. This alone is one of the biggest reasons why you need to
do away with any and every kind of distraction.
 How to Get Rid of Distractions?

Getting rid of distractions is easier than ever if you follow some simple
guidelines. This section discusses guidelines that’ll help you avoid
distractions so that you’re able to better focus on your tasks.

Focus Within Yourself

Before you follow any other guideline, it is really important to understand

what you want from life. You can never get rid of distractions if you lack a
focus in your own life. And in order to focus, you have to look within
yourself. While this might sound strange, trust me, it works. All you need to
do is find a quiet corner and take some time to reflect on your wants and
needs. Once you have an idea about those, it’s simpler and easier to tackle
every big or small distraction that comes your way.
So take some time from your busy schedule and ask yourself the difficult
questions. In case you have trouble concentrating, play some light music and
add ambient lighting to pep up your mood. As you sit in a comfortable
position, ask yourself whether you’re truly satisfied with your life. Ask
yourself about the things that make you happy and the things that distract
you. You might not get an answer right away. But once you repeat this
activity a couple of times, you’ll definitely find a proper, concrete answer.
This answer alone will guide you to the right path. Once you have this
answer, you will get to know the things that you need to get rid of. And this is
exactly how you take your very first steps in avoiding distractions.

Figure out the Cause

 Once you’ve sorted out your most important priorities, it is time to focus
on the external causes of losing focus. What exactly is bothering you while
you’re trying to concentrate? Does it have something to do with your office
setup? Is it because of a nosy coworker? Is it because of the lack of proper
skills, time, or insights for something specific that needs to be done? Is it just
clear burnout? It is really important to get these answers because you’ll never
be able to fix the effect if you’re entirely oblivious about the cause.
According to most studies, people manage to maintain their maximum
focus for one to two hours a day. So it is all the more important for you to be
extremely productive during this time. After you’ve figured out the external
cause of distraction, try your best to do away with it. For instance, if your
office setup bothers you, try adding a couple of motivational posters.
Alternatively, if a coworker is nosy, try avoiding them or confronting them
directly. Just like these two solutions, you’ll find hundreds of amazing
solutions for every other problem you encounter. All you have to do is give
yourself the time to understand the cause.

Don’t Try Too Many Things at Once

Almost all of us revel at the thought of being multi-taskers. But that’s not
how things work every time. And let’s be really honest: if you are bogged
down by twenty tasks that need to be completed every day, will you focus
enough on each of them? In most cases, you won’t. And I don’t really blame
you. None of us can expect our work to be easily completed if our focus is
scattered. So instead of doing too many things at once, try focusing on only
two to three things every day. Even one works just fine, but nothing should
be more than your average capacity.
In case you’re wondering how to start with this, the idea is pretty simple.
All you need to do is to create a to-do list of your most important tasks.
Remember to include the tasks that most deserve your attention on that
specific day. Once you have this list ready, try filtering your options once
again and check the ones that you cannot do away with for any reason. After
you complete this, you’ll be most possibly left with two or three tasks. So
now that you have the entire day, try focusing on those tasks alone.
These are the steps that you’ll need to take for accomplishing your goals
with a growth mindset. As mentioned in the previous chapter, there’s
absolutely no harm in taking things slowly. Now that you have a to-do list,
things will be much simpler.

Try Focusing on the Small Aspects of Your Work

One of the easiest ways to lose focus is by seeing your goal as the massive
accomplishment it is. Since most of our goals take at least a couple of weeks
or months to meet, it automatically dampens our motivation and kills our
urge to do more. If you keep thinking about results, you’ll either become
entirely discouraged because of the nature and extent of your goal, or
fantasize about what it’ll seem like when you finally achieve the goal.

Both the consequences are equally detrimental for your focus, which is
why you need to do away with them almost immediately. So how should you
work your goal? Well, all you have to do is focus on the small chunks of
work instead of the big ones. After all, which one seems simpler? Writing
two hundred words every day or writing at least two sentences every day?
Trying thirty push-ups every day or trying three instead?
The idea here is to work with minimums. In all probability, you’ll meet
them and cross them. With time, your minimum will start increasing and you
will end up enhancing your ability to stay all the more focused on the bigger
goals. For more help, you can also use the following techniques-
ABC Method- For this method, you’ll have to divide your tasks in small
chunks labeling them as A, B and C. The group A tasks are of maximum
priority and have to be done right away, the group B tasks are the tasks that
need to be done but have mild consequences, and the group C tasks are the
tasks that can be done but don’t have any consequences associated with them.
Once you have this list, start with the group ‘A’ task and then follow it up by
the group B and the group C tasks.
Pomodoro Technique- For this, you will first have to decide on the task
that needs to be done and then set your Pomodoro timer for around 25
minutes. Begin with the task right after setting the timer, and as soon as the
timer rings, try putting a short checkmark to check your progress. If you have
lesser than four checkmarks, take a short break (for around 3-5 minutes) and
then go back to set the timer for another round. After the timer rings for four
times, take a longer break for around 15-30 minutes. You can then reset the
timer and get back to choose another task.
Smart Sheet- In addition to these nifty techniques, there’s also a tool that
can help you with time management. And this is none other than Smartsheet.
This is a tool that will help you in creating weekly agendas, building reports,
and managing your overall appointments. The interface of this tool is pretty
simple and anybody can use it.

Use Visualization Techniques

Visualization techniques go a long way in helping you stay and feel

focused. But when you do visualize, you have to ensure that it’s the right
kind of visualization. To put it more simply, visualize yourself working.
Don’t visualize the success; visualize the chore.
 Several champion runners have tried this technique and the results have
been amazing, to say the least. These runners use the technique backwards—
they imagine their success in the beginning and then go on to act out the
entire process in reverse. This helps them to visualize every single step from
the very beginning.
A simpler and easier way to implement this would be by imagining
yourself working on a small part of your task. For instance, imagine that
you’re looking to play an instrument, but it’s far across the room. So what
should you do? Well, just try imagining yourself standing up. Once you
really imagine and visualize it, acting on your visualization will be easier.
Right after that, try repeating the process of visualizing with every single
step until you get your hands on the instrument and start practicing it. This
entire exercise of strongly focusing on every step will distract you from
negative thoughts and get your body ready for every relevant step that needs
to be taken. All you have to do is apply this step every time you’re struggling
to focus on something. Starting with the smallest and less tedious motions
will go a long way in helping you achieve your goals.

Avoid Using Your Phone for a While

If you’re really looking to avoid distractions for developing a growth

mindset, start by keeping your phone off. While your phone is definitely one
of the most integral aspects of proper, consistent communication, it also has
the power to distract you from your current goal. When you have your phone
while working, you may inadvertently get this inherent urge to check it every
five to ten minutes. These five to ten minutes will eventually add up to one to
two hours, thereby keeping you distracted during the prime hours of the day.
When you finally put your phone down, you will no longer have the urge or
dedication to work. You will feel lazy, sleepy, and incredibly distracted.
But you can’t be distracted if you’re looking to achieve a growth mindset.
Distraction alone is your worst deterrent; it won’t just kill your time but will
also keep you from achieving what you want. So every time you’re trying to
do something important, try shutting your phone off or forward every call to
voicemail. You can always check your calls once every couple of hours. I’d
suggest you do the same thing with your emails. Unless it’s super important,
you can always check them once every couple of hours to avoid wasting
unnecessary time.

Let Your Body Relax

Very often we end up getting distracted at the smallest instance because

we are too anxious to work. For me, it feels like all the muscle in my body is
tense. In fact, such is the extent of the situation that I can’t get myself to relax
my body at any costs. If you’ve faced a similar situation, you might have an
idea about what I’m trying to say. And guess what? One of the simplest ways
to deal with this is by practicing proper muscle relaxation. You need to center
this relaxation technique around your body for best results. And guess what?
This won’t just calm you, but it’ll also help you focus better.
Is there any exercise for relaxation? How do we even start out? Well, the
idea is simple. All you have to do is lie on the floor and keep your arms along
the sides. As you do this, make sure you don’t have your hands in fists or
your feet crossed. Begin with your toes and slowly ask yourself to release
them. Once you’re done with this, start moving your body gently while
releasing every individual body part till you reach your head. This is one of
the simplest and easiest relaxation techniques that’ll keep you fresh,
motivated, and focused.
 Get Some Fresh Air

The temperature and air circulation in your current room can end up
making you feel distracted or anxious. It is very likely you’ll feel fidgety if
you’re working in the same room for six to eight hours. This might even end
up triggering a panic attack.
So if you’re really looking to stay focused, start by removing yourself
from the stuffy environment as soon as you can. Right after that, head outside
and stay there for a while. The fresh air will help you calm down.
Alternatively, the change in scenery can interrupt your distracted thought
process, helping you stay focused once you’re back.
If you’re working for long hours, it is likely you’ll get tired. But getting
tired doesn’t always mean you’ll end up losing your focus. You can always
deal with this situation by taking short breaks. So if you’ve been working for
two to three hours at a stretch, try taking a short break of thirty to sixty
minutes. Remember, your body will feel all the more refreshed if you reward
it once in a while. So give it the reward it deserves by taking breaks in short,
scheduled cycles.
P.S: Sometimes you also get distracted because you’re hungry or
dehydrated. So when you do feel the crippling sensation of hunger, don’t
ignore it—slow down, get some food, and you’ll soon find yourself all the
more focused at work.

Use Deadlines

As much as we hate deadlines, none of us can deny their relevance. When

you have a specific deadline you are naturally inclined to complete the job
faster than you would have if you didn’t have this deadline in the first place.
Deadlines can be best defined as the budget of your time. Just like budgeting
money compels you to prioritize stuff, using deadlines will help you to
complete the task faster. When you use them the right way, you will no
longer be driven by impulse and will be able to complete your task faster.
If you get distracted easily, deadlines can be an ultimate savior as they’ll
compel you to focus on your work and get it done the right way.
 Chapter 3: Stay Focused
Why do we emphasize staying focused? What does it have to do with
being successful? Are you less stressed when you manage to be more
focused? Are you happier when you have greater focus? Also, if it’s really so
important, why don’t more people emphasize focus? If you’ve ever had these
questions, fret not, because that is exactly what we are going to discuss in this
chapter.
 What Does the Term ‘Focus’ Mean?

While growing up, all of us stumbled upon the term ‘focus.’ Our parents,
teachers, and elders repeatedly informed us about the importance and
relevance of this single term. But what does the term even mean and how is it
connected with the growth mindset? Well, being focused simply means that
you have a set of clear objectives and your primary goal is to achieve those
objectives. As you decide what you’re planning to do, you structure your
decisions on how you can achieve maximum progress towards your
objectives with the limited time and resources you have at hand.
Staying focused implies that you are solely concentrating on the activity
that you want to complete. Since everything else is unimportant, you shut
every other door and offer your complete, undivided attention to the specific
task that you’re working on.
 How to Achieve Focus in Your Tasks?

Well, achieving focus is easier than you’d presume. All it takes is a little
practice to get the hang of things. Once you practice for a while, staying
focused becomes part and parcel of your personality. But how exactly do you
start out with achieving focus? Is there any specific plan that you have to
follow? Luckily, there is a plan. We will discuss it in this section.

Meditate

Perhaps one of the simplest ways to achieve focus on your tasks is

meditation. While it is widely used for relieving stress and relaxation,
meditation also goes a long way in helping you develop a strong and
consistent concentration. Now, meditation has several different techniques
and none of them are wrong. In this eBook, however, I’ll discuss a simple
meditation technique that is ideal for people who are starting out. My
technique deals with meditation and positive affirmation, both of which
collectively help you in strengthening your focus.

The idea of this meditative exercise is simple. All you need to do is find a
quiet spot in your room or anywhere else you deem fit. Once you find this
spot, light some scented candles and sit comfortably in a corner. Now, close
your eyes and try to get rid of all your disturbing and distracting thoughts. I
know, this is easier said than done. But try it for a while. In case you can’t
seem to remove your thoughts, try playing light music in the background.
Now, as you close your eyes and reach a clear state of mind, try focusing on
the things that deserve your attention. This can be a pending assignment, your
upcoming exam, or anything of equal (or greater) importance.
 As you start thinking about this task, start visualizing yourself doing it.
Now repeat a positive, motivating affirmation that’ll inspire you to do the
task. You can say something along the lines of “I need to complete this
assignment by April 8 and I will do it” or “I will focus on my current
assignment and won’t be distracted by Facebook.” Regardless of the
affirmation you use, make it a point to repeat it. This will not just boost your
motivation but will also push you to move ahead of your boundaries. Once
you practice meditation and keep doing it once in a while, you will soon get
the hang of it and manage to focus on your tasks better.

Train Your Brain

As bizarre as it sounds, you can actually train your brain with the right
technique. Since your brain is nothing but mental muscle, it can always be
trained if you teach it the right things. But what are these ‘right things’? Well,
these are nothing but exercises. Platforms like Cogmed and Lumosity have
brain-training exercises. Download these applications and follow the
exercises for best results.
If, however, you’re not really comfortable using an app, there’s yet another
simple way. For this, all you need to do is communicate with your
subconscious. Start out by creating a routine, where you repeat certain things
before going to sleep. For instance, you want your mind to focus on the
important task that you need to complete the following day. In this case, sit
quietly, and right before you sleep, tell your brain that you need the task to be
done with complete focus.
Inform it of the reasons why you cannot afford to miss it any case. Tell
your brain about the positive impact this task will have on your life. After
doing this, get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. You should ideally sleep
for seven hours for this exercise to work the right way. And guess what?
Once you wake up and try focusing on the task, you’ll be miraculously able
to complete it. Your subconscious is a living entity just like you. So if you
manage to communicate the right things, it’ll surely work in your favor.

Designate Specific Hours for Specific Tasks

Yet another simple and effective way to focus better is by designating

specific hours for specific tasks. For instance, if you have a project that
requires plenty of calculation and another one that requires you to sift
through emails, you should schedule the project involving calculations in the
morning as your brain will most likely be extremely productive at this hour.
Since you’ll just be waking up from sleep, you won’t be tired nor distracted.
You can give your full attention to the project and complete it successfully.
Alternatively, when you keep the email checking business for the wee
hours of the night, you’ll be able to do it better. Since it doesn’t require much
mental work, it’ll hardly take you a couple of minutes to go through the entire
thing. So this is exactly what you need to do. You have to strategize, plan,
manage, and program things so that everything works according to your
convenience. While I do know that there are days when nothing goes to plan,
there’s still no harm in planning stuff. Once you have a blueprint of your day,
focusing and doing things gets easier and a tad more hassle-free.

Follow the Right Diet

While many people discredit the role of diet in focusing better, such is not
always the case. The right diet doesn’t just help you stay healthy; it also goes
a long way in helping you develop a solid growth mindset. Packaged stuff,
takeaway meals, and stuff with excessive sugar doesn’t just have a
detrimental impact on your body but it also hampers your productivity and
overall ability to focus.
This is exactly why you need to introduce healthy food habits into your
regular routine. For instance, you can swap packaged meals for healthy
veggies and whip them up in a delicious salad. Or you can replace your fried
chicken with grilled chicken drumsticks that come with a healthy veggie
dipping. Nowadays, you’ll find hundreds of food videos online that’ll
motivate you to cook. So whip up your meals and follow a healthy diet for
better focus and improved concentration.
P.S: Grab a small cup of coffee if you’re feeling slightly groggy. While
caffeine is bad, it can definitely improve your focus when taken in
moderation. So if you’re fatigued after a long day, and still have some
important task to cover, this is a foolproof way to enhance your
concentration.

Try Being Mindful

In addition to meditation, try practicing mindfulness throughout the entire

day. For the uninitiated, mindfulness is the act of focusing on your present,
slowing down a bit and gently observing the physical (and) emotional
experiences that you encounter at the current moment.
One of the best ways to practice mindfulness is at mealtime. Try taking a
little bit more time to chew your meals. Try concentrating on the flavors and
texture of the meal. Alternatively, you can also try this while you’re shaving.
During this time, you will inhale the powerful fragrance of your shaving
cream. Experience this fragrance and let it linger. Right after that, enjoy the
pleasure of adding warm lather to your face. Do this by gently dragging your
razor along the stubble.
 Allocating short sessions for mindfulness during the entire day won’t just
keep you happier, but it’ll also strengthen your attention span during the time
you actually need it. Mindfulness, if practiced properly, can also help you in
pushing back every single distraction that comes your way.
So, if you’re working on a specific task and get this restless urge to try
something else, remind yourself about the importance of being in the present.
Repeat the affirmation “I need to be in the present moment” for best results.
It is within this moment that your body will be aware and your mind will
follow suit. Try focusing on your breath for a while. After a couple of
seconds, you’ll realize that you no longer have any distractions and are
comfortable to start work once again.

Be Curious

The more curious you manage to be, the greater the power of your focus is
going to be, every time you take on a new endeavor. Since we already
discussed the role of curiosity in the previous chapters, you now have a basic
idea about it. It is this relentless thirst for knowledge that’ll help you develop
and achieve growth mindset.

Prioritize Your Workload

Very often when your work starts piling up, it might seem like you’d never
be able to catch up. In times like these, it becomes incredibly difficult to
figure out where exactly you need to start, and this alone leads you to waste
your valuable time. In order to avoid this situation, you can always prioritize
your workload.
You can start out by making a to-do list for the things you need to do
throughout the day. Once you have this list ready, start filtering the options
by labeling them as ‘Very important,’ ‘important’ and ‘moderately
important.’ Once you have this list ready, you automatically know which task
deserves your maximum time and which one can be dealt with later. For
instance, if you have to complete your pending assignment and visit your
dentist on the same day, you’d know which one needs to be dealt with faster.
Structuring workloads and setting realistic deadlines goes a long way in
helping you complete your job faster.
 Chapter 4: Practicing Good Habits
Since we humans are products of habit, cultivating them should be easy,
right? Well, that’s not how it works in every case.
The problem is that we end up getting comfortable doing certain things in
a specific way, every single day. So before we realize it, we end up
inadvertently following a specific routine without weighing its effectiveness
or feasibility.
Sadly, not every habit that we cultivate can be deemed good. For instance,
if we have the habit of drinking a glass of alcohol, every time we head home
after work, it’ll end up having a detrimental impact on our health. Similarly,
if we tend to snack on unhealthy junk while binging on our favorite TV
series, that, too, can adversely impact our health. And these are just two
minor instances of habits impacting us adversely. If you think about it, you’ll
find hundreds of such instances where we purposely or inadvertently
cultivate certain habits that affect our growth mindset and keep us from
achieving what we want in life. Since a growth mindset is strongly
interlinked with our habits, in this chapter you will find detailed insights on
practicing and cultivating good habits.
 Why Is It Important to Develop Good Habits?

Developing good habits goes hand in hand with helping you achieve a
growth mindset. At this point you already know about the basic philosophy of
growth mindset, so grasping this should be easier. Since the growth mindset
deals with having the flexibility to achieve bigger and better goals, habits
play a significant role in its development. After all, it is only when you
develop the habit to be flexible and create newer goals that you will be truly
able to achieve this mindset. The right set of habits won’t just positively
transform you, but they will also go a long way in making you a better and
more sensitive person.
 How to Develop Good Habits?

Now that you know everything about good habits, you might be wondering
how to develop them in the first place. In this section you will find an answer
to every query you have about developing new, good habits. So whether
you’re just starting out, or someone who’s in the middle of a rut, here are
some guidelines that’ll definitely help you.

Choose Your Activities Mindfully

In the previous chapter, we discussed the importance of being mindful. So

now that you have a basic idea about it, start off by choosing your habits
mindfully. Since your habit alone is going to have a long-term impact on
your lifestyle, try choosing an activity that resonates with your goal and
reflects on the kind of person you are.
If you don’t choose this activity, you’ll find yourself doing the same things
that you usually do. Since some of these factors are too ingrained to be
changed, your new habit won’t really take a root. So if you’re choosing a new
practice, try considering a couple of factors like your inherent strengths, your
abilities, your lifestyle, and the overall complexity of the habit you’ve
chosen. Alternatively, you should also check with your current level of stress
and the time you have available so that you finally develop a habit that
perfectly teams up with these different variables.
If you’re still unsure about the variables, try taking online personality tests
or using apps to understand the kind of personality you have. There are
plenty of options to help you in this regard. And the best part is that these
online tools won’t just assess the stress relievers that work best with your
lifestyle, but they also offer you a list of things that you can try right away.

Make the Right Decision and Be Committed in Your Goal

I know, saying this is easier than working for it. But trust me, once you get
the hang of it, nothing will seem simpler. After you’ve taken your personality
test and figured out more about the unknown facets, try making the right
decision. Make a decision that fits and works with your lifestyle. Since
you’re trying to achieve a growth mindset, you’re not in a competition with
anybody. You are in a complete position to make your decision for yourself.
But despite weighing the benefits, many of us choose to procrastinate.
Remember, procrastinating isn’t a solution here, and procrastination can
never be a solution if you’re planning to achieve a growth mindset. Since this
mindset draws heavily on escaping your comfort zone, you first have to do
away with procrastination even before trying to develop the habit. Once you
do this, try being positive about the impact this habit will have in your life. In
case you’re not too confident about yourself, try setting small reminders
that’ll remind you about the decision pertaining to the habit you’re yet to
make.
Finally, when you do make the decision, try sticking to your goal. Sticking
to your habit is even more important than choosing the habit in the first place.
Can’t we all choose a habit? We can. So the important part here is to stick to
this habit and follow at all costs. Once you’re serious about the habit,
achieving it will be easier than ever. Studies suggest you develop new habits
after doing a task consistently for fourteen days. So keep doing it, till it
becomes deeply wired in your brain—and when it actually does, try living up
to it.
 Get Support

You’ll be more successful with your habits if you find a couple of people
who are willing to stand by you. These individuals won’t just give you the
kind of support you need, but they will also be the people who you look up
to. When you list a group of close people for this job, you will automatically
be answerable to them. So if you feel like ditching your habit for something
else, they can reprimand you and guide you back to the right path.
One of the best ways to get support for your cause is by hiring a personal
coach. In fact, you’ll find plenty of such coaches in leading online websites.
Alternatively, you can also get this support by getting someone to start the
habit with you. So if you’re planning to join the gym, try getting a gym
buddy; or if you’re planning to write at least one page a day, find someone
who’s willing to try it with you. Trust me, this is way better than doing
something alone and sulking about it throughout the day.
If, however, you have no other option and plan on doing this alone, ask a
friend or a close confidant who’ll help you be accountable for the first couple
of weeks. You can also try using a journal in order to record your daily
activities, successes, and failures every single day or by the end of a single
week. Regardless of the route you’ve chosen, it is always better to have
someone by your side, at least when you’re just starting out.

Identify the Roadblocks and Triggers

If you aren’t sure about your triggers, or are entirely underprepared for the
impending roadblocks, you will end up failing to achieve your habits. So
even before you develop a new habit, find out about the habits that currently
define you. Almost every one of us have several moments of vulnerability or
weakness where we need consistent support to release and vent our
frustrations.
Resorting to alcohol, drugs, binge eating, or medication won’t help you
here. So if an unpleasant roadblock hinders your performance at work, or if
you find yourself in the middle of a messy traffic jam while returning home,
try finding a healthy and better alternative to your conventional way of
handling it.
All of us have our fair share of bad days. But having bad days doesn’t
mean we have to resort to unhealthy habits for alleviating stress. At the same
time, we cannot let our boredom, grief, or anger act as a trigger for our bad
habits. So, even before you start out with your new habit, try finding some
healthy ways that can be used for dealing with these roadblocks and triggers.
This will help you stay focused and you’ll also end up achieving your goal
sooner than you had presumed.

Use Rewards

Although the very feeling of sticking to habit alone is an excellent reward,

it is also equally important to get your fair share of tangible rewards. For
instance, think about the times when your teachers used stars and other
tokens of appreciation to encourage your good behavior; or how you trained
your pets with a couple of small treats. And guess what? No matter how
much we deny it, all of us are fond of rewards.
The idea here is to reward yourself for the first couple of steps, until this
new habit becomes a part and parcel of your personality. This is all the more
viable for the first month, since this is the approximate time it’ll take for a
random behavior to change into a habit.
 The rewards you choose to give yourself are entirely your personal choice
as you know the best incentive for your little successes. Having said that, it’s
advisable to give yourself something small and truly enjoyable. Small is
particularly important because big stuff can distract you from your goal.
I’ll give you a small example here. When I started hitting the gym, in the
beginning, I’d reward every fifth visit to the gym with a new workout T-shirt.
That way I’d get the feeling I’d earned the new outfit. At the same time, I’d
also find myself looking better every time I headed to the dressing room. A
couple of my other friends chose to give themselves a piece of chocolate,
pedometers, good music, and pretty little pens. You can either take these
ideas or come up with something new to boost your habit and make it a part
of your life.

Track Your Progress

As you move ahead in developing healthy habits, it is also important to

pay special attention to the way you feel when you incorporate these habits
into your life. Does your current practice seem to sync with your personality
and lifestyle? Can you maintain your new habits comfortably, or do you need
added support? If you realize that you haven’t managed to keep up with the
plans you made, don’t sweat it! Instead of berating yourself and switching to
self-loathing mode, try congratulating yourself for observing a significant
change in your plans. This alone is extremely important since it’s one of the
very first steps in building a solid plan.
Alternatively, if you’re really struggling to keep up the habit, and have
figured out that you need to try an entirely different thing, then you have an
idea about what doesn’t work for you. In this way, you also get to try
something different that you might eventually fall in love with. In either case,
it is always better to learn these new things about yourself as they go a long
way in helping you evolve as an individual.
Remember, the coolest part of developing these new habits is that once
you do them repeatedly, they automatically become a part of your lifestyle. In
fact, anything you’ve been doing for long enough eventually turns out to be a
habit. And right after it does, you’ll no longer have to put added effort into it.
Such is the joy and charm of developing these good habits. So if you’re
struggling to start with a new habit and are wondering how to make things
work your way, this guideline will surely work in your favor.
 Chapter 5: Appreciate Your
Manifestation Power
If you’ve been using social media of late, ‘manifest’ is something that
you’ve probably heard of. But how big is this buzzword, and what does it
have to do with your success? Well, that is exactly what we will discuss in
this chapter. Here, you will find detailed insight on everything you wanted to
know about your manifestation power. Additionally, you will also get to
know the ways in which this power can be used and implemented to its
maximum potential.
 What Is the Power of Manifestation All About?

In the simplest terms, the power of manifestation is our inherent ability to

create the kind of world we have around us. This thought alone is powerful,
isn’t it? According to the law of manifestation, we are entirely responsible for
the kind of world and reality we have around ourselves. At times, it might
seem absolutely impossible to believe this, particularly when nothing is going
right. But trust me, when implemented the right way, manifestation power
can truly transform the life and world around you.
However, for the power of manifestation to work the right way, you have
to ensure a proper ethical and moral framework. In other words, if you’re
looking to manifest power to enhance your growth mindset, you’ll need to
have a solid purpose behind using it in the first place. This purpose should
serve you and work in your favor. It should provide you satisfaction and
make a difference to the world around you.
 How Is Gratitude Relevant for Implementing
Your Manifesting Power?

When you are thankful and appreciative of the kind of person you are right
now, you immediately and inadvertently raise your ‘feel-good’ vibes, which
further exudes greater vibrational energy. And in return? You’ll remain in a
constant state of alignment with the world around you. In other words, your
manifestation process will turn around quickly and more easily.
When you sit back and dwell on the things you don’t yet have, you end up
being impatient and almost immediately, you’ll find yourself wanting
something else.
Remember, you can only achieve instant manifestation if you are thankful
for the kind of life you have. Also, gratitude shouldn’t just be a part of your
manifestation process but a significant aspect of your overall well-being. But
how exactly do you appreciate your manifestation power and implement it to
its full potential? Well, to start with, you have to be open-minded.
Every day you’ll come across people who have wonderful lives and others
who could enjoy a better state of being. But have you noticed one thing?
Most of the people who need better lives have one specific thing in common
—they are not grateful for the kind of things they already have. And that is
exactly where they are going wrong. Remember, you can never gain more
until you are appreciative of the things you have already gained. This lack of
gratitude will close you off from achieving more and will eventually bog you
down.
No matter how difficult your life is, you can always find something to be
grateful about. And guess what? As soon as you find this aspect, your life
will drastically improve.
The act of complaining is nothing but focusing on the aspects that your
mind deems to be an issue. The universe is aware of the fact that there aren’t
any big problems to deter you from your goal. In fact, everything was made
by you, and you alone have the power to change the things around you.
Whether this is for better or worse is completely in your control.
If you’re looking to lose the amazing things you have in your life, if you
want to experience difficult days, if you want to be in a rut every time you
have to pay your bills, or if you really want to feel unappreciated in a
relationship, all you need to do is complain.
Alternatively, if you want your life to be better in practically every way, if
you want to achieve more wealth, if you’re looking to experience happy,
beautiful relationships, if you want to be inherently satisfied, you need to be
grateful.
In case you don’t know already, it is gratitude, and gratitude alone, that has
the power to create abundance. Contrarily, it is complaining that brings forth
poverty.
So don’t brood about the things that are ‘wrong’ in your life. This vision of
how you’re presuming your life to be has the power to change it. So visualize
the kind of life where you want to exist and you’ll soon find it expanding in
every single area. You’ll feel happy and joyful as things quickly move in
your favor, thereby making it all the more magnificent and magical.
Since you’re already connected to the creative energy of the world around
you, no matter how difficult your life seems right now, you alone have the
power of making it enjoyable and better. As you now have an idea about this
transformative ability, start being grateful and appreciative about the things
around you and the things that are likely to happen.
If you truly want to transform your life; if you truly want to enhance the
power of manifestation, if you truly want to achieve the growth mindset; start
being grateful, starting today. Gratitude alone is a quick, simple, and effective
energy that has the power to produce amazing results.
If you try thinking about the number of things that you should be grateful
for at this moment, you’ll be amazed to find innumerable things at your
disposal. Be grateful for the littlest of things around you, as they, too, have
the ability to truly transform your life for good.
Having said that, being grateful and appreciative despite the trials and
tribulations of life can be difficult. And that is exactly why we’ve developed
the following guidelines that’ll help you practice being appreciative of your
manifesting power.
 Swap ‘I Have to’ for ‘I Get to’

Every time you get up from your bed in the morning, what are your very
first thoughts? Maybe they’re something along the lines of “I need to do this”
or “I have to complete that assignment.” While there’s nothing inherently
wrong with that statement, every time you say “I have to” or “I need to,” you
end up feeling like your life is entirely on your shoulders, and you can’t find
enough time to appreciate it. Although this is a common attitude, it doesn’t
mean it is the right kind of attitude.
A better way to deal with this would be by swapping your “I need to” for
“I’m getting a chance to.” This will not only compel you to think twice about
your privilege, but will also shed light on the various aspects of life that
you’ve been taking for granted. So all you need to do is implement this
simple and effective way of expressing your gratitude on a daily basis.
One of the biggest changes that you can make right now is to tell yourself
that you are getting a chance to do the things that you’re doing. You’re not
merely doing them because you have to do them, but because you’re getting
this beautiful chance that everyone doesn’t get to have. As you do this, you
will notice a subtle change in your appreciation for the things you have.
Remember, the current aspects of your life might not be someone else’s
reality. So try to be appreciative of the kind of privilege you have right now.
This simple perspective can transform your entire perspective about life
alone! And the best part is that it’ll speed your possibilities of instant
manifestation which will eventually help you achieve a growth mindset.
 Be Grateful for the Smallest of Things

Another way in which you can consciously appreciate your manifesting

power is by being grateful for the smallest of things. Even if nothing happens
throughout the day, be thankful for the new day and the new opportunity that
tags along with it.

Every day, we wake up and do our chores, taking these very activities for
granted. Don’t believe me? Okay, so when did you last appreciate the fact
that you’re alive? In all probability, you didn’t, and that is exactly what you
need to change.
So every time you wake up, be thankful for the precious gift of life.
Additionally, also try being grateful for the simplest of things that happen
throughout the day. For instance, if you’re driving and suddenly approach a
green light, be thankful for that. Every time you find an empty parking space,
be grateful and express that gratitude. The more grateful you are throughout
the day, the better your day will get.
By expressing your gratitude, you’re telling the universe that you’ve been
truly grateful for the ways in which it has served you. And that’s not all!
You’ll also end up feeling happier and more content with your current life by
following this simple exercise. Remember, the act of being grateful doesn’t
imply that you have to disregard your current desires. It simply means that
you’re exuding the right vibrations. These vibrations will eventually help you
implement your manifesting power, thereby letting you achieve everything
that you want to do.
 Working on the Power of Manifestation

While being appreciative is extremely important in order to ensure that

your power of manifestation works, there’s also something else that you have
to do. In case you haven’t guessed already, I’m suggesting you follow and do
something that excites you to the core.

For this, you first need to be clear about the things in life that excite you to
the core and the things that don’t have that much of an impact in your life.
Following this highest level of excitement will fuel you with the necessary
creative energy. So next time you’re high on excitement, your energy and
your manifestation power will be high at the same time.
Make a list of the things that truly give you joy in life. These should be the
kind of activities where you don’t even have to keep track of time. Right after
that, try filling your days with these activities as much as you can. Every time
you’re in harmony with the kind of things you love, you’ll end up receiving
them in abundance.
Another equally useful way to use your manifestation power is by setting
your intentions. Be really honest with yourself and try to be clear about the
intentions you have. Your intentions are the creative force behind every
manifestation you work on. It is these intentions that’ll imbue a sense of
vibration in you that’ll compel the universe to draw forth everything that
you’re looking to achieve in life. You can either journal these intentions,
speak about them, or come up with a vision board. The important aspect here
is to feel that things are happening for you, and working in your favor. Right
after this, relinquish this sense of attachment and the universe will work its
charm in helping you use your manifestation power to its maximum potential.
 Finally, once you’re done with everything else, try clearing some space.
Even before you begin the process of manifestation, it is important to take
some time in releasing any disbelief that stands as a hurdle before your
happiness. One of the best ways to achieve this is by praying for release. Start
with a daily prayer where you ask the universe to remove the shackles of
limiting insights as these very insights stand in the way of your inherent
beliefs.
You need to be open for the signs you get from the universe. Alternatively,
you also need to be present for the assignments that have been brought
entirely for you. These universal assignments might come in several forms.
All you need to do is identify them to work your way around.
Once you follow these guidelines, achieving a growth mindset with your
power of manifestation will be easier than ever.
 Chapter 6: Increase and Reinforce Your
Knowledge
As we’ve mentioned in the previous chapters, your brain requires exercise
just like any other muscle. And perhaps one of the simplest ways to ensure
this exercise is by increasing and reinforcing your knowledge base.
Increasing knowledge stands as one of the primary facets of the growth
mindset itself. So when you actually take corrective measures to work on this
aspect, you inadvertently take a step forward towards a growth mindset. In
this chapter, we will discuss in detail the exercises you can try in order to
reinforce your knowledge. You will also find insight into the relationship
between knowledge and the growth mindset.
 How Is Increasing Knowledge Linked with the
Growth Mindset?

At this point, you already know that a growth mindset deals with a
continuous process of learning. It doesn’t have any place for fixed learning
goals. This alone perfectly defines the relationship between the growth
mindset and your knowledge base. When you compel yourself to move
forward and set new goals in terms of learning, you automatically take a step
further in achieving a growth mindset. Since this mindset itself deals with
learning new stuff with each passing day, reinforcing knowledge is an
integral part of it. It is only when you relentlessly pursue knowledge that
you’re able to understand and perceive this mindset better.
 How to Increase and Reinforce My Knowledge

Reinforcing knowledge is a continuous process. It can never happen

overnight. The entire act takes plenty of effort, consistency, and dedication.
After all, it is only when you’re dedicated that you have the burning desire to
know more. But how exactly does one start with reinforcing their
knowledge? Are there any specific guidelines to follow? Luckily, there is a
guideline, and it is discussed in the following section.

Don’t Stop Reading

You might have completed your school, university, or any other institution
where you were required to read. However, that doesn’t in any way signify
that you don’t have to read anymore. Just like the growth mindset itself,
reading is a continuous process. This is possibly the reason why successful
people advocate for reading every day.
Reading won’t just expand your knowledge, but it’ll also keep your brain
active. By reading, you are taking part in an activity that requires you to
constantly process information. And this alone plays a vital role in helping
you conceptualize new ideas and insights. As you read more, you learn about
various different subjects from different perspectives. This understanding of
perspectives goes a long way in making you flexible and open to knowledge.
If you’re a creative individual, reading is even more essential for you.
Whether you’re looking for some solid inspiration for your upcoming art
project or are simply sifting through topics for your next novel, all you need
to do is read. Whether it’s a novel, a piece of poetry, a nonfiction essay, or
anything else, the right words will inadvertently get wired in your brain and
compel you to push your boundaries.
In case you’re still skeptical about reading in this digital age, just
remember one thing: every answer to your question is written amid the lines
of your favorite literary pieces. In case you’re on a budget and can’t afford a
new book, go for the second-hand ones or the digital copies. Alternatively,
you can also head to your local library. Your library holds numerous
possibilities for learning new stuff. So when you head there, you actually end
up taking an actual, concrete initiative in achieving a growth mindset.
P.S: If you’re not really fond of reading and are wondering how to do it,
let a friend tag along with you. When you try your new reading sessions with
a close buddy, everything gets better and more enjoyable.

Take up an Online Course

Many individuals have a very fixed notion about learning. For them,
learning is only possible in the confined rooms of a school, university, or
similar institution. But guess what? That needn’t be the case. Our age is the
age of digitalization, where anything can happen at anytime. While this does
have its fair share of dangers, the advantages are amazing. And one of the
biggest advantages is the availability of online courses.
Right now, you’ll find hundreds of platforms that offer online courses on a
wide range of subjects. So all you need to do is choose your subject and start
learning right away. Trust me; it doesn’t matter if you’re a student or a
professional. And the best part is that you’ll find plenty of subjects that are
not just fun to study about, but are also equally interesting. So if you dreaded
learning in college and missed out on opportunities, here’s a new chance to
start afresh.
 I’ve personally used platforms like Coursera and Skillshare and my
experience has been amazing. You’ll find many other similar platforms
where you can learn about anything under the sun. All you need is to have the
enthusiasm and the motivation to learn.
Most of these online platforms come with short courses that are further
classified in smaller sections. This means you won’t have to go through the
entire class in a single setting. The teachers are experienced professionals in
their respective fields, so you can always count on them for guidelines on
your upcoming projects. Additionally, you can share your work with the
entire class and get their valuable feedback.
When you join these platforms, you’ll notice that, at times, the classes can
be as massive as 5000 people. However, they can be as small as 100 people.
And this is the beauty of this technology. Unlike conventional classes, these
online courses do not come with specific deadlines. Here, you get to work at
your preferred pace, so you can come up with something truly amazing.
Quite recently I took up a course on soapmaking and interior design. The
entire activity made me excited like a kid. I was engaged, hooked, and my
creative potential was at its fullest.

In case you’re still not confident about the online courses, you can always
try in-person courses and workshops. They are incredible, insightful, and
equally interactive. But there’s a small downside. Unlike the online courses,
these can be pretty pricey. So if you’re just starting out with enhancing your
knowledge base, I’d suggest you go ahead with the online courses.
Remember, there’s an entirely new world that is waiting for you to be
explored. So all you need to do is get started and choose your field. Once you
make your choice, every other thing will fall into place.

Watch Plenty of Documentaries

As boring as it sounds, documentaries are yet another excellent way to

reinforce your knowledge. This is all the more ideal for people who aren’t
really fond of reading. There are hundreds of digital platforms with insightful
documentaries about any and every topic under the sun. All you need to do is
explore them and take your pick. And if you do end up finding something to
watch, it’ll surely turn out to be one of your most exciting hours watching
TV!
In case you don’t really frequent digital platforms, TV channels like
National Geographic, Discovery TV, or the History Channel can make the
cut. Each of these channels comes with interesting documentaries about
humans, animals, food, plants, fish, dinosaurs, and what not!
For others, there’s Netflix and YouTube. In case you’re not really sure
about the kind of things you’re looking to watch, try using public forums like
IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, or Reddit. When you ask a question about the best
documentaries to watch, you’ll be inundated with suggestions from these
platforms. And who knows? You might even end up making some good
friends.
Documentaries are an excellent way to stay engaged while learning
something new. Use them to their maximum potential to get your daily dose
of insight while remaining comfortably seated on your couch!

Travel to New Destinations

Yes, you read that right—traveling has a positive impact on your career
and learning potential. The idea behind this is pretty simple. When you leave
your comfort zone in order to travel, you end up getting much-needed
motivation and exposure which is imperative to performing better in your
workplace and to learning something new. Traveling kickstarts your
creativity and helps you come up with ideas that you would never consider if
you kept following your same, boring routine. Your newfound traveling
experiences will collectively help you to figure out new ways of dealing with
your old problems. In certain cases it might also open ways for new business
contracts or some new career path that you were initially unaware of.
In addition to this, traveling also makes you more confident and helps you
hone your communication skills. When you explore a place you haven’t
visited before, it automatically builds your confidence which eventually has a
positive impact on your career. Also, since you’re communicating with many
new people of diverse cultures and race, your communication skills will
significantly improve. Even if you don’t learn a new language, you’ll be able
to communicate with your colleagues better. To put it simply, traveling will
prepare you for the ‘real life’ that awaits you. It’ll train you, guide you, and
help you perform better in almost every facet and phase of your life.

Don’t Be Afraid of Asking New Questions

This is probably one of the most important things that have a significant
impact on learning and the reinforcement of knowledge. In order to develop a
growth mindset, you need to have a relentless quest for knowledge. And this
is perhaps best manifested when you start asking more and more questions.
Every time you meet someone new, try asking them questions. Ask
everyone about everything happening in their lives. This won’t make you
annoying or nosy. It’ll just open your perspective to a newer world and newer
ideas. As people about the kind of jobs they do and whether or not they are
satisfied with it; ask them about their favorite hobbies and the things that
amuse them. While there are always a couple of introverts, you’ll also find
others who enjoy talking about themselves. They’ll tell you their stories of
their successes, failures, and what not. And let’s be honest—is there a better
way to learn, if not from stories?
You’d be amazed by the number of things you can learn from your best
friend at work. All you have to do is ask the right things. You have to ask
things that’ll strike a chord, make them comfortable, and compel them to
speak more often.
Remember, learning doesn’t necessarily have to be a burden. It can be
incredibly exciting, if you manage to do the right things. It can be rife with
new things and amazing ideas. All you have to do is take a step out of your
comfort zone. And don’t be afraid to learn new things. Just think about all the
things that you can manage to learn within the following month!
So what’s stopping you? What’s keeping you back? Leave your worries at
home, and try stepping into a new world of knowledge. Once you take this
first step, things will automatically get easier. You just have to be brave
enough to take the step and make the move.
 Chapter 7: Stimulate Your Creative,
Intuitive Mind
The smart inventor, the innovative entrepreneur, the ingenious scientist, or
the avid writer— regardless of your field or domain, all of us want to be more
creative. All of us seek the creative genius that’ll not just transform our work,
but also open doors for new possibilities. All of us seek the original,
transformative genius that has the ability to transform the world around us. In
this chapter, we’ll discuss the various ways in which you can stimulate your
creative, intuitive mind.
 Why Do You Need to Stimulate Your Creative
Mind?

Most of us deem creativity to be an awe-inducing, magical gift that people

inherently possess. But just like we can express creativity in various different
ways, you can also learn and hone it like every other skill. Fostering your
creativity is imperative to the development of a growth mindset as it helps
you evolve as an individual. Also, since the modern world doesn’t have any
room for the mundane and boring, it is extremely important to cultivate your
creativity and utilize it to the maximum potential. In the next section, we
discuss various ways in which you can stimulate your creative spirit.

Use Both Sides of Your Brain

There’s a common myth that suggests right-brained people are relatively

more creative than the left-brained ones. Contrary to the right-brained
individuals, these left-brained people are deemed to be more analytical and
thoughtful. But guess what? This is nothing but an absolutely baseless myth.
You can only achieve true creativity by using both the sides of your mind, or
more specifically, both sides of your entire brain. So there’s absolutely no
point in leaving one side out, just for the sake of baseless assumptions.
Your most imaginative insights will be both logical and rational.
Alternatively, your scientific and analytical approaches will be unique and
out of the box. In order to succeed in life and achieve a growth mindset, you
will have to collectively work with all the mentioned aspects. So there’s no
way you can leave one out, just because you think it came from the right or
left brain.
This entire idea of right- and left-brained theory comes from Roger
Sperry’s split-brain hypothesis. His research dates back to the early 1960s,
and according to it, certain activities of your brain, like spatial reasoning, are
stimulated by the right hemisphere of your brain. Contrarily, aspects like
language and analytical thoughts are stimulated by your brain’s left
hemisphere. He was the first person to research this, and following his
research, there weren’t any other substantial studies on this topic.
And this is exactly why you need to leave this myth aside and follow a
whole-brain approach in your tasks. Remember, it is only a whole-brained
approach that requires additional thinking/lateral thinking that compels you to
consider various different perspectives. When you manage to think outside
the box, you’ll also end up devising fresh approaches to solving different
problems and conquering tough challenges.
Due to this, you should work to ensure that your whole brain is used,
instead of just a specific side. You can try this by doing unique stuff and
following it up with absolutely contradictory stuff. For instance, do some
origami and immediately follow it up with an uninterrupted session of logical
reasoning and mathematics. You can also try other unconventional stuff like
writing something with your left hand (or right hand if the left is your
dominant hand).
You will only enjoy creative prowess when you manage to perceive things
differently. For instance, you can wear your watch on the opposite wrist, use
your phone upside down, or even write something backwards. As bizarre as it
sounds, it did work for a couple of people, namely Leonardo Da Vinci, who
ended up discovering mirror writing.
So all you have to do is be out of the box, and come up with something
unique. Do not let anything deter you from your goal. Remember, it is the
very act of escaping your comfort zone that’ll eventually train and hone you.

Always Have the Desire to Learn More

This is yet another habit that won’t just boost your creativity, but will also
help you move a step forward in achieving a growth mindset. If your mind is
thoughtful and your thoughts are intelligent, you’ll experience a constant urge
to know and learn more. And this is exactly what you need in order to
develop a growth mindset. It is your lifelong thirst for knowledge that’ll truly
fuel your creativity. And when you are d creative, your thoughts are bound to
expand.
By taking part in a continuous process of learning, you inadvertently give
your mind the much- needed ideas that help you to think better. People
become broadminded by cultivating this very habit. They become
broadminded as they are open to novel concepts and unique approaches. So if
you have the same goal, it’s high time to start.
In order to achieve a growth mindset through creativity, you need to be
willing to try unique ideas. You can’t achieve this mindset if you end up
dismissing everything that is beyond your comfort zone. In order to be
successful, you have to be open to new ideas and thoughts. So even if you
disagree with something/someone, you have to give them a chance to express
their opinion.
Communication can never be a one-way street. In order to communicate,
you have to be willing and curious enough to express your concerns about the
things happening around you. You need to question more often. Most
importantly, you need to be motivated to learn more about the world where
you live.
 If you’re just starting out with this, I’d suggest you work on your vertical
knowledge in the beginning. This vertical knowledge is your urge to dive
deep in a specific topic. Additionally, I’d also recommend you work on your
horizontal knowledge. This horizontal knowledge is your understanding and
insights about various different fields.
Having the necessary knowledge in different areas of your life will offer
you the backdrop for new ideas. At the same time, familiarity with a specific
area will give you the necessary insight to work towards innovation in that
specific field.

Face Challenges

You can never be successful if you’re too apprehensive or anxious about

challenges. This is primarily because challenges are one of the most
significant aspects of any worthwhile project. If you’re looking to be
successful by cultivating your growth mindset, you need to have the strength
to accept new challenges.
Remember, it is only during these challenges when you will develop a
solid depth of character. When you meet your challenges without thinking
twice, you unknowingly build your resilience in facing bigger challenges that
you might encounter in the long run. Confronting these challenges will
reduce your ego and give you the humility to realize that there are certain
things in life that have to be learned from. It’ll make you realize that there’s
nothing wrong with making mistakes.
When you take proper action while facing a challenge, you also develop a
sense of personal responsibility. This is because you cannot seek help from
others, nor can you blame them. This confidence and pride from achieving a
difficult task will free your mind and compel your spirit to be more kind,
understanding, and generous. Additionally, it’ll also improve your
thoughtfulness. You can only achieve success when you let compassion rule
and open doors for new ideas.

Explain Things to Yourself

When you’re creative, you’re also required to process and understand the
details that you’ve been furnished with. After all, it’s one thing to watch a
documentary or flip through the pages of a book and an entirely different
thing to be confident enough to explain the same topic to somebody else.
When you’re able to express and explain this new insight, it automatically
indicates that you’ve processed this information on a greater level.
As you explain something to yourself, you also get a chance to expand it,
mold it, and furnish it with your own vision. This idea that you came across is
now integrated with your inherent perspectives and ideas. You can also
follow several threads of ideas for creating newer concepts.
However, even before you start, remember one thing. In order to be a good
explainer, you’re also required to be someone who listens well. In fact, can
you ever properly absorb and retain details about something that you didn’t
even hear properly in the first place?
So if you’re really looking to hone your creative abilities, I’d suggest you
develop this habit of explaining things to yourself. This will play a vital role
in helping you solidify the knowledge you gain. It’ll also help you in thinking
through areas that require improvement. This exercise will further strengthen
your ability to brainstorm and build new concepts.

Turn on Your Creative Side

 Have you ever been really focused on some important task, feeling like
you’ve been performing exceptionally well, only to eventually realize that the
ideas you’ve used are boring and redundant?
According to a study published by the Harvard Business Review, we have
a natural inclination to continue working on a specific task even when we’re
nowhere close to the desired results. Also, while working on some project
that involves creativity, we end up reaching a dead end without even realizing
it. So how do we avoid this situation and prevent it from being a hindrance to
our final goals?
Well, the idea is simple—all you have to do is take proper, consistent
breaks at regular intervals. This will give your mind an opportunity to be
refreshed. If you’re just starting out with this activity, try using a timer and
start switching tasks almost immediately after it goes off.
At this point, you can do something else, get some fresh air outside, and
then go back to your original job. As you do this, it’ll help you to be creative
while also keeping your ideas fresh and out of the box.
If at any point you find yourself having trouble in completing a goal, try
looking at your problem from an entirely different perspective. This will help
you approach your task in an unconventional way. You might start working
backwards or work the problem from a different angle. Taking breaks is
imperative to foster creativity as they compel you to think differently and
work on your goals with a unique perspective.

Be Imaginative

It goes without saying that, in order to be creative, you have to let your
imagination run wild. Perhaps one of the simplest ways to do this is by
tapping into the inherent imaginativeness you possessed as a little kid. Think
about the times when you enjoyed playing pretend. It was at this point when
you mastered the art of creating entirely arbitrary worlds where anything and
everything was possible. You enjoyed this bit and loved challenging yourself
with new games and tests.
Give yourself some time, and give your mind the chance to wander; it
needs this. Once you’ve imagined, use the ideas as part of a brainstorming
session. Try challenging yourself with the most creative exercises. This can
be anything from doodling in your sketchbook to writing a piece of flash
fiction.
Try keeping a full journal of the ideas you’ve come up with; it doesn’t
matter if they are impractical or bizarre. Giving your mind the opportunity to
dream is one of the most crucial aspects of the problem-solving process in
general. Alternatively, it is also one of the best ways to strengthen your
creative muscles. Once you cultivate an imaginative mind that’s open to
every possibility, your innate creative genius will start flourishing and
working in your favor. And the best part is that you’ll also feel refreshed and
confident almost immediately.

So if you’re really looking to think out of the box, start by doing

something you normally wouldn’t do in the first place.
 Chapter 8: Conduct Manifestation
Experiments
Once you’ve developed a basic premise for a growth mindset, it’s now
time to conduct manifestation experiments. But what is a manifestation
experiment and how does it work? Well, for starters, this experiment is all
about following a series of steps to achieve the goal you want to accomplish.
And yes, you need to do this even after stimulating your creative prowess,
reinforcing your knowledge, and setting a basic premise for your growth
mindset.
I personally vouch for this experiment as I’ve already tried it, and the
results have been pretty good. Following my success, I urged a couple of my
friends to try the activity, and almost everybody had good things to say about
it. Here’s what you need to do.
 7-Step Manifestation Experiment

As evident from the title, this seven-step manifestation experiment deals

with seven different things that you’re required to do for a week. Once you
complete these steps, you’re a step ahead of accomplishing your specific
manifestation goal.
 What Will You Need for This Experiment?

While you won’t need anything tangible during the experiment, the entire
process requires you to be calm and patient. So once you prepare yourself by
being a little patient, you can immediately start out with the experiment. In
the next sections, we’ll discuss the seven different activities that you need to
try for seven different days. Once you try all these activities, you will end up
achieving success just like you’ve always wanted.

Day One: Choose Your Goal

This is the first step of our seven-day manifestation experiment. As you

can already guess from the title, this step requires you to choose a specific
goal. Now, while we all know that you want to be successful and that alone is
your primary goal, the deal here is to choose something small. Like we’ve
already discussed, success is not something that you can achieve overnight.
You need to struggle, strive, and work really hard to achieve everything
you’ve always dreamed of. So in order for this experiment to work, it is
always better to go with something small. Do note that, despite being small,
this should be something that you actually want. It should be something that
truly lights you up and is compatible with your final plan of being successful.
This can be anything ranging from your office assignment to the upcoming
exam you have at your university. It’s important to choose something you
really want because that alone will keep you driven and passionate
throughout the week. Since you can only achieve a goal if you’re truly
passionate, this is a must. Because this book is about success and developing
a successful mindset, we’ll assume that your goal is to complete an
assignment by the end of the following week. This assignment is really
important to your career, as it might result in a possible raise. However, since
it’s time sensitive, you’re slightly wary about getting it done.
Once you’ve chosen your goal, jot it down on paper. While many people
choose not to write their goals down, such is not the case with our
experiment. Since this experiment needs you to be absolutely focused, you
need write down your goal on this paper.

Day Two: Make a List of Positive Affirmations

Affirmations play a vital role in helping you unlock success. It is these

affirmations, backed by proper techniques and insight, that truly help you in
creating the kind of life you want. Whether it’s a sales professional, an
entrepreneur, a best-selling author, or an award-winning athlete, affirmations
work for almost everybody. And that is exactly why our second step deals
with making a list of positive affirmations. Before making these affirmations,
get rid of all negative thoughts as they play a detrimental role in helping you
carry out the manifestation experiment.
Now that everything else is on track, it’s high time you start with the
affirmation. For this, you will have to write down the things that you want to
happen. Since our experiment is about using your manifesting power to
complete your work by the end of next week, you can use the following sets
of affirmations:
• “I will successfully complete my work by the (enter date) of next
week.”
• “The task is difficult, but I have the capability to achieve it. I will
achieve my task.”
 • “I will allocate three hours a day to focusing entirely on the task.”
• “The task is challenging, but I will accomplish it.”
• “I will conquer every roadblock that comes my way.”
• “I will strive to achieve my goal, undeterred.”
Remember, your daily affirmations are to your mind what exercise is to
your body. So writing these affirmations down, and repeating them, will help
you in reprograming your subconscious mind. It will also help you in
achieving your manifestation power.
Affirmations, when used the right way, significantly reduce all negative
beliefs that tend to limit you. It is these affirmations that’ll transform you
from your current state of comfort and help you walk towards a more
expanded realm. It will ensure that no belief or thought process can limit your
potential or dampen your spirit. None of us want to be stuck in mediocrity,
and this is exactly why you need to try these affirmations. When carried out
the right way, they will help you in transforming the “I can’t” into “I can.”
And by the time you complete this experiment, you will be way beyond your
fears, uncertainties, and doubts.

Day Three: Try Active Visualization

After you’ve successfully sailed through the first and the second day, it’s
now time to try something more substantial: creative visualization. Creative
visualization goes a long way in helping you achieve your final goal. It also
has an equally important role in helping you use your inherent power of
manifestation. But what exactly does visualization deal with? Well, the idea
is pretty simple. Here, all you need to do is build a clear, concrete picture
about the kind of things that are going to happen as you start manifesting.
 In order for this experiment to work out successfully, it’s advisable to use
a vision board.
This small whiteboard will feature your thoughts and insights about the
manifestation process. Here, you will have the freedom to follow any and
every approach you deem fit. So whether you’re looking to convey your
thoughts through words, pictures, cartoons, or any other visual representation,
everything will work as long as it somehow represents your goals. In case
you haven’t seen a visualization board, and don’t know how it works, try a
simple Google search for better insight.
Once you jot down some stuff on this visualization board, turn your
attention to the specific areas that you’ve written about. Relax for a while and
then start analyzing these areas as if they’re in your current, existing reality.
What exactly are you scared about in this manifestation process? What do
you think will prevent you from achieving the manifestation successfully? Is
it fear, apprehension, or anything else? Continue this exercise until you have
a list of everything which you think holds the power of limiting your abilities.

Day Four: Try the ‘as If’ Game

The fourth day of your experiment deals with the ‘as if’ game. The idea of
this game is pretty simple. All you need to do is act as if the things you’re
dreaming of are eventually going to come true. Also known as ‘living in the
knowing,’ this ‘as if’ game helps you build a positive mindset which is
imperative to the success of your final goal. You can also team it with
positive visualization and positive affirmations for a more lasting impact.
So if you’re looking to achieve the task at hand by the end of the coming
week, believe that you’ve already achieved it. Think about the various steps
that you’ve taken to achieve this goal and as you do this, try manifesting
these steps in actual, real-time actions. For instance, if your job requires you
to research a specific topic, visualize yourself researching it. As you see
yourself doing this in your imagination, you will automatically feel a push to
try it in reality. If the project also requires you to call some important people,
make the phone calls in your imagination, and like the former exercise, this
will compel you to get the ball rolling right away.
Similarly, if you want to be appreciated for the job you’ve done, try
visualizing how it will feel to get appreciated. The words you hear will act as
an automatic motivation that’ll push you into completing the task and
meeting your goal within your deadline. Although this might seem like
escapism to some, many people have tried it, and the results have been
amazing, to say the least. So all you need to do is act like you’re already
successful, and you’ll soon find your day getting better and your confidence
spiking like never before.

Day Five: Make a Gratitude List

When you finally reach the fifth day, think about things that are somewhat
similar to the kind of things that you are looking to manifest. As you start
visualizing these things, you have to specifically ensure that you already have
these things in your life. Right after this, focus on the emotion of gratitude
that is evoked because of the presence of these things.
Since our final goal is about getting your work done by the end of the
week, you can list your assignments that have already been successful.
Alternatively, you can also visualize those moments when you have been
appreciated and congratulated for the work you’ve done. As you start
thinking about these different things, they will end up acting as a boost to
your current manifestation goals. Thinking about these things will remind
you that you’ve been successful earlier on, and they, therefore, will reinforce
the insight that this time, too, you will have the power and the capability of
achieving success in your desired goal. Your manifestation potential alone
will reach an entirely new level, and you will soon find an inherent power
that will compel you to complete the task at hand.
If, however, you start getting a feeling as if you’re struggling to achieve
your manifestation goals, try checking the common mistakes that most people
make while implementing these goals. You can also try online personalized
tests if you find yourself stuck in a rut. These tests will conduct a detailed
analysis and help you figure out the things that are holding you back. Since
most online platforms conduct these tests, it’ll also be easier for you to get
them and follow them from scratch.

Day Six: Find the Right Opportunities

If you’re looking to manifest something, you cannot just sit back and hope
for it to happen. So the sixth day of this experiment involves proper, real-time
action. Remember, you can only achieve success if you have an open-minded
approach about your goals and inspirations. So do not let anything bog you
down and do not be constrained by any potential, imaginary roadblocks.
Remember, every roadblock comes with a solution and it is your
responsibility to find the solution and use it to its maximum potential.
In this case, you’re looking to complete a project in a tight deadline but
cannot seem to find a way to do so. But that’s not how the situation is. Well,
not if you look at it the right way. All you have to do is look properly. If
you’re having time constraints, try to sit back and sketch out a plan to achieve
your impending goal. Say, for instance, the deadline is within seven days and
you have to finish the task before the assigned time. To make things worse,
you already have a date and a doctor’s appointment in the middle of the
week. So what’s a probable solution?
First things first; try to have a discussion with your partner and inform
them about the importance of this project. In all likelihood, she or he will
understand the situation and won’t make an issue of it. Now to the doctor’s
assignment. This one, too, can be easily handled if you use the right
strategies. Since you’ve booked the appointment and have already paid for it,
try assigning yourself less work on that specific day. Divide your work into
small parts and keep the smallest bit for the day of your appointment. This
will make things simpler and you won’t feel the load that would have
otherwise bogged you down.
So all you have to do is fish for the right opportunities and seize them as
soon as you can.

Day Seven: Share Your Results

Now that you’ve reached the final day of your goal, it’s time to track your
results. At this point, think about the things you’ve achieved during the
experiment and try jotting them down on a piece of paper. Your experience
might not have been entirely smooth. You might have faced little or big
roadblocks along the way. But even then, don’t hesitate to write about your
experiences.
Be patient and uninhibited while writing your results. Do not be afraid to
write down the littlest of details as they’ll only help you figure out how
you’ve actually performed in the exercise. Finally, when you’re done writing
down everything about the exercise, take some time to filter the content and
highlight the goals you’ve achieved. This might not be the end goal that you
had thought of in the beginning. It can also be something entirely different.
But in order to complete the experiment successfully, it is really important
that you write down your thoughts about the final process.
As you read what you’ve written down, try to reflect on the various steps
that you took in order to finally reach your goal. These steps should be clear
and completely detailed. Additionally, also make a section to jot down the
lessons you’ve learned throughout the entire process. This should be
pertaining to your final goal. Write about the snippets of wisdom you grasped
while undertaking the mission to achieve this much coveted goal. Write about
the thoughts you had during the process. When you finally read this piece of
paper, you will be beyond thrilled to browse through the things that you’ve
achieved along the way. It’ll keep you satisfied and truly happy.
 Chapter 9: Track Your Manifestation
Well, now that you’ve tried the manifestation experiment and every other
guideline featured in this book, it’s high time you track the success of your
manifestation. In this chapter, we will discuss the signs that indicate whether
or not you’re a step closer to achieving your goal.
 Why Do You Need to Track Your Manifestation?

When you’re looking tap in the power of manifestation, you don’t already
know whether or not your goals will come to fruition. After all, the things
you see around you might not be the perfect representation of the things you
want. In fact, something entirely different and unexpected might be brewing
in the backdrop, without your slightest knowledge.
While we can’t really tell you the ideal time to manifest, we can share the
signs that’ll help you check if the manifestation experiment worked in your
favor.

You Will Start Feeling Better

While this might not be the most satisfying answer, it’s still a big clue
since we manifest according to our emotions at the spur of the moment. So
when you’re feeling good, it is most possibly because you are aligning with
everything that you’ve always wanted.
It is our state of mind and our emotions that end up determining everything
happening in our lives. So when you feel better about achieving the things
you want to, it automatically means that the resistance is reduced and trust is
developed; both of which collectively indicate a successful manifestation
experiment.
Although you might not feel amazing or perfectly in sync with the world
every single time that is not a problem because, after a while, you will
definitely start getting a proper grasp of your inherent thought process.
Always remember, you want the things you’re looking to achieve because
you want to experience a specific kind of feeling. So if you’re anywhere
close to that feeling right now, you are undoubtedly thinking the right kinds
of thoughts and doing the right kinds of things.
Your journey alone is what your goal is truly about, and the entire process
of achieving your goal is exciting to say the least. So if you’re feeling good
about yourself and about your goals, the destination is pretty near.
The key here is to be completely patient without getting attached to
specific results. You should also train yourself to avoid brooding about the
ways in which you think you’re going to achieve your goals.

You Will Start Having Plenty of Dreams

Very often, our dreams don’t really make that much sense. After all, they
are nothing but our subconscious mind and a couple of trapped collective
images. It is these images that later pop out all of a sudden, giving us every
kind of thought.
But if you notice carefully, you will find a pattern in your dreams. I always
end up dreaming about good things, right before something good is about to
happen in my life. So all I’m suggesting you to do right now is consider the
possibilities of using this exercise.
According to a study, we sleep for around one-third of our lives. So even
before you get to bed, start conjuring the image of the thing that’s attracting
you. Once you do this, your subconscious will do the rest of the job for you.
Since your dreams are a space for your subconscious mind, you can actually
add anything you want in there. So if you suddenly wake up from your sleep,
afraid of some random thing, it is nothing but your subconscious trying to
trick you. Several psychologists also suggest that this is just your
subconscious mind’s defense mechanism where it tries to release any fear
from you.

Luckily, your subconscious mind will also inform you if something good
is about to happen. And this is exactly when you have those miraculous
dreams about achieving your goals. So, when you start dreaming a bit too
often about reaching and achieving your goals, consider it to be a pertinent
sign because this clearly suggests that you’re a step closer to achieving your
manifestation goals.

As you start relaxing, and as you start trusting the world around you, your
dreams will turn out to be more vibrant and real. Your subconscious mind is
happy with the fact that you are taking care of your life, because this also
indicates that you’ve chosen love over fear. So when you no longer find
stress, anxiety, or restlessness in your dreams, that is your manifestation
power doing its job.

You Will Be More in Sync with New People

Another significant way to track your goal is by checking whether you

meet more likeminded people along the way. I’ve personally met several new
people who’ve helped me achieve my final goal. Interestingly enough, I met
them just at the point when I was stuck or in a complete rut. It was with their
collective efforts that helped me end up meeting most of my goals. So if you
experience the same thing, it is very likely that you’re on the verge of
meeting your final goal.
When you’re truly in the right path of reaching your goal, you end up
attracting plenty of resources who knowingly or unknowingly help you in
meeting your goal. Alternatively, you also encounter several events that
somehow offer positive indications about your goal. At this point, one of the
best things to do is to say ‘yes’ to every new opportunity that comes along
your way.
As you do this, you will automatically observe a greater flow in your
energy. Interestingly, you will also have a fair share of miracles that’ll start
unfolding, giving you the proof that the manifestation exercise truly works in
your favor.

You Will Experience a Sudden, Inexplicable Sense of Calm

This is yet another direct indicator that your manifestation experiment is

working. Usually, when you’re on a journey to achieve something, your mind
is bogged down by fear, anxiety, and apprehension. You can’t help but think
about every possibility that might directly or indirectly jeopardize your goal.
But as you start making progress towards your goal, these thoughts of
anxiety will automatically be replaced by a sense of calm. You will be
relaxed and comfortable. Instead of being anxious and unhappy, you will do
things at your own pace. You will tell yourself about taking inspired actions
when they come to you in their own sweet time. You won’t be thinking about
the goal; it is the path and the journey that’ll keep you hooked. You’ll no
longer worry and will instead take slow, steady, and confident steps towards
meeting and achieving your goal.
Others won’t understand this. They will ask you to work hard and
complete everything almost immediately. But nothing will bother you
anymore. Your deeper sense of calm will guide you and you will experience
a positive energy throughout your journey. Every time someone reminds you
about the complexity of your journey, you’ll reassure them with your
newfound insights. You will tell them that there’s practically nothing to be
worked up about and that you will indeed achieve your goal within your
desired deadline.
When you start experiencing this deep sense of calm, every negativity,
hate, doubt, roadblock, or challenge won’t seem to be difficult anymore. Such
will be your state of mind that nothing under the sun can bother you. Whether
someone cuts you off on your way to work, or a random stress crops up,
practically nothing will have the ability to tamper with your peace. You will
be constantly reassured by the fact that everything is going well and success
is coming your way.
Very often, people start worrying because they are addicted to the act of
worrying in the first place. This is primarily because we assume that we have
the power to control everything happening around us. So when you
experience this sudden transition in consciousness, where you’re no longer
bothered about controlling everything, you might ask yourself— “Do I really
care about these things anymore?”
Trust me, this is not because you don’t care, but rather because of your
newfound insights and knowledge. It is these inexplicable insights that will
guide you. Interestingly enough, you won’t be able to perfectly understand or
articulate them. And this is exactly when you know you’re heading towards
success.
So every time you experience this sense of calm, always remember one
thing—like a rearview mirror, your final goal is closer than it seems right
now.

You Will Start Experiencing DéJà Vu

 Have you ever experienced déjà vu moments? These are the moments
where you feel like you’ve already been somewhere before. This can be a
place where you always wanted to go, or a random place that you’ve never
visited before. Alternatively, it can also be a situation where you see yourself
achieving the goal you’ve always wanted to. The following day, amid your
chores, you feel like something is about to happen—and lo and behold! You
end up experiencing the exact same thing you saw in your dreams.
It is situations like these that indicate the good stuff that is likely to happen
in your life. Remember, your life is nothing but a hologram built from the
images programmed in your subconscious mind. So when the world starts
giving you glimpses of the things that are likely to happen, there’s a high
possibility that these things will indeed happen within the next couple of
days.
The things you experience in life are nothing but a projection of your
inherent consciousness. So if you’re having these déjà vu moments, it is only
likely that you’re right on the verge of something great that’ll come into your
life; you’re on the verge of achieving something that you’ve been striving to
accomplish.

So even if you feel like giving up, don’t! You’re almost on the edge of
achieving your dreams. All you have to do is walk a few more steps.

Your Intuitive Abilities Will Be in Full Swing

When you’re following the manifestation experiments and doing

everything that needs to be done, your intuitive abilities will be elevated.
You’ll find several instances where you’ll end up saying things right before
someone else. You might also end up unknowingly doing things that the
other person wants you to do. You’ll have an inherent knowing that the
current frequency of your reality is slowly and steadily moving up. Whether
it’s picking up your phone even before it rings, or unknowingly finding a
space in the parking lot, there will be signs everywhere. All you need to do is
look properly.
 Chapter 10: Perform Active and Passive
Affirmations
Affirmations are statements that are primarily designed to bring about a
change in our lives. They can serve as an inspiration or reminder, helping you
to do well in life. You can also use these active and passive affirmations to
focus on the goals you’ve set throughout the day. When implemented the
right way, they promote significant and sustained transformation that goes a
long way in keeping you satisfied and happy. In this chapter, we will discuss
the relevance advantages of these active and passive affirmations.
 How to Write an Affirmation

Now that you know everything about the ways in which affirmations can
transform you, you might be wondering whether you can write one in the first
place. Writing affirmations is one of the easiest things that you will ever do.
All you have to do is follow the instructions carefully. In this section, we list
the instructions that’ll help you in writing positive affirmations.

Always Write Your Affirmations in First Person

If you’re planning to write affirmations, do so in first person. “I,” “I will,”

and “I am” are ideally the kinds of statements that will transform your
affirmations to the ultimate basis of your identity. These statements of
identity can act as significantly powerful motivators for an impending
change. Some of the best statements can be along the lines of “I am truly
confident in speaking before people,”; “I have a goal and I will achieve it”; “I
will complete my work by the end of next week”; “I am a compassionate
individual.”

Affirmations Are Always Written from a Positive Perspective

While writing affirmations, always make them positive. So instead of

saying “I don’t enjoy the smell/taste of cigarettes anymore,” try saying
something like “I am absolutely free from the confines of smoking” or “I am
a healthy individual and I love my body when I start making healthy
choices.”
 Affirmations Bring Forth an Emotional Transformation

When you’re trying to use affirmations, also make it a point to add some
feeling. Using emotional phrases in your affirmations is extremely important
because of the significant relationship between emotions and your semantic
experiences. So swap statements like “I spend a lot of time with my elderly
parents” with more positive statements like “I get a strong feeling of gratitude
while spending time with my mom and dad.” Instead of writing “I only make
healthy choices” try saying “I feel energetic and happy when I eat healthy
stuff.”

Affirmations Should Always Be Written in Your Current State

Another ground rule for writing affirmations is writing them as if they are
already happening in your life. This alone is the primary goal of affirmation.
So instead of writing “two months from now I’ll be truly happy and satisfied”
write something along the lines of “I am happy right now.” Similarly, swap “I
will be attractive when I lose eight pounds” with “I am attractive the way I
am.” Unless you take a step towards embracing positivity, nothing you do
will make a relevant difference.
While this step might cause some of you to falter, as you might feel silly
writing something that you don’t really believe, remember: the very purpose
behind these affirmations is to write what’s within your subconscious mind.
Unless you do this, you will always falter and be unable to achieve your
goals.
According to several holistic traditions, the more you start acting like
something is true, the more likely the chances for it to happen. So if you think
you’re attractive and beautiful, you will inadvertently associate yourself with
the behaviors that will help you accomplish your goals.
In addition to following all these guidelines, avoid getting trapped in the
‘how.’ If you constantly weigh out options, think about the possibilities, and
ponder the various ways in which a certain thing will happen, you will
unknowingly create a sense of disbelief that’ll get in the way of achieving
your goal. However, if you are certain about your inherent ability of
achieving the goal, you will subconsciously find a way of making it work in
your favor.
Affirm your current achievements (or the things that you are consciously
confident about) as they play a vital role in undercutting any possible
dissonance. In addition to this, they also help you reinforce a sense of belief
within your system.
Several healers also suggest you write your own affirmations instead of
randomly picking them. When you write something down, it automatically
reflects your deepest desires which help you to connect with your goal better.
In addition to writing your affirmations down, we suggest you to update them
from time to time. As humans, we are bound to change. So when you actually
make the conscious effort to update your goals, their emotional potency
significantly increases.
 How to Make Your Affirmations Work

Your job doesn’t end with writing a solid set of affirmations. Contrarily,
that is just the beginning of your lifelong quest of achieving everything you
want. In order to make your affirmations truly work, you will have to go by a
set of rules. These rules will define your goal and help you achieve it sooner.
But how do we even start out with making our affirmations work? Well, let’s
find out!

Step 1

As part of the first step, you will have to come up with a list of everything
that you deem your negative traits. Here, you can add the criticisms that your
friends have pointed out about you, or the gray shades of your character that
make you feel ashamed. You can also add the stuff your parents, partners, or
siblings said while you were still a child, or the things your boss told you
during your last performance review. Do not weigh the accuracy of these
statements. Do not analyze them. On the contrary, try accepting that
everybody comes with flaws, and you are not an exception. In fact, the
beauty of human existence is our ability to make flaws and rectify them when
we come to know of them. So instead of brooding or harboring hate, try
looking for a common theme. This can be anything pertaining to your
behavior, habits, the way you talk, or anything else. But regardless of the
flaw, make it a point to find out about it and write it down.
This is one of the best ways to start bringing about a transformation in
your beliefs and your life. As you start writing down your recurring beliefs,
try figuring out if you’re holding onto the belief anywhere within your
system. For instance, do you immediately feel a sense of dread when you try
thinking about this flaw? Remember, if you are really looking to bring a
positive change in your life, it is really important to recognize your flaw and
work on it. So right after identifying the common theme, try observing or
looking back on the way you behaved when someone pointed that flaw out to
you.

Step 2

For the second step, you will have to write down the positive things about
yourself. In case you’re not really good with words, try using a thesaurus to
find powerful, strong, and significant words that have the ability to transform
you. So instead of saying “I am responsible,” try saying something like “I am
truly accountable for all my actions.” Right after jotting down the
affirmation, ask a friend or a colleague to have a look at it and add their
suggestions. When you take more suggestions from people, you unknowingly
make your affirmations stronger.

Step 3

Now that you’ve written it down, try speaking the affirmation loudly and
clearly for at least five minutes at a time. Do this three times a day for best
results. One of the best times to say this is while you’re getting dressed for
work, shaving, or doing your makeup because these are the moments when
you look at yourself directly in the mirror.
In addition to doing this, we also suggest you write down this affirmation
many times in your notebook. This will help in reinforcing a new kind of
belief. Also, as you start writing down the things you want to express, you
will notice a gradual but steady shift in the style of the narrative. This serves
as an excellent clue about the way your mind perceives new concepts. You
can call this task a mindfulness journal since it is driven by the primary
agenda of ensuring positive affirmation.

Step 4

At this stage, try anchoring the affirmation in your system as you repeat it
by keeping your hand on any specific area that went stiff when you jotted
down your negative thoughts in the first place. It is also important to breathe
into your affirmation while you say or write it. Once you start reprograming
your mind with this exercise, you’ll slowly want to shift from the concept of
a mere affirmation to a more real, strong embodiment of the kind of quality
you’re seeking.

Step 5

Choose a friend or a coach who will repeat your affirmation and remind
you to practice doing it. This is yet another significant way to ensure that the
affirmation works. So when your friend says that “you are a wonderful
person,” try identifying and believing this message.
In case you don’t have a friend who’ll be comfortable doing this for you,
try using your mirror reflection. Talk to reflection by reinforcing it with this
healthy, motivating message.
Once you complete this step, there is a high possibility that your
affirmation will start working. Remember, affirmations are powerful tools
that help you in changing your current state of mind, so your mood manifests
the kind of change you want to see in your life.
However, these affirmations will only work well when you finally identify
the negative beliefs that are standing in their way of success. In case you
don’t find these suggestions work, try using a professional therapist who will
help you unearth the thoughts that are buried deep down in your
subconscious mind. You can also start a meditation practice for better results.
As mentioned in the previous chapters, mindfulness meditation is one of the
best ways to unearth the thought patterns that lie deep in your subconscious
mind. It doesn’t help you in categorizing them, but assists in identifying the
aspects that are wholesome and the ones that are negative. Growth and
success aren’t about change; rather, they are about the ability to accept a
reality and move undeterred towards your goal. So try this affirmation
practice and witness your life changing right before your own eyes.
 Chapter 11: Self-Guided Meditations For
Manifestors
While in the previous chapters you learned quite a bit about the various
manifestation experiments, in this chapter we will discuss self-guided
meditations for manifestors. Self-guided meditation plays a vital role in
helping you achieve a calm state of mind which is further conducive to
achieving success. But how can you be patient during a meditation session?
Are there any rules that you are required to follow? You will find every
answer to your questions about meditation in this penultimate chapter.
 How to Use Meditation for Achieving Your
Manifestation Goals

Meditation is one of the simplest ways to achieve your goals pertaining to

manifestation. And guess what? The exercises you’re required to perform are
easy, simple, and absolutely time-efficient. In case you’re meditating for the
first time and don’t really know how to go forward, here’s a detailed
walkthrough that’ll help you perform everything you’re required to for
achieving your manifestation goals. Since these are extremely simple
guidelines, you needn’t worry even if you are a beginner. All you have to do
is follow every individual step to ensure complete success in your goals.

Find Your Goal

Although the primary goal for any and every meditation is achieving inner
peace, there are also a couple of short-term goals that you can achieve with
this. So if you have a manifestation goal, use it for your meditation as well.
Since this book is all about the guidelines to being successful, try specifically
focusing on the goals that are related to short-term success. Like in the
previous chapter, here we will use an example of a work assignment that
needs to be submitted by the following week. You can always have any other
goal. All you need to do is be focused on it.
Now that you have your goal at hand, start contemplating your life and
thinking about the things that you need immediately. In addition to the
completion of your assignment, this can also be related to health, your
emotional needs, your psychological needs, your performance in
relationships, and so on.

Address the Needs You Have Right Now

Just like achieving physical fitness deals with a structured learning pattern,
you’ll also find a similarly structured pattern for your inherent peace and
spiritual well-being. If you are looking to use this manifestation exercise to
be successful in life, you first have to start out by clearing all doubts and
anxieties from your mind.
The ability to empty your mind is the indication of a truly mature
meditative practice. The important thing here is to be completely practical
and focus on your short-term goals, despite having bigger and better
aspirations. This alone will set your path in complete motion. Since it takes
some time for developing your inner skills, you need to completely prepare
yourself for developing a quiet state of mind. If you start the meditation with
an idea that you won’t be able to empty your mind, you will be disillusioned
throughout the practice.

Fix the Time and Spot of Your Meditation

Very often, people assume that meditation for extensive periods of time is
the only way of achieving anything valuable. But this is nothing but a myth.
You can achieve everything you want in life even with a few minutes of
meditation on a daily basis. This will not just give you better results but will
also help you in staying consistent with your goals.
To begin with, you have to be kind with yourself. Avoid imposing
irrelevant, stringent, and unrealistic strictures. Come up with a meditation
program that is not just flexible but also equally creative. For instance, you
can always use alternative meditative practices on alternate days of the week.
In case you can only spare a few minutes during the day, take that time to
reflect on the things you do. This act of connecting your body and mind with
your own awareness is an extremely powerful practice that can nourish and
heal you to the core.

Follow the Right Steps

Now that every other thing is in place, it is high time you start with the
practice. However, before you start, make it a point to follow each and every
step carefully. In this section, we provide details about every individual step
that you’re required to follow for your manifestation meditation.
Sit Comfortably – For the first step, sit in a comfortable position. This
can be anywhere ranging from your home, workplace, car, to a friend’s home
or anywhere else. All you need to do is find this place, make yourself
comfortable, and gently place your hands right above your lap. Make sure
you don’t close your eyes during the process. You can also use a specific
position by placing the back of your hand on your knees while connecting the
thumb and index finger of both your hands.
Recognize Your Feelings – In this step you will start recognizing your
feelings. We particularly suggest you recognize the negative emotions or the
feelings that are floating along your mind or body. Locate the exact point
where you experience the sense of negativity in your system and start
observing it in a non-judgmental way. Let this feeling persist and understand
that it is absolutely normal to experience negative thoughts.
Start Breathing – Now that you’ve completed the first two steps, try
focusing on breaths. Do this for a while and then change the tempo of your
breaths to slow, deep ones. Feel your breath making its way to your nose, all
along your throat, within your chest, and down by your abdomen. You will
find it swirling back right out of your mouth. Try feeling the breath in your
body and observing it as it reaches you and escapes you effortlessly.
Start feeling – For the following step, focus on your feelings, because it is
these feelings that’ll guide you towards success. To start this process, try
breathing while you focus on the specific part of the body which exudes
negative energies. For instance, if you feel a sense of anxiety or stress along
your chest, try taking deep breaths and observing the way your chest
responds to the process.
As you do this, the discomfort will persist for a while, but do it anyway.
Why? Because, very often, it is useful to welcome negative feelings with the
‘bring it on’ approach. Do not be wary of accepting challenges; rather, allow
yourself to be confident enough to fight them.
Try Focusing Better – Every time your mind starts wandering, allow it to
focus on your breath. Try hearing the normal sound of your breath and
feeling the sensations as they enter and leave your body. It is absolutely
normal to have several thoughts clouding your mind while you’re trying to
work with the meditation. There’s nothing wrong with this, so let those
thoughts be here. All you have to do is carefully observe them without any
judgment.
One of the best ways to handle your thoughts during the meditation is by
recognizing them, accepting their presence, sitting with them for a while, and
finally, releasing them. By the time you release these thoughts, you can
actually picture them like small clouds floating across the sky.
Live The Moment – For the final step, just be. Continue breathing,
observe your breaths, and try feeling how your body reacts to these
sensations. Try accepting your negative feelings and watch them while they
try to come and go. Once you practice this, you will be much more accepting
and confident about the things that life throws in your way.

Follow the Correct Posture

When you are meditating, it is also extremely important to follow the right
posture. In this section, you will find a set of steps that will help you correct
your posture and perform your meditation more effectively.
Keep Your Back Straight - When you are meditating, it is really
important to sit in an upright position where your back is completely straight.
For instance, if you are sitting on a chair, do not slouch and keep your back
completely erect. This posture will help you stay alert and it will also allow
you to focus on your breath more easily.
Do Not Blink - When you are meditating, you should either keep your
eyes closed or open. Since the goal of meditation is to boost your attention
muscles, blinking will affect your concentration and keep your mind diverted.
If you find it more comfortable to concentrate when your eyes are closed, try
keeping them completely closed. Contrarily if you are tired and have a habit
of dozing off with closed eyes, keep your eyes slightly open and focus your
gaze on a soft space. This space can be a wall, the floor, a chair or any other
object.
Do not fidget with your hands - While some people claim that using
thumb movement ensures better concentration, it is really not a necessary part
of meditation. Ideally, you should rest your hands, and place your palm down
on your legs. However, you can always follow any other hand posture that
makes you feel comfortable.
 Cross Your Legs in Your Preferred Position - When you’re meditating,
you can comfortably cross your legs while keeping your back upright.
However, there isn’t any hard-and-fast rule to this. If you feel more
comfortable in folding your feet, try doing that for more comfort and better
concentration.
Bend Your Head Slightly Downward - Even when your eyes are closed,
it is really important to bend your head downwards. This will offer added
comfort during meditation. However, as you do this, please ensure that your
back is completely upright.
The main idea of meditation is to find a posture that isn’t just comfortable
but also keeps you upright. These guidelines work for several people and
there’s a high possibility that they’ll work for you as well. An extremely
comfortable meditative pose will make you sleepy, and the least comfortable
posture will keep you distracted. So it is always better to find a pose that has
a proper balance of comfort and support.

Connect with Your Spirit Guides

Once you’re well-versed with the tips that’ll make your meditation
successful, it is time to try something else. In case you haven’t guessed from
the title already, in this section, we are going to discuss connecting with your
spirit guides. This is a simple meditative exercise that will reinforce the
positive spirit in your system and help you aim higher. Once you practice this
from time to time, you’ll end up creating the necessary mindset for reaching
your goals pertaining to success.
But what exactly are these spirit guides? Well, spirit guides are the
ethereal beings who are connected to you even before you’re born. These
guides alert and guide you throughout your life. Many people connect with
their guides for fulfilling the spiritual contract that they had already made
before incarnation. Your higher selves will assist you in choosing these
guides who will eventually help you, alert you, and render intuitive insight
within you. Some of these spirit guides will spend your entire life with you,
while others will come up at specific times to help you achieve your life
goals. They either guide you individually, or assist a group/panel of other
people along with you.
While guiding you, these spirit guides incite energy within your soul and
give you the proper direction to fulfill and achieve your earthly goals. Did
you know that you can connect with your spirit guides whenever you desire?
Isn’t it comforting to know that you have someone by your side when you
need proper direction and guidance? This script has assisted a lot of my
clients and I love it for its simplicity and effectiveness. But before you get
started with it, trust yourself completely and weed out your ego. Follow the
techniques well, and practice the script patiently.

A Complete Guide to Connect with Your Spirit Guides

Choose a quiet and calm place for meditation.

Relax for a few minutes and close your eyes.

Now, slowly, try to meditate. While meditating, imagine a happy place.
This happy place can be your home, your bed, a beach, or anywhere else
where you feel happy.
Be completely focused on your thoughts.
Be patient and give yourself ample time to meditate.
Breathe deeply, settle your mind, and be completely calm.
 Once you get to a clear and calm state, start summoning your spirit guide.
Try to picture the image of your spirit guide.
It may not have a proper shape and appearance. It can be a bubble of
thoughts … A face … A person you love, or an entirely new person whom
you’ve never seen before … Feel their presence … Feel the presence of the
guiding force around you.
Now, gently ask the name of your spirit guide. Concentrate. You will hear
someone whispering, “I am Martin” or “I am Zora.”
If you cannot hear a name, don’t worry. Your guide may want you to give
him/her a name. Greet them with any name you want. Call them “Harmony,”
“Ecstasy,” “Faith,” or any other name that you see fit.
Start communicating with your spirit guides. Remember, they are spirits
meant to help you succeed in your goals so you cannot hide anything from
them. Be completely honest. Don’t be shy or scared to share your thoughts
with them. Pour your heart out. Tell them all that you want.
Continue to sit in complete silence until your spirit guides answer you.
You will hear an answer to your thoughts and questions. You might hear
faint whispers like “you can do it” or “you already know the answer to this.”
Your spirit guides may also choose to communicate with you in a mode
other than words. They can communicate through pictures, memories, and
symbols.
At this point, several things will come to your mind randomly and you
have to pay particular attention to the things that repeat and connect you to
your questions and thoughts. You will receive crystal-clear messages in the
form of song lines, lines from movies and books, and lines from
conversations you’ve had with friends and acquaintances.
 Continue to meditate and demonstrate your faith and belief in the existence
of the spirit guide. Cultivate a close and deep relationship with your guide by
communicating with them with your full concentration.
As your questions are gradually answered, you will soon feel your guide
inciting a sense of energy within you. Right after this, you will feel a strong
and powerful presence of an added energy and a higher vibration every time
you manifest your special gifts or talents.
Be happy and smile, knowing that your spirit guide can be called upon
whenever you need help and guidance.
Affirmation – I release all feelings of negativity and embrace the gift of
positive energy from my spirit guide.
When you practice this meditative exercise from time to time, you
automatically take a step ahead toward reaching your goals pertaining to
manifestation.
 Chapter 12: Build Positive Expectations
There are innumerable things happening around us that can affect our
moods. This is even more relevant if you are a sensitive person. But at some
point in time, you have to realize that there’s no point in thinking about the
things that you cannot change. After all, what’s the point in brooding about
something that you can never influence? What’s the point in lingering on
things where you don’t have any control? Why worry when worrying about
something will not change its original course?
There are innumerable things to worry about. Whether it is next week’s
presentation or your kid’s test results, something or other will always keep
you anxious and worked up. But you have to change these thoughts if you
want to attain success. In order to be truly successful in life, you have to shun
that cloak of anxiety and embrace positivity instead. This will not just reduce
your stress but will also take you with a step closer to attaining true success
and contentment. Shunning anxiety and stopping worry will also help you
attain mindfulness in the long run.
So stop yourself from these unnecessary broodings right away. Once you
do this, you will be automatically relieved from the huge stress and anxiety
that keeps you worked up. You will feel like some huge weight has been
lifted from your shoulders. You will feel light and happy. And this is exactly
what being successful is all about. This is exactly what finding peace is all
about.
While shunning the thoughts of the past, you’ve also got to teach yourself
about hoping for good things. Hope is something that we should never lose.
But despite knowing its impact, we end up losing hope every time something
doesn’t work in our favor. We get extremely overwhelmed with our problems
and forget that good things can also happen. We forget that the sun can
always shine after a rainy and windy day. We take our troubles too seriously
and fail to understand that these problems are mere bumps that’ll be followed
by sunshine and success.
Losing hope won’t lead you anywhere. It is hope that drives our life. It is
hope that teaches us the meaning of life. So start embracing hope. Start
thinking about everything good that will eventually make its way to your life.
Try to understand that your troublesome times are not forever. They are
merely a part of your life that will only pass with time.
I find an innate sense of peace in knowing that, no matter whatever bad
happens in my life, it’ll pass. I have learned to realize that pain and suffering
in life are temporal, and with time, things will be absolutely fine. This idea of
things turning out to be absolutely fine helps me get rid of my negativity.
With this hope, I feel better almost instantly.
So if you, too, get worked up with the trials, tribulations, and failures of
your life, the best option is to get rid of this negativity. Reinforce your mind
with a new hope and you will soon end up enjoying the best life has to offer.
In this chapter, I will discuss hope and the impact of positive expectations
in our final goal of achieving success. Here, you will learn how simple,
positive thoughts can change your entire perspective on life and be conducive
to helping you accomplish your goals.
 Building Positive Expectations

As discussed in the previous chapters, positivity is a state of mind. You

alone have the power of influencing it. But how can you stay positive in the
face of challenging situations? What are the steps that’ll help you achieve
your goal? Here are some guidelines that’ll definitely help you find an
answer to your questions.
 Positive Affirmations

Although we have discussed this in the previous chapters, we will once

more stress the impact of these affirmations in the final chapter. The idea here
is to embrace a positive state of being. This means you will speak positively,
work positively, and act positively. And one of the best ways to control your
inherent dialogues and change them to positive ones is with affirmations that
are written on a positive note.
Start out by saying “I will achieve this goal”; “I love myself and I know I
can do it”; “I feel great and I will do it”; or “I am smart, confident and
responsible.
Around 95 percent of your internal thoughts are determined by the manner
in which you communicate with yourself throughout the day. Sadly enough,
you usually do not talk to yourself in a positive, constructive, and happy way.
It is almost as if you switch to your self-loathing attitude by default. It is
almost as if you can’t control yourself from thinking about the things that’ll
affect your emotional peace, lower your inherent self-esteem by a notch, or
keep you worried and anxious about the future.
Since your mind is nothing but a garden, you have to consciously assume
the role of planting flowers and tending them carefully. Do not encourage
weeds to grow in the beautiful garden of your mind. Shun the negative beliefs
and keep your hopes alive with positive affirmations.
 Visualization

Like positive affirmations, we have also stressed the importance of

positive visualization in the previous chapters. Remember, perhaps your
strongest ability is the fact that you have the strength to visualize and observe
your goals as if you’ve already accomplished them. So create an intriguing
picture of your impending goal, and try replaying this in your mind. As you
do this from time to time, you will soon observe a sense of motivation that
will drive you to work towards the goal.
Remember, your life will only be improved if your mental pictures are
improved. So if you see yourself as a happy and successful person inside, the
same will be reflected outside.
 Surround Yourself with Positive People

If you’re really looking to build positive expectations, yet another thing

that you have to do is surround yourself with happy and positive people.
Remember, it is your choice that truly has the power to make a difference. So
if you live and associate yourself with positive people, they will
automatically have a positive impact on your emotions and the expectations
you have about your goal. Say, for instance, you have a friend who constantly
finds something negative in almost everything you do or say. And even if you
share the happiest moments of your life, they have something negative to say
about it. Interestingly, there’s also another friend who tries to see a silver
lining in everything that comes their way. Even if they’re late to work or in
the middle of some mishap, they find a way to cheer up with a happy,
positive thought. Now, who do you want to associate with? In all probability,
you want the happy, positive person in your life as they can unknowingly
motivate you to achieve your goal.
And this is exactly the reason why you need to interact with winners,
positive individuals, and others who are inherently optimistic about life.
Negative people will be the primary source of your unhappiness. So avoid
those people at every turn. Promise yourself that you’ll no longer be or
associate yourself with people who have a negative or stressful impact on
your life.
 Devour Some Positive Mental Meals

Just like your body is healthy because you eat nutritious foods, your mind
will be healthy when you feed it with the necessary mental protein. If you are
looking to develop positive expectations about your goals, try replacing
mental candy with mental protein. But what exactly is this mental protein?
Well, this is nothing other than the insightful books, articles, and journals.
This is nothing but the inspirational videos you watch.
So try feeding your mind with information and ideas that won’t just uplift
you but will also make you happier and more confident to a certain degree.
Yet another simple way to do this is by listening to positive audio programs
and insightful podcasts. Try feeding your mind constantly with all sorts of
positive messages which you feel might help you act better by making you
more capable in your specific domain.
When you actually take the initiative to watch these insightful things, they
unknowingly have an impact on your subconscious. This, in turn, makes it
easier for you to build positive expectations.
 Positive Training

Almost everyone around us started off with some limited resources. Some
people even started without any money in the first place. With time, their
fortunes reversed and they soon got to achieve everything they always
wanted in life. If you notice carefully, you’ll find that most people who are
now at the topmost rung of the societal or cultural ladder started from the
bottom.
So how did they manage to change their fortune? Well, they did it by
embarking on a path of lifelong learning and inherent development that
eventually helped them reap riches from mere rags. With the right training
and development, they achieved affluence from poverty and achievement
from severe failures.
Always remember, while formal education will give you a job, it is only
individual training and development that will help you achieve a fortune. So
when you make the efforts to better your thoughts and actions, you end up
taking better control of your life, thereby increasing the speed at which
you’re likely to move forward.
 Law of Attraction

Following the law of attraction is yet another powerful technique that will
help you to become a positive person. If you follow it in a correct way, this
technique will bring about positive outcomes that have the power to make
your life better.

The law of attraction will transform your expectations to self-fulfilling

prophecies. So when you follow this, you will soon be able to achieve
everything in life. All you need to do is embrace positivity and be confident
in your endeavors. Once you do this, everything you want to achieve will be
simpler and easier. Remember, you alone have the power to control your
expectations. So it always better to expect good outcomes.
Expect to achieve your goals. Expect to be successful. Expect to be
popular around new people and you will soon achieve everything you looked
forward to.
 Conclusion
Now that we’ve reached the end of the book, you’ve grasped some
valuable insights about being successful. Throughout this book, we’ve
explained the various steps towards achieving success. We’ve specifically
focused on the growth mindset because we want you to understand the
relevance of tirelessly striving to achieve a goal. We have also added some
valuable insights pertaining to meditation and manifestation, both of which
will collectively help you in accomplishing your goals.
Since we’ve reached the end of the book, we’d like to reiterate something:
never stop. Regardless of the roadblocks, challenges, and trials you face
along the way- you should always strive to achieve your goal.
Be focused, be positive, and follow a solid routine. Do not let your mind
conjure images of the future. Instead, teach it to focus on the current moment
and on your current goals. Remember, success is about focusing on your
present and giving your all to make it better. So if you’re really looking to be
successful, focus on being committed, seek knowledge, and make your
journey enjoyable.
As you try the meditation and manifestation exercises, understand that the
very process of embracing a change takes time. In fact, nothing about being
successful is instantaneous. And this is exactly why you can’t expect an
overnight change. In order to truly make things work in your favor, you will
have to be strong, growth-oriented, and patient. You need to give yourself the
time for syncing with the new exercises and the new way of life.
While this might seem like a never-ending process in the beginning, such
is not the case. Once you start following these guidelines, every new habit
you learn will become a part of your success-driven lifestyle. So instead of
wasting your time anymore, start working on your ‘now’ right away. We’re
pretty sure you’ll manage to be successful just the way you want to! Good
luck!