Tag Archives: goalachieving

Nov 19 2014
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100 things to do besides Facebook

warning

Facebook should come with a warning.

My name is Marjorie, and I’m addicted to Facebook. It’s a true story. I can get sucked into social media better than just about anyone I know. Not a good thing when you have big goals you are trying to reach. Especially not a good thing when you tout the benefits of “living intentionally” like here, here, and even here.

But, alas, I am human. I have my vices. And I recognize some are more detrimental than others. While Facebook isn’t harming me or anyone else directly, it certainly does very little to help me reach my dreams. And if I am being honest with myself, what starts out as a genuine interest in sharing something with family or checking out what my friends are up to, often leads to rabbit trails of frustration, irritation, and general feelings of meh.

meh

Maybe what gives you feelings of meh isn’t social media, maybe it’s television, or video games, or binge-watching Scandal; whatever it is, you know it isn’t contributing to your best self.

What’s weird is I don’t believe we intentionally choose these things but they sort of choose us in the space that is devoid of a better choice—or plan.

So, here I give you my better plan of 100 things that I can do besides Facebook that all point me in the direction of certain goals or things that give me feelings of the-opposite-of-meh. Some, you will see, are super-basic. I’m okay with that—we are not trying to synthesize a new stable super-heavy element. The goal is to build momentum—positive momentum—toward the things that we want and away from the things that don’t serve us.

Each of these things (with only a couple exceptions) is designed to be doable in about five minutes—not-so-coincidentally the amount of time I am bored before I make a default-decision to “just see what’s happening on Facebook”…and 45 minutes later.

They are also designed to be done in many different places and under different circumstances. Sometimes boredom occurs while sitting in my car because I have five minutes between appointments; sometimes while unwinding at home after a full-day of training; sometimes during weekends with no particular plans.

Because of this, I want a Facebook alternative for any time, any place. And, before you ask, ya, many of these I already just do, but the idea is to have a go-to plan to replace the default plan.

Following is my list, what would you add?

100 things to do besides Facebook:

Health/Fitness

  • squats
  • lunges
  • plank
  • push-ups
  • dips
  • jumping jacks
  • downward dog
  • run in place or on treadmill
  • burpees
  • mountain climbers
  • walk dog
  • drink a big glass of water
  • sit outside getting vitamin D

Professional/Intellectual

  • write an article
  • update website speaking schedule
  • make a meme
  • clean up laptop desktop
  • send LinkedIn emails to 15 weekly contacts
  • read a book
  • peruse inc.com
  • teamroom (internal website)
  • corporate website
  • Sudoku puzzle
  • solitaire
  • audio book from collection
  • email a connection to say “hi”

Spiritual

  • buy a snack for a homeless person
  • pray for someone or something besides self
  • lighthouse cd
  • rosary
  • daily mass readings
  • go to confession
  • sit inside church
  • write 20 things for which I’m thankful
  • listen to music

Family

  • play a game with Smoochy (my adorable, hysterical, whimsical five year old)
  • read to Smoochy
  • crafts with Smoochy
  • push Smoochy on the swing
  • help Smoochy with letters
  • help Smoochy with numbers
  • talk to husband (novel idea, huh?)
  • text mom
  • call mom
  • start dinner
  • call Grams and Gramps
  • write a letter to Grams and Gramps
  • help smooch draw a picture or write a letter to someone

Organizational

  • change out hand towels
  • get groceries
  • fill up gas tank
  • pay bills
  • balance checkbook
  • clean chicken coop
  • sweep kitchen floor
  • put away dishes
  • throw in a load of laundry
  • fold a load of laundry
  • put away a load/pile of laundry
  • dust living room
  • find one bag of stuff to donate
  • organize one bin in garage
  • walk down the driveway to get mail (1/10th of the mile each way, this is an event, folks!)
  • clean the toilets
  • clean the sinks
  • clean the microwave
  • organize my desk
  • work on taxes
  • clean stovetop
  • refill toilet paper rolls in bathroom
  • change sheets
  • empty trash baskets
  • brush the dog
  • shark the floors
  • vacuum playroom
  • vacuum bedroom
  • vacuum living room
  • vacuum the formal room
  • sort/review mail on counter
  • make tomorrow’s lunch
  • pick out tomorrow’s outfit
  • clean closet
  • clean bathtub
  • clean shower
  • change front door wreath
  • put away seasonal decorations
  • fill up chicken food
  • change chicken water
    …Seriously. Why is this category so long?! Ugh.

Personal

  • visualize dreams
  • write out my goals and “why”s
  • make deodorant
  • make toothpaste
  • make laundry soap (I like to make natural products; don’t hate the playa, hate the game)
  • make seasonal craft
  • sewing project
  • cut some flowers
  • weed the rose beds
  • water indoor plants
  • water outdoor gardens
  • make some tea
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Jan 27 2014
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Success by Osmosis

garfield_osmosisI remember this Garfield poster hanging on my fifth-grade classroom wall. Garfield had books roped around his head and he was attempting to learn by osmosis—a concept for which I ached to be true. It was a joke of course because, you can’t learn by osmosis. Or can you?

First of all, do you remember the fifth-grade science concept of osmosis?

Technically: a process by which molecules of a solvent tend to pass through a semi-permeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one, thus equalizing the concentrations on each side of the membrane.

Or, less technically: what is denser will fill what is less dense until both parts are of equal density.

Consider your goal (basically a goal is something you are learning to do, how to earn or how to become, right?). Now consider what forces are in a sense pulling you away from, or pulling you toward, your goal.

Are there people in your life that are naysayers, doubters, and Debbie-downers pulling you away from the achievement of your goal? Or are you surrounded by people who are cheerleaders, accountability partners, and challengers lifting you toward it?

Are you using the time in your car to listen to music and commercials which distract you from your plan? Or are you listening to motivational, educational and inspirational CDs and books?

Are you socializing too frequently without purpose? Or are you mentoring someone or being mentored?

Do you read books and magazines that are helping you reach your goal? Or do you solely read your Facebook newsfeed for hours on end and get sucked into the black hole of social media negativity?

Is your TV blaring from the moment you get home from work until the moment you go to bed? Or do you have partake in something like a Power Hour where you are actively and purposefully building momentum toward the achievement of your goal?

Hear me clearly that none of these things alone is bad: music, socializing with friends, fiction-reading, social media, etc.

Where we tend to run into problems, however, is when we let these time- and energy-sucking activities control us rather than controlling them. We can easily get sidetracked from our goals when we allow these things to creep into our lives like the proverbial frog slowly boiling to death as the pot of water heats up.We don’t even notice being distracted and ruined by them, it just happens a little more at a time.

In my five steps to goal achieving, step number four is to live intentionally (you can listen to the audio here). In doing this, we can use some of our vices as rewards, or we can insert these activities into our day in a controlled fashion. It’s not necessarily how you choose to do this, just that you do.

I like to tell people that the degree to which you lives intentionally is the degree to which you will achieve success.

If a person chooses to partake in time-wasting activities that slowly begin to control his precious time he risks losing his drive and determination. In choosing to be surrounded by success-draining individuals he forgoes the very creativity that inspired the goal in the first place and the energy to persistently attack it. In effect, he will have failed by osmosis.

However, if a person makes a concerted effort to be surrounded by other successful people, immerse himself in his goal, and live intentionally, he will effectively influence his success—through osmosis.

Garfield may have been missed the mark, albeit humorously, trying to tie books to his head.  But he wasn’t so far off by suggesting that what we let surround us does indeed impact us—whether or not we notice it.

On that note, ask yourself if who and what you surround yourself with is helping to create the more successful you or is it stealing your goals from you bit by bit? Ask what else you could add to your day or week to increase success by osmosis?

 

[Author’s note: this is in no way to say that just by being surrounded by successful people and reading goal-related books one will become successful. Action is absolutely required. However, by doing the aforementioned activities, action becomes easier and more likely; creativity and motivation more freely flow.]

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