I really appreciate practical approaches for creating meaningful change in my life.
In the last few days, I have gathered some tips from Tony Schwartz author of The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal
My focus this week, moving from the survival zone to thriving in the performance zone.
This is where many of us spend a good portion of our days. I was just a mess yesterday as I spent my morning commuting through Manhattan’s busiest transportation hubs thinking about terrorist threats. I shut off the news immediately and stayed out of the subway.
Letting anger, frustration or fear take control. We don’t normally choose it, most of the time it happens to us. Whether we don’t feel appreciated, valued, respected or recognized, it doesn’t matter. We just can’t really live our best lives in this state.
the performance zone
A place where we feel clarity, freedom and a sense of accomplishment. This is a nice place to be. I like it here.
Robin Sharma recommends starting each day with a 20/20/20 lift off.
20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of journaling (gratitude and thoughts) and 20 minutes of learning.
Tony Schwartz recommends the four following simple ways to living better days.
Physical – sleep more -it’s more important than eating. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier and wake up 30 minutes later. Play around with the time and see how you feel.
Emotional – feeling frustrated? Don’t send that email just yet! Quiet down the body with deep breathing in for a count of three and out for six. Do it slowly for three minutes. This cuts out the flow of cortisol and puts your body and mind into a more relaxed state.
Mental – do the most important thing every morning for 60- 90 minutes (no more) every day. Do the work that will add the greatest value to your life and business first.
Spiritual -remind yourself who you are serving and reconnect to your values. Doing the right thing. Ask yourself everyday How would I behave at my best today?
I am curious, how do you lift off for better days? All practical tips and advice are welcome. Please share!
Of Undisputed Origin 
I use a combination of some of these methods. I start my day quietly, often just lying in bed thinking about the day from an anticipatory point of view – what am I looking forward to? Then after I’m up with a coffee in my hand, I write out what I want to accomplish, and take a look at it: is it realistic? Physical exercise – my daily walk – takes priority. I try to recognize the things that disturb me – for example – yesterday was my day to send out review requests; I hate doing this, so it was putting a bit of a downer on the day. So I do something I really like first, and then that second, to get it out of the way. Then I went for my walk. Structuring my day that way really helps.
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I am in the middle of listening to the audio of The Power of Full Engagement! I am so happy that I found this post because it reminded me I have to finish listening and learning from that. I would like to try the 20/20/20 method and also get into more of a solid, positive routine in the morning. It’s hard to do that when I go to sleep very late and wake up just as tired. But, I am determined to create a new and improved morning routine. It’s all in my control.
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Keep going and don’t stop. Having a routine like this will really help you move in the direction of your goals and keep you focused.
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