It may surprise you but the main reason why we get stressed isn’t that we have “too much to do”. For most of us, having too much to do is perfectly fine as long as we know what our priorities are and if we can have a good oerview of our work. Instead, the plague of modern office life is that we have to MANY things to do and that we loose track of it all.

Discover an easy and effective way of managing your work. These simple techniques have been proven time and time again. In essence, the simple secret lies in taking charge of your time.

1. Write it down! I never cease to be amazed by how often stressed out people try to keep all the things they have to do in their heads. Stress is often more about knowing that we have a lot to do but not being able to remember exactly what.

2. Write it ALL down! In order for you to have a to-do list that you can rely on, you must trust that it contains ALL the things you have to do. Otherwise, you will still have a nagging feeling that you may not be focussing on the
right things.

3. Channel interruptions to your to-do list. Interruptions are a part of life so don’t let them stress you. 95% of all interruptions are either very quick so that you can deal with them straight away or something that you can defer to a time when YOU decide.

4. Don’t let your email inbox become your to-do list. Receiving emails can be great fun. Unfortunately, it is also very easy to confuse your inbox with your to-do list. Try to only scan your email inbox once every hour or two
(If you lack the discipline, you can set your email client to do this).

5. You don’t have to do everything! If I had to choose one single reason why people fail with their to-do lists it would have to be that they lack the ability to strike things off it. Things change and so should your to-do list. If you are uncomfortable with deleting tasks, create a “storage” list and move it to that.

6. The Nibble. Let’s face it, some tasks are big, vague and truly and utterly boring. We end up postponing these tasks forever and as a result they never leave our to-do list. Eventually, our list is filled with these types of tasks
and finally we decide not to look at the depressing thing. The trick is “The ibble”. Break the task down into smaller components. Make sure that the first step is takes less than 5 minutes to do. Then take that first step.

7. Not my time of day – Listen to your own rhythm. Let’s face it. Were human, not machines. At times we are productive and at times we are not. I see it as a surfer who times the waves and then rides them to their fullest. Try to find a task management system that let’s you monitor your own “waves”. You will probably find that you know less about yourself than you think you do.

8. Play! Why oh why do all planners and task managers have to look so professional and at the end of the day, so very very boring? Make your work into a game. Set small targets and reward yourself.

Learning a new language is a gratifying enterprise. I’m not going to tell you that it is always easy, but if you go down this road you will not regret it. Motivation often depends on having a clear purpose. The reasons below may help you find the stimulation you need.

Moving to a new country.
Learning the local language will make your integration in the local community a whole lot easier. Maybe many people in your new country speak English. Don’t let that become the excuse not to learn the local language. It will allow you to integrate and connect with the local community in a whole other way. You also demonstrate an involvement and dedication to your new country that will be noticed.

Relatives and friends.
If you are around people who has a different first language from you learning their language will open up a whole new level in your relationship. Learning a language is also learning how to think and feel in a whole different way. Your relationships will change for the better.

At work.
Being able to speak more languages will increase your chances of getting a transfer, finding a new job, getting a promotion or going on business trips. When you work with people who from a different culture speaking their language will grease the skids for partnership and socializing. Maybe you deal with children and older people in you job. Speaking their first language will make their (and your) day a whole lot better.

Travel.
Even if you can get by with English, speaking the local language will change your travel experiences dramatically. Imagine being able to ask locals for restaurant tips, travel away from the tourist crowds, getting to know the locals and being able to read signs. It will really add another dimension to your vacation

Study abroad.
Speaking the local tongue will serve you well, even if the courses are in English. Living in a foreign country is the best way to learn a new language well. Don’t let the opportunity get away. If you spend some time in advance learning the language you can be a part of the social scene from day one.

Get in touch with your roots.
Your family might have spoken a particular language in the past. If you have children you can learn it together as a family project. Once you have some proficiency try contacting relatives in the “old country” and plan a vacation. You will be treated like kings and see parts of the culture that would be otherwise closed to you.

Food.
Let say you enjoy the food or wine of a particular region. Speaking the language will make you a priced guest at any restaurant. If you enjoy making the food yourself all the best cookbooks will be available to you.

Personal development.
Learning a language is a personal challenge. It will also show you that there are different ways to view the world. The structure of your language determines how you think. A second language will offer you a different way to think about the world. You will also view you own culture and language through a new lens.

Whatever reason resonates with you I hope you will take on the challenge of learning a new language. It will be rewarding in more ways than you can think of and open up a larger part of the wold for you. Good luck!

Does your head start to buzz and your eyes start to cross every time you find yourself confronted with another self-help program? I don’t blame you. So many people are on the self-help bandwagon that it has become too difficult and too time-consuming to separate the wheat from the chaff. Consequently, in the interest of sanity, you miss a lot of valuable resources because you toss everything into the trash.

Is there a solution? Yes, there is.

Every industry is full of those who talk in the abstract; that is, they don’t really have a practical knowledge of what they’re selling. Internet Marketing is a prime example. In my forays into this particular world in an attempt to educate myself, I encountered so many people who were only in it for the money. I can’t tell you how many times I have signed up somewhere just to get a glimpse of what they offered only to discover that their sales pitch had more information in it than their product. After a few months of this, I was completely burned out! I began a daily ritual of hitting the trash button every time I saw an email from some affiliate or internet marketer.

Is this the kind of experience you’ve been having with self-help books and programs? Have you tossed the baby out with the bath water rather than spend any more time trying to sort through the mass of products out there? If it is, let me share some ideas with you about what I consider the qualities of self-help programs that can make a difference.

A VALUED RESOURCE:

1. Always presents information in a way that it has value for those who are seeking understanding but who have no background in the field AND it also has value for those who have been involved in the field for a while.

“For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear…” This phrase means that I see and hear different things depending on where I am on my journey. If I read a particular book five years ago and thought it was great, but today my interpretation of the material is vastly different, I am in possession of a valued resource. If I am able to see deeper layers to the work as I grow, it is indeed a valued resource!

2. Discusses things in a practical way. In other words, it relates the information to situations that are common to a lot of people so that I can identify with it.

If the body of a book or program is filled with grandiose examples or the writer/teacher spends most of the time citing cases of those who have been successful with their program, this is not useful information. Someone else’s success is not my success. Their issues and their background are not necessarily the same as mine.

A valued resource gives me the “facts.” It provides all the information I need to make decisions for myself so that I can address the beliefs and attitudes that are dominant in me.

3. Does not use “catch phrases” with no attempt at explaining their significance.

For example, the word “sin” has many connotations depending on the nature of a person’s belief system. If I am to understand what they’re saying, then I need to know how they define their terms. Do they define sin as a black mark on me or as a signal that I am off my path of well-being?

4. Never tries to convince me that my success is just a matter of “doing” certain things.

Doing things in the outer world, like making lists or following a particular regimen, is only one part of the process that effects permanent change in my life. I have to be willing to examine my thoughts and my feelings as well as my actions. You run across some systems that focus almost exclusively on emulating successful people. Nothing wrong with that, unless I never look at myself because I’m always looking at the focus of my attention. When that happens, my success, if it happens, is something I’ve forced into existence. It is not something that I have developed the consciousness for. In other words, something that grew out of my understanding. Consequently, it is on a shaky foundation.

5. Encourages me to think for myself.

Any self-help program that discourages me from thinking for myself, that is, tweaking what I’ve learned to understand myself is suspect. Growth is all about thinking creatively, and I can’t very well do that if I take on the role of parrot!

6. Never promotes itself as the only source of information for my personal growth.

If a self-help program or teacher expects me to accept only what they teach, their teachings are contrary to the underlying principal of personal growth. The underlying principal of personal growth is about my being creative – taking information I receive and embracing it, molding it until it takes me to a new level of experience. To do this, I must be free to explore all ideas that seem pertinent to me. I may choose to explore all the teachings of a particular source because they resonate with me. That’s okay because it is my choice.

7. Never assures me that my life will do a complete turn-around overnight.

Sure, my life is about change, but it is life-long change. It took a long time for me to develop the attitudes or beliefs that I currently hold. Most have become unconscious ways of looking at my life. Do you seriously think this is going to change overnight? Of course, I may be able to force a particular change near term, but the moment I take my attention from it, it will revert to the path of least resistance. So, even though I may have some new experiences right off, it is superficial. Real change comes from working on the underlying causes of my experiences, and that’s a 24/7 job. There are no quick fixes for my life or yours! Anyone who tells me that they can permanently transform my entire life in a few quick and easy steps is totally ignoring 1) the work involved in change and 2) that my life is a journey of change through refinement.

Just as change takes time, so does making decisions about where to invest your energy in terms of your personal growth. Don’t get discouraged or in too big of a hurry. Read about the people presenting the information. Make sure their desire is weighted toward wanting to help you rather than making money. There is absolutely nothing wrong with anyone making a living by helping other people. The difference lies in whether the money is a by-product of helping or the money is their primary motive for presenting the information. Of course, this is not so easy to determine sometimes. If they have a web site, check out their about us page. Google them. If they have podcasts or blogs, go there and check them out. Through all of this, you can get a feeling for the person(s). Trust your instincts!

Copyright 2007 Dannye Williamsen