We cannot call something a distraction unless we know what it is distracting us from.

Let me say that again. You can’t call something a distraction unless you know what it distracted you from.

If you don’t plan your day, somebody is going to plan it for you. The social media companies, the news, your boss, your kids, somebody is going to take up that time in your day unless you decide in advance how you want to spend your time.

We need to talk about the leading cause of distraction. The leading cause of distraction is not what is happening outside of us. Because what I discovered in my five years of research is that most distraction begins from within. We call these “internal triggers”.

What are internal triggers? Internal triggers are uncomfortable emotional sensations that we seek to escape from.

You see, in fact, all human behavior, all human behavior, everything you do, you do for only one reason: the desire to escape discomfort.

So calling yourself indistractable doesn’t mean you never get distracted. That’s impossible. The difference between an indistractable person and a distractable person is that an indistractable person understands why they got distracted, and has the tools to do something about it.

There’s a wonderful Paulo Coelho quote. He said, “A mistake repeated more than once is a decision.” If we keep getting distracted by the same stupid things day after day, week after week, month after month, we are choosing to be distractable.

An indistractable person looks at why they got distracted with this methodology I’ve developed and understands the source of the problem to make sure that they don’t keep getting distracted by doing something today to prevent getting distracted tomorrow.

To understand distraction, we really need to understand what that word even means. When people say they got distracted, what does that actually mean? I didn’t understand the real definition of the term “distraction” until I started along this line of research. The best way to understand what distraction is, is to understand what distraction is not. If you ask most people what is the opposite of distraction, they’ll tell you it’s focus, of course, right? Hmm, not exactly. You see, if you look at the origin of the word distraction, the opposite of distraction is not focus, the opposite of distraction is traction, that both words come from the same Latin root “trahere”, which means “to pull”. So traction, by definition, is any action that pulls you towards what you said you were going to do, things that you do with intent, things that help you live out your values and become the kind of person you want to become.

Now, the opposite of traction is distraction. Distraction, by definition, is any action that pulls you away from what you plan to do, anything that is not consistent with your values, anything that pulls you away from becoming the kind of person you want to become.

So this isn’t just wordplay. This is incredibly important, because I would argue, any action can be either traction or distraction. Let me give you a great example. For years, every time I would get into work, I would sit down at my desk and I would say, “Okay, I’m going to get started on that big project, I’ve got to focus, I have to concentrate, I’m not going to get distracted. I’m not going to procrastinate.” I’m going to get started on that big project that I’ve been putting off. Here I go, I’m going to do it right now. But first, let me check some email, let me scroll this Slack channel. let me do all these other tasks that feel work related.” But really, I didn’t realize that I was allowing distraction to trick me into prioritizing the easy and urgent stuff to trick me into prioritizing the easy and urgent stuff as opposed to doing the important work that I knew I had to do.

So even tasks that feel like they’re work related, if it’s not what you plan to do with your time, they are, in fact, distractions. And in fact, they’re the most pernicious form of distractions, because if we play a video game at our desk, well, we clearly know we’re off task. But when we think we’re working on one project, when we think we’re doing one task that seems to be the right thing to do because it’s work related, but really, we’re putting off doing more important work. That is a much more sinister form of distraction. Conversely, just as anything can be a distraction, anything can be traction. So don’t listen to these chicken-little tech critics that tell you the sky is falling and that technology is addicting us and hijacking our brains. It’s rubbish.

There’s nothing wrong with playing a video game or watching a movie on Netflix or enjoying social media, if it’s what you PLAN to do with your time. You see, the difference between traction and distraction is one word. And that one word is “forethought”. The time you PLAN to waste is not wasted time.

So if you want to take a walk, take a nap, scroll social media, pray, meditate, whatever it is you want to do with your time is totally fine as long as you do it with intent, as long as you have planned ahead as to how you want to spend your time. You can otherwise turn a distraction into traction by planning ahead, by using forethought.

So now that we understand the difference between traction and distraction, we need to ask what drives us towards traction or distraction.

We have two kinds of triggers. The first kind of trigger is called an “external trigger”, and it’s what people tend to blame, the usual suspects like the pings, the dings, the rings, anything in your outside environment that can lead you towards traction or distraction. We can get back to those in just a minute. But first, I want to focus on what’s even more important than the external triggers.

We need to talk about the leading cause of distraction. The leading cause of distraction is not what is happening outside of us, because what I discovered in my five years of research is that most distraction begins from within. We call these “internal triggers”. What are internal triggers? Internal triggers are uncomfortable emotional sensations that we seek to escape from. You see, in fact, all human behavior, all human behavior, everything you do, you do for only one reason: the desire to escape discomfort. In fact, even the desire to feel pleasure is, itself, psychologically destabilizing. This is called the “homeostatic response”.

If you think about it, if you go outside and it’s cold, well, the brain tells you, “Oh, this is uncomfortable, you should put on a coat.” When you walk back inside, the brain says, “Oh, it’s too hot in here, take it off.” If you feel hunger pangs, you eat. If you’re full because you ate too much, you stop eating. And so physiologically, everything we do is about a desire to escape discomfort. This is called the “homeostatic response”. It’s pretty common sense.

But what most people don’t realize is that the same phenomenon occurs with our psychological sensations. Think about it. Where do people go when they’re feeling lonely? Well, you check a social network like Facebook. And what about when you’re uncertain? Before you scan your brain to see if you know the answer, you’re Googling? And what about when you’re feeling bored? Oh my goodness, so many solutions to boredom, right? Check the news, check stock prices, sports scores, Pinterest, Reddit, all kinds of solutions to take care of this uncomfortable sensation of boredom, because we don’t like those internal triggers, they don’t feel good, and we look for escape from them.

So here’s the fact of the matter:

TIME management is PAIN management.

And if all human behavior is about a desire to escape discomfort, if you don’t understand what is that emotional itch, what is the uncomfortable sensation you are looking to escape, whether it’s with too much news, too much booze, too much football, too much Facebook, it doesn’t matter; we have to first start by mastering these internal triggers, so that we can gain control over them, as opposed to them controlling us.

So now that we understand the difference between traction and distraction, and we understand that we are driven towards traction or distraction by internal and external triggers, we can actually plot out the four points of how we become indistractable. It starts, first and foremost, by mastering the internal triggers, by understanding the deeper reasons why we look for escape from those uncomfortable sensations. The next step is to make time for traction.

Over the past five years research in my book, I’ve talked to thousands of people, and many of them have complained to me about how distracting the world is, how they can’t get anything done because social media this, and did you hear what happened in the news that, and their boss wants this and their kids want that, and they tell me how distracted they are. But when I asked them, “Okay, but what did you get distracted from exactly? Let me see your calendar. What was it that you plan to do?” They haven’t a clue. Sometimes they’ll show me their calendar.

And I’m guilty of this as well. I used to do this several years ago before I wrote this book. My calendar was blank. I’d have maybe an appointment here and there, but for the most of my day, I didn’t have anything planned. What I did have was a super long to-do list with all kinds of tasks I wanted to check off. What I’ve since discovered is that running your day with a to-do list as opposed to a calendar, is just about the worst thing you could possibly do for your productivity. Instead of keeping it to do list, which we tend to tick off the easy stuff and the fun stuff as opposed to the important stuff, when we keep a calendar, not just a calendar, a time box calendar, we utilize this fundamental truth that we cannot call something a distraction unless we know what it is distracting us from.

Let me say that again. You can’t call something a distraction unless you know what it distracted you from. And so if you don’t plan your day, somebody is going to plan it for you. The social media companies, the news, your boss, your kids, somebody is going to take up that time in your day unless you decide, in advance, how you want to spend your time. There’s a reason we call it spending time and paying attention. The same type of language that we use to describe spending money and paying with dollars and cents, because our time and attention has value. And so if you just give it away to whoever wants it, don’t complain when you haven’t gotten done what you wanted to do with your time, and frankly, with your life.

So, this comes down to turning our values into time. What does that mean? Fundamentally, we have to ask ourselves, what are our values? So what are values anyway?

Values are attributes of the person you want to become, meaning you have to ask yourself, how would the person I want to become spend their time?

Now we can ask ourselves within these three life domains of you, your relationships, and finally your work. How would the person I want to become spend their time starting with you? So whatever is important for you in terms of personal values, how much time would the person you want to become spend on reading, on yoga, on prayer, on meditation, whatever it is that’s important to you, heck, playing video games, if that’s important to you, that’s part of your values, and the way you want to take care of yourself, wonderful, but plan that time in your schedule.

Next, our relationships. We are going through a global loneliness crisis, because over the past several decades, and this didn’t start with social media, but since the 1990s, social scientists have told us that the time that people devote to planned activities with their friends has markedly decreased. And so we can bring that back. We can make sure that we spend time with our friends, loved ones, and family members by putting time for it in our schedule.

If part of your value system involves being a devoted spouse, or a loving parent, or an available sibling, do you have that time to connect with the important people in your life scheduled and held on your calendar? And then finally, when it comes to our values around our work.

You see, work is split up into two kinds of work. We have what we call “reactive work” and “reflective work”. Reactive work is how most people spend most of their time at work. It’s responding to emails, answering phone calls, messages, slack notifications, reacting to what other people want you to do with your time. Now, that time is clearly part of many people’s jobs, but what we neglect to do is to carve out and protect time for reflective work.

Listen, if you want a leg up on the competition, if you want to do your job better than anyone else can, let me give you a little secret. Make time to think. You know why? Because it’s such a rare skill; nobody’s doing it.

Nobody’s making time in their day to work without distraction, to allow you the time to reflect, to plan, to strategize. You have got to have that time held and secured on your calendar.

So the second step to becoming indistractable is to make time for traction by keeping a time box calendar and then doing what we call “doing a schedule sync with the important stakeholders in your life.” So this will not only change your work-life balance, it’ll also change your relationship with your life partner. For example, when you can sit down with your schedule once a week, takes maybe 10-15 minutes, and review that physical artifact of your schedule, this is how we make sure that we live up to our obligations to others and to ourselves. The third step to becoming indistractable is to hack back our external triggers. So external triggers, again, are these pings, dings, and rings, anything in our outside environment that can lead us off track towards distraction rather than traction. And so there’s all kinds of things that we can do. Many of these things are really common sense.

Two thirds of Americans never change their smartphone notification settings. What? Can we really complain that our smartphones are addicting us when we haven’t taken five minutes to turn those notifications that don’t serve us, off?

So the critical question is to ask ourselves, when it comes to all of these external triggers, all of these pings and dings, which external triggers serve me and which am I serving? And to critically evaluate in all the different external triggers in your life, not just on your phone, but on your computer, at home, at work, meetings, emails, all of these external triggers, which are serving you and which are you serving? And it turns out that there are, in fact, thousands of free tools that we can use to hack back technology. And I used that term very deliberately. “To hack” means “to gain unauthorized access”. Does anybody not know that the big tech companies and the big media companies are in the business of harvesting our attention?

This isn’t something new to social media. If you think about newspapers, cable TV shows, all of them sell your eyeballs to the highest bidder. They sell them to advertisers. And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with the news or television or social media as long as you know what you’re in for. And the good news is, as opposed to television and newspapers, you can actually hack back with interactive technologies.

So there are all kinds of tools that we can use. For example, when I scroll Facebook, I love Facebook, but I don’t need to see that newsfeed. There’s a free Chrome extension called Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator that does exactly what it says. It gets rid of that newsfeed so that you can check Facebook without looking at this wall of noise. Instead, you can go to specific friends and see what’s up on their specific pages. Another great tool is YouTube DF. I love YouTube videos. You’re probably watching me on YouTube right now. But do I really need to see all those ads, all those extra videos that are put there in order to keep me watching and watching? No, I can install a great Chrome extension called YouTube DF. DF stands for “distraction free”. And this free Chrome extension will scrub out all the superfluous stuff around the video, so that you can just see the video you’re watching without a lot of the tricks that they use to keep you hooked. But this is really the tip of the iceberg.

We can learn how to hack back these external triggers in all different facets of our life. How to hack back meetings, how to hack back email, how to even hack back working from home when so many of us are working at home and our kids might distract us from time to time, what do we do to make sure that we can hack back all the various distractions in our life, so that these external triggers lead us towards traction rather than distraction?

Finally, the fourth step to becoming indistractable is preventing distraction with pacts. Pacts implement this psychological technique of making a precommitment. Now, a precommitment is when we decide, in advance, what we want to do to prevent ourselves from doing something we don’t want to do. And there are three types of pacts. We have effort pacts, price pacts, and identity pacts. Effort packs are when we put some bit of friction in between us and something we don’t want to do.

So for example, in my household, for many years, I found that my wife and I were going to bed later and later every night. She was scrolling her iPad and I was on my computer. And so one night, we decided to use some of these techniques, and we decided to get ourselves a $10 outlet timer. Now, this outlet timer, you plug it into the wall outlet, and anything you plug into it will turn on or off at any time of designated day or night. So in my household, at every night at 10 pm, my internet router shuts off. In fact, today you can buy internet routers with this functionality built right in, so some devices can stay on while others turn off. And this is an incredibly effective technique to make a pact with yourself. Now, could I get back online somehow? Of course, I could find a way to cheat. But I’ve inserted a bit of mindfulness because of the extra effort required so that I can think for a minute and say to myself, “Wait a minute, is this really important, is this really consistent with my values, or is this leading me down the path of distraction rather than traction?” So that’s one example of an effort pact. A price pact is when we put some kind of monetary disincentive on the line. And then perhaps the most powerful of the three types of pacts is what we call an “identity pact”. And identity pact comes out of the psychology of religion.

Research has shown us that when we have some kind of name, some kind of moniker that we identify with, it becomes much more likely that we’ll reach our long-term goals.

So for example, when someone calls themselves a devout Muslim or an observant Christian or even, for that matter, a vegetarian. A vegetarian doesn’t wake up in the morning and say, “Hmm, I wonder if I’ll have a bacon sandwich for breakfast?” No, a vegetarian knows that they don’t eat that because they don’t eat meat. They are a vegetarian. Well, we can adopt a similar mindset and use this psychological hack ourselves by labeling ourselves as indistractable.

When you think of yourself as the kind of person who strives to do what they say they’re going to do, the kind of person who lives with personal integrity, you can call yourself indistractable. And that moniker has been shown to help us stay on track and achieve our long-term goals. One of the things I learned over the past five years of researching the psychology of distraction, is that distraction is not a new thing. Facebook and the internet and the iPhone didn’t invent distraction.

In fact, Plato, the Greek philosopher, talked about distraction over 2500 years ago. He called it ‘akrasia’ in the Greek; the tendency that we have to do things against our better interest. And Plato wondered why is it that despite knowing what to do, we don’t just do it. And if this was difficult in Plato’s day, it’s even more baffling today. In previous generations, people could say, “Well, I don’t know what to do. I don’t have access to the information to tell me some kind of secrets.” But there are no secrets. Who doesn’t basically know how to lose weight? You have to eat right and exercise. Who doesn’t basically know how to improve your work performance? You have to do the work, especially the hard stuff that other people don’t want to do. Who doesn’t know that to improve our relationships with our family and loved ones, we have to be fully present and invest in those relationships?

We already know this stuff. What we don’t know is how to stop getting in our own way. How do we stop getting distracted?

You see, there are typically two types of people when it comes to dealing with distraction. We have what we call the “blamers” and the “shamers”. The blamers blame things outside themselves. “It’s Facebook, it’s my boss, it’s the modern world these days that makes me so distracted and unable to accomplish my goals.” And then you have the shamers. The shamers, they don’t blame things outside themselves; they shame themselves. And here’s what it sounds like.

This is what I used to do all the time. “Oh, maybe there’s something wrong with me. I’m not very good at focusing. Maybe I have an addictive personality. Maybe I’m this, maybe I’m that. There I go again, doing this thing that I said I wasn’t going to do once again. There’s probably something broken in my brain.” And that’s almost never the case. Both techniques are not very effective. The blamer blames things outside of themselves that they have virtually no control to change.

We can go back into some time machine before these technologies existed. And even if we could, there was no magical time without distraction. The shamers really harm themselves with that mindset because the more shame we feel, the worst we feel. And ironically, when we feel shame, a very uncomfortable emotion, many people escape that sensation with guess what? More distraction to take their mind off of how crummy they feel about themselves. So we don’t want to be blamers. We don’t want to be shamers.

We want to be what we call “claimers”. Claimers claim responsibility not for how they feel. This is a really important point. Most people don’t realize you cannot control your feelings, you can only control how you respond to those feelings, that the reason we get distracted, the reason we procrastinate, it’s not a character flaw, there’s nothing wrong with you; it’s simply that you don’t have the tools to deal with those uncomfortable feelings in a healthy manner to lead you towards traction rather than distraction.

You see, many things in the world these days are not your fault. You didn’t invent Facebook, you didn’t invent social media, you didn’t create what’s happening in the news today; these things aren’t your fault. But managing your response to the discomfort that you feel every day that can lead you towards distraction is your responsibility. Many people will classify distraction as certain behaviors. Playing a video game, that’s bad, that’s distracting, but doing your work is somehow good. But that can’t be right. I would argue that any action can be either traction or distraction, whether it’s something we do with intent, with forethought.

So for example, if you sit down at your desk, and guide your work life based on what’s on your to-do list, you’re going to have attention for doing the things that are urgent, easy, or fun, as opposed to doing the stuff that’s actually important. You see, distraction tricks us by us thinking that what we’re working on is what we think we should be doing: checking emails. slack notifications, whatever it is that seems like a work related task.

What we’re doing is allowing distraction to trick us into doing what I call “pseudo work”: these things that we feel like we’re being productive by doing these work-related tasks, but if it’s not what we plan to do with our time, working on that big report, finishing that proposal, whatever the case might be, not doing the work we’re avoiding, that is, in fact, a more dangerous, insipid form of distraction because we don’t even realize we’re getting distracted.

So being indistractable is really the skill of the century. Look, if you think that the world is distracting today, just wait a few years. All trends point to the fact that the world will become an increasingly distracting place.

As technology improves and becomes more ubiquitous, there will be more potentially distracting things in the world. Whether it’s virtual reality or augmented reality or who knows what other kinds of reality, the temptation to get distracted will only increase if you are looking for distraction and you are not armed to deal with it. Which is why becoming indistractable really will be the skill of the century.

Look, I think, in the future, there will be two kinds of people in the world. There will be the kind of people who allow their time and attention and their lives to be manipulated and controlled by others. And there will be the kind of people who stand up and say, “No, I will decide how I spend my time, how I spend my attention, how I live my life. I am indistractable.”

So you hear a lot of people these days saying that technology is addicting us, that it’s hijacking our brains, and there’s basically nothing that we can do about it. And I want to tell you right now that you are much more powerful than you think. Look, I wrote the book on how companies get us hooked. The book is called Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products. And I know every which way that these companies are designed to manipulate your time and attention. And I will tell you, these techniques that the tech companies use are good; they’re not that good. Meaning if we use a few simple techniques to regain control over our time and attention, we are much more powerful than the tech companies.

One of the worst things that you can do is to believe that you are somehow addicted. Now, some people are in fact addicted. If you think about alcohol, for example, alcohol is highly addictive, but is everyone who has a glass of wine or a beer with dinner an alcoholic? Of course not. Very few people are actually addicted to alcohol, and very few people are actually addicted to social media. Now, short of people with the pathology of addiction, the rest of us have to understand that there are things that we can do right now that are very simple to do to make sure that we can control these technologies, as opposed to these technologies controlling us.

The study of what people will do when they feel bored is fascinating. In fact, a study by Timothy Wilson at Harvard found that a significant proportion of people would rather shock themselves with an electrical shock they were told would be painful, than to sit alone in a room and feel boredom. Now, this study reveals to us that there are steps that we will take to try and avoid this uncomfortable sensation, that we would rather have some kind of stimulus than to be stuck alone feeling this uncomfortable emotional itch.

So what this tells us is that we have to find ways to cope with discomfort in a healthier manner. Because many of us, when we feel bored, lonesome, indecisive, fatigued, uncertainty, we reflexively look for some kind of escape. whether that escape is by turning on the television or checking our phones or doing something to take our mind off of that discomfort. Instead, what we can do is we can use those internal triggers, those uncomfortable emotional sensations as rocket fuel to move us forward towards traction, as opposed to trying to escape them with distraction. How can we do that? Well, we have to start with understanding that feeling bad is not bad.

I think that there’s a very popular myth in the self-help communities these days, that somehow if we feel any kind of emotional discomfort, we have to escape it as quickly as possible; that if we feel lonesome or bored or indecisive or anxious or fatigued or stressed, God forbid, we should have to feel those sensations. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

The default human condition is not to be perpetually happy, to be always contented; quite the opposite. Our default state is perpetual disquietude, is always wanting more. And if you think about it, what drives entrepreneurs, artists, politicians, what drives people to change the world is this uncomfortable desire for more, to do something better. That’s what has always driven our species forward. And if you can harness that discomfort and use it to your advantage, this is how we get ahead, this is how we make the world a better place, by understanding that discomfort and dealing with it in a healthy way, as opposed to trying to escape it with distraction in an unhealthy manner.

So there’s a technique called “progressive extremism” that can really be a useful tactic if you’re trying to change your life in a positive manner. And this acknowledges the fact that temporary fixes are pointless. What’s the point of getting in shape by going on some kind of fad diet so you can fit in your wedding dress for just one day, if you’re not maintaining a healthy lifestyle forever? The point of getting in shape is to have the benefits for the rest of your life. So instead of having some kind of crash diet, which we know people tend to bounce back from and with a vengeance, instead, what we want to do is to train ourselves with this technique called progressive extremism.

What does progressive extremism mean? Progressive extremism means that we are going to remove some kind of unhealthy behavior in our life for the rest of our lives, nut we’re going to do it in a very small way.

Here’s how it works: So for me, when I decided I wanted to eat less processed sugar, I didn’t say, “That’s it, I’m never touching processed sugar ever again.” Instead, what I said was, “I am going to cut out one food that’s refined sugar for the rest of my life.” But it has to be easy. So the first food I started with was candy corn. Now, I don’t know if you like candy corn, I don’t really like candy corn all that much. I would eat it kind of on Halloween when my daughter would bring it back from trick-or-treating. It’s kind of the dregs of the Halloween haul. And so I decided one year, “You know what? I’m eating these things not because I like them, but because they’re just here. Well, they’re never going to be here ever again.” And so I pledged myself, “I’m never going to eat another candy corn for the rest of my life.” No big deal, I didn’t really like him to begin with. And then I was ready to do a bit more, to progress. So the next thing I said I’m not going to eat ever again, was I excised sodas, sugary sodas in the house. Now, I told myself I could drink sugary sodas outside the house, just not in the house. That was the first tiny baby step that I was going to take along this path of progressive extremism. When I was ready, about a month later, I decided to excise more and more and more. And so today, after years of doing this, there’s all kinds of things that I just don’t eat. And what we’re doing is leveraging an identity that we know that people who say that “they don’t” versus those who say “I can’t”, are much more likely to stick with their long-term goals.

Because when you say “I don’t do something,” for example, “I don’t eat meat, I am a vegetarian,” versus “Oh, no, thanks, I can’t because I’m on a diet,” you’re much more likely to stick over the long term. So when you regularly review this list of “Wow, look at all the things that I don’t have in my life anymore, starting with candy corn, sugary drinks,” whatever the case might be these small, simple things that you’ve removed from your life over years, and this takes time and commitment, what you’ll find is that you’ll be very proud to have this entire list of things that you don’t really miss anymore, because you took this path of progressive extremism. So if there’s one mantra that summarizes my five years of research into the psychology of distraction, it’s this: that the antidote to impulsiveness is forethought.

You see, our species has an amazing gift that no other animal on the face of the earth has, which is that we can see into the future. We can predict what is going to happen with greater fidelity than any other animal that roams the earth. And so we should use that capability because if you wait till the last minute, you will lose. If you wait until the cigarette is lit in your hand, you’re going to smoke it. If you wait till the chocolate cake is on a fork on the way to your mouth, you’re going to eat it.

If you sleep next to your cell phone every night, of course, it’s going to be the first thing you pick up in the morning before you say hello to your loved one. So don’t wait to the last minute. What I discovered in my five years of research, is that people who are indistractable, they don’t have a lot of willpower, they don’t have a lot of self-control; what they have is a system. They plan today to make sure they don’t get distracted tomorrow. By mastering the internal triggers, making time for traction, hacking back the external triggers, and preventing distraction with pacts, this is how anyone can become indistractable.

The post If You Can’t Focus & Get Distracted Easily: WATCH THIS appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.

If you answered yes, and you get frustrated with how much you procrastinate, don’t beat yourself up. Procrastination has been around much longer than you probably realize.

According to a Psychological Science article, procrastination isn’t something new and we can’t blame the internet either. Procrastination in one form or another has been mentioned in writing many times over the last few thousand years!

Side Effects of Procrastination

It’s human nature to procrastinate in some way or another. But when does it all start?

A 2007 study with college students found that 80 to 95% of them procrastinate on a regular basis.

In this study, “Researchers found that at the beginning of the semester, students who were procrastinators reported less illness and lower stress levels than non-procrastinators. This changed dramatically by the end of the term when procrastinators reported higher levels of stress and illness.”

Needless to say, you probably don’t need a scientific study to know that procrastination isn’t helping you achieve your goals in life. One of the best ways to fight procrastination is to break up big tasks into small, bite-sized chunks.

Once you’ve made tasks smaller, use the Pomodoro technique to help you get things done.

How to Use the Pomodoro Technique

So what is the Pomodoro technique?

It’s a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980’s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, usually 25 minutes in length, followed by a short break.

The best part about this technique is that it’s simple and easy to do. All you need is a physical timer that you can buy on Amazon to get started.

While you can use your phone, I’ve found this leads to checking social media or email. A physical timer eliminates the chance of losing willpower and getting addicted to your phone.

According to their website, “The creator and his proponents encourage a low-tech approach, using a mechanical timer, paper, and pencil. The physical act of winding the timer confirms the user’s determination to start the task; ticking externalizes desire to complete the task; ringing announces a break. Flow and focus become associated with these physical stimuli.”

To get started, buy a timer, turn your phone on airplane mode and get to work on the stuff that will move your business and life forward.

Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Select a Task

Choose a task you’d like to get done. This could be big or small.

It could even be something you’ve procrastinated with but know that you need to get done. Choose something that needs 100% of your attention.

Step 2: Set the Timer for 25 Minutes

Make a promise to yourself that you will spend the next 25 minutes on a task and not interrupt yourself. No phone, notifications or email. 

Focus on staying present and engaged in your task at hand.

Step 3: Immerse Yourself

Immerse yourself in the task for the next 25-minutes with all notifications, texts, and emails out of sight. If you think of something you need to do unrelated to your tasks, write it down on a separate piece of paper.

Step 4: Take a Short Break

Once you’ve completed 25-minutes of deep work, take a break for about five minutes. Go on a walk, stretch, check your notifications, etc.

Step 5: Rinse and Repeat

Once your break is over, get back to the next important task. Every four Pomodoro’s, take a longer break of 20-30 minutes or more.

I’m confident if you use Pomodoro technique, you will end procrastination once and for all. This method is simple, easy, and know that it will help you do more so you achieve more in your life and business.

The post How to End Procrastination Forever: Pomodoro Technique appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.

I’m not talking about smoking, overeating or drinking too much alcohol, but I am talking about something equally addictive, and possibly just as harmful.

I’m talking about your smartphone addiction.

Did you know that the average person checks her phone 110 times a day? That’s crazy!

Here are some more statistics that might surprise you about cell phone addiction:

• Three-quarters of people check their phone first thing when they wake up.
• 1 in 3 smartphone users wakes in the night to check their phones (it’s 50 percent for people 18-24).
• Researchers found high mobile phone use was associated with stress and sleep disturbances for women.
• The same study found that high mobile phone use was associated with sleep disturbances and symptoms of depression in men.
• Long periods of cell phone use cause you to arch your neck and hold your body in a strange posture. This can lead to chronic back pain.

Look, I’m not suggesting that cellphones are bad and that you should give them up. It’s not realistic and they’re very beneficial in a lot of cases.

I carry mine daily but I am saying to become aware of how often you’re using it and how it might be harming parts of your life.

Why?

Recent studies have linked social networking to depression and anxiety. Since 2010, around the time when most people got smartphones, searches on Google for depression and anxiety rose incrementally. Here’s how to tell if you have a problem and how you can solve it. 

5 Phone Addiction Warning Signs

It wasn’t until I became an entrepreneur in 2017 that I realized just how much I was on my phone. When I went from a 9-5 to earning every dollar on my own, I realized what a time suck it is.

Here’s how you know you might have a problem with your phone:

1. You check your phone in the middle of the night. Seriously, what app will help you sleep better (other than a meditation app)?
2. You text-walk. This happens to a lot of us but if you’re running into people and missing out on life because you’re looking down, you might have a problem.
3. You can’t help but use your phone when face to face with others. Do you fear real-world conversations and instead choose to watch a video or scroll through social media?  
4. Your phone is your constant bathroom companion. Do you really need it in there all the time?
5. You get anxious when you forget your phone. Think back to the last time you left your phone somewhere. Even if you knew where you left it and you’re still anxious, this might mean a dependency problem.

7 Ways to Take Control of Phone Addiction & Take Back Your Life

1. Acknowledge You Are In Control

First off, who’s in charge, you or your phone? You of course! The reason you’re checking your phone so much is that you’re in the habit of checking your phone.

Any habit, whether good or bad, is hard to break as your brain sees habits as a way of survival. Obviously, checking your phone 100X a day or smoking a pack of cigarettes isn’t a good habit but your brain doesn’t realize that.

It’s up to you acknowledge you are in control first off. Then, use the other steps below to change your habits.

2. Get Rid of Apps | Phone Addiction

How many apps on your phone are actually helping you become more successful in life? Most likely, apps are just sucking time away from working towards your goals and dreams.

One app that might be worth downloading is one that tracks your usage. This way you can figure out which apps are taking up the most of your precious time.

For example, Instagram now lets you know how much time you spend on the app within your setting. Sometimes, I look back and am appalled I spend so much time on there mindlessly scrolling.

If you’re using social media too much, make sure you’re following motivational pages or limiting your time to certain parts of the day.

3. Turn Off Notifications

Notifications are one of the biggest distractions that are killing your productivity. Whether its email, Facebook, or something else, notifications can make it nearly impossible to stay focused.

Because one notification can lead you to email, social media or texting. Turn off all notifications and I can almost guarantee your phone time will go down a ton.

And your productivity will skyrocket!

4. Take Short Phone Free Vacations

Remember, right now you’re in the habit of checking your phone frequently. But with a few tweaks, you can learn to live without it.

Start by taking a mini phone vacation by putting it in a drawer for an evening or 3-4 hour chunk of time. Tell people that you regularly communicate with that you’re taking a phone break and I’m sure they will understand.

Learn to live without it for a few hours and you will find time for other things you love doing. And not find yourself as dependent on your device.

5. Pay Attention | Phone Addiction

Not only is your phone robbing you from other things in life, sometimes its extremely dangerous. People die every year from taking selfies, looking down on their phone at crosswalks and texting and driving.

Don’t let your phone ruin your life. Be mindful of when you are using it and make sure you’re not endangering yourself or your others!

6. Don’t Take It To Dinner

Unless you’re a food blogger who needs to take pictures of your meal for work, leave it in the car or at home. It’s amazing how much more present you will feel and how you can focus on a real conversation.

If you must take it to the meal, make sure to leave it in your pocket or purse. Even having it on the table is a subconscious reminder that it’s there and will make it easy to check for notification.

7. Set a Digital Detox Alarm

Each night, at 9 pm I have an alarm on my phone go off. At that point, I switch to airplane mode or leave it in another room until 8am the next morning.

Friends and family have learned that I’m basically unavailable during those times. If you can’t do this, make sure to at least take an hour off at night and in the morning to give your eyes and brain a rest.

Final Thoughts on Your Phone Addiction

Hopefully, these tips can help you live a much better life with less phone time involved. Remember, you run the device, it doesn’t run you.

If you’re finding yourself struggling, don’t’ beat yourself up. You’re not alone.

The people who create them intentionally make them addicting so you stay on them longer. Start using some of these strategies and I promise you can beat phone addiction and will love your new life.

The post How to Break Your Phone Addiction Once and For All appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.

I get it, trust me.

I’ve been there more times than I care to remember.

But recently, I started working with a business coach and had a long topic on the conversation.

He said the reason I keep getting off track is that I’m acting on my mood. If I don’t feel like writing, working out, or doing client outreach, then I don’t do it. And that might be why you are constantly falling off track as well..

The key is to forget about how you feel and do it anyway.

As Jim Rohn said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.”

You may be lacking self-discipline, which can be improved – if you are determined to make it happen.

Your comeback starts now..

4 Ways to Get Your Life Back on Track

1. Admit You’re Not Where You Want to Be | Get Back On Track

It’s time to be brutally honest with yourself and admit what’s going on.

You can have a conversation with someone you trust or even write down in a journal – honestly & openly, where you currently at in life, what your doing wrong & where you want to be.

Admit there’s a problem and your brain will start working autonomously to find a solution.

If you ignore the problem, it won’t magically get better. In fact, this enforces quitting and will make it worse.

Say what you’re really feeling and then ask yourself.. Why are you feeling this way?

Ask yourself what will happen if you don’t get back on track.. Where will you be in 3 months, 6 months or a year if you don’t change?

Identify your reasons, open yourself up and develop a plan to adapt and overcome.

2. Stop Thinking, Start Doing | Get Back On Track

As the “world’s most disciplined man” Craig Ballantyne said, “Action beats anxiety, motion beats meditation, work beats worry.”

Sometimes sitting around thinking is the worst thing you can do.

Overthinking drains your energy making the problem feel overwhelming, and is the best way to hold yourself back from taking action.

Instead, take consistent small action.

Every great journey began with a single step.

Action cures perfectionism. It helps you create momentum to keep the ball rolling. 

3. Celebrate Your Victories | Get Back On Track

Let’s say you’re trying to get into the habit of working out but you’ve ditched the resolution and haven’t seen the inside of a gym in a while.

To reignite your fire, keep it simple and start by doing some push ups or bodyweight lunges at home.

Celebrate this small victory. Pat yourself on the back, get excited, and jump around. Change your physiology to change your mindset.

Small victories lead to bigger results. Your brain loves celebration as the feel good chemical dopamine is release, thus ‘training’ your brain to seek more results.

Now think, what other kinds of victories can you get? Start doing anything you’ve been putting off in small doses and then celebrate!

Victories, no matter how big or small, can change your mood and help you keep going. Creating a new habit in the process.

4. Accountability Is KEY | Get Back On Track

Sometimes you just need someone else to support you on your quest, whether it’s to lose weight, start a business or change the world.

Accountability can be a great way to help you stay disciplined.

Don’t be too proud to enroll in a program or hire a coach to help you stay consistent and maintain productivity.

Over time, discipline does become an automatic habit even when you normally you might of put it off.

Don’t let your lazy brain and feelings get in the way of creating the life of your dreams.

Forget what you feel, remember what you deserve.

Start The Fire  Listen To This 

The post How To Get Back On Track When You Feel Hopeless appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.

Let’s face it, not even Tony Robbins wakes up motivated every single day. Tony will tell you himself .. maintaining a strong mindset is part of a continuous process towards self development.

The most successful people have triggers to help them get into peak state and own the day.

For some it’s meditation, others hit the gym or listen to some epic music. Personally, I love YouTube. 

It’s an amazing place to get an instant hit of motivation and get pumped up. A quick 3-5 minute video can light a fire under you to demolish your daily tasks. Or there are more extensive sources and interviews which can alter your perception on life and how you do things.

Here are seven of the best Youtube channels to help you crush it in business & life.

7 Youtube Channels for Instant Motivation and Inspiration

1. Tom Bilyeu

Tom Bilyeu is the co-founder of Quest Nutrition and founder of Impact Theory.

His company’s mission is, “To share information with people that will actually help them execute on their dreams.”

Tom’s channel has incredible videos that are no fluff and packed with tons of useful information. He interviews high achievers on his show Impact Theory like Ed Mylett, Gary Vee, Mel Robbins, and others. His channel also has shorter motivational videos (Impact Quotes), and Q&As with Tom himself. 

Tom’s 1:1 video content has things like starting a morning routine, growing a business, self-care, and endless other tips. This guy is so committed to his vision to share knowledge that his studio is actually inside his Beverly Hills mansion!

I’m confident in saying following his channel has changed my life and business!

2. Jay Shetty

Jay Shetty is the millennial monk turned entrepreneur who’s changing the world with his viral videos. After being a monk for several years, working in corporate America, Jay was discovered by Arianna Huffington & his videos started getting huge views.

Since being spotted by Arianna, he’s gone to produce tons of quality content that goes viral on a regular basis. In fact, his videos have been viewed over 3 billion times! His content is all about helping you lead a better life and achieve your dreams.

One of my favorite videos of his I recommend watching is “Before You Waste Time.” He talks about the importance of spending every moment of your time cherishing it and not wasting it.

His channel also has videos on self-care, success habits, and inspirational stories. He’s definitely a must follow!

3. Brendon.com

Brendon.com is the Youtube channel of best-selling author and motivational speaker Brendon Burchard.

Brendon’s content will help you lead a better quality of life because he’s been through so much himself and this knowledge shines through his videos.

After nearly committing suicide as a teen he goes on to become the master of his life, building a successful business, and helping millions of others do the same. His channel is all about the step by step process for you to do the same.

His videos are focused on motivation, success habits, overcoming fear, and so much else. A lot of his videos are under 10 minutes long so it’s easy to throw on for a quick zap of motivation to start your day.

4. London Real

London Real is a Youtube channel hosted by Brian Rose. Brian has a wildly successful interview show and is himself an incredibly successful businessman, after graduating from MIT.   

In 2011, he founded London Real to introduce people to the most fascinating people in the world.

And he’s done just that, as his 350 episodes have been watched over 50,000,000 times! His guests have included people like Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tim Ferriss, Grant Cardone, and many more.

Besides the amazing 60-minute guest interviews, Brian also has videos about business, passion, and even workout advice. They’re both entertaining and educational which makes for a fun watch.

I love Brian’s channel as it has a little bit of everything and will help you in all areas of life.

5. Gary Vee

Everyone knows Gary Vee as the hustle king because he is constantly putting out epic content that turns heads.

And his Youtube channel is no different. He is regularly producing video content for entrepreneurs and people who need instant motivation and real life advice.

He gives in-depth strategies on producing content, growing your business, and maintaining a successful mindset. Gary Vaynerchuk also excels at short videos to snap you out of a slump and start executing on your dreams.  Passion isn’t lacking in any of Gary’s videos!

But of all the videos on his channel, one of my favorites is “Haters.” In this short clip, he talks about why people can’t let others get them down and quit on their dreams.

Anytime I’m in need of a spark to get the day going, Gary Vee is my go-to channel!

6. Lewis Howes

Lewis Howes is another channel I love following as it offers something for everyone.

He has interviewed incredibly successful entrepreneurs, doctors, and many different experts on his show, School of Greatness.

Some of them include Tony Robbins, Kobe Bryant, Jim Kwik, and so many more!

The channel is filled with tons of content on social media, life hacks, relationships, and building an online business. If you’re trying to improve your health, wealth or start an online business, Lewis Howes is a must follow.

7. Evan Carmichael

The last channel I highly suggest taking a look at is Evan Carmichael. Evan is a very popular entrepreneur and Youtuber who creates epic clips of “10 Rules of Success.” Whether it’s the 10 rules of Steve Jobs, Jack Ma, Warren Buffett and more.

His Youtube channel gives you the exact steps that people have successfully used to get where they are today. While a majority of the channel is about success it also including some incredible life advice and inspiring stories.

I love watching Evan’s videos in the morning or when I want to watch something interesting that will also teach me something useful.

I’m confident these 7 Youtube Channels will give you a better quality of life in your business, family, and life.

Remember, what you watch, read or listen to in the morning has a dramatic impact on your day. Start the day right by turning off negative news and focus on building yourself up with these epic channels.

The post 7 YouTube Channels You Must Watch If You Want More From Life appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.

Technology is now controlling us but it wasn’t meant for that.

Humans are supposed to be the ones that controlling it. Otherwise, we’ll end up in a Terminator judgment day movie where the machines take us out!

If you’re addicted to your phone here’s why it might ruin your life unless you take control of the addiction. 

Here are four ways you could benefit from a digital detox to take back control of your life.

Addicted To Your Phone: How A Digital Detox Can Help

Killing Your Sleeping Patterns

The light from your phone is killing your sleeping patterns. It’s why so many people lie in bed restless and unable to get quality sleep.

While some hardcore digital detoxers might have you remove phones from your bedroom, I’m not sure that’s very practical. Instead, try to minimize technology or screens at least 60 minutes before bed if you have trouble sleeping.

Starting Your Day Reactive

Successful people aren’t waking up and scrolling through social media. As Mel Robbins said in The 5 Second Rule, “ Imagine Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey. Do you think they are lying in bed scrolling through social media?”

Of course not! So why are you?

This year I’ve made it a point to ignore my phone for at least one hour when I wake up. I’ll use it for guided meditation but I don’t look at the text, social media, or emails. Anytime I even look at one wrong email I find myself getting pissed off, frustrated and reactive.

You want to start your day energizing yourself, not giving your energy away to mindless social media or maybe even worse, the news.

Instead, focus on creating in the first hour. Work on yourself by reading a book, meditating, observing your thoughts or writing in a journal.

Feeling Anxious and Depressed

Phone addiction is creating anxiety in our culture. It’s no surprise that since 2010 (when social media took off and the first iPhone was released) that searches for depression and anxiety have increased at an alarming rate.

If you are dependent on your device, you most likely feel anxious and depressed when you aren’t using it. Quit seeking a quick hit of dopamine from Twitter or Instagram and only use social media at specific times. A good example would be 10-minute windows at lunch or after work.

If you are struggling to find happiness, pleasure, and a relaxed mood put the phone down and do something else. Run, exercise, take a walk or meet up with a friend.

Lose Relationships

A Forbes study found that 3 in 5 people spend more time on their phones than they do with their partners. 

If you can’t go out to dinner with your significant other or friends without your phone you might have a problem. Instead, put it on airplane mode and keep it off the table.

Don’t even have it out where you can see it. This will subconsciously show your brain that you are still thinking about it.

Start Your Digital Detox Today

Only you know how much your technology is hurting certain parts of your life. Since I’ve made the changes this year I can say 100% that it’s helped increase my happiness and decrease worry, stress, and anxiety. The longer I go without looking at my phone the prouder I am.

This year I started actively trying to start controlling my technology instead of it controlling me!

Here are a few things you can start doing:

• No phone on the table when eating with anyone
• No phone on my desk when you’re working
• A great morning routine: no social media, emails, or texting the first 60 minutes of the day

The result?

You’ll feel happier, healthier, and sleep better than ever before. Remember, you control technology, it doesn’t control you.

The post Addicted to Your Phone? 4 Ways It’s Ruining Your Life appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.



Have you ever wondered why some people see working for themselves as a great risk, while others see it as an absolute must? 

The answer lies in their mindset.



Some people have what is called a “FIXED MINDSET” and some have a “GROWTH MINDSET”

Take for example, receiving critical feedback.
 Someone with a FIXED MINDSET might view it as a personal attack, and not learn anything from the feedback, or USE IT to improve or grow.
 While the one with a GROWTH MINSET might use the feedback to learn how to improve in the future.

These two mindsets are the reason you see PROBLEMS or CHALLENGES.

Mountains or mere hurdles.
 These two mindsets can have a huge influence on your life

The two mindsets were first identified by Carol Dweck who wrote the book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
Let’s go over them in more detail:

The Two Types of Mindsets

1. Fixed Mindset

Fixed mindsets people might think “I’ve been this way and I’ll always be this way.”

The fixed mindset doesn’t see possibilities or opportunities. It sees things how they’ve always been, and expects that is how they will continue to be.

But of course, that just not true. You have the ability to change and improve ANY situation, as soon as you change and improve your MINDSET.

According to the author, “In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort.”

Fixed Mindset Examples

• Easily threatened when others around them are successful
• Shying away from challenges and projects that require more work
• Give up very easily when things go wrong
• Avoid failing at all costs because if they fail there is no way to succeed in the future. These individuals think their destiny is determined.

2. The Growth Mindset

Here’s how the author defined a growth mindset:

 “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”

Those who live with a growth mindset tend to believe they can develop into anyone, and achieve anything through hard work and dedication.

These individuals think of tough situations as challenges, not threats. They see each obstacle as an opportunity to grow and develop.

While people with fixed mindsets tend to be negative and afraid of failing, people with a growth mindset are the exact opposite. They rarely fear failure as they know no failure is permanent and they usually bounce back very fast from any failure.

Growth Mindset Examples

• They seek out challenges to grow and become a better version of themselves.
• They use others achievements and successes as motivation to succeed.
• The persevere when things get difficult.
• They se feedback to their advantage. The sooner they can take feedback the sooner they can learn from it and make progress.

So, what Mindset Do You Have?

A fixed mindset that avoids challenges or a GROWTH mindset that SEEKS challenges? 

A fixed mindset that seeks comfort or a GROWTH mindset who is never comfortable?

Keep in mind you are not BORN with these mindsets. You’ve developed them throughout your life journey, and you can develop a NEW MINDSET if that is your choice.

There’s no right or wrong mindset… but if you want to ACHIEVE certain things, it would certainly help to develop a GROWTH MINDSET.

If you want more peace and comfort in your life, maybe you would like to take a step back and develop more of a FIXED MINDSET… if you do, please leave this page immediately as our content is not for FIXED MINDS.

May you all be blessed and GROW into the VERY BEST VERSIONS of yourselves.

The post Psychologist Explains The Mindset You Need To Take Control Of Your Life appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.

As the #1 writer on Medium, Benjamin Hardy said, “Who you are is a product of your self-image and your self-image is based on your environment. Change your environment and you can change everything.”

Does your environment set you up to succeed or is the physical clutter leading to mental clutter as well? Your environment has a huge effect on your subconscious mind and the signals you are constantly sending it.

Here are three ways you can declutter your mind to achieve maximum efficiency in your life.

Clean Everything

As Laurence J. Peter said, “If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?”

Decluttering your house, closet, car, and desk will help declutter your mind as well. Create an environment that is calm, relaxing, and stress-free.

Best selling author Jack Canfield talks about this in The Success Principles: 

Subconsciously your mind is thinking, “If I can’t find a stapler when I want it and my filing system is dysfunctional what makes me think I can start my own company or become a millionaire.” — Jack Canfield

Once you free your living and work environment from the mental burden of this clutter you will be more focused, productive, and confident in yourself.

Schedule a “completion weekend” to declutter your mind. Take care of all the things that are bugging you and taking up unnecessary space in your mind. It could be a dirty car, piles of laundry, a broken hinge on a door.

Sure, these tasks may seem small and “not that important” but physiologically they are weighing you down.

Keep an Inventory of Your Friends

While physical decluttering your home, office, and desk can help you gain clarity, you also need to look at your inner circle. As Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Choose wisely.”

If you want to declutter your mind you need to look at the people you surround yourself with the most. Your friends and inner circle can have a huge impact on your effectiveness in life.  

If you spend time consistently with friends that are dragging you down or living a life you don’t want anymore you must be willing to change.

Your friends should remind you more of your future, and less of your past.

If you have a ton of friends but don’t love your life you are sending mixed signals to your brain. Focus on the friends who add value to your life, are positive, and supportive.

When you surround yourself with new people your thoughts, feelings, and ambitions will change…sometimes drastically.

Challenge Self Doubt

The last step to declutter your mind is to challenge self-doubt when it hits. Instead of accepting doubt, challenge it head-on.

Prove to your brain that you are more than capable of achieving your goals and your brain will eventually begin to change. The next time you experience doubt or fear accept the challenge and take massive action.

Final Thoughts | Declutter Your Mind

Remember, you control your environment, both physically and mentally. As Dr. Marshall Godlsmith said, “If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.”  

The post How to Declutter Your Mind and Environment For Maximum Efficiency appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.

But with great power comes great responsibility, distractions are more numerous than ever, we’ve gone from the radio to TV to smart phone. There’s a reason they used to call the TV the ‘idiot box’.

You must be smarter than your smart phone or you will get less done than ever before.

As Jim Kwik said,

“A lot off people give away their sovereignty and their power first thing in the morning”

5 Reasons to Work Out Before Checking Your Emails and Social Media

1 – It Will Destroy Your Focus – Work Out Before Checking Your Emails And Social Media

There are two types of people in the world, the ones that will achieve success and ones that won’t. The difference? Focus. If you want to achieve your goals as bad as you want to breathe you will let nothing stop you or distract you.

So when you wake up in the morning and begin to get ready for your workout toss your smart phone aside, you have much bigger things in mind than anything you’ll scroll past.

If you want to take your workout to another level, pre-workout supplements can give a huge boost, while intensifying your focus. Leave no stone unturned on your journey to the top of the mountain.

2 – It Ruins Your Posture & Can Cause Injury – Work Out Before Checking Your Emails And Social Media

Functional strength expert Angelo Grinceri points out the habit of hunching forward while texting on your phone alters the natural balance of your spine by flattening the lumbar curve and allowing your head to hang forward. “poor lifestyle habits lead to shoulder and neck pain.” Both of which can cause unnecessary strain on your neck after waking, which could contribute to injury at the gym.

If you’re serious about working out get up, stretch and do a proper warm up before the gym, so that when you enter you are ready to give your all.

3 – It Affects Your Mentality – Work Out Before Checking Your Emails And Social Media

Steve Furtick said it best “One reason we struggle with insecurity: we’re comparing our behind the scenes to everyone else’s highlight reel.” If the first thing you do each morning is jump on social media and compare your life to others, it is going to leave you feeling lousy, you need to have laser like vision on your own goals. Let nothing affect your mentality, you need to enter the arena with unwavering ferocity. So do what’s important first and never give away your power.

4 – Your Intensity Suffers – Work Out Before Checking Your Emails And Social Media

If you do find yourself at the gym with your phone, perhaps like me you use it to listen to music. Take note of these do’s and don’ts.

Don’t Text

Another noteworthy study, published in Computers in Human Behavior last year, found that people who texted during a 20-minute workout spent almost 10 of those minutes in a low-intensity zone, and only seven minutes in high intensity. Those who worked out without a phone spent only 3 minutes in low intensity, and almost 13 minutes in high intensity.

It’s obvious, and science confirms that if your looking at your phone in the gym, it’s guaranteed to lower the intensity of your workout. Taking your phone to the gym could be setting your progress back months. Is it really worth it?

Do Listen To Music

The good news is that listening to music on a cell phone had no notable impact on balance, so exercisers should feel free to use their tunes. In fact, earlier research has shown that listening to music during exercise can boost workout intensity and enjoyability. Check out Fearless Motivation’s Spotify playlist for something that will get you firing on all cylinders

Put your phone on airplane mode.

The post 5 Reasons to Work Out Before Checking Your Emails and Social Media appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.

Procrastination is a bad habit, that can be very hard to break. We have all been guilty of it from time to time, but sometimes we let it take over, if you’re ready to make a change and become more productive in your life then please read on for 3 steps to overcome procrastination.

I find it interesting that nobody will let any physical thing stop them from going somewhere or doing something, but people allow mental things to stop them all of the time.

For example, I could walk in front of you right now, blocking your path and preventing you from walking past me, and I bet that you the first thing you try and do is push past me, or at least express vocally express your annoyance. Every person would of course. Isn’t it strange then how we let the mental things get the best of us, we let them block our paths to progress. We let procrastination along with all of our other bad mental habits get the best of us, without a fight.

How come we choose to fight physical problems that are stopping us, but we don’t fight mental problems that are stopping us? These mental problems can be much worse than physical problems because they are preventing us from achieving goals and the things that we want to do, and instead of fighting them, we just give in without a whimper.

One

One of the first important steps to take if you want to stop procrastinating is to start treating this mental problem the same way you would treat a physical problem, which would be to fight back or treat the issue instead of looking the other way. If you had some form of injury would you just ignore it, or seek help from someone who knew how to cure it? In what ways can you combat your mental state? what resources or mentors could you utilise to improve your mindset?

Next time you find yourself procrastinating be conscious of it and decide to fight back and not let it bully you, the same way you would not let a person physically bully you.

Two

The second step to overcoming procrastination is to remove poisonous words such as “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “I’m too tired” from your vocabulary and your thinking process. Do it now, rest later! at least then you will be able to relax knowing you have done what was necessary. You must build up a strong association against procrastination, you have to start being proactive instead of reactive. What is one little task you can do right now, that will only take you a few minutes, but that you have been putting off, maybe a phone call or a simple task around the house. Go and do it now! this will begin the process of rewiring your brain.

Every time you find yourself about to put something off in your mind, stop yourself and replace it with “I will do it now” every time you do this you are strengthening your ‘mind muscle’ it will become stronger with use, and soon taking action will happen automatically. You just have to be strong enough initially to get started.

Three

Finally another great step to beat procrastination is to write everything down that you need to get done today, this week, this month, and this year. Continually add to it as you think of tasks, people who procrastinate tend to do so until they forget what they are putting off entirely. Every morning you wake up you should have your journal next to so you can see what needs to be done, and you can mentally plan out how you will go about achieving those goals. This will prime you brain and make it much easier to accomplish. Make a start today and don’t stop!

The post 3 Easy Steps To Overcome Procrastination appeared first on Fearless Motivation - Motivational Videos & Music.