Archive for September, 2012

Can I Give You 30 Extra Hours Per Month?

This is pretty cool. At first it will "seem" like common sense... and then you'll think "that sounds great, but it's not for me" but FINALLY... once you get to the third step, it'll hit you like a ton of bricks. This has got to be the #1 boost to my productivity all year.

Please wake up early from now on. The "average" person wakes up at 7AM on weekdays, but you know what else? The "average" person...

• is 15 pounds overweight
• only has 0.8 friends
• has an IQ of only 100
• only earned "B's" and "C's" in high school
• attended college but didn't finish
• only earns $28,000 per year
• is $2,500 in debt...

Do you want to be average or better than average?

Here's something to be said about above average people... what do the CEO's of Disney, Apple, General Motors, Virgin America, and Starbucks have in common? They're all out of bed by 5:00 AM!

My first reaction to this was, "What a bunch of workaholics! Glad I'm not one of those..." Until I discovered that although many successful people wake up early in order to get a "jump" on the day... the primary reason is for personal, quiet, reflective time.

If you're here, then chances you are:

• A student (you usually wait until the last minute)
• Self employed (self motivation is ultra-important)
• Employed (your time is not your own from 8am-5pm)
• A parent (enough said)
• Retired (possibly fixed income, health concerns or time limitations)

Either way, waking up even one hour is the solution to most of your problems. In college I discovered firsthand that staying up late or "burning the midnight oil" does NOT work. It only leaves you stressed, tired, overworked, and burned out because you half-ass rush your assignments the night before, or the morning-of, don't you?

On the other hand, here's how I became financially independent (by that I mean property owning and self employed)... I woke up early, spent about ONE (maybe 1.5) VERY FOCUSED HOURS in the morning, and once that was done, I went in to my day job for 8 hours of loyal servitude. Here's what happened...

• I separated "church" and "state" -- internet business stays at home, work stays at work
• I actually had time to eat a good breakfast
• I had time for a walk (or a run or swim for the crazy people)
• I began the day with excitement

What's also great is after work, I could do other things... relax, personal time, visit friends and family. This broke me out of the Work-TV-Sleep cycle most people are stuck in.

I could go on about studies that have shown that the parts of our brain that affect judgment get tired over the course of the day which explains why people overeat, drink, and commit crimes late at night instead of early in the morning... but let's talk about you!

Step #1: Sleep Smarter

I'm not saying you have to go to sleep early, or sleep less hours, but you need to be a little more careful about how you go to sleep...

1. Have a set time that you "usually" go to sleep
2. Avoid using your computer, TV, phone or iPad one hour before sleeping (the glowing light causes sleep problems)
3. Your bed is for sleeping only -- if you need to nap or perform other activities, use your couch
4. Sleep in a dark, quiet area that's just a few degrees colder than you have during the day (a no brainer but so many people miss this)
5. Avoid eating right before bed (another no brainer)
6. Hypnosis & sleep headphones (my secret weapon)

If I really can't sleep or my sleep schedule is out of whack, I use hypnosis. (I used to experiment with melatonin and valerian root but it caused more problems than it solved.) Here's what I do...

I put on a pair of sleeping headphones (basically a headband with very thin headphones so you can lay however you want).

I plug the headphone into my iPad, activate airplane mode and open a hypnosis app -- I used to use the "BinauralBeat" app but now I use one called "Lucid Dreams."

Hypnosis only works if you let it. It takes about 10-20 minutes for me. The narrator tells me to relax this and that, imagine this and that, breath in this way, count down to this number, the next thing I know I wake up the next morning and I'm no longer wearing the headphones around my head.

Step #2: Wake Up Smarter

Having better sleep habits alone might help you. But we have those days where we don't have time for 8 hours of sleep, or we wake up groggy and keep snoozing for 10 more minutes... 10 more minutes... and now you've slept too long and you're running late.

With my limited understanding, we usually wake up groggy because our sleep pattern is interrupted. Haven't you slept too long, or had a dream that was interrupted, and you woke up feeling like crap? On the other hand, you've "accidentally" only slept 5 hours and felt fine the next day, because you had your REM sleep and woke up during a "light sleep" cycle.

The most amazing iPhone app ever (you can also run if you only own a $99 iPod Touch) is called Sleep Cycle. You place it under your pillow and it "somehow" tracks when you're awake, asleep, or in a deep sleep... based on its gyroscope and the movements you make in bed. You set a 30 minute window for the time you want to wake up, and it waits until "the best time" to do it.

1. Use "Sleep Cycle" instead of a traditional alarm clock to wake you up
2. Get in the habit of waking up at the same time every day
3. Get out of bed, out of your bedroom, and preferably outside as soon as you wake up
4. Use a "Philips GoLite" and multiple alarm clocks if waking up is still a problem
5. Don't check email in the morning, relax and be productive instead

Step #3: Four Daily Tasks

Now that you wake up early, you have extra quiet time in the morning to wake up, relax, and get ready for the day. Once you start your day you'll get so much done even before lunchtime (before anyone has a chance to disrupt you) you'll want to use your time wisely.

I've said this so many times I'm almost sick of it. But this is what you need -- FOUR DAILY TASKS.

Have four tasks to complete every single day. COMPLETE. Not start, not do, not try, COMPLETE. "Checking email" is not a task. Getting "35% complete with ebook" is not a task. Writing one ebook chapter, that's a task. Sending an email to your autoresponder list, that's a money making task. Setting up a web page, that's a task. What works best for me: three 45 minute tasks and one 15 minute task.

Use those three techniques to use your time better, claim your additional 365 days in the year and live longer, and accomplish at least double what you did before.

Quick question: what time do you normally wake up to get started on your business, and what's your secret to waking up at that time?