Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - September 10th

You will never do big things when you are distracted by small things. –@craiggroeschel  

Starve your distractions. Feed your focus. – @craiggroeschel

How many times has a day finished and an individual questions what they actually accomplished?  In a day, what activities actually impact an individual’s goals and dreams?  What actions or activities are simply a check mark on the to-do list, but are minimal activities that do not have any impact on one’s goals and dreams? 

Craig Groeschel says that slack “is any activity that absorbs resources but creates little to no value”.  The dictionary states that slack is a “decrease or reduce in intensity, quantity, or speed”.  Many times, people will say that they are going to “slack off” on Friday afternoon or over the weekend.  They are reducing their intensity and quality of work.  Slack can be very detrimental if done consistently and slacking off during the day can cause an individual to have to work in the evenings when they would rather be spending time with their family or doing something else.  

Procrastination is like a credit card.  It’s a lot of fun until you get the bill. – lifehack.org

To remove slack, here are a few activities to consider:

1.           Develop a Not-To-Do-List to help focus on what is important to accomplish dreams and goals. 
2. Write down the To-Do List to know what needs to be accomplished to free up space in the brain.  
3. Create small tasks/goals from the to-do list.  It is easier to accomplish small tasks instead of one BIG task.  
4. Have scheduled quiet time for projects.  To focus on projects, sequester into a quiet place with no distractions.  Cal Newport’s book, Deep work: rules for focused success in a distracted world, provides great ideas about creating quiet exclusive times in a schedule to accomplish projects.  Newport also discusses scheduling short periods of time for breaks to review social media, make phone calls, etc.  

Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out. – John Wooten

Simplify or eliminate all policies, processes, or steps that take too much time, cost too much, and add too little value. - @craiggroeschel  

CHALLENGE:  Analyze your daily activities and remove slack from your life. 

Resources

·       Clear, J. (2018) Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results - Atomic Habits – An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.  New York, NY: Penguin Random House. 

·       Newport, C. (2016). Deep work: rules for focused success in a distracted world. First edition. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

·       59: ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS: CUT THE SLACK, PART 1 - https://api-assets.life.church/uploads/message/1370/podcast_show_notes/eliminate-distractions-cut-the-slack-part-1.pdf?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=75127211&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--AFhXPTgXC-ws3yVyYDf3XZHNiDIP7vKlD13mADmQ3lj5o25btl5KHY4mfTQu7Jw2PMai61EN3N3ORXuZ6-XDecEiH2Q&_hsmi=75127212

·       61: SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE AND LEADERSHIP: CUT THE SLACK, PART 2 - https://api-assets.life.church/uploads/message/1386/podcast_show_notes/simplify-your-life-and-leadership-cut-the-slack-part-2.pdf?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=76461774&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9-cybFpifid1j91z-hMOPCHTnTvz75J5gN6wPiZ5ow6TbAj797A36rshacvu8F7R-W9wzh-I3e67Y4H3mQtNwupq3n1g&_hsmi=76461776