Life of Matt

Every night, I enact a set of habits I like to call my “Nightly Letting Go”. They’re a set of habits which allow me to let go of all the stress and focus of the day, relax, and be ready and refreshed in the morning.

Why “Nightly Letting Go”

I’m still looking for a better and more grammatically correct name for it, but it gets the idea across well enough.  Sometimes at night I’m tired, I honestly don’t want to spend the time going through a “nightly routine” or even worry about “getting ready for bed”.  However, letting go, that’s something I’m really interested in every night.  By labeling these habits for what they are, I create a sense of purpose and relief when enacting the habits, instead of a sense of monotony, annoyance, or dread.

What Are Your Nightly Letting Go Habits?

My Nightly Letting Go habits (and subsequent tuit rewards) are as follows:

• Brush Teeth (2 Tuits)
• Apply Acne Med (2 Tuits)
• Take Sleeping Meds (2 Tuits)
• Tidy Room (3 Tuits)
• Nightly Review and Planning (4 Tuits)
• Set Alarm Clocks (4 Tuits)
• Read Good Book (4 Tuits)

Why These Habits?

These habits are all habits which allow me to be rid, mentally, physically, and emotionally, all the baggage of the day, and prepare for what’s to come tomorrow.  I make sure that all the habits are relaxing and nothing wakes me up or causes me to be more alert.

Why Write Them Down?

Just as with Daily Renewal habits, it seems silly to record and reward myself for habits which I’m going to be performingg anyway.  However, while many people may not have trouble keeping a nightly routine, I do.  I find it incredibly hard to stick to a set routine before I go to bed, and instead feel like changing it based on how my day went, how tired I am, what I remember to do, and other factors.  While this is to some extent a good thing, I also think it is vital to have a core routine of habits I perform EVERY night, to keep a sense of consistency and stay healthy and on track.  Only once I have that core group that I always perform can I start to custom tailor my routine based on my day.

In addition, by codifying the habits that allow me to let go of my stress, and focus on what’s to come,  I can use them at other times than just at night.  I have found reading a good book and review/planning to be especially helpful in this regard.

What Now?

Have I convinced you that adding your nightly letting go habits to your todo-list is a worthwhile thing to do?  If so, then don’t leave this blog without doing something about it!  Think about the actions you take every night to help yourself let go , and write them out on a nightly letting go checklist.

Have your own nightly letting go habits? Let me know in the comments.

Every morning I enact a set of habits I like to call “Daily Renewal”.  They’re a set of habits which get me refreshed, motivated, and ready to face my day.

Why “Daily Renewal”?

I don’t call it my “morning routine” or “daily habits” because frankly I don’t get inspired by either of these things. Labels fundamentally change the way we think about and interact with the things we label; having morning habits I label as “daily renewal” makes me excited every morning to enact them.  They’re all habits which in different ways allow me to feel as if I’m starting anew, leaving the past behind me

What Are Your Daily Renewal Habits?

My daily renewal habits (and subsequent tuit rewards) are as follows:

• Shower (2 Tuits)
• Brush Teeth (2 Tuits)
• Floss (2 Tuits)
• Deodorant (2 Tuits)
• Shave (3 Tuits)
• Apply Acne Medicine (2 Tuits)
• Read Over Goals and Envision Success (4 Tuits)

Why These Habits?

All of these habits in some way renew my body and spirit.  Showering and shaving I’ve found to be particularly important to feel renewed in the morning, literally and figuratively washing and cutting away the remnants of yesterday.  After getting rid of yesterday, I then look over my goals and begin to look forward, to today.  Some daily renewal habits I would like to add would be eating breakfast, stretching, biking, and listening to some sort of upbeat music.

Why Codify Them? Why Write Them Down?

It seems almost superfluous to write down that I should brush my teeth every morning, isn’t it something I already do anyway?  There are four reasons that I codify my daily renewal habits, and reward myself for them (through the use of tuits).  The first reason is to give myself credit where credit is do.  Oftentimes, I can get down on myself for not completing a task or not working as hard as I could.  However, the truth is, as long as I’m still here, still acting, I have something to be proud of.  By checking off these items from my todo-list, and giving myself tuits for their completion, I’m acknowledging that fact.

The second reason I keep track of these habits is to use them as an early warning system.  Oftentimes, when starting to get off track, these simple little daily renewal habits are the first to go.  If not keeping track and checking them off every single day, it’s easy to stop flossing or looking at my goals every day and not even realize it.  By keeping track, it’s easy to see when I’m slipping, and take the appropriate steps to get back on track.

The third reason I keep track of and codify these habits is for the purposes of momentum.  When starting my day, I’ve often found myself in the past getting all ready for the day then looking ahead and having it be daunting to see all the big tasks ahead I have to do.  By acknowledging all the smaller actions I take as a crucial part of my day, as my “daily renewal”, I no longer have to think of “starting the day”, only of maintaining momentum.

The fourth reason I codify these habits is that they can be useful other times that I feel I need a renewal.  For instance I often feel that I need a renewal before performing a magic show, in order to go on radiant and give the customer an excellent performance.  If I’m feeling less than peak condition, I know that all I have to do is perform a few of the actions on the list and I’ll be renewed.

So What Now?

Have I convinced you that adding your daily renewal habits to your todo-list is a worthwhile thing to do?  If so, then don’t leave this blog without doing something about it!  Think about the actions you take every morning to help renew yourself, and write them out on a daily renewal checklist.  Start giving yourself credit for all that you do in the morning, and check them off every morning as you do them.

Have your own daily renewal habits? Let me know in the comments.

 ”Nobody’s Perfect”.

-Ubiquitous Cliche

Sometimes, I feel like my posts give the impression that I think I’m perfect, that I have all the answers.  But the truth is, I know I suck .

The blog’s subtitle, “From Average to Extraordinary”, applies to my life as much as it does to anybody elses (More about that in a future article), I screw up just as much as everybody else.

This article isn’t about screwing up though, it’s about unscrewing up.  This article is about getting back on track, after you’ve fallen off.  It’s about refocusing.  If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t been posting lately.  Part of that is because I’ve had a lot of other things to do, but part of it’s because I’ve lost sight of my goals.  My series “Becoming the Juggernaut” is all about how to not lose track… but sometimes you do, and when you do, if you’re at all serious about having an extraordinary life, you need to know how to refocus.

I’m no stranger to losing sight of my goals… in fact, it’s what I’ve done my whole life.  But recently, I’ve started to become better at refocusing.  Here, I’ll detail the things that I’m doing to get back on track, and the things that you can do as well:

1. Ask for Help

Self policing is great when you’re feeling motivated and have momentum, but when you’re unmotivated, it’s about effective as communist russia.  By enlisting the help of a third party(or second as the case may be), you can greatly reduce the self motivation problems/.

2. Harness Peer Pressure

This is great content for the blog,  and using personal anecdotes is a great writing technique, but there’s a third reason I’m posting this up on my blog for all the world to see: It Generates Peer Pressure.  Closely related to asking for help, this is more about having other people know what your goals are, and knowing that they expect you to succeed.

3. Take One Small Step

People think that goals are all or nothing.  However, small actions taken consistently can have as just as much effect as a huge single effort.  By commiting to just taking one small step, you can “get the ball rolling” so to speak, and pick up speed as you continue on.  In my case, the small step will be the publishing of this article.

4. Imagine Success

Often, losing focus is a result of losing sight of why you were focusing in the first place.   Take 2 minutes, sit down, and imagine all the wonderful consequences of realizing your goal.

 I’m sitting here, imaging the great opportunities I’ll get from having a popular blog.  Opportunities to meet some of my heroes, possible speaking opportunities, book opportunities, and most of all, KNOWING that for once I’ve followed through on a large goal to completion, and knowing that it’s only the beginning.

And how can I now not take action?

5.  Focus on Values

What do you believe as a person?  What kind of person do you consider yourself to be?

If your goal is a proper goal, that comes directly from your values, then refocusing on your values is a great way to make your goals seem like a no-brainer.

In my case, I believe in making a difference.  I believe that one person can make changes by broadening their influence, and reaching out to others, and I believe that’s what I should do.

So I have two choices.  The first choice is that I can be myself, do what I believe, and accomplish my goal.  The second choice is that I can go against everything I believe in and continue to put tings off, never knowing if I could have succeeded.

Oh wait, that’s only one choice.

6. Make a Plan

Often, losing focus is a result of not knowing what to focus on, because your efforts have been too scattered.  By making a plan, and putting it down on paper (or screen), you can refocus on what’s important, and give new life to your efforts.

I’m going to start posting again on Matt’s Journey, I’ll be posting up my plans again, and making them consistently.  

It’s time to refocus.