“What’s your very best personal excellence tip?” Sixty-six engaged Litemind readers took the challenge and now share with us advice on what makes the most positive impact on their lives. Enjoy and vote for your favorites!

1. Mistakes are the seeds of evolution and change. It is said that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. And it’s within this single step that lessons are learned, directions are given, and mistakes have already been made a thousand times over. It is in fact this single step that provides us with an opportunity to learn from all those who came before us and to lay down the seeds of personal evolution and change. Learning from another’s experience could be the most important factor towards achieving any kind of success in life. [details] (by Adam Sicinski)
2. Be careful when comparing yourself to others. You know everything about yourself: your strengths, your weaknesses, your successes, and your failures. All you know about others is what they’ve chosen to show, and that would usually be only their success. List everything good about yourself and say, “Hey, I have a good personal résumé. Look at all I have achieved and what I can learn and achieve.” You can then go out feeling good and prepared for whatever challenge the world presents for you. (by Colleen Dick)
3. I am grateful for… To ensure that you do not take things for granted, begin a Gratitude Journal. Each day write on a blank piece of paper ‘I am grateful for…’ then write down as many things that you are grateful for. Believe me, you will realize how lucky you really are. Date each sheet, and when you aren’t feeling all that crash hot, look back over what you have written and it will certainly boost your spirits! (by Viki Slough)
4. Persist until it pays off. Most people give up right before they are about to succeed. Never, never, never give up! (by Jeremy Day)
5. Eat chocolate. If you’re in a bad mood, or want to become more positive, have some chocolate! When I am unhappy, angry, or feeling negative, I often have a few pieces of chocolate. It helps to calm me down and seems to have a great effect on my mood. Fair Trade chocolate can have an amazing effect, because you know that you are helping to make a difference. (by Andre Livingstone)
6. Have a personal hero. Mine is the late Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Anytime I am trying to solve a difficult problem, I invoke the pragmatic spirit of Feynman to guide me in the ways of rationality and the scientific method. When writing technical prose, I eschew jargon in favor of clear and precise language to communicate the ideas to my peers. When someone is presenting ideas or theories to me, I think of Feynman to hone my powers of critical thinking and my BS detector. (by Mike Yoke)
7. Practice meditation regularly. Learn a proven and effective method of meditation, set a manageable routine, and keep to it. The objectivity and clarity of mind produced will help in all aspects of your life, from the mundane to the elevated. [details] (by Reddy Kilowatt)
8. Use mind maps to quickly review books you’ve read. As I’m reading a book, I populate a mind map that I have started for that book. I jump between the book and the mind map after completing a major section or sometimes a whole chapter. This method has increased my comprehension of the topics covered in books 1000-fold. What’s more, I can look at a mind map of a book and within minutes recall important lessons learned in the book. I also use the mind map to point me to those parts of the book where I want to quickly review a specific topic. (by Llewellyn)
9. Serve. My personal excellence tip is just that - serve. If in all that I do, I do in a spirit of being of service to the other, I win all the time. This has been my experience and the reason for my very successful life as a professional manager. (by rummuser)
10. Break the cycle of self-inflicted junk mail. Stop deleting, “marking as read” or archiving newsletters, forwards, and RSS feeds you don’t read. Processing these items wastes valuable time every day. Instead, archive them in a “Self-Inflicted Junk” folder. Once a month, review what is in that folder, and unsubscribe. Use services like StopForwarding.us to stem the tide of junk from your friends as well. [details] (by Sid Savara)
11. Practice being selfish. Stand firm behind the airplane/oxygen metaphor and put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. To be able to help others you have to take care of your own needs. When I don’t take care of myself, I can’t take care of other people. So I find time to relax and refuel on a daily basis (alone time), weekly basis (mom’s night out), monthly basis (girl’s night out), and yearly basis (vacation). [details] (by Stacey Hoffer Weckstein)
12. Your goals: keep your eyes on ‘em. Know what your goals are in the important areas of your life such as family and friends, work, spirituality, etc. Then use this knowledge to be sure that your hours, days, weeks, and months are working towards these goals. The minutes of your life support your major purposes in life. This tip is also practical: it prevents you from taking on too much (if something is not working towards a goal, don’t do it!), as well as keeps you in balance (you need to look at goals in different areas of your life). (by How to Cope with Pain)
13. Discomfort is a prerequisite for success. Trying to stay in your comfort zone and letting fear get the best of you will always choke your creativity and sabotage any chances you might have of succeeding. In order to achieve any worthy goals, you must start realizing that discomfort is a prerequisite for success. [details] (by Andrew Bolis)
14. Learn one sentence in a foreign language. Whenever my training and experience seem irrelevant, whenever I need to try something new, but I can’t think of a fresh solution, I just stop the task and learn a sentence in a foreign language. The “more foreign”, the better. My theory is that it opens a new pathway into the brain. I discovered this tip when I was invited to sit in on a Hindi class while I had writer’s block. During the class, I actually felt physical movement, a tingling behind my right eye. I went home and finished the writing assignment that had been plaguing me in record time. [details] (by Kate)
15. Use Google Reader to keep track of websites. Using Google Reader (or a similar service) can help you save hours of time by having all your RSS feeds and updates in one place. You don’t have to constantly keep checking websites - they come to you in one easy place, where you can store or delete items. I check my Google Reader once in the morning and once in the evening. It has saved me hours of time and made me more efficient! [details] (by Glen Loveland)
16. Put yourself in other people’s shoes. When you are angry or having a bad day it is easy to make a mean comment or tell someone off. Before saying or doing what’s in your mind take a moment to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. How would you feel on the receiving end of that comment you’re about to make or that action you’re about to take? Showing a little compassion often prevents me from saying things I’d otherwise regret or helps me decide what to do (or not do). If you treat people like you want to be treated, you’ll be able to avoid useless arguments and be surprised with all the friendly people around you. (by Anke)
17. Show up. People say they want to achieve things, but then don’t show up for the things that would help them get there. They want to be writers, but don’t show up at the word processor. They want to own a business, but they don’t show up for the educational seminar. They want to be actors, but then don’t show up for the audition. [details] (by Lyman Reed)
18. Take 100% responsibility for everything that happens to you. Even if it seems like an accident, you are 100% responsible for everything that happens to you. I got in a car accident that wasn’t my fault according to the law. How do I take responsibility for that? I had forgotten something at home and went to get it on my way to a meeting. If I had a better system for remembering items, then I wouldn’t have been in the accident. If you are not getting what you want, it is because you are not taking responsibility to educate yourself or working hard to achieve it. Will you be 100% responsible or will you take the easy way out and settle for less then you are worth? (by Chris Elliott)
19. Make personal excellence… personal. Bring a part of yourself into everything you do. The more your work reflects your individuality, the more it will stand out from the crowd, the more people will relate to it (and you) and the more “real” your achievements will seem to be. And when your efforts involve other people, involve them on a personal level as well, so that the project becomes a relationship that brings out the best in everyone involved. [details] (by Tori Deaux)
20. Spider-map. A spider-map is a scheme where you place the main concept in the center and then, around it, write ideas generated from the central theme. You will end up having a web of linked keywords, great for those who rely on their visual memory more often, like I do. [details] (by Lucia Grosaru)
21. Health, the neglected point. There will be tons of people writing about how to be more productive or how to excel in time management, etc. Yet the first thing we must remember when we are talking about personal development is taking care of our health. You can have all the fancy techniques to get more done, but neglecting your health does not help to increase productivity in the long term. Exercise regularly and make the conscious effort to eat healthier food. [details] (by Vincent)“
22. Detach from the outcome. Probably best illustrated by the Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.” I find that my life flows much smoother and is less stressful when I can remember to detach from outcomes. (by Lora Adrianse)
23. Stop expecting bananas from people who have no bananas. If you are not getting what you want, then maybe you are looking in the wrong place… Whenever I feel frustrated or stuck with a situation in my work or personal life, I find that this maxim helps me to see things objectively, take responsibility and move on. (by joy)
24. Learn to develop a ‘productive mindset’. A productive mindset is one that makes the best use of your resources — your time, your energy and your effort. It’s making the most and best of what you have while enjoying the process. It is a mindset that encompasses curiosity, open-mindedness, desire, critical thinking and a positive outlook among other qualities. [details] (by ZHereford)
25. Getting realistic. My kids made up this phrase. Every time someone says something like “I wish I had…”, “Why didn’t I…”, or “Why did I…”, my kids always say: “That is in the land of shoulda, coulda, woulda!”. This means that what happened has already happened and you need to choose the way you want things to go from now on. (by Maureen)
26. Create multiple memory palaces. Memorize multiple settings, or palaces, to categorize your lists. I have one setting I use to remember items to buy, another setting for things to do, and another setting for items I want to communicate with my family. When the visual setting comes to mind, I know whether I’m in action mode, communication mode or list mode. This keeps my lists from getting jumbled and keeps me in the right frame of mind. For me, there is an added benefit of productivity because I feel the need to clear the action items from my memory before the day is done. [details] (by S. Sipes)
27. Time management is key for huge plans. When it comes to developing a major project — whether it’s a blog, business, or a contest — always plan everything in advance. I always plan my blogging projects almost a month in advance because things can always change at the last minute. If you plan thoroughly enough, changes toward your deadline won’t hinder your plans. Time management is a major key to productivity in anything you do. (by David)
28. Count your blessings and cheer up! Remember and appreciate all good things in your life that you might have taken for granted, e.g., your ability to see, hear, think, and walk. Many people don’t even have clean drinking water. Think about people who lose everything during natural calamities and then imagine if you were in their shoes. Shifts my focus every time I feel sad and hopeless. [details] (by Pearl)
29. Don’t presume… ask! How many times in life have we missed an opportunity, created a misunderstanding or just plain got it wrong because we presumed we knew what someone meant, was thinking or their motivation? Don’t presume — just ask! Ask questions that connect: “What’s going on for you around that?”, “What’s important to you in this?”. Ask questions that clarify: “What is it you need me to understand?”, “What did you take from that?”. Ask questions that go to the next level, that is, beyond their current strategy: “Is x,y,z really important to you in this situation?” [details] (by Leona Dawson)
30. There is no reason to hate anything in life. You are separate from your thoughts and emotions. Once you realize and feel this separation, you will discover that there is absolutely no reason to hate anything (including your job!). Then you will discover that everything in life is awesome. [details] (by Jarrod)
31. Make your mind your playground. Your mind is your ultimate tool (if everything else fails, you still have it). Making it fit, alert and ready to play is the best approach to make it your greatest asset. So make your brain healthy by providing it healthy food and plenty of sleep, and make it happy providing themes for it to play with. Give your mind a workout (e.g. play chess!) and you’ll see the results immediately! [details] (by Luciano S. Fier)
32. A chronometer by my side. For me, tasks are challenges. My motivation is to think of them as competitions in which I always want to win. So, for example, if I need to learn something, I set up a clock by my side to 1 hour. I concentrate as hard as I can in that hour — no Internet connection allowed, as it’s totally distracting. If someone asks for a quick task, I do it as fast as I can and then I note down how long it took. That’s a great way to give more excitement to my routine work. (by Tiare Rivera)
33. Attitude. “I am convinced that life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” This is a sentence from an essay titled “Attitude” by Charles Swindoll. Since adopting this as my daily mantra I no longer get angry and I’m a calmer, happier and more productive person as a result. A lot has been written about maintaining a positive attitude, but this statement and the essay are the most profound and have had the greatest impact of anything I’ve read. [details] (by Gary J. Hawk)
34. If you don’t have space for what you want in your life, it will never come to you. Work out what’s currently in your life that takes up the ’space’ and is preventing something better to slide in. Aim towards cutting it out. This will allow you to jump on new opportunities when they appear. It could be a person, bad habit, job or other commitment; you’ll know what it is for you, and you know it’s stopping you moving on. (by Josie Sawers)
35. Combine the Law of Attraction with realism. Everyone knows about the Law of Attraction, but many people reject it as supernatural nonsense. They’re missing the point. Don’t take the genie metaphor literally, but simply as a model for improving your awareness and control over your thoughts. As a species, we’re really awful at positive thinking. It’s not meant to be a replacement for action, but the source of inspired, unrelenting persistence through the toughest challenges. [details] (by Hunter Nuttall)
36. Follow your inner voice. I spent many years trying to follow the voice of others, believing others knew better than me. I would come up short and feel like a failure… Until I started to hear and listen to my own voice. We all have this inner voice / intuition and it is the only place where we will get the answers we are seeking. [details] (by Ellie Walsh)
37. Paying gratitude. Paying gratitude for what you have shifts your subconscious mind from lack to abundance, allowing for more good to come. I say my gratitude list to myself in the morning and before bed to ensure I recognize what is going right in my life and all that I have. It puts me in a positive state of mind and just as a bad mood can snowball, so can a positive mood when you begin to realize just how fortunate you are. [details] (by Jenny Mannion)
38. Leverage mind map templates for creativity and productivity. Using templates as starting points for your mind maps — instead of starting from scratch every time — is something I found very useful. Manufacturers of mind mapping software have a wide range of business, educational, and personal productivity mind map templates. These templates give you ideas and structure when creating a mind map. [details] (by Chance Brown)
39. Think rationally. Think rationally about everything. If something isn’t working for you, whether it’s an aspect of your job, your productivity system or your relationship, think logically about why this is so. For instance, just because you have an emotional attachment to a Moleskine (”It looks really nice!”), it doesn’t mean it’s a good tool for you. Think about what you can change, fix or alter to improve every situation in your life. I’ve seen so many people make the same mistakes because they just don’t stop and think critically. [details] (by James Mallinson)
40. Tomorrow is another day. All too often, when trying to establish a new habit — or break an old one — I don’t manage to keep on the straight and narrow! When in a diet, I occasionally forget about it and eat something I shouldn’t. But then I remind myself that just because I forgot once, it doesn’t mean I have failed — and that I should just get back to the diet tomorrow. I apply this to every project that I start and, gradually over time, the number of times I fail reduces to a well-established level. (by John Mullarkey)
41. Gift of attention. Practicing the gift of attention offers the perfect mirror for our self-centered tendencies. As we engage in deep listening, the need to fix or offer opinion is recognized in stark contrast to the mindful presence arising from the practice. Thus, these moments of ego are allowed to pass without resistance. (by Kate Loving Shenk)
42. Do The Simplest Thing That Could Possibly Work. This is my all-purpose tip from the land of Extreme Programming. Not the easiest, the cheapest or the quickest thing. The simplest. Often, in the everyday rush of pushing tasks out of my queue and into others’, I spend more time making things more refined than necessary. So I ask myself: “What really needs to be produced to keep the project or the day moving forward?”. This goes for menu planning, party planning, gift buying, writing, etc. Plenty of time to make things more complicated later! [details] (by Mike Brown)
43. Align effort with personal values. Kulia i ka nu’u is my Hawaiian value-alignment for excellence. It means ’strive to the summit’. Be your best. Don’t settle for less, for there’s no honor or fulfillment in aiming lower than you’re capable of achieving. My tip is to harness competition in this way: Do not compete with, or compare yourself to others; if compete you must, compete with your previous self. [details] (by Rosa Say)
44. Just do it. Get tasks started and finished quickly: don’t spend too much time planning or perfecting your work beyond what is required. Endless planning or endless revising is just an excuse to procrastinate while feeling like you’re doing work. When you don’t know what to do in the first place, that’s the time to plan. When it’s done, get someone else to check it over, and if they say it’s good enough, don’t waste time trying to make it even better. (by Elena Kelareva)
45. Internal conflict questions passion. We have both passion and forces that pull us away from that passion. Even when we are passionate about doing something, we often don’t know the true reason why we’re doing it. I know many people who have wanted to write great blogs (including myself). They have two reasons to blog — one is to help others and the other is to make money. And that’s when the internal conflict arises: you must be sure of the reasons behind your acts. Be it one reason or another, be 100% sure of it. (by Praveen Sherman)
46. Optimize your life with the SWOT matrix. The SWOT matrix is a framework for analyzing your life and finding creative ways to optimize it. The acronym SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This matrix enables you to focus on your strengths, to minimize weaknesses, and to take advantage of every opportunity. [details] (by Mary Jaksch)
47. Be more conscious of your goals at every moment. Before taking any action, always ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Why are you doing it? This has made a huge difference in my life. Now I am much more focused when doing something and reach my goals more often. It also helps me to stop doing stuff that is irrelevant or opposed to my goals. Often we are living on autopilot and forget what we are trying to accomplish. (by Jorge Pena)
48. Listen to your inner voice. We all have intuition that guides us through our lives. That quiet inner voice, that knowing beyond logic. Following your intuition can be scary at times, but I can say from my experience it’s the most effective advice I could ever find. I can recall a number of incidents when I ignored my intuition and regretted later, but had no regrets when following my intuition. So after you read, discuss, brainstorm, take a quiet moment to listen to your intuition. (by Akemi Gaines)
49. As you think so you are. July 10, 2000. A car accident took me to hospital with an arm, leg and hip crushed. During the months of recovery (one of them motionless), my wife was diagnosed with an incurable illness and my mother died. I was sent back home on a wheelchair. By chance I came to read “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen. It led me to take charge of myself. In the months ahead, I never gave up until I could walk again. I took an examination to become a high-school counselor and passed it, although I was in my fifties. “Take charge of yourself” is the motto I always say to myself and the students I am counseling. (by Joel Cardigan)
50. Be real! Rather than trying to figure out what someone else wants in a friend, partner, colleague, lover, boss, employee, then contorting yourself to fit what you believe they’re looking for… just be you. In all your glory. If you’re a dork, be a glorious dork. If you’re a geek, parade around in your geeky radiance. Quiet, outgoing, artistic, analytic, whoever you are, honor that essence and build out your world with people and experiences who support your authentic self (by Jonathan Fields)
51. Set aside a specific time each week for personal reflection. Having a consistent weekly review is one of the most powerful ways to better focus your attention, realign your priorities, and make sure you’re making progress towards your goals. Block off 30-45 minutes at the end of each week, ask questions, and write down your answers in your system of choice: What did I learn this week? What did I accomplish? What do I still need to focus on for next week? Have I made progress towards my long-term goals? What new ideas do I have? What did I learn this week that inspires me? (by Eric Blue)
52. Record instantly, process appropriately, execute effectively, document fully. A personal workflow process that I try to make a habit. When a new task/project/issue arises, make sure you record it instantly. Then at an appropriate time, process it, doing your planning and sorting out the tasks involved. Next, execute the task(s) and make sure you document it fully. When I follow this process it makes my life much easier both in the short term and the long run. My biggest challenge personally is to record every issue instantly. The moment you put down the phone, finish a conversation or finish reading that email, record what has arisen instantly. (by Brian Bullen)
53. Gung Ho Juggernaut vs. Beatific Buddha. Perseverance is two things, and you must befriend them both to get where you are going. I constantly ask myself whether it is time to persist in my efforts, or to be patient and wait for better circumstances. Always ask this question because the persistent juggernaut can destroy, the patient Buddha can stagnate, and only the wise application of both can deliver you to your destination. [details] (by Samir Bharadwaj)
54. Set ‘Target Zero’ for something you want to avoid, eliminate or improve upon. Basically a Quality Management technique, I use it for my personal development and self-improvement. For example, you can make a list of 10 books you wish to read and set Target Zero for the end of the year, which means “By the end of the year, you will have zero books that remains to be read”. The target needs to be time-bound and result-oriented. Even if you end up not achieving the target, you’ll certainly make a lot of progress. [details] (by Sandeep)
55. Use your whole brain. Most of us are left-brain oriented. Yet our most creative self is in the right brain. Use the left for understanding the problem and collecting information and use the right to create solutions. Learn to spot which side you are on and then shift to the other side for holistic thinking. Discover your best techniques for shifting to the right brain and practice them. My favorite R-Mode techniques are meditation, copying art upside down and silently playing with Knex and Magz toys. [details] (by Eric Palmer)
56. Be strict with yourself. This was the factor that made me leave the teenager years behind, turning me into an adult woman. I used to be too nice to myself, rarely admitting my mistakes and often blaming other people for my own problems. Nowadays, I reevaluate my behavior on a regular basis and am not afraid to recognize my wrongdoings. It may be painful sometimes, but there are plenty of rewards to reap from this habit, like continuous self-growth and healthier relationships. (by Karen Zara)
57. Be human. People sometimes forget they’re human. They overwork and overindulge — and get overwhelmed. Being human means taking care of your body first and foremost. You can’t enjoy life with a congested nose or artery. Being human also means having a purpose in your life. Having a purpose allows you to better do things within your limitations, because you already know what the desired end result is. Lastly, being human means comprehending mortality. Always ask yourself: what would be my legacy after I’m no longer? (by Ismail Fan)
58. Plot the future. The best predictor of what lies ahead for you is not your past, it’s your future. The personal calendar you maintain might appear to be just a series of days, months, and years, but it’s much more than that. It’s a sneak preview of your life and what is to come. Be deliberate about what you put on it. Make sure it contains what’s most important. Add lots of interesting stuff and schedule fun. Even create blocks of absolutely nothing. But always have something to look forward to! (by Todd Worthington)
59. Journaling to Done (JTD). Start journaling! It helps your personal development. It’s useful to de-clutter your problems, process your emotional baggage (such as anxiety and worries), track your thought processes, and identify what actions you can do. You can simply use pen and paper, PostIt notes and a system to get it organized. JTD is journaling with purpose: it ends with the next action you can do right now. Focus on it and you’ll get many things done. [details] (by Robert A. Henru)
60. Be passionate about getting quality sleep. I have a somewhat nerdy passion: trying to attain the perfect night’s sleep. In the past I have underestimated the importance of quality sleep, but this year I have come to realize that being well rested is vitally important for getting things done and generally just enjoying what life has to offer. If you find yourself getting tired frequently, I suggest jumping on Google and going in search of the numerous resources out there with information to help you to sleep better. (by Peter Clemens)
61. Learn from the best first. If you want success, learn from how others achieved it and then choose a similar direction and imprint it with your own style. When I thought about start blogging, I subscribed to the biggest blogs about blogging and their equivalents in my chosen niche, and then tried to understand why those bloggers were so successful and what I needed to do to match their achievements. You’ll avoid making mistakes that others have made many times before. You’ll also learn insights that only the elite can give, significantly increasing your chances of becoming one from that elite. (by Jacob Share)
62. If I could do only three things today… It’s easy to get busy and just react to emails and phone calls all day. After a day like this I’m left feeling like I didn’t accomplish anything. So when I get up in the morning I make sure that I stop and write down the “top three things” I choose to get done today. These are activities that bring me closer to my goals faster than anything else I could be doing. Three things doesn’t sound like much but I find it supercharges me when I get my top three things done before lunch every day! (by Don Campbell)
63. Getting clear leads to success. Using a contrast versus clarity worksheet helps me get clear, regain my focus and get back on track. I especially use this when I am feeling overwhelmed and wonder what happened to the day, the tasks are piling up and I can’t see the forest for the trees, so to speak. [details] (by Suzie Cheel)
64. Happiness is a choice. Happy people know that their happiness depends on their state of mind, and that they have the power to choose their response to external events. They avoid ‘if only’ fantasies, are grateful for simple pleasures, figure out their strengths and direct them toward achieving meaningful goals. They’re engaged in their work, look for ways to get more pleasure out of life, and are kind toward others. In the words of Aristotle: ‘Happiness depends upon ourselves.’ [details] (by Marelisa Fabrega)
65. Write your fears out. All of us have deep-rooted fears inside. Writing them out on a piece of paper gives a strong message to the subconscious mind — which in turn suggests creative ways to overcome them, one by one. This technique helps me concentrate on my fears/weaknesses, so I can strive hard to eliminate them. When I get past one fear, I strike it off — and that makes me feel proud! Sometimes even making a quick sketch illustrating your fears work wonders! (the attached URL shows what I sketched when I was afraid of writing) [details] (by Chinmay Gupta)
66. The ‘Zen Zone’. When I want to give my all to a project or task, I place it into what I call a ‘Zen Zone’. I do everything to avoid potential distractions: this includes shutting my door, clearing my desk, turning off the phone, and even unplugging the Internet if possible. I play non-vocal music at a low volume (to prevent unwanted noises from reaching my attention threshold). With an absence of all distractions, I find that focus, inspiration and motivation flow freely. It takes commitment to place an item into the Zen Zone, but the results often exceed my expectations. When I leave the Zen Zone, I feel refreshed and proud of the accomplishments made while in it. (by Jim Krenz)

What Are Your Favorite Tips?

Of the tips above, which are the ones that resonate most with you? Do you have any additional tip you don’t see listed here? Don’t be shy — share with us in the comments!

And for the 66 project participants, the time to start voting has come, so we can hand the prizes.

To vote, just post a comment to this posting listing your favorite tips. You must pick at least 5 favorite entries, and as many as you like (no voting for your own entry).

Important: To make sure your vote counts, please comment using the same name and e-mail address you used to sign up for the project. Please start your comment with the word “VOTE” so I can differentiate between “official votes” and regular comments. Also, to make vote counting easier, make sure to include the list numbers used above for each entry with your vote.

You have until Monday, December 8 2008 (end of day, GMT-12) to vote. Remember, to be eligible for the prizes (both for best tip and for the random draw) you must cast your votes before the deadline –– so don’t miss it!

Thanks for your participation and good luck everybody!

Related Articles:

• Personal Excellence Project: Submissions Close This Thursday November 27
• Litemind Readers’ Project: Send Your Best Personal Excellence Tip (US$800 in Prizes)

(cc) Litemind, some rights reserved. Visit the original post.

Have you joined the Personal Excellence Project yet?

This is just a quick reminder of the fast-approaching deadline and to stir you to act while there’s still time:

You have only until this Thursday 27 November to submit your tip.
(Which means the clock is ticking — hurry up and join now!)/

If you’re still unconvinced about joining, bear in mind that participation is a lot easier than it seems.

Many readers have contacted me telling me that they don’t have any tips — or that their tips wouldn’t be ‘good enough’ to participate. Others are concerned that their tips are not particularly new and that they’re afraid they can’t add much to the mix.

Not true! This project is about real people — you — sharing real, honest advice. You don’t need to have a brand-new, never-published masterpiece. I’m sure that in all of the material you’ve come across in your Internet travels there’s one thing that helped you more than anything in your quest for a better life. Remember, this is about sharing what works for you.

And since many of you took the time to contact me in private and explain why you think your tips are not worth it, why not share them with the whole group instead — “unworthy or not” — and let everybody else speak their mind? C’mon! This is the best way to test your ideas and learn more about them: share them with others!

So even if you’re one of those who may have been put off by the list of rules or by the anxiety-inducing ‘excellence’ in the title, now you know how much I really want to hear from you all!

Aside from the utter satisfaction of sharing your own tip with a large number of like-minded people — you can surprise yourself and win at least a prize in the random drawing, just for having shared it (not to mention that you have a real chance to get the two sizeable prizes for the first two top tips).

So hurry up and join the fun!

Update: Submissions are now closed — check out the entries!

Related Articles:

• Litemind Readers’ Project: Send Your Best Personal Excellence Tip (US$800 in Prizes)
• 66 Best Personal Excellence Tips

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It has been a year since the last collaborative project, and since such projects are always fun, I figured — why not run a new one? The good news is that this time participation won’t be limited to bloggers: all Litemind readers can participate and have a chance to win.

Read on to learn how you can participate and be in the run to win 5 prizes, totaling more than US$ 800 in software and cash grants.

Theme

To participate, simply tell us your very best personal excellence tip.

What do I mean by ‘personal excellence tip’? It’s that one secret, that one practical advice you can give — the one that you know for sure makes the greatest positive contribution to your life.

It may be a tip for increasing productivity or heightening creativity, or maybe a tactic you use to deal with procrastination or perfectionism. Maybe it’s a rule of thumb or a personal mantra that you live by. Maybe it’s something that makes you think more clearly. A specific technique or idea or something that you feel really makes a positive impact on your life? I don’t know what it is — you’re the one to tell.

Entries will be chosen by the participants themselves, who will vote on the best entries following criteria such as usefulness and originality.

As an example: If I were to participate (I won’t, obviously), I would send a tip such as this one:

Use time boxes. Instead of working on a task until it’s done, commit to work on it for a specific amount of time instead. I use this concept every day, and it works wonders to keep me focused, counter perfectionism and avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed by daunting tasks (details).

(It has the structure ‘Title’, ‘brief description’, ‘why I use it or how I benefit from using it’.)

Easy, uh? Now all you need is to show us what you’ve got by sending your tip.

Prizes

There will be some cool prizes for the best tips, as well as some prizes given randomly, so that anyone who participates has a chance to win something.

First Prize

• A MindManager 8 Windows License (US$ 349 value, free trial available), plus
• US$ 100. (That is, the winner takes home a US$449 package!)

MindManager 8 is the brand new version of my mind mapping tool of choice — one which I’ve been recommending for years both for personal and business use. (The mind maps I create for this site — such as the book summaries — are made using MindManager.)

If you’re the grand winner, you also get an additional US$100. This way, if you can’t benefit from the license (e.g., you don’t use Windows), you can still benefit from the prize (and maybe give away the software license to someone else if you like).

Second Prize

• An iMindMap 3 Ultimate Windows License (US$ 295 value, free trial available), plus
• US$ 30

I recently started trialing Tony Buzan’s iMindMap software, and I really like what I see. The maps created with iMindMap are very beautiful and have a very natural and ‘organic’ feel, making them look almost hand-drawn.

There’s also an extra cash prize of US$ 30 for the second prize.

Additional Prizes

Joining the two winners on the podium, 3 other participants picked at random will also take US$ 30 home each.

How to Participate

1. Sign up for the free Litemind Newsletter.
To send your tip and participate, the only requirement is that you must have signed up for the Litemind e-mail newsletter.

This serves as a validation of identity to help the contest run smoothly. It’s also a way to reward loyal readers who signed up already, and as an incentive for more people to sign up and enjoy the newsletter. If you enjoy the contents of this site, it’s a safe bet you’ll also enjoy the newsletter (and even if you don’t, you can unsubscribe after the contest is over, so there is no harm done).

To sign up for the newsletter, click here.

Note: Signing up for the newsletter is not the same thing as subscribing to get the latest articles by e-mail. If you’re not sure whether you’re subscribed or not, just try to sign up again to be sure.
Also note that you’ll only be subscribed after you click on a confirmation link that will be sent to you, so make sure you provide a valid e-mail address and that you click on the confirmation link.

2. Send your tip.
When writing your tip, give it a short, descriptive title (one sentence usually works best). Right after the title, write a short paragraph about it, either describing it a little bit or giving a quick story or personal example to illustrate it. Describe it in a way that makes it applicable to as many people as possible. Avoid tips that are too specific or limited to particular jobs or situations.

Do not use the comments section to send your entry. You’ll receive the instructions on how to send your tip after signing up for the newsletter. If you’re already signed up, you should already have received these instructions (if you didn’t get the e-mail message, please contact me and I’ll be glad to help).

Important: Only one entry will be accepted per subscriber. Entering the contest using multiple e-mail addresses is not allowed and will disqualify the participant.

3. Submissions close on Thursday, November 27 2008, at midnight (GMT-12 — which means that if it’s still November 27 2008 wherever you are in the world, you’re good to go).

4. On December 1, I’ll publish a post with the final list of entries. A pre-selection of entries may be necessary (see additional rules below), so check if your entry made it to the final list.

5. The participants who made it to the final list will have until Monday, December 8 2008 (midnight, GMT-12) to cast votes on their favorite entries, using the comments section on that post. They must pick at least 5 favorite entries, and as many as they like.

6. On December 10 2008, the winners will be announced. Every time an entry gets mentioned as a favorite, it gets one point. The two entries with the most points get first and second prizes, respectively. If there’s a draw, the entry that was submitted first gets ranked higher. I’ll also announce the random winners (see below for randomness criteria).

Additional Rules and Guidelines (aka ‘The Fine Print’)

Here are some additional points (in no particular order) to make sure this contest runs as smoothly as possible:

1. As you probably noticed, the entry requirements are pretty relaxed. Although I’m leaving the judgment of their quality to the participants themselves, I reserve the right to remove or edit entries that I find to be offensive, irrelevant, too long, poorly written or inappropriate for the contest or the site.

2. I have no idea how many participants will take part in the project — there may be just a few, but there may also be a lot. For this reason, to keep things manageable for me and for the participants, I chose to limit the final list of entries to 100. That means that, if necessary, I’ll do a pre-selection to keep the number of entries to 100 at most.

3. One entry per participant only will be accepted. If there’s suspicion of any kind of fraud — either in the submission or in the voting — I reserve the right to disqualify any candidate at any time. I don’t believe it will ever get to this, but it doesn’t hurt to be clear about this.

4. If more than one participant sends the same tip, in very similar forms, I will keep only the one that was sent first.

5. To be eligible for the prizes, in addition to be in the final list, you need to cast your votes by the deadline, otherwise the votes for your own entry will be discarded. Also, you can’t vote on your own entry.

6. The cash prizes will be paid via Paypal or as Amazon Gift Cards, winner’s choice.

7. This contest is not open to immediate associates of Litemind, its sponsors or any of the organizations or subsidiaries associated with this contest.

8. Criteria for Random Draw. To make sure the random draw is fair, I will use the following procedure, which makes the drawing authenticity verifiable by anyone:

   1. I will enter the list with the names in Random.Org, which is a known, trustworthy third-party, assigning numbers starting from 1, in the order the entries are listed in the post.
   2. I will use random.org random sequence generator, using as the seed for randomness Amazon’s stock last trading price for December 9 2008. (I happen to like Amazon.com).
   3. The first three numbers in the results will be the winners. If any of these is already one of the winners, I’ll pick the next number and so on.

9. If you’re a blogger or have an online resource to share about the tip, you’ll have the chance to provide a URL to go along with the tip — but bear in mind that the tip must stand on its own, i.e., one should not need to access the link to be able to understand the tip.

10. To increase your chance of winning, please keep the entries as short as possible. Bear in mind that many people only skim (especially if there are too many entries), so make sure to make a good impression quickly. (Use 60 words or so total as a guideline.)
11. My decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Whew! Hopefully I covered everything. Oh, one last thing: don’t forget to have fun. Seriously! These projects can be very enjoyable and you always learn a thing or two…

Good luck!

Sign up for the Litemind Newsletter to join now.

Update: Submissions are now closed — check out the entries!

Related Articles:

• Personal Excellence Project: Submissions Close This Thursday November 27
• Lists Group Writing Project Winners
• Lists Group Writing Project Entries
• Announcing the Lists Group Writing Project
• 66 Best Personal Excellence Tips

(cc) Litemind, some rights reserved. Visit the original post.

Einstein is quoted as having said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.

This quote does illustrate an important point: before jumping right into solving a problem, we should step back and invest time and effort to improve our understanding of it. Here are 10 strategies you can use to see problems from many different perspectives and master what is the most important step in problem solving: clearly defining the problem in the first place!

The Problem Is To Know What the Problem Is

The definition of the problem will be the focal point of all your problem-solving efforts. As such, it makes sense to devote as much attention and dedication to problem definition as possible. What usually happens is that as soon as we have a problem to work on we’re so eager to get to solutions that we neglect spending any time refining it.

What most of us don’t realize — and what supposedly Einstein might have been alluding to — is that the quality of the solutions we come up with will be in direct proportion to the quality of the description of the problem we’re trying to solve. Not only will your solutions be more abundant and of higher quality, but they’ll be achieved much, much more easily. Most importantly, you’ll have the confidence to be tackling a worthwhile problem.

Problem Definition Tools and Strategies

The good news is that getting different perspectives and angles in order to clearly define a problem is a skill that can be learned and developed. As such, there are many strategies you can use to perfect it. Here are the 10 most effective ones I know.

1. Rephrase the Problem

When a Toyota executive asked employees to brainstorm “ways to increase their productivity”, all he got back were blank stares. When he rephrased his request as “ways to make their jobs easier”, he could barely keep up with the amount of suggestions.

Words carry strong implicit meaning and, as such, play a major role in how we perceive a problem. In the example above, ‘be productive’ might seem like a sacrifice you’re doing for the company, while ‘make your job easier’ may be more like something you’re doing for your own benefit, but from which the company also benefits. In the end, the problem is still the same, but the feelings — and the points of view — associated with each of them are vastly different.

Play freely with the problem statement, rewording it several times. For a methodic approach, take single words and substitute variations. ‘Increase sales’? Try replacing ‘increase’ with ‘attract’, ‘develop’, ‘extend’, ‘repeat’ and see how your perception of the problem changes. A rich vocabulary plays an important role here, so you may want to use a thesaurus or develop your vocabulary.

2. Expose and Challenge Assumptions

Every problem — no matter how apparently simple it may be — comes with a long list of assumptions attached. Many of these assumptions may be inaccurate and could make your problem statement inadequate or even misguided.

The first step to get rid of bad assumptions is to make them explicit. Write a list and expose as many assumptions as you can — especially those that may seem the most obvious and ‘untouchable’.

That, in itself, brings more clarity to the problem at hand. But go further and test each assumption for validity: think in ways that they might not be valid and their consequences. What you will find may surprise you: that many of those bad assumptions are self-imposed — with just a bit of scrutiny you are able to safely drop them.

For example, suppose you’re about to enter the restaurant business. One of your assumptions might be ‘restaurants have a menu’. While such an assumption may seem true at first, try challenging it and maybe you’ll find some very interesting business models (such as one restaurant in which customers bring dish ideas for the chef to cook, for example).

3. Chunk Up

Each problem is a small piece of a greater problem. In the same way that you can explore a problem laterally — such as by playing with words or challenging assumptions — you can also explore it at different “altitudes”.

If you feel you’re overwhelmed with details or looking at a problem too narrowly, look at it from a more general perspective. In order to make your problem more general, ask questions such as: “What’s this a part of?”, “What’s this an example of?” or “What’s the intention behind this?”.

For a detailed explanation of how this principle works, check the article Boost Your Brainstorm Effectiveness with the Why Habit.

Another approach that helps a lot in getting a more general view of a problem is replacing words in the problem statement with hypernyms. Hypernyms are words that have a broader meaning than the given word. (For example, a hypernym of ‘car’ is ‘vehicle’). A great, free tool for finding hypernyms for a given word is WordNet (just search for a word and click on the ‘S:’ label before the word definitions).

4. Chunk Down

If each problem is part of a greater problem, it also means that each problem is composed of many smaller problems. It turns out that decomposing a problem in many smaller problems — each of them more specific than the original — can also provide greater insights about it.

‘Chunking the problem down’ (making it more specific) is especially useful if you find the problem overwhelming or daunting.

Some of the typical questions you can ask to make a problem more specific are: “What are parts of this?” or “What are examples of this?”.

Just as in ‘chunking up’, word substitution can also come to great use here. The class of words that are useful here are hyponyms: words that are stricter in meaning than the given one. (E.g. two hyponyms of ‘car’ are ‘minivan’ and ‘limousine’). WordNet can also help you finding hyponyms.

5. Find Multiple Perspectives

Before rushing to solve a problem, always make sure you look at it from different perspectives. Looking at it with different eyes is a great way to have instant insight on new, overlooked directions.

For example, if you own a business and are trying to ‘increase sales’, try to view this problem from the point of view of, say, a customer. For example, from the customer’s viewpoint, this may be a matter of adding features to your product that one would be willing to pay more for.

Rewrite your problem statement many times, each time using one of these different perspectives. How would your competition see this problem? Your employees? Your mom?

Also, imagine how people in various roles would frame the problem. How would a politician see it? A college professor? A nun? Try to find the differences and similarities on how the different roles would deal with your problem.

6. Use Effective Language Constructs

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula for properly crafting the perfect problem statement, but there are some language constructs that always help making it more effective:

• Assume a myriad of solutions. An excellent way to start a problem statement is: “In what ways might I…”. This expression is much superior to “How can I…” as it hints that there’s a multitude of solutions, and not just one — or maybe none. As simple as this sounds, the feeling of expectancy helps your brain find solutions.
• Make it positive. Negative sentences require a lot more cognitive power to process and may slow you down — or even derail your train of thought. Positive statements also help you find the real goal behind the problem and, as such, are much more motivating.
  For example: instead of finding ways to ‘quit smoking’, you may find that ‘increase your energy’, ‘live longer’ and others are much more worthwhile goals.
• Frame your problem in the form of a question. Our brain loves questions. If the question is powerful and engaging, our brains will do everything within their reach to answer it. We just can’t help it: Our brains will start working on the problem immediately and keep working in the background, even when we’re not aware of it.
• If you’re still stuck, consider using the following formula for phrasing your problem statement:
  “In what ways (action) (object) (qualifier) (end result)?”
  Example: In what ways might I package (action) my book (object) more attractively (qualifier) so people will buy more of it (end result)?

7. Make It Engaging

In addition to using effective language constructs, it’s important to come up with a problem statement that truly excites you so you’re in the best frame of mind for creatively tackling the problem. If the problem looks too dull for you, invest the time adding vigor to it while still keeping it genuine. Make it enticing. Your brain will thank (and reward) you later.

One thing is to ‘increase sales’ (boring), another one is ‘wow your customers’. One thing is ‘to create a personal development blog’, another completely different is to ‘empower readers to live fully’.

8. Reverse the Problem

One trick that usually helps when you’re stuck with a problem is turning it on its head.

If you want to win, find out what would make you lose. If you are struggling finding ways to ‘increase sales’, find ways to decrease them instead. Then, all you need to do is reverse your answers. ‘Make more sales calls’ may seem an evident way of increasing sales, but sometimes we only see these ‘obvious’ answers when we look at the problem from an opposite direction.

This seemingly convoluted method may not seem intuitive at first, but turning a problem on its head can uncover rather obvious solutions to the original problem.

9. Gather Facts

Investigate causes and circumstances of the problem. Probe details about it — such as its origins and causes. Especially if you have a problem that’s too vague, investigating facts is usually more productive than trying to solve it right away.

If, for example, the problem stated by your spouse is “You never listen to me”, the solution is not obvious. However, if the statement is “You don’t make enough eye contact when I’m talking to you,” then the solution is obvious and you can skip brainstorming altogether. (You’ll still need to work on the implementation, though!)

Ask yourself questions about the problem. What is not known about it? Can you draw a diagram of the problem? What are the problem boundaries? Be curious. Ask questions and gather facts. It is said that a well-defined problem is halfway to being solved: I would add that a perfectly-defined problem is not a problem anymore.

10. Problem-Solve Your Problem Statement

I know I risk getting into an infinite loop here, but as you may have noticed, getting the right perspective of a problem is, well, a problem in itself. As such, feel free to use any creative thinking technique you know to help. There are plenty to choose from:

You may want to give yourself an Idea Quota of problem statements. Or write a List of 100 problems to solve. SCAMPER your problem definition. These are just some of dozen techniques you can try.

Of course, how much effort you invest in defining the problem in contrast to how much effort you invest in solving your actual problem is a hard balance to achieve, though one which is attainable with practice.

Personally, I don’t think that 55 minutes of defining a problem versus 5 minutes acting on it is usually a good proportion. The point is that we must be aware of how important problem defining is and correct our tendency to spend too little time on it.

In fact, when you start paying more attention to how you define your problems, you’ll probably find that it is usually much harder than solving them. But you’ll also find that the payoff is well worth the effort.

References:

• Einstein’s Portrait: Yousuf Karsh.
• Einstein’s Quote: Cracking Creativity.

Related Articles:

• Tackle Any Issue With a List of 100
• Solve Your Problems Simply by Saying Them Out Loud
• Creative Problem Solving with SCAMPER
• Brainwriting is Brainstorming on Steroids
• Boost Your Brainstorm Effectiveness with the Why Habit
• Topics du Jour: Give Your Life Direction in Less than 10 Minutes a Day
• The Medici Effect
• How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci
• How to be Great: Rising Above the Talent Myth
• Get Mentally Fit with an Idea Quota

(cc) Litemind, some rights reserved. Visit the original post.

This is an article by guest writer Don Campbell of Expand2Web.

“A genius! For 37 years I’ve practiced fourteen hours a day, and now they call me a genius!” –Pablo Sarasate (Spanish violinist)

Think of the greatest athlete, musician, artist or business professional that inspires you. The amazing talents that really stand out. Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods. Warren Buffett. They were each born with a special gift: wired from birth with talents and abilities that most of us don’t have access to, right?

Research is showing that it’s not that simple. In fact, many child prodigies don’t go on to major success in the area of their early gifts. And many of the greatest performers, athletes and business people never showed any early signs of aptitude.

So, how did they become great at what they do?

A couple of years ago I read an article by Geoffrey Colvin in Fortune, What It Takes To Be Great. The article is fascinating and delves into the question of innate abilities, usually referred as “the talent myth”.

The Research on Great Performance

In 1993, Florida State University professor K. Anders Ericsson and his colleagues published a paper on ‘expert performance’ which, along with the additional studies around the world that it inspired, made some very interesting discoveries:

• Nobody is “great” without lots of work. Early aptitude is not a predictor for greatness in a given field without consistent practice over a long period of time.
• The most accomplished people in any field need about 10 years of hard work before they become “world class”. They call this the 10 Year Rule.

Many of these scientists are now saying that “targeted” natural gifts do not exist at all. You are not born a CEO or chess grandmaster. Rather, greatness is achieved by hard, focused work over many years.

Charlie Parker, widely considered one of the most influential of Jazz musicians, showed no sign of musical talent as a child. He started playing saxophone at age 11, and was thrown out of his high school band because he was so bad. But this drove him to practice intensively for many years, for four years up to 15 hours a day. It was many years after that before he was noticed.

Tiger Woods started practicing golf at 18 months, and was encouraged to practice by his father. He had been practicing intensively for 15 years before winning the U.S. Amateur Championship at age 18.

But you and I both know people who work very hard. Many work for decades at a job or hobby without approaching greatness. Why don’t they become “world class”, then?

It turns out that it’s not just hard work that is required. What is required is focused, consistent practice over a long period of time. Something the researchers are calling deliberate practice.

Deliberate Practice

Truly great people in any field devote many hours to deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is an activity that goes beyond repetition. It is consistent practice where the goal is to continually improve performance, reaching beyond your current capabilities, and seeking feedback on results.

The article describes what is my favorite example of deliberate practice:

Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don’t get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day — that’s deliberate practice.

And what’s great about these findings is that we can apply them to all areas of our life. Almost any skill is improvable. Giving presentations. Sports. Negotiating. Whatever it is that you do and have a passion for, you can improve and become truly great — if you are willing to put in the work, that is.

The Deliberate Practice Formula

1. Approach each critical task with an explicit goal of getting much better at it. Set goals that are just beyond your level of competency.
2. As you do the task, focus on what’s happening and why you’re doing it the way you are.
3. After the task, get feedback on your performance from multiple sources. Don’t get emotional about it, and make changes in your behavior as necessary.
4. Continually build mental models of your situation - of your industry, your company, your career. Expand the models to encompass more factors. (A good book on the concept of mental models is The Power of Impossible Thinking by Yoram Wind and Colin Cook).
5. Do those steps regularly, not sporadically. Occasional practice does not work. Consistency is the key here.

What Does This All Mean?

We don’t have to be born with a special talent in order to be great at something. We just have to have the desire to constantly work at and improve our skill. This is huge: it means that you can learn to be good, or even great at nearly anything!

Most people won’t go through the long and difficult process of deliberate practice. But this is what can separate you from the pack. This is what makes great performance rare: most people either don’t believe they can do it, or aren’t willing to do the work to become truly great at their passion.

So ask yourself, what is your ‘mastery skill’? What should you work on to improve regularly, practicing, getting feedback, improving and pushing yourself to higher levels of excellence?

Is it your career? Is it a sport? Is it art or music? Now that you know that excellence is a choice, a whole world of possibilities opens up. Are you ready to pursue your dream and become “world class at it”?

Article Mind Map

When I read something that I really want to remember, I create a mind map to help me conceptualize what I’ve read. My mind map summary of the article that inspired this post, What It Takes To Be Great, is included below.

• Download mind map in PDF format (333 kb)
• Download map in MindManager format (247 kb, requires MindManager)

Additional Resources

• What It Takes To Be Great (Fortune)
• The Expert On Experts (Fast Company)
• Expert Performance And Deliberate Practice (Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, Florida State University)
• Innate Talents: Reality or Myth?

Related Articles:

• One Small Step Can Change Your Life
• How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci
• Happy New Year, Every Week
• Einstein’s Secret to Amazing Problem Solving (and 10 Specific Ways You Can Use It)
• 120 Ways to Boost Your Brain Power

(cc) Litemind, some rights reserved. Visit the original post.

Changing how we talk to ourselves is the easiest and most powerful way to overcome procrastination. No other method that I know of disarms procrastination so rapidly and at such a fundamental level: that of our own thoughts.

The Voices In Our Heads

We’re talking to ourselves all the time inside our minds. Even when you’re not paying attention, these relentless mental debates deeply influence our feelings and, ultimately, our behavior.

The good news is that just becoming aware of such mental dialogues — noticing patterns and turning them into productive statements — is usually all you need to overcome many unwelcome feelings and behaviors.

Let’s see how this can help us when it comes to procrastination.

The Procrastinator’s Motto

Consider the following thought, which for sure has crossed our minds many times in the past:

“I have to finish this long, important project. It should already be done by now and I need to plow through it.”

Now, tell me you don’t have this thought sometimes. For me, no other passage embodies our procrastinator’s mind so well: as we’ll see, this small, seemingly innocent thought contains almost every mental block that encourages procrastination. That’s why I like to call it the Procrastinator’s Motto.

We all use the Procrastinator’s Motto (or variations of it) every once in a while. If you’re a chronic procrastinator, chances are you repeat it to yourself very frequently — daily, perhaps.

But what’s so wrong about the Procrastinator’s Motto? In what ways do these words encourage procrastination so much — and what can we do about it?

From Procrastinator to Producer: A Step-by-Step Self Talk Guide

To understand what’s wrong with the Procrastinator’s Motto, let’s break it down in parts:

“(1) I have to (2) finish this (3) long, (4) important project. (5) It should already be done by now and (6) I need to plow through it.”

Now let’s consider each of these six parts in turn, replacing each of them with an empowering alternative. In doing that, we’ll turn the original motto on its head and create a productive call to action: a “Producer’s Motto”, if you like.

1. I Have To → I Choose To

‘I have to’ is every procrastinator’s favorite expression. It’s also the most disempowering.

Every time you say to yourself that you have to do something, you imply that you don’t have any choice. This choice of words implies that you feel forced or coerced to do the task — that you don’t really want to do it. That perception, of course, elicits a strong feeling of victimhood and resistance towards doing the task.

The solution to this problem is to replace ‘I have to’ with the immensely more empowering alternative ‘I choose to’.

Everything you do is ultimately a choice (yes, even completing tax forms). Using language that expresses choice reminds you of that and brings the feeling of power back.

For an in-depth exploration about the ‘I have to’ expression, check this early article dedicated entirely to this matter.

2. Finish → Start

When you focus on finishing something, you direct your attention to a vague, highly idealized future. Visualizing a finished project is motivating for many people, but from the point of view of who’s having a hard time starting a task, visualizing a hard-to-grasp future can be overwhelming — even depressing at times.

The solution in this case, then, is not to focus on finishing, but on starting.

Forget for a minute about the finish line, just concentrate on taking the first step. Bring your focus from the future to what can be done right now. We all know that if you start something a large enough number of times, you’ll eventually finish any task.

Starting — all by itself — is usually sufficient to build enough momentum to keep the ball rolling from then on. This is what Mark Forster calls the “I’ll just get the file out” technique, and it definitely works.

3. Long Project → Short Task

Constantly reminding yourself how long and challenging the upcoming undertaking is only adds to the feeling of being overwhelmed, and thus of procrastination.

Any undertaking, no matter how daunting, can be broken down into small steps. The trick is to, on each step along the way, focus solely on the very next smallest, doable chunk of work. Ignore the big picture for a while and just tackle that next short task.

Make it in a way you can easily visualize the outcome coming about very soon. Don’t write a book; write a page. If it still looks intimidating, you may try committing to a time box instead.

Of course, keep the big picture in mind, but use it for motivation and direction as needed, and not to frighten yourself before action.

4. Important Project → Imperfect Step

“This project has to impress everyone; I really can’t blow this opportunity.”

Placing such high hopes on a project only adds to anxiety and fear of failure. Perfectionism arises and only fuels procrastination even more.

The way to overcome this mental block is to simply give yourself permission to be human. Allow yourself to be imperfect just in this next small task.

Focus on giving an imperfect step; remember that you can always refine your work later. Better yet, make it in a way that you can’t possibly fail.

If you’re a serial perfectionist, go one step further and commit yourself to make a sloppy job on purpose, at least at first.

5. It Should Already Be Done by Now → I’ll Feel Terrific

The expression ‘should‘ is usually associated with blame and guilt. When you say you should be doing something (instead of what you’re actually doing), you focus on comparing an ideal reality with your current, “bad” reality. You focus not on what is, but on what could have been. Misused ‘shoulds‘ can elicit a strong message of failure, depression and regret.

The solution is to focus not on how bad you feel now, but on how good you’ll feel after you take action. Yes, directed action — even the tiniest of it — towards a goal is the best motivator I know of. The trick is to bring that expected feeling of accomplishment into the present — and know that the real joy of it is only a small task away.

6. Need to Plow Through → Have Plenty of Time for Play

“I’ve got to work all weekend”. “I am trapped in this laborious project”.

Long periods of isolation can bring an enormous feeling of resentment. This feeling generates a strong sense of deprivation and resistance towards the task.

The way to overcome this mental block is to not allow long stretches of work to creep in your activities. Schedule frequent breaks. Plan small rewards along the way. Have something to look forward to — not far away at the end of a long stretch — but in the very near feature. When rewards are small, frequent — and deserved — they work wonders.

Truly commit to leisure time. In fact, go ahead and make it mandatory. This “reverse-psychology” can by itself bring you to a whole different mindset, both more productive and enjoyable.

How Far Have We Come?

Time to check what we’ve accomplished with all the word substitutions. We started with:

“I have to finish this long, important project. It should already be done by now and I need to plow through it.”

And ended up with:

“I choose to start this task with a small, imperfect step. I’ll feel terrific and have plenty of time for play!”

Quite a change, eh?

Every time you catch yourself repeating the Procrastinator’s Motto or any of its parts to yourself, stop and rephrase it. Then check how you feel.

While it may seem just a matter of word choices at first, when you try this simple way to reframe your thoughts, you’ll see how instantly it changes your attitude towards working on your tasks. Moreover, if you turn it into a habit, you’ll be slowly reprogramming your thoughts, leading to a positive, permanent change in your mindset.

The whole idea of using self talk to overcome procrastination first came to me first via Neil Fiore’s great book The Now Habit, from which I learned a great deal.

While the book deals with much more than self talk (self talk is just one of the many chapters, check a summary of the book if you’re interested), that chapter alone made the most profound changes on how I deal with procrastination today.

Related Articles:

• Overcoming Procrastination by Avoiding ‘Have To’s
• The Now Habit
• Sunk Cost Bias: How It Hinders Your Life and 4 Ways to Overcome It
• How to Develop Your Visualization Skill

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Today I have a special treat for Litemind readers. I am honored to interview Mark Forster, one of the foremost thinkers in the field of time management. He is the author of three books on time management, including the innovative (and intriguing) Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management.

Unlike many other experts, Mark goes way beyond the ‘getting organized’ approach, and acknowledges that very human problems — such as procrastination and resistance — are the main roadblocks to higher creativity and productivity.

Mark, like most of us, struggled for many years with unproductive behavior. He was only able to create his methods out of direct experimentation and learning along the way. In fact, Mark is not afraid of keeping experimenting and sharing both successes and failures in his website in a very authentic and open way.

Today, a lot of people had their lives transformed and use Mark’s methods on a daily basis (yes, that includes me). That’s why I’m really excited about this conversation: in the same way Mark has had a daily impact on my life with his work, I’m sure you can also learn a lot from him.

1. Your most popular book Do It Tomorrow has a completely different approach to that of other books on time management. The main idea of leaving tasks undone for the day is rather intriguing at first, but one that is liberating after you understand and apply it. Can you explain how this can be such a life-transforming concept?

It’s actually a very similar concept to the queuing systems which are springing up in places like shops, post offices and railway booking offices.

Instead of having a scrum of people turning up and trying to find the shortest queue, they are put into one orderly queue and dealt with in a methodical manner - which is much quicker than the old multi-queue system.

What these systems do is put a buffer between the customers (who arrive in a completely random way) so that they can be dealt with in an orderly manner.

So what I am suggesting is that in a similar way we impose a buffer on all the bits of work which arrive in a random way over the course of a day. That means we can deal with them in an orderly fashion instead of rushing from one thing to another. The default buffer is to “do it tomorrow”, which means we can deal with things like email, paperwork and tasks by batching up similar items. Dealing with similar items in batches is far faster and more efficient than dealing with them piecemeal.

Of course if you have something that really has to be done today, then you do it today. The key is to resist the temptation to do things immediately which really don’t merit that degree of urgency.

2. Litemind readers may already be familiar with one of the cornerstone concepts of the Do It Tomorrow, the ‘Will-do List’. In a previous article, I focused on how it frees us from the tyrannical rule of the never-ending task list. Can you elaborate on the importance of the ‘Will Do List’ in the grand scheme of the Do It Tomorrow productivity system?

I called it the “Will Do” list in contrast to the traditional “To Do” list. A To Do list comes in many shapes and forms, but generally speaking it is a list of possible items from which you select your work for the day. Mine usually ended up longer at the end of the day than at the start because I kept adding to it!

By contrast, a Will Do list is a statement of intent about what you really mean to get done that day. The aim is to finish it every day. If you don’t finish it, then you should look at why and do something about it. It’s very simple to construct a Will Do list if you are “doing it tomorrow” because yesterday’s incoming work can be easily batched up to form the list.

Because there’s a tie-in between one day’s incoming work and one day’s outgoing work it’s much easier to diagnose what the problem is if you can’t do all your work than with convention time management systems.

3. I know many people who steer clear from productivity systems claiming that adopting them would hurt their creativity. Many of them — especially the ‘artistic types’ — tend to see these two concepts almost as diametrically opposed. How do these two variables — creativity and productivity — relate to each other?

I’ve coached lots of artistic people over the years, singers, musicians, painters, architects and so on, and what I’ve found is that their artistic ability is often held back because they are so disorganized. It’s very difficult to be creative if you are worrying constantly about unpaid bills, the income tax return which you haven’t filled in, the fact that you haven’t done anything about publicizing your new show, etc., etc.

It’s not a case of either/or. It should be both/and, so that order complements and assists creativity.

4. I love how you honestly proclaim that resistance and procrastination are the biggest life-management problems, not just getting ‘tidy’ or ‘organized’. How are your methods different from others when it comes to dealing with these problems?

What I’ve found is that being on top of a task or project gives an immense amount of energy, even if one doesn’t particularly enjoy the subject. Contrast washing up immediately after each meal, and only washing up when dirty dishes have filled the sink and are heading towards the ceiling!

As “Do It Tomorrow” is designed to keep you on top of your work at all times, resistance and procrastination tend to fade away of their own accord.

5. You mention the concept of the rational and reactive brain. I am sure many readers can relate to the fact that we seem to show utterly different behaviors when planning and when actually trying to do the tasks. We may be fired up with enthusiasm and have the best of intentions when planning, and still dread and procrastinate when it comes to the actual doing. Could you explain how this ‘dual-brain’ principle works?

This is a very oversimplified model of how the brain works of course, but for time management purposes we live in tension between the “reptile brain”, which reacts to anything it perceives as a threat or a pleasure, and the “rational brain” which makes plans and intentions. The thing to realize is that the reptile brain is stronger than the rational brain. So when your rational brain has made a brilliant plan about how you are going to lose weight, and your reptile brain is confronted with a delicious chocolate cake, the rational plans tend to go out of the window. That’s an example of reacting to a pleasure. In the same way whenever the reptile brain perceives something as a threat, like a difficult piece of work or confronting a superior, we will tend to experience paralysis however much our rational brains are telling us the task needs to be done.

The rational brain has one great advantage over the reptile brain. It’s capable of outwitting the reptile brain. Much of what I teach is about how it can do that.

6. In the book Get Everything Done, you mention that the secret to good life-management is to do what you are resisting the most at any one time. Can you provide further insight on that concept for those not familiar with the book?

Our natural way of working is to follow the path of least resistance. If we are given a list of tasks, we will tend to do the easy ones first. The problem with this is that when we get to a certain level of difficulty, there is a tendency to invent more easy tasks to avoid having to do the more difficult tasks. That is one of the reasons people get submerged in a sea of trivia. If we reverse this and do the tasks we least want to first, then our day will get progressively easier and there will be no need to invent any more “busy work”.

I don’t though think that it’s necessary to follow this principle when using the DIT system, as any new “busy work” you invent will not affect what you have to do today.

7. In your books you slay the sacred cow of time management: prioritizing. Many systems have complex schemes of organizing tasks by urgency, importance or by a myriad of other factors. Your approach is to avoid prioritizing altogether. With the ever-increasing amount of work in our lives, is this possible?

It’s not really possible to avoid prioritizing by urgency, though I distinguish between tasks that are really urgent from tasks that are only urgent because I didn’t get round to doing them earlier. It’s prioritizing by importance that I have issues with. I strongly believe that if you have taken on a commitment then you have committed yourself to doing all the work associated with that commitment. For example, if you are building a car, which is more important - the engine or the rear windscreen wiper? Obviously the engine is, but customers are not going to be very pleased if you deliver cars without the rear windscreen wiper if that’s what they ordered. So it really doesn’t matter which is more important - you have to do the lot!

So the level at which you decide what you are going to do and what you are not going to do must be at the level of commitments. It’s no good identifying which tasks are important - that’s too late. You have to keep your commitments well audited.

8. Well, you not only talk about avoiding prioritization, but you also suggest that many times doing the least urgent project first is the way to go. Can you please elaborate on that?

I need to stress here that this is a way of dealing with projects not tasks. What tends to happen is that we leave a project until the very last moment and then have to rush to get it done. What I am suggesting here is that we start working on a project as soon as we receive it. That means that we can take advantage of all the time available to do it and will not find ourselves running up against the deadline.

9. Mark, your books Do It Tomorrow and Get Everything Done are permanent references in my shelf when it comes to time management. I haven’t had the chance to read your book How to Make Your Dreams Come True as it’s currently out of print. Can we expect to see a reprint? Are there any plans for a brand new book?

I’m actively considering whether to make Dreams into an e-book or possibly even to put the text onto my website for free. I do have various ideas for a new book but nothing has coalesced enough yet!

10. If you had to highlight one advantage of Do It Tomorrow over other time management systems, what would that be?

Its simplicity. And also the fact that you can go to bed at night knowing that you have completed your work for the day.

Related Articles:

• Time Budget: An Easy Way to Avoid Prioritization Dilemmas and Keep Your Life Balanced
• Overwhelmed by Your To-Do List? Go With a ‘Will-Do’ List Instead.
• 15 Time Boxing Strategies to Get Things Done
• 6 Productivity Tips to a Stress-Free Life

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In this post, I present a summary of the mind-expanding bestseller