Every once in a while do you get an urge to do something that you KNOW you’ll regret later? Maybe something a little ridiculous, or even a LOT ridiculous? My thought is that most of us take life way too seriously and need to enjoy the moment. And this blog, in fact this video in particular, is exactly about one such moment. My friend Pat McIntosh and I wanted to promote our friend and mentor for a book award. In fact he is being considered for the honor of the “Next Top Spiritual Author”. This is a situation where the public goes online and votes for an author.
So Pat and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give ol’ Scott a helping hand! You see, you’ve just got to know that Scott Brandon Hoffman is not like most spiritual book authors. The first thing is he’s a comedian; and a wacky one – just the kind I think RULES! Sure he hangs out with Deepak Chopra, but he also hangs out with Gary Vaynerchuk, and entertainment types in Hollywood… you get the idea.
To get a real idea of Scott, you need to visit http://HumanSuitBook.com and watch his book trailer. Incidentally, while you’re there, vote for him. Really, please vote for him.
So Pat and I decided we’d pull one on Scott. If you just watched the book trailer, you know that one of Scott’s favorite self-descriptions is, “It’s like Oprah and Letterman had a kid”.  So here’s the little video that Pat and I did to promote our buddy. See what you think. And next time you get that inkling to do something ridiculous, go ahead and do it. And if you really want to live on the edge, post it on your blog for the world to see! Here’s the video.
We all need time management help, and if you’re a network marketer struggling to be productive, you’re going to love this. Not long ago my mentor showed me an incredible time management tool that has increased my productivity dramatically and provided me with noticeably more energy to get through the day. What’s so amazing about this technique is its simplicity. It’s so simple I discounted its value, that is, until I tried it. I know this sounds like a lot of build up but I want you to read it and try it for yourselves.
My mentor, Scott Brandon Hoffman, put me on to this technique about three months ago. This technique has allowed me to focus my energy and attention and get my business rolling. It is only right to point out that Scott got this technique from Eben Pagan, the super star of personal and business development. It’s called the 50-10 technique. Here’s how it works.
Most of us sit down at our computer and get engrossed in our work and don’t stop until we are interrupted or we finally get tired. That can be hours if you’re working at home and it’s late at night and there aren’t any interruptions. Have you done this? When I finally stop I’ll often realize that it’s late and I’m tired and I’ve still not finished what I set out to do. This is exactly what the 50-10 technique prevents. The 50-10 technique directs you to work on your task for 50 minutes and at the end of that 50 minutes stop working, get up and completely change your focus and environment for 10 minutes. This physical and mental break is what makes all the difference in your productivity.
During the 10 minutes you should get away from your work environment entirely, get some water and rehydrate. Then step outside and get some fresh air. If you can it’s good to take a quick walk around the block. But you might want to grab a handful of nuts or a healthy snack. Just make sure not to eat sugar because that can mess with your whole system and ruin the productivity. Sometimes when I don’t walk I’ll work on chores, take out the trash or something. The idea here is to change the environmental and metabolic experience so you don’t get stuck in a rut. It’s when you’re in a rut that your productivity begins to decline, slowly enough that you don’t really notice it, until it’s late and you’re still not done with your task.
But wait, there’s more to it. Another part of the increased productivity is the introduction of a starting AND a stopping time. By focusing your energy into a 50 minute block, you get a sense of your time limitations, you start with a completed task in mind, and you can work without worrying about other tasks. In order to free yourself from watching the clock (a source of interruption every time you look up and check the time) you should get a timer. Eben Pagan recommends using an electronic timer. You set it at 50 minutes and an alarm sounds when the 50 minutes has passed.  That way you can free your mind to your task completely with the knowledge that all you have to do is complete the task, or that portion of the task, that you set out to accomplish.
I hope this time management help improves your productivity like it did for me. Oh, I’ve got to wrap up this piece now because my alarm is about to go off. I hope you’ll let me know if this technique helps you by commenting. Good luck with it.
