Just about everyone goes through patches of insomnia now and again. Whether caused by stress, illness, or just too many scary movies, we’ve all had nights of tossing around in bed, staring at the clock, and trying to find a cool spot on the pillow. Some people just can’t get to sleep at all, while others fall asleep for a while, but wake up at 1, 2, or 3am unable to get back to sleep before the alarm.
It’s no fun at all, right? Instead of having sweet dreams and waking up ready to take on the day, you stress yourself out all night and are bleary eyed and exhausted when the alarm goes off. You get up and have no choice but to gulp down a huge mug of coffee so you can drive to work without nodding off. Then you drink more coffee to get through the day, knowing that you’re just going to have the same problem the next night!
I’ve been going through this issue myself for the past couple of weeks, so I decided to do a little research on ways that we can all fall asleep faster, sleep through the night, and (if all else fails) at least use our sleepless time to do something useful.
Before we get started, the necessary disclaimer: This is NOT medical advice. I’m not a doctor. I faint at the sight of needles. I can’t even give blood without passing out. If you can’t sleep for several days in a row and you’re starting to become a danger to yourself and others, go to the doctor!
7 Tips to Prevent Minimize Insomnia
There are many things you can do to set yourself up for a better night’s sleep. Scientists call this sleep hygiene, but you can just call it common sense. Some of these steps are difficult, but the worse you’re sleeping, the more important they become.
Limit caffeine intake. Yes, this is hard to do, especially when you’re feeling sleep deprived, but caffeine will just make insomnia worse. If you have to have something to stay awake, drink a bit a green tea, which doesn’t give quite the jolt.
Get some exercise. A decent amount of physical activity tires out your body and helps you sleep better. 30 minutes or more a day is ideal, but even a 10 minute walk after dinner will help.
Avoid a late meal. Eating a big, heavy meal after 7 or 8pm can cause digestive problems and keep you up. Either eat dinner early, or eat a bigger meal at lunch and a light meal for dinner. Salad is your friend.
Limit screen time. The longer you spend looking at computers and televisions, the more likely you are to have insomnia (source). Turn off both a couple of hours before you go to bed. Even though I love television, I know that it interferes with my sleep, so I’m careful about when I watch.
Create a sleep routine. Try to do the same routine every night before you go to bed. It can be as simple as brushing your teeth, washing your face, and putting on your bunny slippers. Just be consistent and train your brain to recognize that when you do certain actions, it’s sleepy time.
Take a warm shower or bath before bed. Warm water relaxes your muscles and your brain. If you have time to take a nice bubble bath, great. If not, at least try to take a quick shower. As a bonus, it feels great to go to bed all squeaky clean.
Not too hot, not too cold. Make sure that you’re comfortable in your bed. You don’t want to be sweating buckets, but you also don’t want to freeze. If you’re turning the thermostat down to save energy at night, compensate with warmer blankets or pajamas.
4 Things To NOT Do When You Can’t Sleep
Now, let’s say that despite your best efforts, you still have insomnia. The following things will only make your situation worse, so avoid them.
Tossing and turning. Everyone has had some very long nights where we can’t sleep and instead just lay in bed turning over every 15 seconds. It’s no fun, it builds up your anxiety level and it certainly doesn’t help you sleep.
Staring at screens. (see above) I know it’s tempting to flip open the laptop or turn on the TV when you can’t sleep, but resist the urge! Studies show that electronic screens trigger a part of our brain that keeps us awake. Plus, watching television at 3am will just lead to bad infomercial purchases!
Eating all the potato chips and chocolate in the house. Sometimes I get hungry in the middle of night and my instinct is to wander over the ol’ Frigidaire and have at it. This is a bad strategy because a full stomach will keep you awake longer, plus a few repeats of this will really start to pack on the pounds.
Looking at the clock. Yes, it’s frustrating to see how much time has gone by since you’ve been awake. It’s even worse to think about how little time remains before the alarm goes off! Staring at the clock will only make you more tense, and keep you up longer.
5 Ways to Be Productive and Have Fun With Insomnia
If it’s 2am an you’re wide awake, you have limited options for activity. Unless you have friends on the other side of the world, you probably shouldn’t call anyone. You probably live with or near other people, so you can’t start practicing your drums. However, there are a lot of things you can do to make good use of the time, and hopefully get back to sleep before the night is over.
Get out of bed and go to another room. The first thing you should do is get out of bed. I know it’s cold out there, but by moving you avoid building an association between your bed and sleepless nights. Go sit on the couch or in your big fluffy chair.
Read a book. Make it a boring book Seriously, reading a book will engage your alpha brainwaves and help you relax. You might find yourself nodding off before you finish a chapter. Just be sure to choose material that won’t upset or excite you, like reading Michael Moore if you’re a conservative!
Drink something warm. It turns out that Mom was right, again. Drinking warm milk really does help you sleep. So does herbal tea like chamomile. Have a nice cuppa and you might be snoozing soon.
Meditate. If you’ve been meaning to start meditating, this is the perfect opportunity! Doing certain types of meditation might help you relax enough to get to sleep, and you don’t have to sit in the lotus position and contemplate your naval. Why not try listening to some meditation audio like Quantum Mind Power?
Work on the idea that’s keeping you up. If you’re like me, your insomnia is mostly caused by too much stuff racing around in your head. If you have an idea, hope, dream, or fear keeping you up, take some action on it. I’ve found just the smallest thing, like creating a quick action plan, or drafting 2 pages of writing, is often enough to give my brain a rest.
Wow. I’m getting a little tired now. Maybe I’ll just shut my eyes for a minute…
Anyway, talk amongst yourself in the comm…..ZZZZZZ
Do you ever worry about coming up with money to get what you need or want in life? Do you see money as an obstacle to your happiness? If you do, you can learn some powerful lessons from the business world by finding ways to bootstrap your life.
In business there are many ways to finance a new venture. Sometimes businesses borrow start-up cash, or find a venture capitalist or other investors to cover their operating expenses. However, one of the most powerful ways to start a business is to sustain it through bootstrapping, or without obtaining outside funding. Bootstrapped companies try to avoid external debt and often spend very small amounts of money until they become profitable.
Why Is Bootstrapping Powerful?
There are some people, such as Seth Godin and Yanik Silver who argue that bootstrapped companies are more creative, more resilient, and more competitive in the long term. As Yanik says:
“Bootstrap. Having too much capital leads to incredible waste and doing things using conventional means.”
When companies intentionally rule out borrowing to cover standard expenses, they often have to get very creative to get the resources they need. For example, a bootstrapped company might begin in a garage like Apple. They may pay employees with a share of the profits rather than a regular salary. Rather than having corporate travel accounts, bootstrappers might drive all night to a meeting and arrive hyped up on caffeine, adrenaline and hope.
All of this may sound challenging, and it is, but bootstrapping has the advantage of forcing creative thinking. Without extra money to spend, bootstrappers have to figure out new and creative ways to get what they need. This can lead to many innovations such as developing new software, inventing new work practices, and creating very innovative company cultures. Instead of automatically solving a problem by spending money, bootstrappers have to think in terms of obtaining the resources they need to complete a job.
How Can You Bootstrap in Your Life?
So, bootstrapping may be well and good for a business, but you might be wondering how all of this applies to you. I think that during times when many people are feeling strapped for cash, we can apply the mindset of the bootstrapper to find creative ways to meet our needs and the needs of our families.
How do you go about doing this? The key lies in focusing on your desired outcome first and figuring out how you are going to achieve it second. This is just the opposite of what we’re conditioned to do. In most situations, we figure out the means (acquiring a pile of money) before we are really clear about our desired ends.
As an example, imagine it’s the middle of the summer, your lawn is getting overgrown and your lawnmower just broke. If you’re like me, you live in a town that will give you a ticket if your lawn gets too long, then they’ll come and mow it for you, charging an exorbitant rate. To avoid this, your first instinct is probably to run out and buy a new lawn mower. That’s one possible solution to the problem, but it isn’t the only one.
When you instantly run out and buy a lawnmower, you are acting as if your desired end is to own a new lawnmower, but that’s incorrect. Your real desired end is to get your lawn mowed and avoid getting a ticket. There are many ways of doing this, and they all involve different amounts of money. Here a just a few ways you could get your lawn mowed in order from least expensive to most expensive:
Use a different tool you already own to mow the lawn, such as a weed eater, or a pair of clippers (if you have a very small lawn).
Borrow a neighbor’s mower, and fill it up with gas before you return it.
Find a young teenager to mow the lawn for a small fee.
Buy a used mower from the local small engine shop.
Run to the nearest home and garden center and immediately buy a new mower.
In the above example, it’s interesting to see that most people will choose the most expensive option. This is the opposite of what a bootstrapper would do in such a situation. The bootstrapper would look at all of the possible solutions, and pick the one that results in the most efficient solution for the least amount of cost. In this example, option 2 or 3 would probably be optimal because those are inexpensive choices, but not as labor intensive as option 1.
There are many other situations where you can call on the creativity and ingenuity of bootstrappers to find free and inexpensive solutions to your problems. The key is to think very carefully about what you actually want to get out of a situation. Here are a couple of situations, the assumed goal and the real goal.
It’s Saturday night and you decide to go to a movie. With tickets and snacks for 2, it would be at least a $30 expense. You are assuming that your goal is to see a particular film, but actually your goal to relax and be entertained. Can you be just as entertained by inviting friends over to play games? By renting a DVD for $4?
You want to advance in your career and need some additional training. You consider applying to graduate school, which will cost $30,000 over 3 years. In this case you are assuming that your goal is to have an advanced degree when it is actually to get a more challenging job at a higher rate of pay. How else could you do this? Could you attend training and certification courses that your employer will pay for? What about finding a mentor who is doing the job you want and asking for advice on self study material?
Resources are Abundant, Even When Money is Scarce
In both of the examples above, it is pretty easy to see that there are many possible resources for accomplishing the real goal. Some of these resources can be purchased, but many of them are only available through creativity, networking, and persistence. This is true in many situations. In fact, if you are convinced that a lack of money is keeping you from achieving your desired goal, you’re wrong. Take some time to think of all the resources that you have available to you such as relationships, skills, organizations, and of course your own creativity. If you make a list of all of these you’ll soon discover ways that you can at least get closer to your goal, even if you have no money available to you.
I’m not trying to call out anyone who is going through financial hardship. I’ve been in some pretty bad situations myself. In fact, when I was a kid my father went through several long layoffs. The last layoff began just as I was about to enter a very expensive private college.
My experiences taught me that if I was going to achieve anything in those circumstances, I had to find ways to do so with little or no money. I found ways to use the public library to educate myself beyond my formal schooling. I formed relationships with teachers and mentors that recommended me for advanced programs that made me a stronger college applicant. Eventually I was able to gain admission to a great school and secure enough scholarship and financial aid to graduate with less debt than I would have had at a public university. That resourcefulness continues to serve me well.
Learning to bootstrap is a way of increasing your freedom. If you can meet your needs with little money, suddenly you’re not trapped in a job you hate. You can explore interesting opportunities even if they don’t pay as well. You can leave bad relationships when you know how to form better ones. Bootstrapping isn’t really about frugality. It’s about creativity, self sufficiency, and personal power. I hope that you’ll find ways to bootstrap a few things in your own life, starting right now.
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My favorite VA, Sandy, just quit on me. Sure, I never paid her, but it still stings a bit!
Long time readers of this site know that for many months I’ve been singing the praises of IWantSandy, an online personal information management program that featured an adorable, anthropomorphized character named “Sandy.” Unfortunately, the company behind Sandy, Values of N, is about to shut it doors and Sandy – and the equally popular Stikkit – will be going offline on December 19. This left me with a problem, because I’ve come to rely pretty heavily on Sandy.
You see, Sandy was more than just a calendar, to do list tracker, or contacts list manager (although she did all of these things very well). The genius of Sandy was that you could talk her like a human. Her pretty good natural language recognition meant that you could send her an email with the subject line, “Remind me to buy my mother some flowers in 3 days,” and she would send you an email at 7am on Thursday telling you to buy your mother some flowers. She interfaced very well with Jott, could be contacted by and send text messages, and was even on Twitter. (Angry note: Twitter actually bought Sandy’s code and has decided to shut down the service rather than keep it going. Booo Twitter!!)
After just a few minutes of getting used to her, I found that Sandy just worked in a way that most software can only dream of!
Now all of that is going away, and after a few days of gnashing of my teeth and beating my breast, I realized that it was time for me to move on and make new cyber-relationships.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a true replacement for Sandy – isn’t that the way is always is with a truly great assistant? – but there are tons and tons and tons of alternatives.
But I Don’t Drink Milk
In a quest to find the next Sandy (maybe named Mandy?), I kept finding one service recommended above all others: Remember the Milk. Like Sandy, RTM is a robust PIM that can handle calendars, tasks, contacts and a whole lot more. It’s used extensively by the Getting Things Done crowd and is actually feature-rich enough to be used as a team project management application.
I spent a couple of days trying RTM out, and I have to say that the results left me a bit cold. The website is much more complex than Sandy and offers a lot more functionality than I need – or want to deal with! RTM works with Jott (which I use enough to pay the Premium membership for) so I can call it up and add tasks. However, the voice recognition is different and I’m still learning the syntax to be able to use it properly.
I was just about to give up on RTM when I discovered that it has plug-ins that work with GMail and Google Calendar (GCal). As you can see here:
I have the plugin set up on my Google Calendar and it adds a row of check marks to the display, just above the timeline. From this interface, I can add and manage tasks in RTM without ever having to visit the website! This simplifies the process a ton and makes me much happier!
Two Emails are Worse Than One
After figuring out that I can ask Google Calendar to email a daily schedule to me (yes, I’m a bit slow to catch on), I’ve come up with a two email solution for my day. RTM sends me a list of my daily tasks, which looks a bit like this:
And Google Calendar sends me a daily schedule, which follows this format:
I can ask either service to remind me of an appointment via text message (I do this for haircuts, which I tend to forget a lot!).
The result is that I can keep track of my day about as well as when Sandy and I were working together at our most efficient, but the solutions available seem to lack a bit of soul. Sure, Gcal’s email is efficient and the layout is classic Google, but where is the panache? Yes, Remember the Milk keeps track of my tasks and has a nice notes feature for expanding on each item with helpful information, but where is the chipper greeting every morning?
The Quest Is Just Beginning
Although my current setup seems to be working, I doubt that it’s going to last forever (or even a year). As you’ve probably figured out, I not thrilled with it, even though it is effective. There are so many alternatives in this space, that I’m sure I’ll find a solution that is more intuitive than Remember the Milk. Some possibilities include:
KeepUp. I’ve started experimenting with this site for scheduling recurring tasks and annual events like holidays and birthdays. Sure, Gcal and RTM both do this, but I like the community aspect of KeepUp, and it can be used with groups. In the end though, I may dump this one.
PingMe. This looks like a potentially good solution because I relied on Sandy most for future hard-scheduled tasks. In other words, Sandy remembered what I had to do in the future so that I didn’t have to. PingMe seems to do similar things, and they’ve even written a guide for people switching from Sandy.
Just Gcal. With Jott integration and SMS notification, it’s possible to use Google Calendar for everything I need. I could just add tasks as all day events (If anyone has a more elegant solution for this, PLEASE let me know!). I just find it so… sterile. Sigh.
Sandy’s Back. A group of disgruntled programmers have gotten together to create an open source replacement for Sandy. As soon as they start soliciting donations, I’m going to send them $20, but it looks like it will be a long time before anything comes of the project.
So, as you can see, I’m still on the rebound from my recent breakup with Sandy. I can keep hoping that she’ll come back to me – I’d even pay to keep her, just as I do with Jott – but I have to face the facts that she may be gone forever.
Have you found better solutions in the quest for the perfect, truly Virtual Assistant? Please help me and other grieving souls recover the loss of a steady companion. Suggest alternative services in the comments section below!
By now we’ve all seen video gems just like the one above, even if we were trying to go on a media fast. The CEOs of the Big 3 U.S. automakers – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler – showed up in Washington on November 18 begging for $25 billion and had essentially no plan for how they were going to use that money to make their businesses sustainable. Unsurprisingly, they got a big, fat $0, but now they’re back (but will be arriving in hybrid vehicles, not corporate jets) and have “plans” for how they’re going to use $34 billion to shore up their business and hope to survive for another year.
(Note: If you’re not much for rants, skip the next paragraph or two.)
As a native of the Upper Midwest, I’ve been watching the Big 3 flounder for decades now. When I was a kid in the early ’80s the companies all went through their first huge rounds of layoffs, devastating communities like Flint and Detroit, Michigan. I saw them put out garbage products like this. I also saw how the Midwest’s economy is deeply, inextricably linked to the health of those 3 companies.
Essentially, if the Big 3 fail, it will effect everyone in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada (and lots of people in many other places) directly or indirectly. That is because the Big 3 are the largest direct or indirect (through suppliers and other vendors) employers in many, many communities. They are also the biggest taxpayers to state and local governments. If their pension and health care coverage ceases, hundreds of thousands of retirees will be forced to seek public assistance. Laid off workers will present huge burdens to the public and nonprofit social welfare systems at the state and national levels. Plus, there’s all the ripple effect on the national economy. If all 3 were to go out of business (unlikely, but possible), the U.S. economy could loose 3 million jobs and $250 million in personal income within 3 years. More than likely, my own father would be among the ranks of the unemployed. He’s a tool and die maker and works at a shop that relies on Ford for most of its business.
(Note: Okay, it’s probably safe now.)
Now that the Big 3 are all on the brink of bankruptcy, I want to share with you some ways that you and your company can grow up to be just like the Big 3. I don’t want these guys to fail, but they only have themselves to blame if it happens. I have combed my memory, the Internet, and little bit of change management material and identified the following 5 ways that you can create a bloated, obsolete dinosaur of a company.
1) Build Protectionist Walls Around Your Business. The Big 3 have worked with Michigan lawmakers for years to put legislation in place that attempted to protect them from competition. They have lobbied for tariffs on imported cars, fought increased fuel efficiency standards, and pursued subsidy after subsidy.
Why this is bad: The Big 3 have been classic change resistors and the lawmakers who helped them haven’t done them any favors. By fighting fuel economy standards, they have been attempting to drive the market, rather than allowing the market to drive their product offerings. Instead of trying to build products that would be more attractive to buyers, they have focused on forcing foreign car makers to price their cars higher, while trying to keep their costs a bit lower through tax breaks. It was inevitable that companies like Toyota and Honda would find ways to out-innovate them and build good cars that people actually want to buy.
2) Take Advantage of Customer Loyalty by Building Lousy Products. In the 1970′s and ’80′s the Big 3 turned out some god-awful heaps of metal. Trust me, my first car was a 1978 Buick LeSabre. I know junk when I drive it.) Coincidently, this was at the same time that they could have capitalized on HUGE customer loyalty from the WWII generation and their Baby Boomer children. Instead, they forced those customers to look elsewhere for well-made products.
Why this is bad: Reputation is everything. It takes a long time to build, and an even longer time to rebuild after its been damaged. Even though the 2008 Consumer Reports most reliable cars list includes many Big 3 products, most people still think of American made cars as less reliable than German or Japanese machines. In fact, Big 3 product quality has been increasing for almost 20 years, but they get very little credit for it.
3) Assume the Future Will Be Just Like the Past. The profit model at all three of the Big 3 seems to be based on the thought that huge trucks and SUVs worked well in 1995, so they’ll work well in 2015. Well, gee. Anyone ever heard of Peak Oil? Even though gas prices have backed off from the $4 gallon of this summer, it seems like people have realized that fuel efficiency matters and is going to matter until a real alternative energy source becomes available. The Big 3 waited WAAAAY to long to start developing appropriate technology to address these issues and now they’re so far behind that it will take MORE government subsidies to get them making competitive hybrid and efficient conventionally powered vehicles to meet market demand.
Why this is bad: Look, it doesn’t take a futurist to figure out that things are going to change. Read some freakin’ newspapers!
4) Wait Until a Crisis Hits to Try to Change. Sure, the Big 3 were slooowly retooling their product lines to produce more attractive products, but they needed to be hustling, not crawling. Now, with the contraction of the consumer credit markets and an all-out recession spreading internationally, they are well and truly screwed. The Big 3 were not prepared to handle any slack in their sales and now they have to try to change rapidly without the money to pull it off.
Why this is bad: The best time to change is when things are going well. Every try to steer a car with a blown tire? That’s pretty much the same situation that the Big 3 are in. Regular processes for surveying market conditions and changing to meet those conditions – or innovate ahead of them – ensure that a company is producing desirable products. Instead, the Big 3 are going to have to scramble to bring something to market that people will want to buy.
5) Blame Others, Beg for Money, and Reject Sound Advice. I would have embedded this video with GM President Fritz Henderson, but CNN won’t let me. In short, he is completely rejecting the idea of GM filing for bankruptcy despite the fact that this move has been suggested by many people who know the auto industry well. Now, no one likes the thought of their company going bankrupt, but in this situation it may be the best option available. What Fritz doesn’t realize is that it isn’t his choice anymore. It’s now up to Congress since another “No” to their funding request could put them under in a matter of months.
Why this is bad: As mom always said, “Beggars can’t be choosers.” It’s way too late for GM (or Chrysler, or Ford) to negotiate from a position of strength. They better just cross their fingers and pray that they get some cash to keep themselves solvent for a while longer. Bankruptcy may or may not be a good option, but that is now up to the people that write the checks. In my view, the current publicity campaign reflects the same insulated thinking that the Big 3 have practiced for decades.
Okay, enough of me ranting. I know many of you have opinions of these issues, and I would LOVE to hear them. Let’s discuss in the comments section.
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Happy Cyber Monday, everyone! According to major news outlets everywhere, you are supposed to be doing online Christmas shopping today instead of working. There are many, many places that you can find great deals on all kinds of stuff that no one needs. If time permits, I definitely encourage you to take an hour or five out of your busy work day to browse. However, if you need to get down to business and actually purchase some presents that people will enjoy, I decided to put together a guide to help you choose a gift for the personal development junkie in your life.
If you know a personal development junkie, you know that they can’t ever learn enough, do enough, or improve enough. I have read/listened to/used all of these products myself over the years and found them extremely helpful in my own journey. I hope that they are helpful to you and your loved ones as well.
Books
There are literally thousands of self-help and self improvement books in print right now. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the choices, especially when so many of them are pretty low quality. Lucky for you, I have suffered through a lot of the craptacular stuff to find the good offerings in the market. Here are a few that I have found especially good.
The Art of Happiness. When the Dalai Lama decided to write a book, I usually pay attention. This one, which was actually written by Howard Cutler based on a series of interviews with His Holiness, contains many valuable insights on achieving greater happiness in your life. What I like most about it are the really practical meditations and other exercises designed to increase the happiness you feel on a daily basis. Also available as an audio book.
A Complaint Free World. This book challenges you to change your language and eliminate complaining. I tried the challenge for a weekend (listen to my before and after posts), and found out that I really need this book! Chances are, you need it too! Also available as an audio book.
Change Without Pain. Change management is a broad and varied topic, and I’ve read tons of books about it. This is one of the best. Author Eric Abrahamson uses real world examples from his work with actual companies to discover ways that companies (and individuals) can make major changes with the smallest possible disruptions and pain. If you or your organization are in a transition right now, this is a great read.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. We all want to be able to get more done with less effort and enjoy ourselves in the process. Flow is a great book for helping you discover the conditions under which you can achieve peak states, where you feel the most creative, get the most work done, and enjoy yourself the most. It’s a concept I’ve been experimenting with lately and I’m finding it extremely helpful in doing all of the writing that I put out here and in other places.
The Mind Map Book. Author Tony Buzan is widely credited with being the father of mind-mapping, a powerful tool for brainstorming, organizing ideas, and even doing a weekly review. This book is the bible of mind mapping, teaching you how to use simple paper and pencil to explore the visual side of your brain and tap into previously unknown levels of creativity.
The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life. Martha Beck may have sold out to Oprah, and she’s probably a bit too touchy-feely for some of you, but I have to admit that I *love* this book. The Joy Diet is a really simple series of practices that will help you take a deep breath, focus in yourself for a few minutes a day, de-stress, and ultimately become a better friend, partner, parent, and worker. I highly recommend it for people who are feeling overwhelmed by life right now. Also available as an audio book.
Electronic Products
Let’s say you’re a bit of a procrastinator and you’re not reading this guide until 11:59 on December 24. Or perhaps your the eco-friendly type and you don’t want to give out a bunch of dead trees and plastic. If so, there are many great electronic resources available for self improvement. In fact, there are so many that it’s pretty hard to figure out what is garbage (most of it, frankly) and what is genuinely helpful. For the most part, I try to stick with trusted names from either the blogosphere or the self development space in general when choosing products. Here is a sampling of items that I have found most helpful.
Zen to Done. Blogger Leo Babauta of Zen Habits has developed his own productivity system and I’m a huge fan. It’s more streamlined than the uber-popular Getting Things Done and focuses more on execution. This ebook sells for a very reasonable $9.95.
Anything from Web Warrior Tools. This site is a collection of high quality, low priced ebooks dealing with several self improvement products. They have ebooks that focus on finances, others that help you get organized or work more efficiently, and still others that help you get healthy. Anything they put out is great and cheap!
Never Procrastinate Again. Another very popular blogger, Dave Navarro of Rock Your Day (love that name) has a great audio/video/text coaching course that helps you fend off procrastination when it strikes. Dave can be *very* motivating and he’s sure to deliver the swift kick in the butt that you or your loved one needs to get going. The entire course is a mere $37.
Quantum Mind Power. I have been using the Quantum Mind Power meditation tracks for over a year now and continue to find them valuable. Essentially, this product is a package of audio tracks that put your mind into a meditative state without having to go through the years of training that Zen monks and others go through to train their minds. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, I encourage you to read my review. There are two versions of this product, the regular versions which sells for $147 or a premium package with 2 additional tracks (I don’t have these, so I haven’t reviewed them) for $197. It’s a bit expensive (and you have to suffer through a cheesy sales letter to order!), but I think it is well worth the price considering how much you can spend on meditation books, classes, and audio tracks. Also, I’m told that the system is now available as a physical product with real CDs.
Free Stuff
I know that money is tight for many people this holiday season, but that doesn’t have to get in the way of giving meaningful gifts to people who want to improve themselves. With so many excellent free resources available, it’s very simple to download some high quality free ebooks, print them out on some nice paper and put them into a binder. Or, you can download some podcasts and burn them to a CD. Here are a few high quality, free ebooks that you or your loved ones might appreciate. Note that some of these require a newsletter sign-up. Don’t sign anyone up without their permission, but I am subscribed to all of these newsletters and I love them, so don’t hesitate to sign yourself up.
A Year of Change. As a change blogger, you can’t blame me for loving The Change Blog. Blog author Peter Clements has bundled some of his best posts into this fabulous looking and very interesting ebook.
How to Practice the Art of Life Balance. We could all use some tips for improving the balance in our lives, and this ebook has plenty of them. This ebook is the result of the Life Balance Group Writing Project at the Create a Balance blog. Many great bloggers contributed to it – including me – and I thank blogger Stacey Weckstein for hosting it.
Secrets to Creating More Inner Peace. Okay, I had to pimp my own stuff here a bit. But seriously, I think this is a pretty good quality free ebook all on the theme of increasing your inner peace. At this hectic time of the year, I know that I need to follow my own advice a little more closely!
If there are other resources (especially free ones!) you can recommend as high quality personal development gifts, please share them below in the comments! Happy shopping, everyone.
Full Disclosure: This post is blatantly self promotional and designed to make a little extra holiday cash for Never the Same River Twice. I earn a (very) small amount of money per sale for most of these items. However, I never promote anything on this site that I haven’t used myself and don’t stand behind completely. If you have a bad experience with any of these products, send an email to maria (at) neverthesamerivertwice (dot) com explaining the problem and I’ll reconsider my endorsement.
Seriously, reading a book will engage your alpha brainwaves and help you relax. You might find yourself nodding off before you finish a chapter. Just be sure to choose material that won’t upset or excite you, like reading Michael Moore if you’re a conservative!
The Mind Map Book
The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life
– and I thank blogger Stacey Weckstein for hosting it.
