Go to The Ascent Performance Group here. You can listen to the podcast The Coach Jeff Garrett Show on the website or on iTunes.
Category Archives: Faith
4 Steps To Getting More Accomplished In Your Day
Have you ever wondered why some people get so much more done than others in a day? 
There are a lot of reasons. Some people are naturally gifted at this skill of prioritizing their time. Others have learned how to be more effective with their daily tasks.
Here are some things that you can do everyday to get more done each day.
1. Take care of yourself first
- Exercise for at least 20 – 30 minutes per day. Exercise is one of the key factors in giving you the more energy. Many people work out first thing in the morning to start the day alert and ready to go. Some people like to work out during lunch to give them energy for the rest of the day.
- Sleep 7 – 9 hours. Sleep is key to being productive. The most productive people get 7 – 9 hours of sleep per night. Test this to see what works best for you. There are those that brag about how little sleep they get. Sure you can do this for periods of time, but eventually they are going to get sick or suffer burnout symptoms.
- Power naps. Many highly productive people take naps during the day to stay fresh. These are 10 -20 minute power naps. This will be dependent on your work environment. Some large companies actually have nap areas or rooms. If you can’t do this at work, you may want to experiment with it on weekends.
- Eat Well. Eat protein in the morning and as the day goes on add carbohydrates. Your food consumption will depend on how many calories you burn during the day. Don’t have a huge carbohydrate load at lunch time. This will leave you feeling sluggish the rest of the day.
- Stay Hydrated. Drink plenty of water during the day.
2. Plan the day.
- Take time in the morning or evening before to plan your day. At the end of your work day or in the morning before you get started, plan your work day and list out what you want to accomplish for the day.
- Rank you list. Rank the things you want to get done during the day from most important to least important.
- Schedule harder tasks first when fresh. Take your list and take the hardest task and get it done first. As they say “eat the frog” first thing. Then take the next most important thing you have to do that day and do it.
- Take Scheduled Breaks. Schedule breaks into your day. You should take a 5 – 10 minute break every 30 – 40 minutes.
- Get away from the office for a break. Take 30 – 60 minutes to get away and have a break away from the office between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. depending on what works best for your schedule and work cycles. If nothing else just go for a walk to get some exercise and fresh air.
3. Stay focused
- Use a timer. Use a timer to remind you to take breaks. Most cell phones have timers on them.
- Turn off email and instant message reminders. The pop ups are distracting and will make you want to go off task and answer them.
- Do not answer the phone and emails when you get them. Do not start the day by answering email. Block time increments of 15 – 30 minutes in the morning and afternoon to answer emails and your phone.
- One time as many emails as possible. Trash the ones you just read and don’t need. Set an offline folder for the ones you can read later. Take action and return the ones that are important. Delegate emails that can be answered by another team member.
- Block Time for Social Media. Block 20 – 30 minutes to read social media and do posts.
- Take Scheduled Breaks every 30 – 45 minutes. Use your timer to not miss these.
- Keep a notebook and pen by you to prevent yourself from multi-tasking. As you get ideas or things you want to do jot them down so you can do them later.
4. Delegate
- Determine the value of your time. Take your annual pay and divide it by 2080. This will give you your hourly value based on a 40 hour work week. When you are going to do a task determine if it is worth it for you to do the task or to delegate it.
- Delegate the tasks to an assistant or team member that can do the task for you. If you are fortunate enough to have someone you can delegate to then make sure you are using that person’s skills effectively. Delegation can be hard because many highly efficient people usually like control. Delegation to a qualified team member will help you to get more done during the day. The sooner you learn that the sooner you will become more productive.
- Hire a virtual assistant. In today’s world of technology many people that are self employed are using virtual assistants to help them be more productive.
Be Great!
How to Improve Your Self-Discipline
Self-discipline is defined as the ability to make yourself do things that should be done. It can also be stopping yourself from doing things you don’t want to do. Becoming more self-disciplined is key to attaining the results you desire in any area of your life.
Practice self-discipline with small things. Examples of this would be to skip desert even though you love desert. Another would be that you dislike green beans, but you eat them anyway. Deny yourself little things so you can form yourself to deny yourself large things.
Break Projects into Tasks. It is easier to be disciplined to smaller tasks than large projects. It is all about breaking things down to the simple.
Schedule the tasks in a calendar. For example, if you are going to go to the gym 3 times a week put those days and times into whatever calendar system you use.
Be accountable. Find an accountability partner. Have someone that you are accountable to for the discipline you are trying to achieve.
Reward yourself for maintaining discipline. When you have done a great job on maintaining a discipline take time to celebrate your success.
If you fail to maintain your discipline start over. Nobody is perfect and self-discipline is a process. If you fail then get back up and start again.
Be Great!
How to Set and Attain Your Goals
A year from now you will either look back and see what you accomplished or you are going to look back and wish you had done what I am going show you. Goal setting can be done at any time during the year, but most people tend to set them on a calendar year.
Every person that has ever accomplished anything significant has used some form of goal setting. I am going to show you a system I have used and shared for years. It is very simple system, and the best part is it’s free.
Setting Goals
Step 1: Take the 6 F’s, Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances, Friends and Fun and list them on a sheet of paper or in a document on your computer or pad.
Step 2: In each of the categories list all the things you want to accomplish in each category over the next 12 months.
Step 3: Put a date that you want to accomplish the goal next to each.
Step 4: Determine what steps you need to take to accomplish the goal. List out the daily, weekly, monthly things you need to do to accomplish the goal and write them below the goal.
Step 5: Put your goals in the order of importance to you on your commitment card
Step 6: Visualize your goals often as if they have already been accomplished. If you study professional athletes, you will soon learn how powerful visualization is. The best of the best see themselves performing at optimal levels and winning their competitions before the event occurs.
Step 7: Review your goals everyday. Keep them in front of you.
You should do a monthly review of your goals to check your progress. Over the years when I have done this, I have found there are goals I had hit early, ones I was not close to and others that did not motivate me anymore. If this happens to you, here are some options. You can adjust the goal by increasing or decreasing it, or you can decide to eliminate it altogether.
Another important thing to do is to celebrate when you achieve a goal. It does not have to be something elaborate, it can be as simple as going out to eat or enjoying a good bottle of wine.
I use a Commitment Card to record my goals. The card is simply a 3 x 5 index card. Making multiple copies of your Commitment Card will allow you to access it more easily.
Commitment Cards also make great stocking stuffers at Christmas. I have given them to my kids for years. It is fun to watch your children set goals and watch them attain them.
If you like to use technology, there are many systems that can be used. You can use Goals on Track which uses the SMART method to set goals, Nozbe which is a task based system or you can store your Commitment Card in Evernote. Evernote is one of my favorite tools because it syncs amongst all my devices, and I always have my information available.
Keep your Commitment Cards. It is fun to look back over years past and see all that you have accomplished and all the things you still want to accomplish.
“Happy is the man who sets a goal and is willing to pay the price to reach it.” – Unknown
Be Great!
How To Create Great Memories
When you get together with family or friends during holidays you will often hear the phrase “remember when we…..”. It is fun to rehash memories of special things you have done together like trips you’ve taken or vacations you have been on.
Creating memories with my family is in my plan for life. My wife and I feel it is important that you create memories with your family. We had times where we gave very small gifts at Christmas and went on a trip instead. We tend to forget about the things we get, but we do remember the trips we take as a family.
The best way to create memories is to plan them. The best memories tend to be from being on vacation or doing something special.
Creating Your Memories
- Plan a vacation with your family. If you don’t plan it, most likely it will not happen.
- Go to a special game or sporting event. Go to a game of one of your kids’ favorite teams.
- Go out to dinner at a really nice restaurant as a family. Birthdays and anniversaries are great times for a special celebration.
- Go on a mission trip. Look for a mission adventure through your church.
- Study the location you are going to before you arrive. Do online research or look for a book on your destination.
- Take lots of pictures. With iPhones and Android phones you have a camera with you at all times. It is fun to look back at pictures of the memory. The picture will take you back in time.
- Use a travel journal to record what you did. Record in either a handwritten journal or an online journal memories of your trip.
What are the memories that you have with your family? What is your favorite trip or vacation you have been on? Take time tonight at dinner during the holidays to talk about your favorite memories.
Be Great!
How to Create a Personal Development Plan
Every year it is a good idea to take a look at what you want to learn, skills you want to develop and areas that you want to improve in the coming year. Now is a great time to start your personal development plan for next year.
I recommend looking at the 6 F’s, Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances, Friends and Fun to determine some areas you want to develop in the coming year. Schedule a half day to set up your Personal Growth Plan for next year.
Questions to Consider
- What are the skills you want to develop next year?
- What do you want to learn next year?
- What areas of your work do you want to improve next year?
- What areas in your personal life do you want to improve next year?
- How do you want to improve your fitness and health?
- What do you want to improve or learn in your faith life?
- What do you want to learn financially?
- What do you want to improve on relationships with your spouse, friends, coworkers or significant other?
- Is there a hobby or interest you want to learn for fun?
For each of these questions the next step is to do some research.
- What books do I need to read?
- What workshops or seminars do I need to attend?
- What Podcasts do I need to subscribe or listen to?
- What websites are available to help?
- What courses do I need to take?
- What webinars do I need to attend?
This may involve doing some research online to discover tools, books, resources, websites and podcasts that can help you achieve your personal development plan.
Next Steps
- Break this all down in to manageable timelines to achieve. An example would be a reading plan. You have a book that is 300 pages. If you read 10 pages per day for 30 days you will complete the book. This is a way to break down the task into managable bites.
- Schedule the activities in your calendar
- Set goals around your development plan with dates of completion.
I hope this helps you to grow and achieve new skills, learn new things and grow in your life over the next 12 months.
Be Great!
7 Great Ways to be Grateful and Share It
November is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. Thanksgiving means the expression of gratitude, especially to God.
This is a great month for expressing your gratitude towards others. Here is a short list of those you can express your gratitude: Your spouse, significant other, people you work with, a mentor, friends, Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, parents, relatives, neighbors, children and God.
Here are 7 ways to express your gratitude towards others:
1) Handwritten Note or Letter. We seem to have gotten away from handwritten notes and letters with the advent of the computer. One thing I have noticed is that people keep handwritten notes and letters. They usually delete electronic notes.
2) Send a Greeting Card. There is just something about getting something snail mail these days. We are used to getting a bunch of junk mail. The person you send this to will enjoy getting something different in the mail and you will probably make their day.
3) Text or Email. Sometimes just a quick text or email to someone saying you were thinking about them and are thankful for them is a pick me up.
4) Make a Video or send a picture. Today it is so easy to shoot a quick video on your phone and send it. The other idea is to find a picture of a special time with that person and send it to them with a note.
5) Post on Social Media. Post a quick message letting them know you are grateful for something they did for you.
6) Record an audio message or voice mail. This is easy to do today with a variety of apps. Record a quick message and make their day. You could even go old school and record the message on a CD.
7) Send Flowers. There used to be a commercial that said “say it with flowers”. Flowers tend to brighten up a room and touch women’s hearts.
Bonus: At Thanksgiving Dinner go around the table and say what and whom you are especially thankful for this year and why.
Have fun sharing your gratitude this month.
Be Great!
Tips on How to Allocate Your Paycheck
The best rule I have for allocating your paycheck is the 70-10-10-10 rule. I came up with this rule years ago after reading the excellent book The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. This book is a classic fable that gives the timeless rules for money management.
There are several other great resources: Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and Money Master the Game:7 Simple steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins.
The 70-10-10-10 Rule
- The first 10% goes in a charity account. The funds in this account are disbursed at 5% to your church and the other 5% goes to charities that you are passionate about. I have found over the years that if you follow this rule you will get back much more than you give.
- 70% goes for living expenses. Use these funds to pay your monthly living expenses. Pay credit cards off monthly and strive to keep your debt minimal.
- 10% goes to savings and investment. The first step is to have 3 months of living expenses saved in a money market account or savings account. Max out your 401k. Any additional funds should be invested as you and your financial planner see fit based on your risk.
- 10% goes to investing in yourself and/or business. These are funds to invest in your learning and education. These funds are for books, workshops, seminars and business retreats. They can also be used for side businesses.
A good plan is to meet with a financial advisor to help you to meet your financial goals. A good financial advisor can help you with wealth strategies, insurance strategies and tax strategies to help you to maximize your financial future. You should meet with your planner at least annually to discuss strategies and update your plan.
Be Great!
How to Make Your Marriage More Successful
Are you trying at your marriage or are you committed in your marriage? Those that “try” at anything are usually not committed. They will stay with something until it gets hard. Committed means you do what ever it takes to make something work. Those that commit generally succeed, while those that try will generally fail.
A deep level of commitment in a marriage can lead to a lower divorce rate. According to Thomas Bradbury, Benjamin Karney and Dominik Schoebi from the Relationship Institute at UCLA couples that both people were willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the marriage were significantly more likely to have lasting and happy marriages. Of the 172 couples in the study, 78.5% were still married after 11 years and 21.5% were divorced. This is significantly better than the average divorce rate.
Ways to make your marriage more successful:
- Compromise. Good marriages are not based on I win or you win. It is not a winning or losing proposition. Commit to the relationship rather than committing to your own immediate needs and agenda. Sometimes you need to sacrifice your needs and wants.
- Communicate. When you don’t see things eye to eye talk to your spouse. There is a good chance that your spouse can not read your mind.
- Pray together and for each other. Pray for strength and unity in your marriage. Pray for others and their needs on a daily basis. Men, here is a prayer for your wife.
- Commit with actions. Let your actions reflect your commitment. Make yourself available when your spouse wants to talk. Spend time alone with your spouse. Laugh together. Have date moments. Plan for your future together.
- Commit with words. Tell your spouse that you are committed to your marriage for the rest of your life. Tell your spouse you love them in front of your kids. Let your kids know that you and your spouse are committed to each other through thick and thin. This will put your kids at ease. They see a lot of divorce through their friends.
- Learn your spouse’s Love Language. There are only 5 to learn. Here is a post I did on The Language of Love.
- Be Grateful for your spouse. What are you thankful for? Ask God to bring these things to mind. Make a list and review it often.
- Do a check up. Ask your spouse how you are doing for him or her every 6 months. Ask what you can do to improve the relationship.
- Model other couples that have successful marriages. Ask a couple that has been successfully married a long time to mentor you.
- Renew your wedding vows every 5 – 10 years. Recommit to each other. My wife and I did this the last time, in Cana, for our 25th wedding anniversary.
These are just a few ideas to make a marriage more successful. Please feel free to share this with others.
Be Great!
How to Put Discipline in Your Life
We all want to do so many things in our lives, but we are limited by time. How we schedule our day and discipline ourselves has a big impact on whether we accomplish what we set out to do each day.
Self discipline is hard and is something you can train yourself to get better at. Much of it is sticking to your plan and not letting others or your own self talk convince you to not get done what you want to get accomplished.
6 Areas to Commit Time and Create More Discipline
- Faith – Commit time to prayer and go to church. Set aside time each day to pray. How many minutes/hours would you like to pray each day? I have found early mornings and night time work best for me. Figure out your best prayer time. Don’t skip church because you want to sleep in or have other things to do on Sunday. Plan on which mass or service you attend each week.
- Fitness – Commit time to workout. How many times per week do you want to workout? How long do you want your workouts to be? What kind of workouts do you want to do? Start with an easy workout just a few minutes per day and work your way up to longer and harder workouts.
- Friends – Commit to spending time with friends. How often do you want to spend time with friends? Who do you want to spend time with? Set a goal of how many times per week or month you want to spend with your friends.
- Finances – Commit time to working on your finances. The easiest thing to do is set your monthly bills on autopay. Set up your investments with monthly deductions. Most employers offer a 401k plan. This is an easy way to set aside monies for retirement and comes out of your pay pretax. Review your investment statements monthly. Set up a quarterly and an annual review with a financial planner.
- Family – Commit time to your spouse and children. Plan to spend time with your family each day. Have family dinners. Have date time or date moments with your spouse. Take time to talk to your kids and play with them.
- Fun – Commit time to doing something fun. Get vacation and fun time planned and put in your calendar. Where would you like to go on vacation? What weekend trips would you like to go on? What fun things have you not done in a while that you would like to do?
After answering these questions for each category pull out your calendar. Block time in your calendar for each of these 6 areas. Tell your spouse or a friend what you have scheduled and what your goals are. You will have a greater chance of hitting them if you have accountability to someone other than yourself.