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www.richerlife.com
Introduction
Weve all been told that its impossible to predict the future, but its actually quite easy. Your life has a certain trajectory similar to a train on a track. There will be twists and turns, but you can easily determine where you will end up professionally and personally if you stay on the track youre currently on. If you continue to save this amount, youll end up with this. If you continue to eat like this, youll end up like that. If you continue to relate to your employees like this, youll end up like that. You get the idea. The hard part is not predicting the future, its changing it. My goal is to help you create a richer life. Speci cally, I want to show you how you can bring more money, motivation, and meaning into your life today. How can you jump the tracks youre on for a new set of tracks with a better destination? The answer to creating a richer life can be found by focusing on three core principles, and their place in the Optimum Work-Life Equation:
Special Note
Passive readers need not apply. This eBook requires action. Its not TV and its not ction. To get the most value this material requires you give a little. Do the worksheets. Follow the links. There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch others make things happen, and those who wonder what happened. Lets make something happen together.
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eliminate anything. Dont fall prey to your cluttered life. Start eliminating! Will it kill you to cancel your Twitter account or to stop watching Lost? For the things you cant bring yourself to eliminate entirely, try eliminating them for just three weeks. If by the end of three weeks you are dying to resurrect the task, then go for it! Reduce If you are unable to completely eliminate a task from your life, try reducing it. Ask yourself how much time you really need to spend on each task. Can you cut back a bit? By reducing unimportant and unsatisfying tasks, you can reclaim valuable time. Im sure theres something in your life sucking up time that you could reduce. Maybe traveling less for work or spending time on Facebook, watching YouTube videos, or following celebrity gossip? Keep For the tasks you are unable to eliminate, reduce, or postpone, check the keep column. There will undoubtedly be a few tasks in this category.
To get an accurate perspective of how you spend your time, I suggest tracking your time over a two day period or more. You can download the Time Use Survey form to help you categorize how you spend your day. Download the Time Use Survey form.
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Time-Shifting* engaging in activities at optimum times based on recurring and predictable daily energy cycles. Workshifting working from anywhere other than a traditional o ce through the use of Web-based tools, such as remote access, online meetings, virtual training, etc.
Time-Shifting
Why do surfers pay so much attention to the daily changes in the tides? They are trying to nd the optimum time to catch the best waves. Guess what? Within you there are also waves that shift throughout day. Chronobiology is the science of how our biology is in uenced by daily time cycles, or rhythms. An important time cycle in this eld is the circadian rhythm the normal sleep - wake cycle that allows the cyclical release of hormones and restoration of energy, and allows optimal body functions during the day. At certain times you may have much more mental energy, and at other times, more physical energy. By studying your circadian rhythm, you can determine and then predict your peak energy times. Unlike ocean tides, your peak energy waves
Time-shifting is often de ned as the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or listened to at a time more convenient to the consumer, but I prefer my de nition because the focus is on creation and not consumption.
*
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occur at the same time each day. How can you take advantage of your bodys natural daily cycles? Review the graphic below. Research shows that for the majority of us, there are speci c times in the day that are more optimum for certain activities than others.
9am noon
This is the best time to perform analytical skills and to be our sharpest mentally. This is probably not the best time for exercise as blood pressure and the blood's clotting ability increase causing a decrease in blood ow to the brain and heart. During this time is the most likely time for strokes and heart attacks.
(Biological clock image by YassineMrabet, Creative Commons 3.0 license)
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This is when we are the most sluggish mentally. Daydreams, drowsiness, and lapses in concentration increase. This is a great time for physical exercise because we have the fastest reaction time, high body temperature, and the greatest cardio e ciency and muscle strength. How can you use this information? Think sur ng. Time-shift your activities to take advantage of your natural circadian rhythm. If you have any control over your schedule, you should schedule mental activities in the morning. That is, do your daily mental heavy lifting rst thing in the AMwrite that report, brainstorm new projects, analyze the latest nancial projections. Never schedule non-critical meetings or appointments before noon. View your calendar through your circadian rhythm lens. Schedule your teeth cleaning appointment for 5pm, not 9am. Block out two hours in the morning to write that speech, not after lunch. Hit the gym in the afternoon, not immediately after waking up. Determine the optimum work-time schedule for you. If there are certain activities you must do for the rst hour at work that dont require peak mental performance, make sure you start work at 8am and not 9am. You dont want to waste an hour of prime mental time each morning on tasks that dont require optimum creativity or concentration. Many of us also get a resurgence of creativity and mental alertness later in the evening. If your employer cares more about results and what you do and less about where you are and when you do it, shift your schedule to bring out the best in you. Could you leave work at 3pm to exercise and then do work remotely at 9pm? Not only can you, you absolutely should. Later in this section, Ill discuss how technology makes this easy.
Workshifting
As a result of your natural daily energy cycles, when you work can have a tremendous impact on your performance. This
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knowledge alone can radically transform your results, but there is another important factor . . . where you work. Certain activities require you to be at the o ce, but with advances in technology, these are fewer and fewer. The goal is to determine where you do your best work. Youll nd that there usually isnt one best place for everything. I do my best writing at home. I do my best brainstorming when Im on vacation, in co ee shops, or even just outside. I do my best analytical work at the o ce. The goal is to match the whatthe activitywith the optimum where and when. Create a matrix where you match the task with the optimum time(s) and location(s). For example:
How can you take advantage of scheduling activities at optimum times and locations without creating a scheduling nightmare? For example, lets say you need to write an important speech. The best time for you is from 9am until noon and the best location happens to be at home on your backyard patio. If this is all you had to do and didnt have any other commitments, it might not be so di cult to pull o , but this is the real world. You have people to lead, projects to manage, clients to meet, and bosses to please. In addition to the speech you have to nish today, lets also assume you have to complete a proposal and email it to a new prospect, check in with your team regarding a project you are managing, and review a new report with your best client.
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How can you write that speech from 9am until noon in your backyard and still do everything else e ectively? I suppose you could get up extra early to beat tra c, drive into the o ce, create the proposal and email it to the prospect, quickly drive back home to work on the speech, drive back to the o ce to check in with your team on the project, drive over to your clients o ce for a meeting, drive back to the o ce to enter notes about the meeting, and then drive homehoping you get home before the kids go to bed. But is there a better, more e cient way? Enter technology. What if you could skip the morning commute to the o ce and instead login to your work computer from home to create the proposal and email it to your prospect? Further, once completed with the proposal, what if you could stroll to your backyard patio and let your creative juices ow into your speech? How much more e cient and productive could you be performing key tasks at the optimum times and in the optimum locations? And since were living in this perfect work, what if you somehow bring your team to your home so you wouldnt waste a single minute driving to the o ce? Lastly, what if immediately after your meeting with your team you could instantly transport yourself to your clients o ce so you could walk through the report with her? While it might sound like science ction, its not. This is a typical day of the optimized knowledge worker who understands workshifting and time-shifting, and understands the technology to make it all happen e ortlessly. Citrix is a company that provides the tools to make the fantasy example above a reality. Disclaimer: This is a Citrix-sponsored eBook. That is, they asked me to write it. A logical question is, Am I recommending Citrix tools because this is a book sponsored by Citrix? The answer is an emphatic, no. Im recommending their tools because Ive used them for years and think they are the best on the market. In fact, well before they asked me to write this book, I wrote the following in my latest book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose:
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your client as if you were sitting across from her in her o ce. The right technology can increase your productivity and create new e ciencies, but knowing what to use and how to use it can be overwhelming. Dont let technology intimidate you. GoToMyPC and GoToMeeting are about as simple to use as sending an email. Use the right tools and you can achieve peak performance by focusing what you do at the perfect when and the best where.
Sleep Optimization
Too much sleep is hazardous to your health it may be linked to higher risk for diabetes, obesity, and premature death. Although sleep requirements vary greatly by age, health, and stress level, weve been brainwashed to believe we need a full 8 hours at night. In actuality, research suggests that 7 hours might be the ideal amount of sleep the average adult needs. Getting 8 hours or more can lead to increased mortality, even more so than too little sleep! Aside from being bad for your health, too much sleep can also rob you of your other 8 hours. If you work 8 and sleep 9, you are only left with 7 hours to live your life and pursue your dreams. You waste your time and your life with every hour, minute, and second you sleep more than you need. Getting too little or too much sleep can lead to both low physical and mental energy. Strive to get an optimum amount of sleep each night. I de ne this as the least amount of hours you need to feel physically energized and mentally alert the next day. How do you nd your optimum amount of sleep? Test it out! Heres what you do:
Step 1
Sleep for 8 hours. Make sure you get the full 8 hours, no more and no less.
Step 2
The next day, download and complete the Sleep Optimization Form. This simple form will gauge how you feel (both
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physically and mentally) at di erent times throughout the day. Because stress, diet, and countless other factors can in uence our outlook and energy levels, try to keep all other variables constant (i.e., as unchanged as possible).
Step 3
Repeat both Steps 1 and 2 for four consecutive nights.
Step 4
Reduce your sleep time by 30 minutes and repeat Steps 1 and 2 for four more consecutive nights. Continue to reduce your sleep in Step 1 by 30 minutes until you reach 7 hours.
Step 5
Analyze your data by reviewing your Sleep Optimization Form, and identify which days you felt the best (based on higher scores). If you find that you feel just as good on 7 hours of sleep as you do on 8 hours of sleep, youve just saved yourself an hour a night and given yourself an extra 30 hours a month for creating. If you want to get more specific, you can test 15 minute increments (e.g., 7 hours and 45 minutes versus 8 hours). Remember, were trying to identify the absolute minimum amount of sleep you need because every extra minute you have can be used to create.
.....
Having su cient physical and mental energy is critical if you want to achieve peak performance and live a richer life. Once you take advantage of your natural circadian rhythms and are sleeping the optimum amount for your body, you can pursue your goals full throttle. The next step will help you to discover your true passion
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common elements should be what you focus on in the other 8 hours. Dont make the mistake of going for the sexy elements on your list, because you feel theyll be the most exciting or have the most potential. Instead, focus on the ones that feel right for you and mesh with your skills, interests, and greater purpose.
We are building a community of passionate people who want to learn and achieve more at Richer Life Insights. Each week you can participate in a conversation I have with an expert, celebrity, author, or thought leader that is laser-focused on practical ways to drive more money, motivation, and meaning into your life. We are acutely aware of information overload. While there is certainly no shortage of informationeven good informationthere doesnt exist a system (until now!) that you can easily plug into that provides you with easy to implement advice that can radically change your life.
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We dont want a teacher; we want a mentor. We dont want to be overwhelmed; we want to be inspired. If you want to take your life and nances to the next level and want to have some fun in the process, become part of the Richer Life Insights community. To gain access to Richer Life Insights or to make this powerful resource available to your employees, visit us at www.richerlife.com.
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to Create New Wealth & Purpose, the No. 1 bestseller Six-Day Financial Makeover: Transform Your Financial Life in Less Than a Week, and the free eBook, Plan Z: How to Survive the 2009 Financial Crisis (and even live a little better). Robert writes a weekly column for CBS MoneyWatch that is a syndicated to the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Hu ngton Post, and many others. He has appeared as an expert on 20/20, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, ABC Morning News, and in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Money Magazine, etc. Robert is the president of Paci ca Wealth Advisors, Inc., a boutique wealth management rm specializing in sudden money recipients. He is a Certi ed Financial Planner and has a masters degree in nancial services. Robert is also the founder of Richer Life Insights, a learning and how-to community where Robert engages with experts on how to drive more money, motivation, and meaning into its community of members lives.
Speaking Opportunities
Robert is an accomplished speaker who can motivate and inspire your organization. Speaking topics include:
Through the Secret Power of "The Other 8 Hours" Today's top companies, like Zappos and Google, understand the critical link between nancial results and what employees do o ine -- in those "other 8 hours" beyond work and sleep. Simply put, as new research shows and as we know intuitively, organizations that surround their people with resources for extra-curricular interests outperform their competitors. Robert delves into some of the latest research and answers questions on how you and your company can start to capitalize on this powerful phenomenon.
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You'll hear: The latest research supporting the link between non-work hours and work hours Which high-performance companies invest this way -- and how What organizations can implement tomorrow that will boost employee productivity, moral, and resourcefulness Q&A discussion on the topic
How to Maximize Your Personal Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose Despite being overscheduled, most of us don't make great use of our non-work hours. Yet those are the very hours that determine our happiness and net worth. How can you be more ful lled? Robert delivers fresh solutions for carving out more time, then provides the tools to use that time in a more productive way -- to start a business, write a blog, lose weight, pursue a new hobby, etc.. You'll learn about: Simple yet e ective strategies to help you get more free time Life leeches -- the 24 "time" and "life" suckers you must avoid The importance of shifting from consumer to Cre8tor 8 rules to maximize success and minimize risk Creating positive habits
For more information on having Robert bring fresh ideas and speci c actions to your group, please email speaking@richerlife.com.
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Citrix Online provides secure, easy-to-use online solutions that enable people to work from anywhere with anyone. Whether using GoToMyPC to access and work on a remote PC, GoToAssist to support customers or GoToMeeting to hold online meetings and Webinars, our customers more than 35,000 businesses and hundreds of thousands of individuals are increasing productivity, decreasing travel costs and improving sales, training and service on a global basis. A division of Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS), the company is based in Santa Barbara, California. For more information, visit www.citrixonline.com or call 805-690-6400. For a free evaluation of GoToMeeting Corporate, please visit www.gotomeeting.com/s/WReval For a free evaluation of GoToMyPC Corporate, please visit www.GoToMyPC.com/compete
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