5 Fab Ways to Boost Productivity

Ever wish you had more time in a day to get just a few more things done? Everyone could use an extra set of hand or at least some good productivity tools to make their day a little smoother. Below are  five suggestions to give your productivity a jump start!

1. Stop Procrastinating - The biggest thing that hinders most people is the lack of any action at all. You can't get anything done if you aren't out doing it! The old saying never put off until tomorrow what you can do today applies here.

2. Evaluate Your Current Productivity Level - Once you get the ball rolling you need to know where you are before you can set goals for where you want to be. Make a list of all your primary tasks and daily obligations and see how many of them you complete in an hour, a day or whatever time frame is sensible to you. After compiling this data you can gauge where you can improve and set quantifiable goals for yourself.

3. Get a Smartphone - Back in the day a person could get a way with using just a desk calendar and/or a day planner. With so many people demanding information moment to moment a smartphone such as a Blackberry or Treo is a must for staying connected and accessing important documents and information fast.

4. Hire a VA or PA -  If all else fails and you just can't get organized then I highly suggest looking into getting either a personal assistant - someone at your beck and call to handle administrative tasks - or a virtual assistant - someone you can go to on a project by project basis when you only need a set of hands temporarily. I can work with you in both capacities; shoot me an email to sensiblesolutions6672@gmail.com with Assist Me in the subject line for more details.

5. Breathe, Relax, Let It Go - The most important thing for you to remember is to keep cool and  act, don't REACT, to your productivity challenges. Knowing you have a need to change your productivity habits brings you one step closer to solving them. With a little creativity you will be on track in no time!

Free Yourself!

Michael
MIIS

Every Experience Is A Success

The old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," is so true. It doesn't mean beat yourself up and try the same old way again. It means recognize your error and try another way - until you learn to do it correctly. Changing eating and lifestyle habits is no different.

When a child is learning to walk or talk, we encourage her and praise her for every tiny improvement she makes. The child beams and eagerly tires to do better. Is this the way you encourage yourself when you are learning something new? Or do you make it harder to learn because you tell yourself that you are stupid, lazy, or a "failure"?

Try a new way to reach your fitness and nutritional goals. Reach for support and give yourself the encouragement you deserve. Remember, you are learning new choices and creating a new lifestyle.

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Flossie Alexander
Life/Weight Loss Coach


About Flossie: Flossie is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and a Certified Wellness Coach with a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity, losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http://www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

What Happened to Our Rhythm Nation?

"...Things are getting worse. We have to make them better. It's time to give a damn. Let's work together..." Lyrics from Janet Jackson's song Rhythm Nation



Link to Video on YouTube.com

In 1989 Janet Jackson released a critically acclaimed follow up to her Control album called Rhythm Nation. It was R&B's version of a protest album so prevalent in rap music of the day. The album addressed such political and social ills as racism, poverty illiteracy and homelessness and, to me, was her best album.

I was listening to Pandora radio the other day and this song played and it got me to thinking about society then and now and how things are getting so out of hand nowadays. What happened to rising up against social ills? has mass media done so great a job that we are too numb (or worse, too EXCITED by) to the mayhem and violence that plague our communities?

What happened to our rhythm nation? Are we so cold now that wed rush to download a video of a child being beaten to death but we can't lend a hand to help him? Is it more important to send pic messages and texts to our friends instead of calling the police?

Where is our rhythm nation people? Where are people that once upon a time would not stand for such foolishness? What happened to the time we wouldn't hesitate to stand up to inequality, racism and hate crimes? What happened to a time when our kids fought but not kill one another over the color clothes they wore, the brand of shoes they had on or which way their hat was turned? Where is OUR rhythm nation people! WHERE?!

I'll bet no one knows and fewer care. We're too busy worrying about our iPhones and BlackBerries. We only care about getting our hair and nails done so we can hit the clubs for some dance floor sex-with-clothes-on action. We're too busy chasing our next high or full pitcher of beer. We NO LONGER CARE!

We no longer care what happens to our kids. As long as they don't bother us while we're watching Family Guy or True Blood or some other nonsense on TV it doesn't matter. In fact, we no longer raise our kids anyway - the TV is their mother, their father is the Internet and their brothers and sisters are all hardwired into a system that preaches have sex, make babies, kill one another senselessly, it's all OK. The worst part of it is we buy right into it with them.

Well I can't take it any more. I WON'T take it anymore and I'm looking for others that won't take it anymore either...Hit me up and let's rebuild our rhythm nation!

Meditate on this: I will no longer stand idly buy and watch our society tear itself apart. I vow to make it better one day at a time beginning with me.

The True Nature of Advice

"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't." - Erica Jong

We've all got problems and that's OK. It's part of being human. And like most humans we sometimes ask others for advice on how to solve those problems and that's fine. Advice isn't a bad thing. The trouble lies in the SOURCE of the advice. Follow me...


Here are a few scenarios where you can eliminate poor advice:


1. Taking relationship/marriage advice from your single/unwed friends - Why would you want advice from someone who has a history of failed relationships. If you want advice on how to keep a relationship going take it from someone who's actually IN a committed relationship longer than 30 seconds. There are a few people I know that are not in a relationship that can provide sound advice but for the most part you want to stick with couples and married folk.


2. Taking financial advice from someone who isn't financially stable - I've done this before myself so don't beat yourself about it. But think about it: you are looking into stocks and want to make an informed decision on your investment. What makes more sense? Asking your friend that has successfully invested in stocks for the past five years or Auntie Re Re who's idea of investing is visiting the local corner store to purchase new lottery tickets?


My point is there is good advice and not so good advice. What makes the advice meaningful and useful is its source. There's a saying that states opinions are like #%$holes; everybody has one. You have to learn when to accept advice and when to ignore "the good opinion of others". Just as the CEO of a successful multimillion dollar company has his or her own team of trusted consultants you have to cultivate your own squad of top advisers. Most importantly you must learn to trust the highest qualified adviser of all - your inner consultant - because no one knows you better than you know yourself - NO ONE!


Meditate on This: I trust the wisdom of my inner self to always guide me in the right direction.


Have a PERFECT day!


Michael
MIIS

5 Ways to Change Your Life

Introducing the newest contributor to My II Sense: Flossie Alexander!

The truth is, that many of us never break free enough from our current habits to even attempt to change. We are paralyzed by fear and trapped in our habits. Others go through the motions of initiating change, but quickly fall back into an existing comfort zone, that is not very "comfortable". (Why would we want to change if we're comfortable?)

Clearly there are many important changes we could make to enrich our lives; we just don't know how to do it. As someone who makes a living by helping others achieve lifestyle changes, I offer the following insights:


What Is Important To You?
Many changes fail because what we are attempting to achieve something that is not really important to us. Before you invest in making a lifestyle change, take some time to get clear on what is really important. Do you want to have more energy to play with your children? Do you want to wear fashionable clothes? Do you want to feel more confident? Paint a vivid picture of what you want!

Create Space
A lifestyle change requires attention, time, focus, effort, and growth. If you are running at 100% capacity, you will not have the time or energy you need to change. To effect change you need to first free some space in your life to devote to your new goals and developing new habits.

Create A Plan
Once you have a clear vision of what you are working towards, break it into smaller, manageable steps and prioritize them. Don't try to do too much all at once. Start with the steps that are the most exciting for you. A small lasting change is the true victory.

Leverage Your Strengths
When you go about making changes, it is important to know what your strengths are, and build on them. Often we focus far too much energy on our weaknesses and shortcomings that make us feel powerless. Focus on your strengths and talents and feel empowered! If you are a great cook, use these skills to prepare satisfying and healthy foods. If you are a great at organizing, develop a schedule or a group.

Stay Focused
It is the intensity and frequency of our attention that reinforces the new perspectives and thought patterns that support our new behaviors. Do not try to make major changes all by yourself. Create a strong support structure around you that will keep you on track and moving forward, past all the inevitable challenges.



Flossie Alexander

Life/Weight Loss Coach


About Flossie: She is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International, a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach, Certified Wellness Coach, who has a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into creating and achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http/www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

7 Amazingly Simple Ways to Evoke Change in Your Life

Our daily lives are chucked full of “To Dos”. A typical day can go something like this: Wake up, get the kids off to school, dress for work, don’t forget the expense report you’ve been working on, jump in the care to beat traffic, realize you left that expense report on the coffee table, go back for it, get stuck in traffic, late for work, get chewed out by your manager, work on a few accounts, lunch, more accounts, more yelling from the manager, leave work, pick up the kids, make it home, find the energy to cook dinner, skip it – order out, put the kids to bed, spend 20 minutes of “quality time” with your significant other (if you’re lucky) take a relaxing bath (again, the luck thing), go to bed, wake up, do it ALLL over again.
Sound familiar? I’ll bet it does. The unfortunate thing is we are so used to doing it that we don’t know or haven’t thought about how to UNDO it. Below I share with you seven REALLY simple ways to evoke change in your life and truly begin to LIVE it! Enjoy!

1.    Realize there’s a need for change – then ACT on it! – We tell ourselves everyday that there must be a better way to do things. We hold in depth conversations with family and friends (and ourselves) about doing more with our lives, living on purpose and getting unstuck. The problem is not that we don’t know we can achieve more. The problem is we don’t ACT on our feelings and insights. We just sort of hope things will begin to change on their own…well they WON’T! Once you make the realization that you want to truly start living your life then you have to put a plan into motion. You have to starting DOING!
 
2.    Begin living in the NOW! – Stop worrying about what happened in the past, it’s behind you. Reflect upon it if you must but stop LIVING there. Stop worrying about the future; it hasn’t been written yet. Sure you can make plans for the future but maintain flexibility with them. The only constant in the universe is change. If you’re plans for the future aren’t fluid they are doomed from the start. Beyond all that, the most precious place you can live in is the Now. It is the Now where you plan. It is in the Now that you achieve. There is no other time than Now!
 
3.    Release your need to control EVERYTHING! – There is no way you can control every aspect of your life. No matter how much we plan things out there’s always a chance that something can alter those preparations. What you must learn to do is adapt to change. Release your need to control things and watch how your day is transformed! You will have more energy for other things – worthwhile things – and your relationships with others will take a turn for the better.
 
4.    Focus your energy and GO FOR IT! – Center your attention on your goals and invest all your energy into their development, maintenance and completion. Keep reminders all around your home, job, wherever you can find space to keep you focused. This doesn’t mean you neglect one area of your life to improve another. You must find a balance between all your goals, your personal/professional life, etc.
 
5.    Demand and track improvements! – Once you get things going you’ll want to be sure you continue making progress. To do this you can keep a journal of everything you’re doing daily, weekly, monthly or whatever works for you. Be mindful of things that don’t appear to be working in your life and make the required changes to get back on track. If you don’t see any improvement then you may need to scrap your current plan and draft a new one. Remember: DEMAND excellence and settle for nothing less!
 
6.    Get EVERYONE involved! – Discuss what you’re doing with family and friends and invite them to embark on their own quest for improvement!
 
7.    Rest, rejuvenate and do it all over again tomorrow! – Like anything the more you do something the better you get at it. The more you practice the steps above the better you will be able to affect change in your life. Make sure you take time to rejuvenate yourself by meditating or some other means to rest your mind and body. Then, get up in the morning refreshed and ready to do it all over again!

Meditate on This: "I vow to take back my life one day at a time."


Have a PERFECT day!

Michael
MIIS



Image Copyright for "The Dance of Life, the Dance of Death": JD Challenger as located on First People.us

3 Ways to Change Your World View

“You can learn a lot from people who view the world differently than you do.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
 

I had a sort of epiphany the other day that came to me from my netbook and Mac computers. I was looking at my page on Twitter using my netbook but soon grew tired of viewing that 8.9 in. screen. I switched to my Mac’s 22 in. screen and the change was ENORMOUS! I could see all sort of content I couldn’t before – well, at least not without scrolling around on the screen.

It was then that I thought about how we look at the world, more specifically, our viewpoint of the world from a “netbook perspective”.   Sometimes we get caught up in how WE see things we forget that other vantage points exist. I’ve come up with three ways we can all improve our worldview; here we go!

1.     Know that your view isn’t the only one – Unless you’ve lived a sheltered life secluded from all of humanity since birth you know that your view of  “what is” is not the only one. Even if you did grow up in those circumstances it doesn’t negate the view of every other being on the planet.

2.     Realize that another person’s view is as important as our own – Does your belief that the color blue is the most beautiful color in the world make it so? Of course not. Just because someone feels, say red, is the most beautiful color should not upset you. You are entitled to your view just as they are entitled to theirs.

3.     Be more accepting of the views of others – This is easier said than done sometimes. Your belief in the almighty awesomeness of the color blue is strong and deep rooted; why would you want to accept that another view exists? Simple. It keeps you open to different possibilities of All The Ways Things Are! The more open you are to other views the more likely you are to understand that it takes ALL views to make the world go round. Who knows, you may eventually decide that red IS a more awesome color than blue – or maybe you both will decide that green is! Be open to the possibilities!

Meditate on this: I challenge myself to be more accepting of the views of others.

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

MIIS