sharppodcast

Episode 34 - We start a series of episodes on managing your time and priorities even better. This time, we're looking at a simple way of reducing the amount on your plate in the first place: Saying 'No'.

Some of the USEFUL stuff in there is:



• Who Evette Huntley Flindt was
• Why we're interested in her firstborn son
• What he says about choices
• Why it's sometimes easier to say 'YES'
• Kenny Nguyen, CEO of Big Fish Presentations, and why he thinks we should consider 'NO'
• His video about it from the TED stage
• An article by Kristin Wong in the New York Times - May 2017 on the subject
• Carl Richards also has a view in this article from 2016
• Leo Babauta writes great things about goals, habits, simplifying and productivity
• His blog, which has been listed by Time magazine in their best of top 25 blogs - Zen Habits 
• The article Leo wrote - The Gentle Art Of Saying No
• The headlines (but we really recommend you read the article)
• Value your time
• Know your priorities
• Practice saying no
• Don’t apologize
• Stop being nice
• Say no to your boss
• Pre-empting
• I'll get back to you
• Maybe later
• It’s not you; it’s me
• The question you should ask every time: "Why should I say no?"

Episode 33 - We go on a journey from modern-day Manchester to 1980s Rome and learn how you can solve YOUR procrastination problems.

Some of the USEFUL stuff in there is:



• Who on earth is Bradley Griffin
• Why is he in Starbucks? (The clue is that the episode is about procrastination)
• What that's got to do with 1980s Italy
• How a student there had some problems, and why it matters to you how he solved them
• The Pomodoro Technique
• An introduction video from the Cirillo Company 
• The basic steps:
• Step 1 - Get the tools: a timer, a piece of paper, and a pencil
• Step 2 - Turn off distractions, and be clear on what piece of work you're going to do
• Step 3- Set the timer for 25 minutes
• Step 4 - Start working, really focus, and just work. During the 25 minutes, if something comes up that could distract you, make a note of it on the piece of paper and carry on working
• Step 5 - When the timer goes off, step away from your work
• Find out more from Cirillo Company on the technique
• What Lisa and I think about it
• The more advanced elements
• The original book - the link to purchase the original is here
• A cool YouTube video by Francesco D'Alessio on apps you can use
• If I'm not somewhere that I can use a 'tomato timer', my go-to Pomodoro App is Tide

Episode 32 - We solve the problem of getting stuck and not seeing things through to the end. The answer is not only simple but can give you the best of both worlds.

Some of the USEFUL stuff in there is:



• What happens in our heads when we get stuck on things
• An article from Inc.com which refers to a Princeton Study
• Why it's the same as making a choice between 'cake now' or 'broccoli later'
• How this may explain why we get distracted and don't finish stuff
• The 3 SHARP solutions:
• 1) Giving yourself rewards with intention
• 155 ways to reward yourself - the article is here
• 2) Social Accountability
• Getting outside of your comfort zone by being accountable to others
• A good article by Do The Things with some ideas
• Joining a Mastermind Group - here's some resource
• Finding a coach
• Meet Up, where you can join like-minded people
• Apps to improve your fitness regime
• Fitbit - you can join up with friends to compare activity
• Strava - where you can compare runs or cycle routes with others
• Pumpup - where you can track progress, post your success, and get a coach
• 3) Gamification
• Why the gaming industry is so huge
• How the quality of games can help us with 'work' stuff
• Yu-Kai Chou's talk on what gamification is
• How you're already doing 'gamification' even if you don't realise it
• Why we need to stop thinking about 'work' and 'play' differently - according to Janaki Kumar
• A great article from Trello featuring:
• Using 2 dice and a bit of paper to reward yourself
• A 'gamified' version of Social Accountability to punish your pal!
• We talked earlier before SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY: but this is a gamified version called WILL YOU PUNISH YOUR BUDDY?
• Using Apps to take gamification further if you want to
• Yu-Kai's useful article on the top 10 gamified productivity apps - including:
• Super Better
• Todoist Karma - which ranks your performance on to-doist
• Epic Win
• Habitica

Episode 31 - In a bid to live up to our aim of 'not taking ourselves too seriously', our last episode of the year features the best (worst) of our wannabe roving reporter - Steve In The Field. Fortunately, the episode was hosted by Steve In The Studio, so there is SOME normality.

Some of the USEFUL stuff in there is:

• One thing - shall we keep him? Tell us in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook 

Episode 30- In this episode, we help you prepare for a sharper new YOU for next year by revisiting the subject of routines. We've produced a compilation episode on the subject, with all the really useful stuff from episodes 12 and 13.

If you'd like to listen to the FULL episodes, the links are here:



• Episode 12 (Hello Good Morning), where we cover:
• Why you should think about your morning routine
• Planning to plan from a personal perspective
• Having a morning routine isn't just for people running multi-million-pound operations
• But if they do it - why shouldn't you?
• I've done the research in places like Success magazine, Forbes, Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, David Allen and so on, so you don't have to. Here are some articles for further reading:
• (Success link removed as article has since been taken down)
• FastCompany - The morning routines of the most successful people
• Forbes - Routines of 7 successful but human millennial entrepreneurs
• What my morning routine is - and why I do it
• Circadian rhythms and - why they make you feel like you do
• Your alarm is a conflict, but you can make it work for you
• Why I get up at 4:50, and why you should get up at 6:37
• Laugh, smile - do it FIRST
• The psychology of smiling
• Water water everywhere - get it inside you
• Run for your life - why some exercise every day is a good idea
• Oy - YOU! (time)
• Get cold - If it's good enough for Tim Ferris and Tony Robbins, it's good enough for us
• What 30 seconds in a cold shower tells you about taking things for granted
• The 6 steps:
• Alarm - set it with intention, don't snooze
• Laugh - look in the mirror, laugh or smile at yourself; I promise you, it's funny and good
• Water - half a litre, 16 ounces re-hydrate quickly after you've woken up
• Activity - walk outside, gym, run - whatever works for you
• You time - 10 minutes of meditation, yoga, or just taking 10 to stop and think about what you want to do today
• Shower - cold blast, 30 seconds at the end.
• Episode 13 (Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me), where we cover:

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• How your 'start of day' and your 'end of day' routine support each other and support you getting stuff done
• Why Forbes.com say how you end your day is critical - in this article
• Michael Hyatt says, "The right activities before you sleep can set you up for success the next day" in this article
• The two groups of 'end of day' routines - the workday one and the dayday one
• Why it's even more important to have a defined end-of-day process if you do work which doesn't have its own clear end to each day
• THE END OF WORKDAY ROUTINE:
• A great template for a 7-step routine from todoist.com - the full article is here
• 1. Clean up your physical and digital workspace
• 2. Review your to-done’s
• 3. Write out tomorrow’s to-do list
• 4. Set yourself up to “Eat Your Frog” first thing in the morning
• 5. Confront the things you’ve been putting off. (Break them down and choose one 'next step' for tomorrow)
• 6. Set a time to end your workday and stick to it
• 7. End on a high note:
• Forgive yourself
• Show gratitude
• Do someone a favour
• My personal end of workday routine (from 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction and Get the Right Things Done) looks like this:
• Spend 5 minutes asking yourself these key questions:
• How did my day go? What went well? What were my challenges?
• What did I learn today? About myself? About others? What do I plan to do - differently or the same tomorrow?
• Who did I interact with? Anyone, I need to update? Thank? Ask a question? Share feedback with?
• THE END OF DAY (DAY) ROUTINE:
• Set a 'turn off your screen' time - and stick to it
• What Scientific American say about - using screens before bedtime
• Coffee - did you know it has a 'half-life'? - The effect of caffeine on sleep
• Wind-down time, take it seriously
• Take the time to work out how long you need to start your wind-down process. Mine is 45 minutes between starting and going to sleep
• Journal. Take time in your wind-down space to write down:
• What went well for you today
• What you learned today which developed you or improved something
• Three things you appreciate or are grateful for. The more basic, the better