Distractions are everywhere. Lately, after binge watching a television show and suffering with a headache for two days, I realized I am way overstimulated. Between social media updates, screens, earbuds and everything we really need to do in a day, you’re probably distracted, too. Too much input is coming at your eyes and ears. Time to slow down and dump the distractions.
On today’s podcast:
Figure out what’s important and what’s a distraction.
Dump the distraction.
Focus on what’s important.
Bonus: A word on what clutter does to us.
Clutter gets in the way, figuratively and literally. Since we revamped out living space, the place looks and feel cleaner and if somebody misplaces a cell phone, there are fewer places to search. It’s time to stop wasting time searching for your keys, your files and anything else. Imagine your living space is a ship. Everything has its place. Stuff gets filed. Do that and you’ll stop losing time (and be able to walk in a straight line.)
Little stresses add up
In my book, Do the Thing, I teach many stress management techniques. The irony is that we are often equipped for big stresses. We get a lot of support for the big events which challenge us. However, for the little stresses, we are often on our own. Little stresses are anything that bugs you long-term that irks you on a regular basis: the kitchen drawer that’s off its track, getting help cleaning up, shoveling the driveway, sorting the recycling. Help is on the way.
There’s lots more in Do the Thing, but first I’d suggest getting organized by doing small, regular maintenance tasks as you see them. It’s called swooping. When tasks are not allowed to build up, you don’t have to deal with too much at once. For instance, wash one plate right away instead of letting two day’s worth of plates sit in the sink. Also, get help, outsource and/or assign tasks (whatever best fits your living situation.)
Find more stress management techniques in Do the Thing by Robert Chute.
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Click the links at AllThatChazz.com to my books of science fiction, crime thrillers and This Plague of Days, my zombie apocalypse series.
Thanks for listening to The All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast. Now go do the thing!
Track what you’re doing to become more productive. On this podcast, I want to warn you about people who do INTENSITY wrong (by going all caps, pushing hard and never touching the brakes. We get into how I’m treating my knee injury, the benefits of saunas and heat shock proteins and how I saved a ton of cash with a phone call to my telephone company (and you can, too!)
Note: On the show I mention that I stay in the sauna for up to 20 minutes at a time. Your mileage, tolerance and sauna temperatures may vary so follow the instructions that are posted or in the instructions on your sauna.
Here’s what I’m doing to stay on track
Netflix has new episodes of Sherlock. I’m overjoyed but when I checked my Garmin pedometer the other day, I realized I had a mere 1800 steps for the day. 10,000 steps a day is recommended (or two hours of brisk walking, depending on whom you consult.) Sherlock isn’t going anywhere. I got off the couch.
I have to make sure I’m going somewhere. I went for a long walk, listened to some strutting music and swung my arms hard. I came back refreshed and, newly energized, tackled a few things I needed to deal with instead of collapsing back to the sofa.
What to do, what to do, what to freakin’ do?
A comedian I love, Mike Schmidt, has a motto: No Zero Days. It means you have to deal with stuff you don’t necessarily want to deal with. This week, I’ve done that. Aside from the usual day to day workload, I choose one thing I don’t want to do and tackle it. For instance, I rescheduled a dentist appointment, cancelled my TV and cleaned up the house. Look, ma! I’m adulting!
Want to contact me?
Email expartepresss@gmail.com.
Wait. You cancelled your TV? Has there been a coup? Is this the end of the world?
I’m the only one in the house who watched television. I love Better Call Saul. I have a love/hate relationship with The Walking Dead. I like Jon Oliver and I want to see the final season of Game of Thrones. However, that stuff will eventually show up on Netflix or I’ll catch the highlights on the web. Maybe I’ll buy the GoT DVD someday. The issue is that television isn’t worth the time or money. It distracts me from reading and writing. Since that’s what I’m put on Earth to do, it was time to prioritize (and save on the budget.)
We’re getting to the stage where you’ve probably already gotten rid of your landline if you ever had one. Television is going away, too. There are alternatives but the best one for me is to focus on being a producer, not a consumer. That’s one more key to keeping me on track to success.
The Power of Spreadsheets
As I mentioned last week, I’m using Google Sheets to identify and record variables that limit my productivity. Remember this lesson from Do the Thing: that which is not measured is not changed. I’m changing. I track the times of day I write, where I work and my mood. I track progress by chapter and number of words changed in three categories: writing, revision and editing. I’m experimenting with which variables to track, what’s too little to record and what’s too much.
I’ll get back to you with deeper results soon but I can tell you this: the act of recording alone makes me more productive. Working against the clock makes me work harder and faster and (surprise!) with greater joy. Just glancing at my Garmin and seeing only 1800 steps and 9 PM made me get out and hoof it. That’s another measure to watch (and possibly plot on a spreadsheet.)
Toss this podcast a five star review wherever you listen in, as well. I need the money and attention.
Speaking of money…
Click the BECOME A PATRON link at AllThatChazz.com to get lots of nifty rewards. Special thanks to patron of the arts, reader and listener, RF Kacy for his contribution. Cheers, mate!
Last idea tonight:
Get more sleep. I’m headed to bed early so I can get up and crush it tomorrow, starting with a trip to the sauna. I’ve got deadlines and lots of stuff to do. So do you. Wanna do more? Write down what you’re going to do and write down what you did. You will do more!
Stay on track and do the thing!
~ Chazz
PS Check out all my books at AllThatChazz.com: sci-fi, crime thrillers, assorted apocalyptic scenaria.
Pick up the last stress-busting book you’ll ever need here.
A comment about motivation being “all that matters” really got me going this week. It didn’t motivate me. It irritated me. Worse, it was in the first line of a self-help book. I suspect there are many self-help books out there that intimidate or try to shame people into fulfilling their dreams.
I wrote a self-help book and I want to dispel a couple of ideas that are potentially dangerous. My book is called Do the Thing! It’s filled with tricks and tips to manage time and pain, cut stress and boost energy. Toward the end of the book, I include a surprise which I will boil down to the rich creamy point here: motivation is not everything. Work is not everything. To succeed, you need much more than motivation and someone hanging over your shoulder shouting at you to work harder. You need to work smarter, acquire skills, build alliances and take time off to recharge.
You see the symptoms of the rush to greatness everywhere. People are pushing so hard and trying to do too much. I see the problem on Facebook a lot. Idealized versions of our lives are on display there.
Meanwhile, a startling number of people think they’re the only ones who are working hard. They don’t want to support loafers. They don’t want their tax money going to undeserving people. I wish more people who got social assistance actually could goof off. Instead, their working as many hours at Walmart as they can. The “sharing economy” is really the “gig economy” and it seems everyone has to have a side hustle to get by.
I was reminded of this listening to one of my podcast recommendations this week. The 5 A.M. Miracle mastermind Jeff Sanders has a health scare. He’s a motivated, active and healthy guy who got a wake up call recently. A trip to the hospital in an ambulance reminded him that all work and no play makes Jack a dead boy. Listen to Mr. Sanders’ podcast here.
The other podcast recommendation I have for you this week comes from The Joe Rogan Experience. Joe interviewed journalist and documentarian Sebastian Junger. He talks about the dangers of affluence and the importance of movement and being social. (That’s where I got some of the ideas for this episode.) Go to the source at this link.
Key Question: What’s your motivation?
Is you dream to find fulfilling work? To control your time? To travel? To make enough money at what you love that you’ll still have time with your family and friends? (Don’t tell me you want to win the lottery. We all want that but, aside from buying a ticket, there’s nothing you can do to make that happen.)
Fear, anger and spite can get you going, but what will keep you motivated for the long-term? What inspires aspiration in you? What legacy do you want to leave? Are you working for security in retirement, putting off all fun until you’re old?
I’ll tell you what motivates me. It used to be fear of failure. Once you fail enough, that’s not as scary as you might think. In fact, if I’m not careful, I could fall into resignation on that score. No, what motivates me now is that I don’t want to fear bills. I don’t want to fear for my health. I want to get paid for what I’m good at and do what I enjoy. I’m tired of being fearful. What motivates me as an entrepreneur and as an artist isn’t bravery. It’s becoming successful enough that I can do things for my family and not live in fear of the next VISA bill.
I’m working on it. Despite that major tax bill I’ve complained about on the podcast, (Hear about that here,) I’m taking some time off from a couple of my side gigs so I can focus on writing and publishing books. That’s my long-term plan so I can retire from manual labor, anyway. That’s why I need to concentrate my energy on it.
I hope this topic has stimulated your thinking. What motivates you? Are you doing what you need to be doing? Are you getting enough sleep and recharging with rest and information?
Want to support this podcast by helping out with bandwidth costs? There are rewards for doing so! To earn stunning kickbacks for your generosity, click the Become a Patron link at AllThatChazz.com.
Special thanks to RF Kacy for helping out with bandwidth costs.
~ Robert Chazz Chute is a manual therapist whose focus is stress management and rehabilitation from injury. His clinic link is MassageTherapyScience.com.
Best known for This Plague of Days, he is a writer of SFF, horror, crime thrillers and some non-fiction. His blog about writing is ChazzWrites.com and his author site for readers (with links to all his books) is AllThatChazz.com.
On today’s pod, I’ll tell you a little about the wonders of unlimited coffee in a Cuban resort (and how I learned to love smaller portions of food.) Then I discuss entitlement and how I combat it. I’m working on me. Please join me as I manage stress, pain, time and energy.
You’ll find lots more ideas to manage your time, stress, pain and energy in my book, Do the Thing! The Last Stress Management Book You’ll Ever Need.
As the Trump inauguration looms, stress rises on all sides as the arguments continue. Time for a break! On today’s podcast I talk about the value of taking a break. So you prefer a news fast or a news diet? Then a word about feeling better through unselfconscious behavior as well as a podcast recommendation.
If you enjoy this podcast, please leave a happy review on iTunes (or wherever you picked me up!)
I’ve plugged away at researching and writing this stress management guide for a couple of years (and drawing on my training and a 24-year career to inform it.) I really thought I’d publish it last January. However, I wasn’t happy enough with it. There was more to say and more to tweak. After consulting with numerous colleagues, experts and friends, it’s finally ready! Do the Thing! Read the thing!
I cover dozens and dozens of tricks, tools and tips to help readers manage stress, time, pain and energy. It’s easy, breezy, thoughtful and fun. If you’ve got stress (and who doesn’t?) I hope Do the Thing! makes your ride smoother.
All the best!
Robert
PS In the second week of January, I’ll be podcasting again! And, you guessed it, we’ll be talking stress relief. We’re going to get through the challenges of 2017, happier together.
