Be honest, do you talk to yourself? Here are some things to talk to yourself about:

When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself. - Plato

Thinking can be incredibly hard work, which is why most people probably don't spend a lot of time doing it. Yet proper thinking can launch you in all sorts of directions, if you are willing to sit down first and decide which things are the most important things for you to do. So what should you be "talking to yourself" about?

Prioritizing

Most things in life can be properly accomplished if we simply take the time to figure out which stuff is really the most important things to be doing. Normally, we live in a reactive state, and simply react to situations and emergencies around us. But by thinking about priorities, you can line everything up proactively. While this will not completely eliminate unexpected events, you will be surprised at the amount of accomplishments that become attainable.

Goal setting

Yuk, sounds awful, doesn't it? But setting goals are extremely important to achieving anything, otherwise, what is there to achieve? You should have several long term goals (2-5 years), several mid-range goals (6 months-2 years), and several more immediate goals (now to 6 months). By reviewing these goals on a regular basis, you will begin crafting your life in the direction you would like to see it go.

Ways to positively impact others

If you haven't already heard, the things that really matter involve others in your life, whether that's family relationships, friends, co-workers, customers. (But of course you already knew that because you just spent time getting your priorities straight). What are some ways you can positively impact others? If you try to think of ways ahead of time, you're more likely to do it. Can you give advice? Share inspiration? Help around the house? Volunteer a night once a month? Mentor/teach others on specific skills you have? These are things that have lasting value, and lasting impact on those who are most important to you.

So how does it feel to talk to yourself? (Your own voice sounds weird, doesn't it?) Well, I think you'll find that if you take the time to listen to the voice of your thinking, you have the potential to become very good friends with yourself, and be much more productive.

How to plan to succeed in three simple (but not necessarily easy) steps:

If we have a desire to be successful in anything, be it friendships, family, personal budgets, home maintenance, study and learning, or any other objective, we have to realize there is a measure of planning necessary to achieve progress.

One of the adventurebolt insights that I have recently been able to see immediate benefits of, is an increase in intentional planning, even each day. Over the past few weeks, I have been going in to the office early to just look at tasks that need to be accomplished, prioritize them, and then set them up on a simple checklist to be crossed off as they are done. Simple? Yes. Easy? Not really.

For example, take a few moments to think of what projects you may be wanting to do around the house that you have had in mind for awhile, but never really got around to doing.

1) First, write down all the projects or activities you need to do, as many as you can think of in five minutes.

2) Then, prioritize them according to which one should be accomplished first, second and so on. DON'T make the mistake of prioritizing them according to which ones you would PREFER to start on, as opposed to which ones SHOULD be accomplished first. This is a big lesson in disciplining yourself to do things you don't want to do, but that need to be done anyway. To be fair to yourself, if there is no urgency between several items on your list, then allow yourself to put them in an order you would prefer, but then STICK TO THE LIST.

3) Then, DO NOT MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM UNTIL YOU CAN CROSS OFF THE CURRENT ONE. This is critical. It's so simple, but it can be the most difficult aspect to do. Force yourself to follow this principle. Do not allow yourself to get distracted by lesser issues or interruptions. If you do get off track or interrupted, don't continue with anything else until you go back and finish your current item.

This whole process takes time. There is a measure of planning that should go into each day. If time is more valuable than money (as I have mentioned elsewhere), why do we carelessly "spend" it without any planning? What I like about this insight is that the benefits of this process can be realized immediately, and with continued practice, the benefits increase with each success.

Want to be successful? Here are three principles on being effective in any endeavor:

Effectiveness in any endeavor will typically involve oversight of three main areas:

accurate information, focus, and leverage.

Accurate information

In order for you to be effective in creating any desired result, you must first ensure that the information you are working off of is a) correct and b) as current as possible. This may involve further investigation on your part by talking with other participants, or doing research (either physically or online). Don't let your emotions get in the way at this point. Be sure your research is as objective as possible. Your ability to be effective is directly related to your ability to garner accurate information about the situation at hand. More accurate information = more effective; less accurate = less effective.

Focus

Once you have accurate information, you must focus and distill that information into a workable strategy. The information you have gathered should be inclusive enough to give insights into past conditions, the current condition, and potential future conditions. The focus required is to chart a path from the less desirable past or current condition to the more desirable potential future condition. This focus requires intentional thought and evaluation, but once defined, the focus needs to remain sharp on the plan of action. Continued laser-like focus on the plan is what creates the accountability needed to accomplish the plan. Greater focus = greater effectiveness.

Leverage

Any endeavor requires leverage of some sort to begin and also to keep it moving. Leverage must be provided by you or someone else, or many others. The key to simplicity in effectiveness is to distribute the leverage needed across as many people as possible, thereby lessening the load for any one individual. Some things can only be done by you; however, the larger the endeavor, the greater the possibility that many others will need to be involved. The greater the leverage = the higher the level of effectiveness.

Accomplishing any goal is a great achievement. By following the steps above, you greatly increase your ability to be effective in whatever you intend to do.

Filed under: effectiveness