When we set a goal, we usually set a very lofty one -- we're going to lose 10 lbs, we're going to build a hugely successful company, we're going to run a marathon, we're going to be promoted to CEO one day of this company... all amazing goals to aspire to.
Read MoreGiving yourself time off/away from working is just as important as the work itself. I spent many years working for a company, and have spent many years working for myself or as a contractor/freelancer. What I noticed is when I worked for a company that had a vacation policy, and worked traditionally from Monday to Friday, is that my time off was time off.
Read MoreWhen you're working from home, it's easy to be distracted -- there are so many things that are within reach that can pull you away for minutes, hours, maybe even days. It's easy to think: I'll put on a Netflix show real quick, and watch only one episode. Then that episode ends in a cliffhanger, and you think: well, the next one is autoplaying, so okay I'll watch one more but that's it. Then it keeps going. Before you know it, that one episode of 29 minutes has turned into a 3 or 4 hour binge fest, and you're thinking: wow, where did my day go? Did I actually get anything I wanted done?
Read MoreDay 21 - After 21 days of goal tracking, I'm happy to report that my meditation goal is as sticky as ever -- I'm keeping to the 10 minutes a day, right between my coffee and my walk with my dog. It's been great -- I feel less like it's a decision I make, and more like it's an automatic action I take. That's the magic of a habit -- we do it without much thought, and without having to self-negotiate on whether or not we want to do it.
Read MoreLast week I was able to hit my meditation goal, but I missed my writing and my running goal. That's totally okay -- the fact that I was able to integrate one goal into my daily life and keep that on track is actually a huge win. It leads to today's lesson: it's okay to mess up or miss early on. That's no reason to quit or be frustrated, or say that it's not possible.
Read MoreI started touching on this on day 2 but one of the real secrets to achieving a goal is to turn it into a habit. The secret of a habit is that you already have so many -- you literally don't think about them (consciously) because your brain has them on a kind of autopilot.
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