It's not New Year's Resolution time yet, but I'm getting started early. I can't remember exactly when –but many moons ago – I set a simple lifetime goal dedicated to continuous learning. For whatever reason a couple of simple ideas have come across my screen and really stuck. So much so, I thought sharing them here would help me execute.
1. Never say anything bad about anyone. Why? Because nothing good comes from saying something bad about someone else. Ever.
2. Make eye contact. In the world of the cell phone, eye contact is becoming a lost art. I'm also guilty and focusing more and more on eye contact.
3. Ask better questions & listen. Small talk is easy and adds little value to either party. I believe the biggest drivers of meaningful personal conversations are the questions you ask and how well you listen. Honestly, I'm not great at either, so I'm making conscious effort to improve.
4. Challenge the story. All pieces of digital should tell a story or part of a story. If you're sharing content without a story, don't.
5. Set 3 important to-dos for the following day. I'm an avid list maker. I literally have 45 active lists with 3-35 tasks each. I just counted. This clears my mind, but also creates to many task to accomplish. So, I've started making a list of the three most important for each. I'm already pleased with the results.
6. Focus. I work in the digital world which thrives on a lack of focus. I frequently find myself bouncing from 1 social screen the next. I've experimented with this before, but am going back to 90 minute blocks of focused work.
8. Make it a habit. The only way for me to accomplish these simple improvements is to make them a habit.
I'm just getting started with these simple goals and am already amazed by how difficult they are to execute. Maybe they're not that simple after all.