One of the most important skills you can develop is the ability to focus. Anything you can do to improve your focus is going to make you more successful. Any non-trivial task requires focus and attention if you want to reach any level of productivity. When you aren't focused, tasks take significantly longer, are prone to mistakes and in some cases progress is impossible. Multi-tasking Myth The multi-tasking myth has done more to destroy our ability to focus than just about anything. People consider multi-tasking to be something they are proud of. After all, computers multi-task right? It turns out that humans are amazingly horrible at multi-tasking. Many people feel like they are … [Read more...] about Improve Your Focus
success
Why You Aren’t Successful
If you feel you are wildly successful, then you probably don't need to read this. However, if you are only moderately successful, you probably spend a lot of time wondering what the people who are wildly successful are doing differently than you. There is one huge difference between successful and unsuccessful people. That difference is their ability to finish. Yes, luck, connections, family, training and a number of other factors influence success, but none of those things really matter if you can't finish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPTfO8U3kCs Things of Value Success is a matter of producing things of value. That doesn't mean everything you create and finish will be a … [Read more...] about Why You Aren’t Successful
High Goals and Expectations
Everyone has a different idea about success. Many times our expectations are determined by the way we were raised and our interaction with our peers. These expectations can cause us to set artificially low goals. I know a man whose goal is to get his GED so he can get a job and make payments on a car. I just met a girl who has a goal to finish a 9-month cosmetology program so she can work at SuperCuts in front of Wal-Mart. When looking at your goals, make sure you understand the expectations you carry that influence the magnitude of those goals. If no one in your family went to college, you will probably set your expectations for your education lower than someone whose parents … [Read more...] about High Goals and Expectations
Interview: Successful Habit
What productive habit do you feel is most responsible for your success? (960) I try to only do things that make me happy. I could make more money working in an office than from cooking or writing, but it would bore me and make me frustrated and angry. So while I might not always want to get up at eight AM to slave in a hot kitchen, knowing that I'll enjoy the work and have fun with my friends there means I never resent it. And I apply that same mentality to my writing and my studies and everything else I do. It's only hard work if it's something that you don't want to do in the first place. David Robertson from The Church of Chris Martin (rss) Getting started. It's only … [Read more...] about Interview: Successful Habit
Why You Need to Fail to Succeed
That's a rather provocative title, I suppose. Surely if you can avoid failure that is better, right? Not necessarily. There are two ways to avoid failure. Working so hard and doing such a good job that you succeed. Only taking on projects that are so far below your capabilities that failure is never a realistic possibility. If you want to succeed--really succeed, you have to be willing to take on things that have a high chance of failing. If you only attempt things that you know you can do, you aren't challenging yourself properly. If you never have any failures, it is a pretty good indication that you aren't taking on things that are true challenges for you. You are … [Read more...] about Why You Need to Fail to Succeed
Writing Down Goals
Marston online has some comments on research related to productivity. The most interesting comment was: The researchers wanted to know what accounted for the dramatic difference between that top 3 percent and the others. They found that of all the possible variables, the only difference between the top performers and the rest was the the top 3% wrote down their goals. The research was done by the Ford Foundation, but I haven't been able to locate that particular study. … [Read more...] about Writing Down Goals