REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month.

REMINDER…..  all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.…. YOU COULD WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS

 To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone:   888-382-1222.

It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

“How to use your intuition to drive immediate action”

For the ancient Greeks virtue was earned by action.  Action came from inspiration.  Intuition was our soul guiding us through the process.  Intuition is the tension between thought and action, it’s the area between what “feels right to do” and what you think needs to be done.

When it comes to deciding what to do next, we usually already know the answer, our “gut feeling” or our “heart’s desire” guides our steps through our daily tasks and eventually gives us the energy we need to complete tasks.

The problem is that our perception may be skewed because we have our own selfish needs.  We tend to focus on the next easy thing instead of the task we really should be doing.  By structuring our behaviors based on set rules, we can become more productive.

David Allen (the author of Getting Things Done, the art of stress free productivity) explains that you make your immediate next action choices based on four criteria – Context, Time available, Energy Available and Priority.

Based on these 4 criteria, ask yourself the following questions in this specific order and check if it’s exactly what your “gut” told you to do…

#1 Context – In the location I’m in and with the tools I’ve got, what can I do next?

#2 Time available – How much time do I have before I’ll need to do something else?

#3 Energy Available – Does my energy level match the amount of effort I need to invest in the task ahead?

#4 Priority – Out of all my remaining options, what is the most important thing to do?

After answering these questions (with all honesty and without avoiding tasks that seem like too much work), you will usually find that you knew the answer to your “what’s my next action” dilemma all along!

These questions are actually the intuition that drives our next action, broken down to the sum of its four parts.

We know what needs to be done; we just don’t trust our instincts because of the clutter of our thoughts.  Often, the guilt adds up and brings us to a point of in-actions, leaving us feel worse!

So, get it out of your head and clear your thoughts to focus on what should be your next action.

As I explained earlier, intuition is there to guide our actions but there is a lot we can do to help so we can hear our intuition loud and clear.

What Master Yoda Can Teach Us About Goals

I wrote a lot about productivity and getting things donein the past…

Among my influences (and there are quite a few) I can count Buddhism and Zen which I learned when I practiced martial arts; books like David Allen’s Getting Things Done which I now dwell on day and night, and finally, from another rather famous source – the star wars saga.  In particular, the teachings of a little green old Jedi mentor named Yoda.

CONTINUE READING…

• You do not need to block off days at a time to get organized.
• Doing the whole house, whole office, or whole closet at once may not be a reality for you at this point. THAT’S OKAY! Don’t feel intimidated.
• The most important thing is simple STARTING.
• Set aside 10 – 15 minutes each day to work on organizing (this will be time well spent). Block it off on your calendar. Before you know it, you will have your space organized!

For more great tips, check out these productivity resources: http://cathysexton.com/resources/productivity-products/

From IQtell.com

So you read about David Allen’s method – Getting Things Done.  Every time the word productivity pops on the web you’re getting a notification via Google alerts.  You organized everything you’re doing online in an awesome productivity app that sends you notifications and reminders to keep you on top of your game.

Still, you’re constantly dropping balls and get discouraged by your lack of success; you just can’t seem to apply what you learned.

Success (or lack thereof), was studied extensively by people like Brian Tracy.  Brian explains that “Most people engage in activities that are tension-relieving rather than goal-achieving” and that’s why they fail to reach their goal.  That means you’ll need to go out of your comfort zone to achieve your goals and to actually apply the techniques you learned…. No online application will do that for you.

GTD is a methodology that teaches you step-by-step how to get things done.  The system was developed through years of extensive trial and error and is working for millions of people all around the world, so how come you’re failing to nail it?

“The price of success must be paid in full, in advance!”

Human nature dictates that even if you know that something works, you’ll still try to do it differently because you’re always looking for shortcuts through the more uncomfortable tasks, those tasks that require you to do something extra.

But there is no need to invent shortcuts in a proven system, you just need to follow the proven steps and be accountable for the outcome.

As funny as it may sound, many novice and not so novice GTD practitioners try to “short-cut” around the Weekly Review. The reasons are plentiful:

• You don’t see it as a part of the regular workflow – you actually need to go back and check what you did.
• It often may require you to redo and improve something you already did.
• And let’s face it, if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll find that you’re probably messing up (at first) quite a lot.

It’s unfortunate that the Weekly Review is “skipped” because, in my opinion, it’s the most important step.  It’s what holds us accountable!

I’m not going to teach you how to do a weekly review – that can be the topic of another blog post.  I’m going to give you three tips that will help you stay with it and follow-through on this important step in the process.

#1 You can get by with a little help from your friends – Sometimes all we need is a support group.  If you can’t find someone to “GTD with”, follow the #GTD Hashtag on Twitter or join a GTD LinkedIn group.   You’ll be able to interact with a large like-minded community; it’s free and through the relationships you will create there you’ll be able to hold yourself accountable.

#2 Set a Date with yourself – Treat the Weekly Review as any time sensitive action.  Schedule the Weekly Review as a recurring event on the same day & time every week.  If we treat as a critical part of the system and set up a time for this action, then it will be easier to do, as opposed to ignoring it.  When we ask many GTD practitioners when they do their weekly reviews, you can’t believe how many respond “whenever I have some time in the week…if I get to it…”  The successful GTD practitioners respond succinctly with an answer similar to the following: “Every Friday at 9:00 – 9:45 AM at my local Starbucks”.  The answer says it all – it’s part of their productivity DNA, it’s not a nice-to-have, but rather it’s embedded in their process.

#3 Trust yourself – GTD is by definition a “trusted system”, when you can’t trust yourself, how can you trust a system?  If you’re accountable for your actions, you can trust them to serve your purpose.  When an important part of that system is the weekly review, you can bet that you’ll get it done!

Focus and develop your personal accountability – it will stop to be the reason you fail and become the reason you get things done!

View this article in its original context.

#1 5 Anti-Laziness Tactics

When you are too lazy to do anything, how can you break out of the cycle? We presented 5 simple steps to get you back in gear.

#2 First Things First, IQTELL!

We took a look at Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s highly regarded book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, and how you can integrate his methodology using IQTELL.

#3 9 Zen Tips for Awesome Task Management

We proposed 9 steps to help align our mind with our bodies and achieve perfect zen.

#4 IQTELL’s New Feature Release – This is How You Get Things Done!

Just a few weeks ago, we took some time to highlight some of our favorite features from the latest and greatest feature update.

#5 How To Organize Your GTD Workflow

We looked at the best way to organize your IQTELL workspace to follow David Allen’s GTD methodology.

#6 Organize Christmas with Tips from the Experts

How do you do Christmas? We spoke to a few productivity experts to learn some of the best tips to organize your holiday.

#7 Mind Mapping Fever

We looked at how effective mind mapping can be to represent ideas, tasks or other items and how they are arranged around a central key word or idea.

#8 Simplifying Your Life Just Got Easier

Our first blog post! We were very excited to begin our invite-only Beta Program and begin to get feedback from our wonderful users.

#9 The Feng Shui of Productivity

We looked at 8 ways to gain balance and achieve a strong center using the Bagua diagram.

#10 Stop Procrastinating

If you’ve ever had a big project with a fast approaching due date, you may be all too familiar with procrastination. Check out 8 steps to help tackle procrastination.

Are you ready to go paperless, or are the thoughts of all those files overwhelming? Instead of scanning all your files, use your energy purging files. Get yourself a good shredder and get ready to purge. 

Items to shred:

• ATM and bank deposit receipts. Shred them after you reconcile them with your bank statements.
• Credit card receipts. Once a purchase shows up on your credit card statement, you can shred the slip – unless you need it for tax purposes, in which case you can scan it and keep it with that year’s tax records.
• Pay stubs. Shred them once you get your year-end summary.
• Receipts for minor purchases. After three months, the chances of you returning the item is slim. Label 3 folders, “this month”, “last month” and “two months ago”. When you get new receipts drop them into the “this month” folder. Each month transfer the receipts to the “last month” folder and take what’s in “last month” and move to “two months ago”.

Reduce what comes in:

• Go paperless with billing statements. If you need a bill for taxes you can download it.
• Use automatic payments for reoccurring bills.
• Use financial software to keep track of your money and where it goes.

Keep or Scan:

• Should you scan or keep the paper is a personal decision.
• Filing paper takes up room and is harder to keep files organized.

Cathy Sexton Productivity Coach

Take a moment and think about what balance means for you. Create a toolkit for the year that will help you. It may be carrying pictures of your kids to look at when you feel stressed, taking a moment to sit in a quiet room and drink an herbal tea, or meditating for a few minutes every day at the office. Find fixes to bring you back to your centeredness. We’re stretched in so many directions and our pace is so fast, people are feeling tired. When you’re frenzied, take time to stop. Find some moments every day to focus only on you and take time to rest.