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Three Action Items to Creating Needed Change When You Travel

The more I travel, the stronger my road habits become. I find I’m less flexible and rely on my road routine more than ever.

My first year or so of travel, I didn’t know any better. I loved the uncertainty that would come with travel. Not so much anymore.

The good that has come is I’m definitely a seasoned traveler and there is little that I’ve not experienced so far aside from an emergency landing or major car accident. (insert WHEW here)

The bad is I’ve become very rigid and have lost that willingness to change even the things that are not good in my road routine.

Let me ask you a question. Before you read it and answer it quickly, really think about it. My hope is it’s a response that if you do, could literally change your travel life or possibly your whole life.

Here’s the question:

If you could change one thing, anything about YOU when you travel, what would it be?

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I’ve asked this question to SO many people as I travel and here are the top five responses:

  • I need to eat healthier on the road. I’m embarrassed by the weight gain and I’m less disciplined when I travel.
  • I drink too much on the road (and I don’t mean water). It’s easy to justify but I definitely need to cut back in this area.
  • I need to exercise more on the road. I seem to be allergic to the hotel fitness center and need some type of activity other than eating and drinking.
  • I need to sleep more on the road. I go to bed late and get up early then come home from my trip and just crash.
  • I need to check in more at home. I could but simply don’t saying “I’m working”.

And as I push further in my questions it leads to this last question:

Why don’t you change this one thing that is an obvious pain point for you?

And sadly the answers are simply excuses. I don’t know if most eventually change but I can usually tell in just a couple of moments if they value their excuses more than this pain and change rarely happens.

I’m for the person who is willing to make the change and if this is you, here are three action items to make this change a reality:

 

1. Determine Your “WHAT” to Change

What is your answer to the question: “If you could change one thing, anything about you when you travel, what would it be?”

The first critical action item is to determine WHAT you want to change. What is it? Is your answer one of the top five or something different?

Then ask: will it move the needle and make some real change in my life? If your response is yes or definitely, you’ve found a strong WHAT.

For example, you want eat healthier on the road. Good start. But specifically you want to lose 20 pounds in the next six months and unless you get your act together on the road, the only change will be one word: ADD instead of LOSE.

 

2. Determine Your “WHY” to Change

Your WHAT is the easiest of the three action items. But WHY do you want to change this one item?

This answer is beyond the surface so you need to dig. Your WHY is your motivation.

For example, you want to lose 20 pounds in the next six months. But WHY? I’m overweight. Yeah, true, obvious, heavy (pun intended) but WHY do you want to lose the weight?

Real answer: I’m embarrassed by my weight and lack of energy and hate my lack of self-control. This MUST change.

Now you know your WHY.

So, what is your WHY behind your WHAT?

 

3. Determine Your “How” You Will Change

Once you have your WHAT and your WHY, lastly you need to determine your HOW.

This is the take action part of the program. You obviously know how NOT to do it and possibly great at it. So, now look through what it would take to make it happen.

Back to our example, HOW will you implement your change of eating healthier on the road. You may start by setting some rules:

  • ALWAYS starting with a healthy breakfast
  • Limiting the amount of sugary drinks
  • Substituting a vegetable for fries
  • Cutting out dessert at dinner
  • Stop choosing restaurants with a DRIVE THRU!!!

You know the Road You so fill in the HOW blanks. This is a must for you to change.

Once you know your How, you definitely need to set the tone for your next trip with these changes. Read more about it HERE.

Future Watch – I’m developing an online training course for this very reason called The Traveling Professional’s Nutrition Course: Four Healthy Strategies to Avoid Going Off Road On the Road.

If you’re interested in joining the pilot program, email me directly: Bryan@BryanPaulBuckley.com and I will respond. I will be taking a limited number through the 1st round.

 

Closing Challenge

Change is hard. It requires effort. It requires breaking our normal, comfortable routine and doing something different.

And this is why your WHY is critical to your success.

We’re all motivated when we hear the amazing story of how someone lost 40 pounds and you want to know HOW. But the story almost ALWAYS starts with the WHY.

You can become this person. You can do it! Find your what, your why, and your how and start today.

I hope this question, (If you could change one thing, anything about you when you travel, what would it be?) absolutely owns you, consumes you, and motivates you to change something about the Road You.

Be better than average. Average is easy. Average is unsatisfying and leads to regret. Work these three action items and make the change.

 

Closing Question

What do you need to change when you travel that will make a major difference in your life if you just do it?

 

How to Effectively Close Shop at the End of the Business Day

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How to Effectively Close Shop at the End of the Day

 

Jay runs at 100 mph. He’s productive for the most part but by the end of the day, he doesn’t know where the day actually went and just cannot wait to finally leave the office.

The problem Jay finds is his mind is unsettled on the way home randomly thinking about the day. He also finds the next morning feels like a week ago when he tries to remember where he left off from the day before.

If Jay has applied the Half Day Evaluation process, this will improve his odds but there is also an end of day solution.

 

First, two quick reasons why to close shop at the end of the business day:

Wind Down – closing shop allows you to wind down quicker because the events of the day have been processed properly and hopefully let go

Ramp Up – closing shop will create an organized process for the next morning to review to make planning more efficient and effective

So, what exactly is “Closing Shop” at the end of the day?

If you’ve ever worked in retail or a store that had normal business hours, there is a process to prepare the store to close. This process allows the store to be organized and cleaned along with the cash drawer reconciled to officially end the day and prepare the business for the next morning.

What if we adapted this same process that EVERY business applies to be personally effective?

Here are five ways to officially close shop at the end of the day by using the acronym of CLOSE:

 

C – Clean Your Area

If you simply did this and nothing else, it’s amazing how much better you feel especially for the next morning.

But if this became the 1st step in closing shop for your day, it will give you a sense of organization and order for the next day.

This could mean finding your desk from the past day, organizing, and closing down certain open applications on the computer. Sounds quick and simple but oh, what a difference it could make for you!

 

L – Look Back

After you’ve cleaned your area now it’s time to review your day by looking back at what happened.

Where did your day go? Did it match your original plan for the day? This is your time to reflect and do a quick post mortem of the past 8+ hours of how and where you spent your time.

You may get a fresh perspective analyzing where you were effective and where you lost time within this day.

 

O – Open Issues

After you look back, you’ll notice the open issues that did not get resolved. Why? Do they need follow-up? This is a perfect time to determine what to do with these open issues tomorrow or another time.

If you’re anything like me, I quickly mentally move on and often forget these important details that are critical down the road. And why? Because I didn’t remember them let alone create a plan what to do with them the next day.

Find the open issues in your day and move them forward. One of the best ways is to consistently use the Master Task List. Check it out HERE.

 

S – Schedule Ahead

Here is your chance to give your tomorrow a head start by listing what a possible plan may be tomorrow while today is fresh in your mind.

After you’ve looked back at your day and then found the open issues, you could create a rough draft of a plan for the next day.

Sometimes we don’t plan because we feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to even begin. But what if we took care of that the day before by closing shop?

Give your next day a chance by having a soft game plan to work from the moment you walk in the door.

 

E – Explore the Wins

Most of the time we just cannot wait to leave the office and have something that bothered us within our day follow us all the way home.

But what if we found the good in the day and celebrated the positive? There is almost always little wins throughout the day but we often never reflect and celebrate the win.

It may be as simple as feeling good about completing your Most Important Tasks or nailing a presentation.

Explore the wins within your day and leave finding and celebrating the good you accomplished.

 

Closing Challenge…

Ending your day is one of the best ways to increase your tomorrow’s success.

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Hopefully by now you see the benefit in Closing Shop at the end of your day. Now it’s a matter of taking these ideas and implementing them within your day.

Motivated professionals who want to reach their full potential need to find small tweaks that produce major results. And Closing Shop is one that could make a huge difference in the quality of your next day.

I challenge you to begin by carving your last five minutes of today to implement …

Clean Your Area

Look Back

Open Issues

Schedule Ahead

Explore the Wins

 

Closing Question…

What do you feel will be the most effective of the five Closing Shop action items for you?

 

 

 

 

 

Why Batching Tasks May Be Your Next Productivity Secret Weapon

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Why Batching Tasks May Be Your Next Productivity Secret Weapon

 

Rich approaches his day without an approach. He has a ton to do every single day and wonders why he doesn’t get more accomplished.

He’s busy all day and very busy compared to most around him. But busy simply doesn’t mean productive.

Rich’s approach is no different than a majority of people in the corporate world.

They’re skilled reactors.

Here is the process of a reactor: working on a project or important task then…

  • An email alert comes on to the screen and you choose to respond and you begin checking other emails
  • Then the phone rings and you answer it and the call takes longer than you planned
  • You choose, just for a minute, to look on LinkedIn that leads to clicking on links and 20 minutes later…

And this is just the first hour of your day!

Is there another way?

The concept of Batching Tasks is choosing and concentrating on a cluster of similar tasks for a set period of time. But why? 

Why Batch Similar Tasks:

1. Efficiency

Nothing wrecks havoc on your day like inefficiency. Bouncing around stops any type of momentum.

You need to be efficient in how you approach work and randomness is literally the complete opposite of efficiency.

When you batch similar tasks together you dramatically increase your efficiency immediately.

2. Energy

Randomness takes energy. You’re constantly moving from activity to activity. The result is most tasks are not getting completed and often done poorly if completed.

We struggle enough with energy without sabotaging it ourselves with randomness. This is a choice. Conserve your personal energy.

3. Focus

What do you lose when you’re random? Focus.

When you concentrate on one task, you have the ability to focus and are no longer concerned or affected with interruptions. This does an amazing thing for your productivity which means results.

And isn’t results the point at the end of the day?

 

How to Batch Similar Tasks

1. Determine What Can Be Batched

Your day has a ton of repeated activities. We just don’t realize it sometimes. These are immediate candidates for batching.

Three easy tasks to batch:

  • Email – if there is ONLY one batch you ever choose, or the one to start with, choose email. You may need a few within your day but limit your emails to only this batch
  • Phone calls – get into the make or return call rhythm by putting all your calls together during a certain period of time
  • Meetings – schedule on the same day, same time of day, back to back if possible

I’ve personally added organizing / filing / processing to a task that can be batched and reserve a certain time each day to do this important yet batchable task.

You must decide what task you can batch within your day and be confident if you do this activity, you can make forward progress.

 

2. Decide When You Can Batch

You know your schedule better than anyone. You do have time within your day when you can batch tasks especially when you know what tasks you can cluster together.

Consider using this criteria:

When you have availability – your job may have a certain rhythm within any given day. With some thought you can determine when within your day are prime batch times

When you have energy – some activities are simply brainless activity and can be done at any time and use very little mental capacity. (email and organizing / processing / filing can fall under this category)

When you have downtime –certain parts of your day lend to downtime. It may be right after lunch or a few minutes in between activities and these are perfect fillers, if planned ahead of time to maximize this window and see some results

 

3. How Often Can You Batch

Your job may require to lean heavier on a certain task such as emails or phone calls or meetings.

If this is the case, then you may need multiple Time Blocks of batching similar tasks. To read more on Time Blocks, click HERE.

For example, if your job relies heavily on email, you may need to start with a couple times in the morning and a couple of times in the afternoon.

Most use not being able to get everything done in a batch as an excuse. But often it’s simply a matter of adjusting how often you need to batch a certain group of tasks. This is a solvable problem.

 

Question – How Long Should I Batch?

The power comes in the focus on the batching not necessarily the length of your batch. You will get into a rhythm and will pound out those tasks due to the focus.

You will be surprised at how much less time it actually takes when you’re focused and batching then when you randomly answer emails or phone calls.

Over time, you will find your pace and rhythm to know if you need to increase the length and / or the frequency of the batching Time Block.

For example, when I started batching emails or phone calls, I under-estimated the needed time and adjusted from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. When I did this, I found that I didn’t need as many email batch Time Blocks.

I also found that I scheduled too much time for organizing / processing / filing. IF I left a paper trail and stayed focused during this Time Block. I actually needed less time.

 

Closing Challenge…

We desire to be productive but it’s those who choose to make the necessary changes within their day that will begin to see the results.

Randomness can take your productivity to new lows but batching similar tasks is the answer.

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We can pose as productive because we’re busy.

But you know.

I challenge you to determine what tasks can be batched, when you can batch your tasks within your day and how long you will need.

It’s a process. But your productivity will go up and your randomness will go down.

 

Closing Question…

What tasks can you batch within your day and when will you schedule that time?

 

Five Dangers of Desktop Dining That Will Eat Your Productivity for Lunch

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Five Dangers of Desktop Dining That Will Eat Your Productivity for Lunch

 

Hank used to get out and about for his lunch break. He looked forward to just “doing something different” during this coveted hour.

But not anymore.

Now Hank spends his time inhaling his lunch and “pushing through” to be more productive.

Or so he thinks.

What Hank doesn’t realize or wants to admit is that he slowly crashes half way through the afternoon and his overall production actually drops by the end of the day.

Somehow there’s this illusion that you’ll gain more time if you just work through lunch and gain this extra hour within your workday.

 

According to a USA Today article, “only a third of American workers say they take a lunch break, according to a Web survey conducted last year by Right Management, a human resources consulting firm. The survey also found that 65% of workers eat at their desks or don’t take a break at all.”

The Article goes on to say, “CareerBuilder, another employment consultant, found that less than one-fifth of executives surveyed ate lunch at a sit-down restaurant, about 40% take a brown-bag lunch and 17% eat fast food.”

Whoa. Holy Working Through Lunch Epidemic, Batman.

 

There are Five Dangers to Desktop Dining That Will Eat Your Productivity for Lunch

 

1. The Danger of a Lack of Nutrition

If we choose to eat at our desk, usually one of two things will happen:

We’ll eat a less nutritious lunch – we may get lazy and just get something from the vending machine or cafeteria that lacks quality nutrition

We’ll eat too fast – if the food is in the way and just something I need to get over with, I’m more likely to just inhale it and get back to work more quickly

Both are concerning and need to be addressed especially if you associate food with energy and increased focus for the remainder of the afternoon.

 

2. The Danger of a Lack of a Mental Break

We need to clear the mind especially if we’ve had a busy morning. Our minds have been focused and possibly hurried and are in a desperate need of a break.

When you choose to not turn your mind off and push on, you will pay the price in lack of productivity and quality of work in the second half of the day when you need it most. Your focus is fading and your willpower is drained.

Chances are you’re paid to be mentally sharp. So then work smarter. It’s okay to take a break to be more productive in the long run.

Read more on Why Taking a Break Actually Increases Your Productivity HERE.

 

3. The Danger of Not Changing Scenery

It’s amazing what just a different view or temperature or light can do for your productivity.

But if you continue to stay in the same environment the walls will feel like they’re closing in on you. This is not good for your state of mind and begins to wear on you over time.

Don’t let your desk become a cell. Change the scenery while you can. It may be as simple as just walking outside to enjoy the fresh air or at least staring out a window for a few moments. Something. Anything!

 

4. The Danger of Being Anti-Social

If we work in an office or a cube and have little to no interaction through our day, it affects us.

We’re social beings who need some type of interaction even if it’s just for a couple of minutes. And over lunch could be just what you need. Facebook and LinkedIn don’t count, social media fans.

I’m not saying you need to go out to lunch every day but bringing lunch in and eating with someone else or going for a walk with someone can recharge your mind and your spirit.

Calling a friend or just checking in with someone takes our mind off of us and puts it on someone else.

 

5. The Danger of a Lack of Movement

This is a big one. If we’ve been sitting in a chair all day and we finally have an opportunity to move around and we choose to by-pass movement for desktop dining, it will make us sluggish and lethargic.

And the longer we sit, the harder it is to get motivated to get up and move.

Then when you add the chances of a non-nutritious lunch and little to no movement, that is one heavy combination. Pun inserted at no additional charge.

Start combining these dangers and no wonder your productivity drops.

But the same could be true on combining the positives. Go for a walk outside and enjoy the scenery with a friend. This will also give you a mental break. Numerous wins not to mention a sense of feeling renewed for the afternoon and increased productivity.

 

Change of Focus

Our lunch break is a chance to refuel us physically and recharge us mentally. But does it really?

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If you have that mindset, you will choose to eat healthy to give you the energy you need to be highly productive in the afternoon.

And if you value a mental recharge, then you will choose everywhere BUT your desk to have lunch.

When I worked at daily desk job, I chose to take advantage of the corporate park benches for lunch and the path to walk. I would enjoy most of the seasons (living in Chicago) while eating then would listen to an audiobook while walking.

This did absolute wonders for my day. I was not only more productive in the afternoon, I couldn’t wait for this break in my day.

Yet sometimes eating at your desk is unavoidable.

In that case, be aware and make the most of it. Do the following:

  • Be aware of what you’re eating – Choose to eat healthy and slowly. Buy or bring food that will bring you energy for the afternoon.
  • Try and take a few minutes to yourself – Choose to read and go for a short walk to get your body moving and seeing some fresh scenery.

You would be surprised what a short 15 minute break can do for you. And you’ll easily make up the time.

And don’t forget to say hi to “dude” or “man” (since you still don’t know his name).

 

Closing Challenge…

Professionals sometimes care more about appearance of working hard then working smart which actually produces better results.

So I challenge you to the following:

  • Choose Nutrition over convenience in your lunch meal.
  • Step away from the desk and switch mental gears for a while – read something / watch something / listen to something. Just anything but work. For awhile…
  • Change your location and get a different view. You could use the sunlight or see anything but walls and florescent lights.
  • Find someone to talk to for a few minutes and engage in a quality conversation.
  • And at all costs, move! Go for a walk. Do something to get active for a few minutes.

You will be amazed at the increase of productivity and focus the rest of the afternoon. Don’t believe me? Just try it for a week and measure the results for yourself…

 

Closing Question…

How can you make the most of your lunch break to ultimately be more productive?

 

Three Daily Distractions That Can Take Your Productivity Down

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Three Daily Distractions That Can Take Your Productivity Down

 

Keith is a driven professional. Any given day he can be incredibly productive and will leave his office feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Then there are the other days. If there is one singe thing that derails Keith from being productive it’s distractions.

He claims to be a focused person but there are certain distractions that affect him and ultimately his productivity.

It’s easy with today’s technology to mean well in being productive. You’re focused on a project and begin doing some research and the next thing you know you’re checking your LinkedIn or Facebook profile and clicking on YouTube videos.

What just happen? You’ve lost 20 minutes of not only your life but your productivity.

Jermaine Riley once said, “Distractions destroy action. If it’s not moving you towards your purpose, leave it alone.”

I love that quote but it’s another thing to implement those wise words.

The reality is distractions can can simply and quickly take your productivity down.

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Here are Three Daily Distractions That Can Take Your Productivity Down:

 

1. Distracted By What You See

Many of us are visual. It’s almost too much for us to handle seeing certain temptations before our very eyes. It’s like putting a cookie out in front of a child and seeing what he’s going to do.

For example, I cannot have open tabs on the computer when I’m working on a major task. I just HAVE TO CLICK.

But if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. There are concentration apps such as Anti-Social, Focus Booster, or StayFocused. To learn more about these options, check out this LINK for 10 concentration apps suggestions.

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The goal is being present to the task or person at hand. If my phone or iPad is out when I’m with another person, I can be distracted and not give that person my full presence. This is dis-respectful to them and can be avoided.

 

2. Distracted By What You Hear

There are certain sounds that affect me depending upon what I’m doing.

For example, if I’m reading, I don’t do well hearing other people’s conversations. I need either quiet or instrumental music.

If I’m writing an email or brainstorming, I can have office noise or a crowd in Starbucks and I’m just fine.

What you hear will drastically affect your productivity especially if noise is a sensitive issue to you.

Some of us need noise, others it’s paralyzing. How are you distracted by what you hear around you when you’re trying to be productive?

 

3. Distracted By What You Think

I can control what I see and what I hear but what gets me more than any other distraction is what I think.

At any given moment, I can be focused on the task at hand and something pops into my mind. It could be very important or simply a random action item.

My problem is when I let the distraction take me off of the task at hand. I’m learning (still in process on this one) to instantly write it down on a Master List to get it out of my hand and IMMEDIATELY jump right back into what I was doing.

I tried to ignore it and only one of two things happened: it dominated my thoughts because my brain wanted to hold on to it or I would forget what the thought was later that I needed to remember.

Again, the goal is to become fully present to the task at hand and handle the distraction in an effective way.

 

Distraction Attack Plan:

Now that we understand the three daily distractions, we need an attack plan to loosen their grip.

Define – what is distracting you when you work? You probably already know. If not, you can start with social media. Call it out so you can do something about it. Now, I’m not saying you can’t look at it within your day. It’s a matter of if it’s distracting you from something else. We all know the difference.

Minimize – once you define the distraction, begin to minimize its effect on you. Some distractions you simply cannot get away from due to location, environment, etc. But seek to due whatever you can to minimize it now that you’re aware of its hold on you.

Remove – certain distractions can simply and easily be removed. We just need to let go of those guilty pleasures for the purpose of the greater good of productivity. This requires discipline and choosing delayed gratification to further the task at hand than instant gratification and sacrificing the task at hand.

The ultimate goal is FOCUS. Ruthlessly do whatever you can to minimize distractions so you can focus.

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Additional Reading:

10 Critical Tips to Prevent Distraction and Sharpen Your Focus

How to Minimize Distraction to Get Things Done

Top 10 Ways to Defeat Distractions and Get Your Work Done

How Can I Steer Clear of Distractions and FocusWhile I Work?

Closing Challenge…

Productive professionals must learn to define, minimize, and remove distractions to increase productivity. Otherwise we’re just busy and un-productive.

It’s starts with our awareness. Observe what you see, hear, and think that becomes a distraction and affects your productivity. Then ruthlessly seek to minimize and even remove it during your task at hand.

Lastly, seek to remove distractions so you can truly be present with people. For me, I simply need to focus on the person and honor them with my attention.

This is a challenging area for many of us and may you take the challenge for the sake of your productivity.

We want to accomplish BIG things yet it’s the small things that can be the biggest distraction.

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Closing Question…

What distractions on any given day affect you and how can you minimize or remove them for the greater productivity good?