Don’t do these things in 2018

This year is a different year for our family. We had to cancel our flight to the US the day before we leave, so my entire family spent the Christmas season back home. It’s time for bonding – no talks, no trainings and no seminars but still a lot of work needs to be done. I need to update and upgrade my Level Up Leadership programs, work on new ones and organize a lot of stuff. But these, I do it only when the kids are sleeping and on their waking time I make sure I spend time with them.

We are again approaching the time of the year when a lot of writers and columnists would provide us with ideas on what to do in the coming year, and I would like to offer a list of the things we should not do in 2018 that would help us to become more productive and find the New Year more profitable and meaningful.

Here are some of them:

1. Reading useless things. 

There are a lot of things you can read on social media and tabloids; and see programs on TV or YouTube that would never add value to your intellect. They will annoy you and even make you cynical and skeptical. Fake news will always be there and controversies will not go away. Don’t read them and do not allow mud to pollute your mind, so turn off those notifications and regain back control.

2. Responding like a trained monkey.

Some people still respond like a “Pavlovian mutt” refreshing emails every now and then and trying to answer all of them intermittently throughout the day. What a waste and an unhealthy way of time usage. Well guess what? Today, there are more smartphone subscriptions than people, with the average user picking up their mobile device 75 times per day, across a ‘normal’ three hours of screen time. Refreshing their favorite social media sites and all these would suck the life and energy of the poor soul whose productivity would certainly decline if this habit is not corrected.

3. Complicating things rather than simplifying them.

It has been said that the mark of ingenuity is to be able to simplify the complicated and the mark of insanity is to complicate the simple. Here are three words that you and I should endeavor to apply in many areas of our lives this New Year: “Keep It Simple.”

Finances? Keep it simple. – Don’t spend more than what you can afford.

Relationships? Keep it simple. – Be faithful.

Work? Keep it simple. – Do excellent work and stay away from politics.

Personal Success? Keep it simple. – Attend seminars, read books and level up everyday.

4. Doing mindless traditions. 

Do you really have to attend those parties? Do you really have to spend so much because it is your birthday? Do you really have to splurge your hard-earned money on travel just because you and your friends took advantage of the many “Travel Fairs” where you bought your discounted plane tickets?

5. Working on things that are not worth working on.

You and I have a limited 24-hour resource every single day. The idea is how do we allocate these precious moments and make sure that the work we do on the time spend doing is worthy enough of the time we are willing to trade?

As I explain in my seminars, do not waste your time and energy on activities that would not add value to your success goals. Business is the same, there are senseless activities that would suck up the joy and profit out of the work.

By the way, make sure you include in your priority list your spiritual disciplines. Reading Scriptures, prayer and meditation are essential for your well-being and one more thing; as early as now, mark off the calendar in 2018 the days when you will be off-work and be on-board with your family on a meaningful vacation. These are not a waste of time, these are worthy endeavors.

Want new and better results? You need to change the way you do things.

It is always good to discover new ways of doing things that would bring better results and discard some old habits that are still there occupying space and zapping your time and energy with minimum benefits.

Make 2018 a better year by starting with making a better you and see the magic happen.

(Attend and experience two inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership seminar-workshop this Jan. 16-17 at Seda Hotel, BGC.  For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)