For over 25 years, as a performance coach and specialist in productivity psychology, I’ve used every tool in the book to teach people how to achieve their goals by breaking down obstacles, getting out of their minds, and getting into their production flow.
Here are some of my favorite tools and approaches for staying on track to achieve your goals and dreams.
1. Accountability
Your magic wand is your word. It’s where your power comes from. What you say, commit to, and follow through on builds trust in your own power to manifest what you desire in the world.
Every time you go back on what you claimed you were going to do, though, your inner strength is weakened.
What you pledge is kept in your subconscious thoughts. It keeps track of every time you don’t follow through on your promises, reducing your ability to produce unconsciously. Keep your word and your authority!
2. Gratitude
Everything changes when you adopt a grateful mindset. We connect to the most essential things in our lives when we focus on what we are grateful for, which floods our system with happy hormones and generates joy, pleasure, and excitement
Begin by developing a list of the things and people for which you are most grateful right now. Make a list of five things you’re grateful for each day in the morning.
3. Relational Communication
Remember this when you’re having problems communicating: the meaning of communication is the reaction you get.
Pay attention to how the other person responds while you’re communicating something significant. If they don’t reply the way you expected, it’s your obligation to keep communicating with them until they grasp what you’re saying.
Make no assumptions about how the other person will interpret your communication.
4. Laughter
In stressful situations, laughter prevents us from succumbing to worry, doubt, and terror.
Laughter acts as a jammer system for our mental radar, allowing us to observe and learn from our surroundings.
“I laugh at this current scenario,” say aloud to yourself when confronted with a problem or difficulty. I’m laughing at how horrible that is.”
Get your mind to focus on amusement and laughter. It keeps the mental dominoes from going down the incorrect route by instilling curiosity in your mind, allowing it to learn from the scenario.
5. Time Blocking
If it’s significant, make a note of it on your calendar. Make sure you schedule time for the most critical aspects of your day. This ensures that the important tasks are completed at the end of the day and that distractions do not rule your life.
I use Outlook to keep track of my appointments and Calendly to make it easier for individuals to schedule appointments on my calendar.
6. Power Naps
Taking a nap is one of my favorite tactics for accomplishing your goals quickly. People who nap are more productive, according to research. A 20-minute snooze on a daily basis can boost your performance and productivity by 10% to 30%.
Using an eye mask with noise-canceling headphones is a terrific technique to assure a pleasant power sleep. Drink a cup of coffee right before you start napping for an extra boost.
It may seem paradoxical, but caffeine takes about 20 minutes to take effect and will help you wake up feeling extra energized.
7. Circle of Excellence
Consider a period when you felt highly confident and unstoppable as a quick approach to transition into a high-performance mentality. Relive the experience. Make an imagined circle on the floor in front of you with that memory. Step into the circle and the memory once it’s there.
Imagine being brought back to it, feeling it come in through your toes all the way to the top of your head, and seeing it through your own eyes, as if you were now inside that memory.
Be in the memory now, seeing what you’re seeing, hearing what you’re hearing, and feeling what you’re feeling. Feel your body’s motivation and confidence rise. I’m going to activate that great feeling I’m having.
8. Be of Service
One of the most important things we can do today to be happier, more appreciative, and more motivated is to help others.
Giving to others is the greatest psychological gift we can give to ourselves. It causes a flood of happy chemicals and hormones to be released, making us feel terrific. It also assists us in putting our lives into perspective. Those who feel they are helping others are the happiest and most productive.
9. Visualization
One of my favorite tools for assisting you in creating your perfect future is this one. Spend a few moments imagining how you want your life to be. You’ll be able to get there considerably faster as a result of this.
The more you rehearse any activity in your thoughts, the faster it becomes a reality, according to studies with athletes.
The difference between imagination and executing the actual thing is lost in your subconscious mind. Use this method as much as possible because it may be the most powerful free technique of all time.
10. Head-Heart-Body
This is the quickest way to assess your mental, emotional, and physical health. It’s similar to checking your car’s gauges. Close your eyes, focus on your head and pay attention to the thoughts that come to mind.
Take a deep breath in and out. Concentrate on your heart. Take note of your current mood or sentiment. Take a deep breath again. Pay attention to your diaphragm. Pay attention to the sensations in your body.
Take another deep breath and consider, “What am I in need of right now?” Make a note of the response your mind provides you. This is an excellent method to utilize in the middle of the day or shortly before a big decision or activity.
11. Time Frame Exercise
Changing the time frame in which you observe a scenario changes the way your brain perceives the material, typically shifting it from negative to positive. When you put all of your energy into this one moment, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
If you close your eyes for a moment and extend your time view from this point into the future, the context changes quickly, as does the meaning of the content. Open up sometime in your imagination and imagine how the issue might play out over the next month, year, or lifetime.
The most traumatic events in our lives frequently turn out to be the most beneficial to us in the long run, or at the very least have a less negative impact on us than we think.
12. Journaling
Writing down your thoughts aids in the integration of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Writing things down, according to research, allows clarity and insights to emerge simply by putting your ideas and feelings on paper.
Journaling allows you to name the feelings and issues that are upsetting you, and this process can help you calm down and clear your mind. To tame it, give it a name.
13. Schedule Everything
Spontaneity is possible thanks to schedules. It may seem counterintuitive, but research suggests that having a well-organized calendar allows you to be more flexible.
Knowing what you need to get done frees up your thoughts to do things on the spur of the moment.
The lack of planning leads to mental instability. The calendar allows you to get it off your mind and free up some mental space.
It also serves as a daily navigation system for what we need to do. Not just work, but all personal activities should be scheduled.
14. The Magic Question
“What am I pretending not to know?” is the main question. Ask yourself what you’re pretending not to know about the current scenario when your brain is stuck and frozen or you don’t know what to do. It changes the way your brain thinks about the question. It enters your mind in a unique way, opening up new possibilities.
Most questions are answered in a specific order by the brain. This question turns that sequence inside out, forcing your brain to think about it in a new way. When you’re ready to make significant changes, ask yourself this question.
15. Self-Compassion
Practicing the strategies of being there for yourself is one of the most effective ways to increase your productivity and sustain high-performance levels in your work or whatever you do. This entails being aware of how you speak to yourself when you experience failures and setbacks, particularly those that feel like they are your fault.
The idea is to talk to yourself in the same way you would talk to a buddy in a comparable scenario. Warmth and gentleness should be used when speaking to yourself.
Then acknowledge the situation’s common humanity—that you are not alone and that many others are going through the same thing you are.
Finally, be aware of how you speak to yourself and avoid overidentification or dissociation from the issue. In these trying times, “compassionate productivity” is the most effective method to help yourself. [1] It’s not about being “comfortable” or lenient with yourself.
It’s about being a helpful presence for oneself so you can recover and return to work in a more productive manner.
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to achieve your goals requires implementing some techniques and making use of some tools to help you on your path towards success. These 15 strategies are good starting points to jumpstart your journey towards achieving your dreams.
Reference:
- Steven Griffith: Compassionate Productivity