The Running 2 Keep Up Podcast

When we have so much on our plates, it can be difficult for us to get to our most important tasks. We get lost in the weeds. It can be almost impossible for us to see what our most important tasks are. Which are the tasks that are going to give us the biggest impact? The biggest bang for our buck? How do you avoid the resistance of getting to your most valuable tasks?    Access the full transcript and MP3 version of this video at https://blog.running2keepup.com/post/how-to-eliminate-any-resistance-to-getting-your-most-valuable-work-done Sign up to get access to your free weekly book summaries https://readitforme.running2keepup.com  Checkout all the tools your online business needs at GrooveDigital https://go.adventuresin.marketing/groove  When I heard Brendon Burchard say recently that the highest performers he worked with didn't have task lists, they just used Time Blocking to direct their efforts, I decided to give it a go. I realised very quickly though that I still needed my task lists. And the overwhelm I had been feeling was because I needed to assess my priorities from a higher perspective.   Beyond next actions and projects, we have a higher set of responsibilities. These are things that are never completed, but things that we will be held accountable for in our lives and work. "Be a good parent"; "Grow Sales"; "Build the social media following".   When we define these clearly, we can use them to block out time to focus on them, they help to drive our prioritisation, but still with our Projects and Next Actions lists as bookmarks to remind us where we got to and what our next actions should be. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

There are 3 phases to overcoming the procrastination spiral that our perfectionism can walk us into. Access the full transcript and download the MP3 version for free at https://blog.running2keepup.com/post/ Get your weekly free access to 3 personal development book summaries at https://readitforme.running2keepup.com First, we have to commit to imperfect action. We need to launch our project before we believe it is ready. We have to be committed to that idea, otherwise our perfectionism will hate what we launch. But launch we must, and we have to be open to feedback from someone whose opinion we value and trust. Without that feedback, we cannot move to phase 2. Phase 2 is iteration. This is where we can let our perfectionism reign. We launched something that we knew wasn't perfect. We got some feedback. That's okay- that's what we asked for. And now we can polish, now we can hone, now we can iterate. Not on everything we see as imperfect, just on those things for which we got feedback. Now we have created our polished jewel of a project. We have something we can be proud of. We got feedback and we iterated. We're safe. We can promote our project with confidence, gusto even. This is phase 3 and our reward for carefully navigating and managing our perfectionism through phases 1 and 2. And because we did phases 1 and 2, phase 3 is nothing to fear. It is all joy. And not a little relief. #personaldevelopment #procrastination #perfectionism #perfectionist #productivity --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

Do you have a stack of Personal Development books next to your bed? Maybe you have them queued up on your Kindle or in Audible? You're facing challenges in your work and life, and you suspect there might be solutions buried in those books, but you can never seem to get to them? Sign up to get access to your free book summaries https://readitforme.running2keepup.com Access the full transcript and MP3 version of this video at https://blog.running2keepup.com/post/access-3-free-personal-development-book-summaries-every-week I've got you covered! I have partnered with ReadItFor.Me to bring you 3 of their best book summaries for free every week. ReadItFor.Me is the number book summary service aimed at busy executives and entrepreneurs. They have a library of hundreds of personal development classics that they have distilled down into 10-15 minute videos and audio files. So for the investment of 45 minutes each week I can share with you, for free, the wisdom of 3 of the best personal development books out there. Sign up to the alerts and I will share with you each week which book summaries we have available and where to find them. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

It is a calculation I have been doing pretty much every night since I was a teenager. It is a calculation that has tyrannised my life since then. It has left me exhausted and feeling like I have less time in my life for the things that give me joy. And I have decided to enough is enough.   Get access to the full transcript and download the MP3 at https://Running2KeepUp.GrooveBlog.com Access Andrew's "Productivity Perspectives" at https://www.subscribepage.com/Running2KeepUp Read the original Medium article at https://medium.com/running-2-keep-up/take-control-of-your-sleep-to-find-more-joy-in-your-life-ad36c6a931b2?sk=48bd90c45cc1d295f7c866e7eeb8e0e4 Checkout GrooveFunnels at https://go.adventuresin.marketing/groove  What is this calculation? It is the one where you go to bed and then think about what time you need to rise. You figure out what time you need to leave the house tomorrow, subtract an hour and then set the alarm. This calculation takes no heed of how much sleep you need. It pays no attention to comfort and relaxation in the morning. It sets you up for a headlong rush to the door in the morning.   Because we are not paying attention to how much sleep we need, we are progressively getting deeper and deeper into sleep debt. We keep going until we crash and burn. Instead we should be engineering our sleep patterns to not only get us the optimum amount of sleep we need, but also to carve time for the the things that bring us joy.  Whatever that joy is for you- writing, creating, family, breathing space- you can find more of it by planning your sleep patterns, controlling them rather than letting them control you. Lockdown has meant I have slipped back into old habits, but I am committing to getting back into control and finding more joy in my world as a result. Who's with me? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

Do you want to say goodbye to procrastination? Do you want to be the most productive and efficient version of you that you can be? Do you want to eliminate friction from your life and work? Of course you do. Who's going to say no to any of those things?    Get access to the full transcript and download the MP3 at https://www.running2keepup.net/blog/decoded-avoiding-procrastination-for-productivity-seekers Access Andrew's "Productivity Perspectives" at https://www.subscribepage.com/Running2KeepUp Read the original Medium article at https://medium.com/running-2-keep-up/decoded-avoiding-procrastination-for-productivity-seekers-c4f6b89bfb6b?sk=8202bdc6a641806222e101bc622a37ac Checkout GrooveFunnels at https://go.adventuresin.marketing/groove  If you, like me, are prone to procrastination then you know that you have to vigilant, to be alive to the possibility of procrastination sneaking up on you and taking something you need to get done off your hands.  Recently I spotted a new way I had been procrastinating- I wonder if you can relate?  I had began using a prefix "R&D such and such" on my task lists. This might have been okay if I only used this for things that had little or no importance, for things where it didn't matter if I did them or not.  But I was using this R&D prefix on my lists as a way to postpone the thinking about projects I needed to get done. Rather than doing the thinking at the point I added one of these things to my list, I put it off and buried that thing out of sight and out of mind as a result. Procrastination.  Procrastination is something we do when we're unsure about the thing that needs to be done. Postponing the thinking about that thing is procrastination. Don't hide from the thinking. Do it as soon as you can. Only then will you keep procrastination at bay. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

Do you want a way to consistently avoid making mistakes? And would you like to suffer from less overwhelm at the same time? If both of those things sound like something you need, I think I've got a book for you that's going to help. See the full transcript and access the MP3 for free at ​http://www.running2keepup.net/blog/the-running2keepup-personal-development-book-club-the-checklist-manifesto-by-atul-gawande Access Andrew's "Productivity Perspectives" at https://www.subscribepage.com/Running2KeepUp​ Check out GrooveFuunels at https://go.adventuresin.marketing/groove Welcome to the latest episode of the Running2KeepUp Personal Development Book Club where I am reviewing Atul Gawande's classic The Checklist Manifesto. This is a joyful and easy read with an incredibly tantalising message: that well structured, thoughtful checklists can help us eliminate mistakes from our processes. And do that in an easy and stress free way. There are plenty of real world examples of where such checklists have had incredible impact. From surgery to high finance, from airline pilots to the adoption of regular hand washing in one of the poorest communities in the world, you will be left with the startlingly simple idea that checklists could be the tool that you have been missing. I challenge you to go and find some aspect of your world where a checklist could make the difference, taking you from average to exceptional performance. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

Collaboration is often born out of serendipity- we weren't looking for a partner in this project, but suddenly there they were and we started working together, supporting each other. One of the problems with lockdown life, working from home, working remotely is that these opportunities for serendipitous engagements are lost to us. Sure we have Zoom and Teams and Webex, but they are glorified phone calls, usually with a clearly defined purpose to respect everyone's time. Have we forgotten how to collaborate?   Get access to the full transcript and download the MP3 at https://www.running2keepup.net/blog/collaboration-and-the-ballad-of-the-lockdown-haircut Access Andrew's Effectiveness Triangle at https://www.subscribepage.com/Running2KeepUp Checkout GrooveFunnels at http://go.adventuresin.marketing/groove Read the original Medium article: https://medium.com/running-2-keep-up/the-ballad-of-the-lockdown-haircut-8c491ebac7f1?sk=49589273b8ee666922079e028645902f  During the first UK lockdown I had a webinar to deliver and unruly hair due to the closure of barbers shops across the country. I was going to have to take matters into my own hands... which I did, rejecting multiple offers of help along the way. It was only after accidentally shaving a bald spot into the top of my hair that I remembered how I can't do everything alone, how important collaboration is in all we do (and attempt to do!).  When we are all working remotely, respecting everyone's time and privacy are important, but so is checking in with members of your team just for the sake of it. Out of the blue. Not at a pre-agreed time with a pre-circulated agenda. Serendipitous engagement breeds collaboration. And may remind us we need help to cut our own hair... Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

Access the full transcript of this episode at https://www.running2keepup.net/blog/4-steps-to-turn-any-problem-into-a-project Get access to Andrew's Effectiveness Triangle at https://www.subscribepage.com/Running2KeepUp Checkout GrooveFunnels at http://go.advetnuresin.marketing/groove Have you ever had a problem you just couldn't shake? That nagged away at you, but you didn't know how to resolve it? Where to start even? You were probably irritable, not sleeping, cross with the people you love and that love you? I wonder if you've ever just buried your head in the sand in that situation? Burying my head in the sand in a situation like this cost me my job a few years back. I vowed then not to be a victim to this kind of thing again. I came up with a framework to allow me (and anyone else who applies it) to turn any problem into a project that can be worked on and achieved, the problem resolved as a result. First define your problem. These things can be subtle. We can be experiencing the irritability, sleeplessness, snappiness without really having acknowledged the problem at all. So name the problem, label it. Now you have something you can work on. Second: what will resolved look like? Be very clear and prescriptive about what will have to occur for you to mark this thing as done, what will the situation be like when this thing will no longer be on your mind? Now make a plan. How are you going to get from here to there? What obstacles might you face on the way? And how will you deal with those obstacles should they arise? Planning is going to be key to your success. The fourth step is you must review your progress against your plan once a week. This will keep you on track, allow you to see where the plan was flawed, course correct accordingly. You must review your progress often whether you have made fantastic progress or none at all. Reviewing is critical to your success. And now you are done. The problem is off your mind, off your agenda, and you can get on with your life just as it should be... Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

Access the full transcript of this episode at https://www.running2keepup.net/blog/3-steps-to-bring-your-goals-into-razor-sharp-focus Get access to Andrew’s “Productivity Perspectives” at https://www.subscribepage.com/Running2KeepUp Checkout GrooveFunnels at http://go.adventuresin.marketing/groove Ever had a goal that you were committed to, excited about, just ebb away overtime? Eventually you just moved onto other things and left that idea for dead? Imagine how much further forward in your life you could be if you had achieved those aborted goals. The problem is not in your goal setting ability. The problem is in your execution of that goal- how you are trying to achieve it. My 3 step framework for keeping you goals in razor sharp focus: Give your goal flesh. Make it real. Define a clear outcome- what will it look like when you can mark this goal as done? Learn Italian is too open ended, you must define and endpoint. Get GCSE in Italian (or the equivalent in your country) is much more clear. Make a plan. In writing. How are you going to get from here to there? Start at your desired outcome and work backwards- create a cascade of intention. I want X, so I need to do Y. To achieve Y I need to complete Z. Plan how you will deal with any roadblocks you can foresee. Review regularly. Once a week. No excuses. This simple habit will keep you on track, true to your purest intention and on the path you carefully defined for yourself. Go and be all you can be. Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message

Access the full transcript of this episode at https://www.running2keepup.net/blog/how-to-press-reset-on-your-goals-and-reclaim-2020 Get access to Andrew’s “Productivity Perspectives” at https://www.subscribepage.com/Running2KeepUp 2020 has been an extraordinary year by any measure. And perhaps you, like me feel that you have just been reacting to what has been going on? Perhaps the goals you set for yourself at the start of the year have fallen by the wayside? This framework will allow you to reset your goals and intentions for the rest of the year and help you reclaim 2020. First we need an inventory of everything that is on our plate. It is hard to give ourselves new things to do with confidence when we don’t have a clear picture of our current commitments. Now we need to define our goals. They might be the same as we set at the outset of the year, but more likely our intentions have changed. We can use the CARVE framework to put real definition around our goals. Every goal needs Clarity, Ambition, Regular Review, Velocity and Energy. We need to break our goal into the 5 Major Moves we will work on. And having defined those moves we can develop projects and next actions in each of those areas to keep each one moving forward. And we need to review our progress weekly, not only to keep us on track, but also to let us know when it is time to hit reset again. Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/running-2-keep-up/message