Productive Not Busy Podcast

7 Concentration Exercises That Will Train Your Mind  If your concentration skills are lacking, it’s not your fault. No one ever taught you how to concentrate and focus. In fact, most of us are experts at distracting ourselves. You’re probably pretty good at finding something to keep yourself busy. However, that something probably isn’t very productive. It’s just comfortable or entertaining. Do you...

Just like everything else we discuss on this show is... Have a PLAN and Take ACTION!! The first thing I'd do is purchase Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich." The SECOND book I would acquire is Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends And Influence People." Timothy Ferris' "The 4 Hour Work Week" is the THIRD book i would buy. Fourth, purchase Vicki Robin's book "Your Money or Your Life." The total cos...

Do you usually feel like there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you need to do? Sometimes it seems like the laundry or the dishes will just have to wait until later. But as hard as it is, we must do things when we need to. Otherwise, they don't get done at all. Or we find ourselves having to do them when we truly don’t have the time for them. Then, inevitably, something els...

Conscientiousness is the Greatest Predictor of Success: How to Develop More of It You might think that being intelligent or hardworking is the greatest predictor of success, but you’d be wrong. Those are tremendous attributes to possess, but it’s easy to find people with those qualities who aren’t highly successful. You probably know someone that is very intelligent but isn’t doing well in life. Y...

Is It More desirable for a leader  to be loved or feared. However, it may actually be more  important to know how much you’re trusted. According to research published in the Harvard Business Review, trust  has a major impact on employees and employers. They reported that  workers at high-trust companies said they had 74% less stress, 106%  more energy, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days,...

Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2022 will occur on Monday, May 30. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials,...

How to Make the Most of Limited Resources Most people feel there are not enough resources to complete work. As a result, they procrastinate. In today's competitive world, it's essential to make the best use of your day. When working in a team, you need to collaborate with others for the best results. However, it would be best if you didn't have to waste too much time on things that aren't your str...

If your life is one financial challenge after another, financial  therapy might be just what the doctor ordered. Over 75% of  Americans list money as their primary source of stress.  Financial therapy is a growing field and focuses on the  emotional and psychological roots of financial behaviors  that create financial stress. For example, someone that grew up in poor surroundings  might hoard mone...

We gravitate naturally towards being comfortable. If you’re offered a chair in a room with multiple open places to sit, you’re probably going to seek out the seat which looks like it will fit your body best, providing not just support but the perfect angle of the back and the right cushioning or support for the spine. You'll even want the chair in a position where the lighting is good, and you hav...

For most people, this is one of the more challenging aspects of life. We set goals with  enthusiasm, and energetically take action to achieve them. Everything looks great, for a while.  Then it happens. The setback. We’ve been stalled out, and suddenly have no idea what to do  next. Things come grinding to a halt, and the world feels like it’s coming to an end. But to a particular personality type...

Have you ever wondered how a rich person was able to accumulate so much money? Perhaps you’ve taken notice of a poor person and found it perplexing, or even upsetting, that he just didn’t have any money no matter how hard he worked. What determines who will be rich and who will be poor? The reality is that your money mindset helps you determine whether you’ll be rich or poor. This episode addresse...

You CAN Be Productive and  Organized!  Do you ever feel like your life is going by too quickly?  Are you constantly trying to pick up the pieces and  you just don’t know how to keep up?  You get the dishes cleaned but you look around the  house and everything else is a disaster. You forget  about important events or homework assignments  for the kids. You just can’t seem to get ahead. If this soun...

How Do You Know If You Need A Coach? You will never know just how energized working with a Coach can make you, how sharp and productive you can be, and how much fun you can have in the process, until you have experienced it.   Think about it, has there ever been anything in your life you have made a sensible assessment of while standing on the outside, poking it with a stick? It’s not possible to...

As a parent, we all want our children to have healthy, happy lives. But far too many children grow up without ever learning the importance of giving. That teaches them not to give to others, and the more dominant they are in their fledgling years, the more unlikely they are to change their behavior. However, teaching your child how to give to others can increase their self-esteem and help them loo...

A limiting belief is a state of mind, conviction, or belief that you think to be true that limits you in some way. This limiting belief could be about you, your interactions with other people, or with the world and how it works. Limiting beliefs can have a number of negative effects on you. Limiting beliefs have more of a negative impact on your life than any other factor. After all, most of us ar...

1. When you meet with a certain level of success in your job, sooner or later, working long hours without taking time to recharge will likely lead to burnout. Burnout can leave you feeling tired and resentful. It's essential to recognize the signs early to pace yourself and be effective at your job. Successful people know how hard it is to keep up their self-care when they're riding high on succes...

How does one become a great  leader? What does it mean to be a  great leader? Not everyone agrees  on the same leadership strategies, but  most people can recognize good  leadership when they see it.  John Quincy Adams once said, “If your  actions inspire others to dream more,  learn more, do more, and become more,  you are a leader.” In essence, a leader is good at seeing the  potential in people...

You negotiate daily even if you don’t realize it.  Whether it’s asking for a raise, choosing a  restaurant to meet for lunch, or bargaining with  your teenager, you’re a negotiator. Negotiation skills  have never been more important. There are fewer good  jobs available and conflict around the world is  commonplace. But, while negotiations are common, bargaining  effectively doesn’t come easily to...

Everyone feels pressure at certain times, but  some people feel it more than others. And some  people handle it differently. There are people that  fold under even the slightest pressure, while  others thrive under a moderate amount of  pressure, but succumb to the power of pressure  as the magnitude increases.  There is also a small group of people that  seem to be addicted to pressure. They ofte...

Few words elicit an emotional response  more strongly than the word “failure.”  One of the biggest obstacles to success is a  fear of failure. In fact, most people are more  motivated to avoid failure than they are to  achieve success. Most people don’t even have written goals  because of a fear of failure. When you set a  goal you’re defining success, but you’re also  defining failure!  However,...

Maximizing your personal growth is a worthy pursuit. In fact, many people make personal development their primary purpose in life. But even if you just want to smooth up your rough edges, having an effective mindset for personal growth will make the process more enjoyable and your efforts more fruitful. Your mindset can make all the difference! Consider developing these qualities to optimize your...

Why a Mentor is Critical and How to Find One Success is easier and faster with a mentor. Maybe you want the satisfaction of pursuing your dream alone. Or maybe you’re embarrassed to reach out to a potential mentor or don’t even know where to begin looking. Whether you want to master the piano, create a popular blog, or build a billion-dollar business, a mentor can smooth and expedite the process....

Why It’s So Important to be Empathetic Merriam-Webster defines empathy as:  “The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.” It might seem like empathy is something...

One of the most important rules regarding success is that you can’t give up easily. There are always obstacles to overcome, and if you give up too soon, you’ll never get anywhere. Think about the least and most successful people you know. The successful people you know are probably very perseverant. They give up on practically nothing. Unsuccessful people give up quite easily. When the going gets...

Are Naps a Magic Bullet or a Waste of Time? Are you a napper? It seems like one group of people believe naps are a gift from the heavens. Others believe that naps are a waste of time and only lead to feeling worse than you did before lying down for a quick snooze. Are naps a good idea? Fortunately, science has a lot to say on the subject. Napping can be a great addition to your life if you have th...