Sample Content Preview

Introduction

Do you reach for your phone first thing in the morning- If you grab your smartphone within seconds of waking up, you might be addicted to it. This can happen to anyone, but it can be difficult to stop these bad phone habits.

That is why we gathered these five hacks to help you minimize your phone addiction! When you put the phone down more, you will notice that you have a lot more time. You might start picking up hobbies you dropped a while ago or start new activities.

Be sure to keep reading if you struggle with setting down your phone!

Are You Addicted?

Smartphone users check their phones more than 150 times a day on average. So, if you believe you are addicted, you are not alone. Many people suffer from smartphone addiction.

Apps are designed to keep your attention for as long as possible. Over time, they can become quite difficult to put down. But, the longer you stay scrolling, the more money social media platforms make off of you. This gives social media companies plenty of reasons to make their apps as addictive as possible.

These are some basic signs of phone addiction:

- Craving access to phone
- Checking phone constantly
- Anxious when it is not in sight
- Restlessness
- Sleep problems

If you believe you are suffering from cell phone addiction, you will want to take the needed steps to change this right away. Your relationships could go down hill if you do not. Plus, you will feel much better the less you are on your phone. You will have time for hobbies and things that you enjoy again!

Check-In On Your Phone Usage

Before you get started with the below hacks, you will want to check-in on your current phone usage. This allows you to know where you need to improve and cut back. There are many apps out there that can be used to track your usage.

“Moment” is a popular option. It tracks your usage and records how much time you spend on apps. Overall, phone tracking apps will give you a base point. From there, you can work on reducing the amount of time you spend checking it.

If you try to go into breaking a serious phone addiction without using a tool to track your progress, it will be much, much harder to overcome. By having numbers available to work with, you can also feel proud of your results.

Once you have your phone usage tracker installed, get to work on these hacks!

1. Turn Off Notifications

The first hack is to turn off your phone’s notifications. If you constantly reach for your phone the second it makes a sound, this will help you a lot. We are trained to respond to notifications- we react to each with a pleasure response. This makes our brains want more notifications.

If you want to stop bad phone habits, turning off notifications for most of your apps will help you stay productive. There will be a lot less interruptions ruining your focus. Plus, you will notice that you have a lot more time to yourself.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

Once the new features on social media platforms get announced, social media marketers often try to determine the cost and the benefits of using particular features for their business. They need to decide whether the cost of learning how to use a new feature will be worth it, and whether or not it would translate into extra engagement and sales.

The Instagram Guides feature is a new way to share information and recommendations with your followers. Effectively, when creating a Guide, you are creating a blog post that is comprised of other Instagram Posts but is built into the Instagram platform.

Growth can look different for different businesses. The goals of growth depend on the aims of the brand and the purpose of the content strategy is. When trying to grow your brand, it is important to set tangible goals. This will ensure that you are on track and posting effectively. It is not enough to simply post; you must post effectively.

Growth on Instagram can look like many things. One of the most common growth metrics is follower growth. So, perhaps you want to increase your overall follower count. When doing this, you need to remember the difference between the number of followers, and engaged followers. What this means is ensuring that your followers actually care about your business and interact with your content—uses Guides effectively is a great way to target interested users.

Growth with Instagram Guides is similar to growth in other areas and post types. The principles and basic theoretical understandings of growth are the same.

There are three types of Instagram Guides: places, products, and posts.

1: Set the rules and stand out

Naturally, as Instagram Guides are a new feature there are no conventions or expected posts. This means that you get to make the rules. Once your audience has an expectation of a kind of post the standards increase exponentially. This is why there are so many elements of posts that are consistently replicated across many accounts; because those are the things that work. When users view a feed post, in particular a brand post, they have certain expectations that need to be met, or they will disengage.

But, with Guides, however, you can be a part of the revolutionary users who get to decide the rules. Conventions and expected formats do not exist as of yet meaning that you can be as creative and exciting as you want.

It is also important to note that audiences may not be receptive to undertaking new features and forms of posts. This means you get to entice them. You got to be the entry into the world of Instagram Guides for them.

Nevertheless, being one of the first people to use a new feature, and use it well, is central to a growing audience. It will show that you are on-trend and relevant--given how fast we are used to receiving information and how accustomed we are to instant gratification we only want to be receiving do you find relevant information.

2: Promoting your content

Being able to promote your content is the best way to grow your audience. Promotion runs two ways; first promoting your content through Instagram Guides, and second, promoting your Guide.

Using the product Guide, you will be able to create insights into the product that you are selling on Instagram. Often people do want to know more about a product before committing to buying, see creating a Guide to your products is a great way to show your audience more. It could be the difference between a sale and not.
Anything you do to help make your products is good and will help you grow your audience. It will also assist in the growth of your business, and translating views into sales.

If your business has a physical location using the place Guide is a great way to show it off. You can create a Guide into many different elements of your business; it can be an effective way of communicating to your audience what your brand is all about. You can share informative content about elements of your business, and create an easy way for your audience to share your brand with their friends and family.

By including your post in the “posts” Guide, you are effectively promoting that content, too. Whether your Guides are comprised entirely of your own posts, or you are creating a compilation of many user’s posts; having your own post in there is a promotion of your content. The same goes for if your post is included in another user’s Guide—it is an easy promotion of your content.

These three kinds of Guides; products, places, and posts, all have different, yet effective implications for growing your audience and business.

As for the promotion of the Instagram Guide itself, there are several avenues you can take.

Primarily, though, you will be relying on shares. You should share your posts to your story and also encourage your audience to do the same. Eventually, Instagram Guides will show up on the explore page, but until then you need to promote them organically.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

Former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said in a speech, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." If you take the statement literally, it doesn't really make sense because you can't really be afraid of fear. What Roosevelt was trying to say is that fear is a crippling emotion that can hold back nations and individuals from achieving greatness. In that sense, the consequences of fear can be terrifying.

Good fear vs. bad fear

Fear is a strong emotion, an instinctive reaction that we're endowed with to ensure the survival of our species. It’s also a primeval instinct that we see in animals as well. As human civilizations became more complex and advanced, so did our fears become more varied and compounded. The caveman in prehistoric times wasn't worrying about the financial risks of taking out a second mortgage or making a career change. His primary goal revolved around one thing - survival.

Our current fears stem from the same core instinct but in comparison to our earliest ancestors, are much less of a threat. Oftentimes, rather than help us survive in the modern world, they hinder our ability to lead our best possible lives.

Now, this book is in no way trying to underplay or belittle your fears. Your fears are very valid. In fact, some actions should be tempered with a little bit of fear and caution. However, some fears can get blown out of proportion and take over your life. In this case, you need to pay attention.

Your fears could cause you to miss out on amazing opportunities that could change your life. Letting fear control you could be the reason you feel stifled, lost, and demotivated. Your fears, rather than protecting you, could be destroying your chances for happiness and success.

For example, the fear of swimming in shark-infested waters is a good fear. The fear of quitting a job that you hate and that offers no chance for advancement is a bad fear. It can hold you back from pursuing your true passion and showcasing your skills. It's these types of fears that this book will help you address.

This book is going to help you identify 7 types of fear that could be limiting your ability to achieve success These are fears that could hinder your care advancement or hold you back from building strong, healthy relationships. They can be the roadblocks to finding happiness and fulfillment.

Here are these 7 most common fears and a few tips on how to overcome them.

1.Fear of Risk

Risk is related to a perceived loss resulting from an action. Oftentimes, there's also a potential gain but we tend to magnify the loss while minimizing the gains. The fear of taking risks is a very strong primal fear related to our survival instinct where our prehistoric ancestors were surrounded by peril. Taking risks could mean getting eaten by wild animals or some other horrible death.

This fear remains very strong in us and is the first emotion that overcomes us when we think of taking important action.

How it holds you back

Let's say you want to start your own business. You have a great idea for a useful product or service that's scalable. There's an audience for it and your initial market research tells you it will be in demand. You're very excited. Then, the fear of risk kicks in and your mind starts bombarding you with 'what if?’

What if the idea's not so good after all? What if you take out a loan and can't repay it? What if the product doesn't sell? What if the market collapses? What if there's a nuclear war and you lose everything?

The 'what if' questions typically escalate into gloom and doom scenarios until the fear paralyzes you into inaction. Realistically, if there's a nuclear war, everybody's going to be out of business, aren't they? This is how the concept of risk can really play on your fear of loss.

Your fear ends up holding you back from, doing something that can have some real benefits for you. So, you ditch the idea and decide to stay on in a job you hate that's stifling your potential and ambition. You convince yourself that being miserable is safer than failing miserably!

Now, consider the alternative: you realistically assess the risks involved, plan for them and start your own business. You embark on an exciting journey when you become your own boss, take control of your life, and grow a super successful business. This is just one example of how fear of risk can hold you back from great things.

Action steps

Assess and evaluate risks

Identify your desired outcome. Let's stick with the example of starting your own business. Realistically and honestly assess the risks related to the outcome. In this case, they could be using your savings for capital, taking out a loan and changing interest rates or liabilities or hazards related to your product. I would also include the risk of not making any income from the business for a few months until it's up and running.

Weigh the desired outcome (establishing a successful business) against the risks involved and honestly assess the possibility of these risks really happening. You'll most likely find that the outcome or goal is worth the risks.

Assessing possible risks and putting them into proportion usually shows you that they're not as bad as you imagined, not likely to happen or if they do, can be managed.

Plan for risk

When you've identified all the possible risks, create a risk management plan for each one. This will give you tremendous peace of mind and confidence because you're mentally prepared and your back is covered.

Having a risk management plan or a plan B will arm you with the tools to immediately take action to mitigate or eliminate risks with the least possible losses. Oftentimes, many of the imagined risks never come to pass but having a plan B is one of the most powerful ways to break your fear of risk.

Set clear goals

Always define your goal or goals clearly and factor in the potential risks. Include sub-goals of steps you need to take to avoid risk. Your goal map should include benchmarks or timeframes where you stop and assess your progress to ensure that all is on track and to make modifications if something seems to be heading towards a risk.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

"Grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness." John Ortberg

The standard definition of grit is "firmness of strength or spirit". But really, the essence of grit is elusive and complex. It's doubtful that an exact definition actually exists.

Grit is a combination of resilience and courage, boldness and resolve. It is a mindset of passion, perseverance, hope and strong self-belief.

Grit is a fierce determination to succeed. It's when you bravely take the blows and setbacks that life deals you, defiantly pick yourself up and keep going. It's believing in yourself and in your ability to succeed against all odds.

Psychology defines grit through two key components:

• The ability to adhere to long-term goals

• The ability to continue pursuing those goals despite adversity

Grit is an extremely attractive quality to have. People with grit stand out and give the impression that they are a race apart. Mahatma Gandhi is a classic real-life example. James Bond is a classic example of a gritty movie character.

But this book isn't about how to become a babe magnet - although you may find it an added bonus! This book is about cultivating the quality of grit and achieving amazing success in your life.

Grit is not an innate trait we're born with but a skill that can be learned and cultivated. This can be done through seven powerful strategies that will very quickly enable you to grow your grit.

This book will walk you through these seven proven steps that will enable you to develop lasting grit. The result will be life-changing.

Chapter 1- The Grit Quiz

Some people talk about getting things done but never get around to doing them. Other people take action to consistently get things done. The difference between those two types of people is grit.

Which type of person are you? Are you somewhere in the middle? Do you swing between indifferent procrastination and enthusiastic action? Where do you stand on the grit scale?

Answer the following questions with yes/ no/ somewhat. The answer to each question is self-evident. Just be honest with yourself and take some time to reflect on your answers and recall specific examples in your life. As you read on, you will understand why you are lacking grit in certain areas.

1. I'm not discouraged by setbacks.

2. I tend to get passionate about an idea or project then lose interest.

3. I stick to my long-term goals and don’t let myself get distracted by new side projects.

4. When the going gets tough, I roll up my sleeves and confront the challenges.

5. I don’t give up easily.

6. I often set a goal but halfway through, switch to another one.

7. I am a hard worker.

8. I see my setbacks as learning opportunities to help me do better the next time.

9. I know where I want to be in 10 years.

10. I don’t procrastinate.

Wherever you stand on the grit scale, there's always room for improvement. Your answers should help you recognize which behaviors or traits are holding you back from developing grit and achieving your full potential. These are the areas you need to focus on more as you're going through the seven steps.

The grit quiz highlights the essence of grit. It's all about homing in on your goals and taking action to achieve them.

Actor Woody Allen summed up the proactive mindset of gritty people beautifully. ? He said, “80% of success is showing up.” Read on to learn how you can achieve success by consistently showing up and being present.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

Our dreams and goals are what give our lives meaning. They give us purpose and keep us passionate and motivated. Our vision of what we want to achieve in life gives us the courage and strength to keep going in difficult times and fuels our determination to succeed in the face of adversity.

Surprisingly, our digitally-centered world, while simplifying our life in many ways, makes it harder to stay focused on our goals. As we try to keep pace with our hectic lifestyle and unending commitments, we often get sidetracked and lose sight of our vision. We put our dreams on the back burner or shelve them away in our minds. The danger is that we get so caught up in the proverbial "rat race", we risk losing our vision altogether.

This is why a vision board could be just what you need. As the name implies, it's a tool that helps you keep your goals and visions alive.

This book will explain how a vision board works and why it can be an amazingly powerful tool. It will provide step-by-step instructions on how to create your personal vision board and how to use it.

Our goals and visions are unique to us. Whether your dream is to create a successful online business, own your own house or become CEO of your company, a vision board can help. If your vision is to become rich or famous, find true love or provide a good life for your family, a vision board can bring you closer to your dreams. The beauty of a vision board is that it can be customized to fit any vision or aspiration.

Creating a vision board is easy, enjoyable and costs next to nothing - but the results can actually transform your life!

Chapter 1: Why a Vision Board

First, let's get familiar with the basics and benefits of a vision board and understand why it's such a helpful tool.

What is a vision board?

A vision board is a surface (such as a bulletin board, magnetic board, or even a computer desktop) on which you display images of your future goals and dreams. These can include what you want to be, what to want to have in your life, and even people related to your goals who inspire you.

A vision board works to keep you focused on your goals and aspirations by looking at the images daily and visualizing your future life.

Benefits of using a vision board

• It brings clarity by helping you identify your specific goals.
• It gives your vision tangibility.
• It reinforces your purpose and keeps it strong.
• It relieves stress and anxiety.
• It's a powerful daily affirmation that wires your brain to recognize its importance.
• It gives clarity on your priorities.
• It boosts motivation and productivity.
• It boosts your creativity.

Who can benefit from a vision board?

Absolutely anyone can benefit from a vision board, even children. A vision board relies on visualization, one of the most powerful tools available to each and every one of us.

For adults, a vision board can help with career, relationship, and family goals. It can help with personal health and fitness goals as well as financial goals. For children and younger adults, it can be perfect for educational goals and personal dreams.

Creating a vision board is a wonderful family activity where you can all get together and create your personal boards. It's a great creative activity for children as well as a great learning experience where they learn to identify the things that matter to them.

Now, you may be thinking, all of this sounds fun and the benefits seem great - but does a vision board really work? Read on!

Chapter 2: How Vision Boards Work

The vision board is not a bogus fad but it's understandable that people may be skeptical. After all, how can looking at a bunch of pictures lead to anything effective or tangible? Vision boards are fun to make and use but can they realistically achieve any results? The answer is an emphatic yes.

The concept behind how vision boards work is backed by some very powerful research. Some of these scientific findings give us reasons to take vision boards very seriously.

On the other hand, proponents of the Law of Attraction present a plausible theory, although with less conclusive scientific evidence.

Let’s see how vision boards work according to both of these categories.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

Failure comes in many shapes and forms. It could be failing an exam, losing your business, not getting the promotion you were expecting or a painful marital breakup.

Failure is also relative. For one person, a stern reprimand from the boss is an embarrassing failure while for another, it's just an embarrassment.

In the first instance, the person would squirm with shame and frustration for days, reliving the moment over and over. The second person quickly races to fix the mistake and regain the boss's approval.

Whereas one person sees losing their job as failure, another sees it as a setback. It depends on the individual's personal "failure scale".

In an ideal world, everyone would never use the word "failure" but instead, think "obstacle" or "setback." But realistically, that doesn’t happen.

Anyone who tells you they haven't experienced failure is lying to your face. Like death and taxes, failure is an inevitable part of life. And it doesn't happen once. We're likely to experience many failures of varying magnitude throughout our lifetime. It's always painful, shameful, frustrating and sometimes, it can be devastating.

Some interesting facts about failure

Several research studies have been done on failure and its effect on individuals. Some of the findings include:

Failure decreases a person's confidence in their skills and abilities. They equate failure to inferiority.

Failure makes the goal appear unattainable. This is the reason why many people change track midway or just give up. They believe that since they failed once, they will continue to fail.

An extreme and irrational fear of failure can be caused by just one failure or setback.

Failure makes people helpless. Some people become so overwhelmed with despair that they literally feel their lives have come to an end.

Failure causes emotional and mental pain

Don't despair - these are the negative findings. On the positive side, research has also shown that those who are hungry for success and willing to go the extra mile always bounce back from failure more quickly and spectacularly. This is what this book is all about.

Why do we take failure so hard? One reason is because we take it so personally! Have you ever known anyone who intentionally set themselves up to fail? Yes, failure happens and it could be our fault but never our fault by intention.

The key to bouncing back from failure is not to take it personally. You need to learn to look at failure objectively in order to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and put it behind you.

There are 7 powerful ways to develop that neutral, objective mindset to be able to honestly assess failure, learn the lessons you need to and move on to bigger and better successes.

Is that all it takes? Yes! You're just 7 steps away from developing amazing resilience and grit in the face of any failure!

Approach Vs. Avoidant Mentality - Which One Are You?

No two failures or setbacks are exactly the same nor are any two reactions to failure exactly alike. The way individuals deal with failure is a uniquely personalized experience. Their perception depends upon their character, their circumstances and the type and scope of the failure.

For some, losing their job can be like a devastating hurricane that totally crushes them. For others, it's like a tornado that does some minor damage. Others see it like a thunderstorm that will temporarily derail them. Still, failure isn't fun and nobody takes it lightly.

Understanding how you perceive and deal with failure is the first step to bouncing back more effectively. There are two basic mindsets that govern how we relate to failing; approach or avoidant. Read on to identify whether you have an approach mentality or an avoidant mentality.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

Whether at our workplace or in our social circle, we all know someone who's mentally tough and resilient. This is the type of person who never gives up, sees setbacks as an exhilarating challenge, and never seems fazed no matter how tough the going gets.

In fact, they seem to thrive in chaotic situations. The hotter things get, the cooler they appear, not a hair out. What's more, they never seem to get fatigued. They vibrate with perpetual energy and passion. They radiate with positivity and cheerfulness. Naturally, these people are also spectacular achievers. For them success is a given.

Do you envy these seemingly invincible superheroes? Do you find yourself wondering what their secret is? Well, why waste time on envy when you can become just as tough and resilient? Why puzzle over their secret when it's right here in this book?

Mental toughness is not a special talent or a God-given trait. It's a skill that you can master to develop a tough-as-nails mindset that can overcome any setback or adversity. And along with it, you can be sure that burnout will be eliminated from your life.

Developing these essential qualities for success is fairly simple. The strategy consists of 8 secrets that are so powerful that they will change your life.

What is Mental Toughness?

We all have a general idea of what it means to be mentally tough but what exactly does mental strength involve? And how does it prevent burnout? Mental resilience is a combination of different qualities.

It's the ability to deal with change, pressure, and stress while performing at peak capacity. This ability to take anything in stride is fueled by a powerful mindset of self-belief, optimism, and positivity. Simply put, mentally resilient people live by the mantra "I can do it."

Developing mental toughness is just like working out to develop physical fitness and strength. It involves developing a set of habits that build mental resilience and strength. The 8 secrets discussed here will help you do that. When practiced consistently, you will begin to experience dramatic changes in your life.

Based on this definition, it's not hard to see how developing mental resilience is fundamental to achieving your goals and living your best life.

The 4 C's of Mental Toughness

Before proceeding with the 8 secrets, there are 4 basic factors you need to reflect upon in order to create effective change.

The 4 C's are four areas you need to reflect on to assess where you currently stand on the mental resilience scale. Acknowledging that you need to change and making the commitment to tackle your weak points is the first important step.

Changing your mindset and learning new habits is a transformative endeavor and therefore, does require some effort on your part. The 4 C's are the basic pillars that lay the groundwork for your transformation.

Commitment

Commitment means making the wholehearted intention to build mental toughness and change your life. It means making it your full focus and top priority. It means practicing the 8 steps diligently until you have mastered them.

Anything less will result in mediocre, temporary change and you will have wasted your time. So, be prepared to put in the time and effort and make the commitment to stick to it.

Commitment involves bringing the process of change into everything you do and keeping it always top of mind. It involves avoiding distractions and not allowing yourself to get sidetracked.

A high commitment level also means establishing consistent routines to build new habits and break old behaviors that are holding you back.

All it takes is a few moments of honest self-reflection. Identify the habits that have been standing between you and your full potential and making the intention to break them.

End your self-reflection session by pledging to yourself the commitment that your main goal in the coming period will be to develop mental toughness.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

If you are not a “morning person” you may recoil in horror at the idea of waking up even earlier to include morning rituals in your busy schedule. You do not have to wake up at 5 AM every day to benefit from introducing morning rituals into your life.

If you drink a cup of coffee in the morning or immediately start scrolling through social media after turning off your alarm then you already have morning rituals. The idea is to optimize your morning routine for a more stress-free and productive day. Our mornings can set the tone for the rest of our day which is why many experts recommend using the morning to spend some time on you.

What is a Morning Ritual?

A morning ritual is a task that you perform in the morning every day. This can range from taking a walk to making a to-do list. Your morning rituals should be tailored for what works best for you.

Benefits of Morning Rituals

These benefits of morning rituals are backed by scientific studies.

More Productive Days

Taking a few moments at the beginning of the day to organize your thoughts and plan your day can go a long way when it comes to productivity. Going into work groggy, grumpy, and unprepared can leave you feeling unfulfilled and unaccomplished. Having a productive day is not just about making a to-do list either.

Having a morning ritual that makes you feel good about yourself and start the day off in a relaxed mood will also help you be more productive. Instead of rushing into all of the tasks you have to complete with a scrambled mind.

Less Stress

Stress is a normal human reaction to having too much to do in too little time. There are a lot of physical and mental ways that stress can affect you over time. This includes increased anxiety, developing depression, fatigue, headaches, and even body pains from tension.

One of the ways that having a morning ritual benefits you is that you know what to expect every morning and so your brain has less to worry about. Self-care rituals like exercise, journaling, or meditation can reduce your stress levels throughout the day because you can approach challenges from a clear mindset.

Live Healthier

If your morning rituals currently include things like pressing the snooze button multiple times, scrolling on social media while chugging a boiling cup of coffee, skipping breakfast, and violating several traffic laws as you speed to work...well that’s not great, but you are not alone. Many people get into bad habits and do not know how to break them. Having a morning ritual is a great way to implement healthy habits into your life.

Having a schedule in the morning can help you make time in your day for working out and eating a healthy breakfast. These healthy habits will make you feel more energized and productive throughout the day and benefit your long term health. It is tempting to hit the snooze button (we have all been there), but once you get into a routine your body will adjust to waking up at a specific time. Having morning rituals that you enjoy to look forward to will motivate you to get out of bed in the mornings.

Better Memory

Have you ever taken a long commute to work and settled into your work when you suddenly groan and realize you forgot to complete an important task at home? Having a morning routine can help to prevent you from forgetting important things. Imagine working all night on writing a paper just to forget it at home on the day it is due. Instances like that are avoidable by using morning rituals to take time to reflect on the day ahead of you and prepare.

Getting into a regular morning routine means that you do the same tasks every morning which makes it harder to forget things. Creating a to-do list is a morning ritual that will have a huge benefit in helping you to remember all of the important things you have to get done that day. Being clear-headed in the morning helps to improve memory.

Make More Time For Yourself

Morning routines save time because you do not have to waste time thinking about what to do next. This means that you can get more sleep or get more things done in the morning. Having time for yourself in the morning means that you can spend more time getting ready for the day. You can plan out your outfits and spend more time on your appearance which will make you feel confident and look more put together.

For many people, the morning hours are a sacred time. Families with children will appreciate the quiet and calm before the kids wake up. Take time for yourself in the morning to walk outside and smell the fresh air. Write in your journal, burn a candle, meditate, take a bath, and pamper yourself and you will feel better all day. There are many ways that you can pamper yourself in the morning.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

Mindfulness is a great way to reset your thinking, stay active in the present, and prioritize your health. Even on the worst days, mindfulness is always guaranteed to make your day seem a little bit brighter and more manageable.

If you have never tried mindfulness before, now is the perfect time to start. It doesn’t take up a whole lot of time out of your day, and it is a completely free way to enhance your wellbeing. One catch of mindfulness is that you have to practice every day. If you only are mindful sporadically, you will not see the results you want.

To ensure that you stay on track with your mindfulness goals, try to incorporate and integrate mindfulness into your daily life. Implementing mindfulness in your daily routine is an easy way to keep yourself motivated throughout the day.

To help you integrate mindfulness in your everyday life, here are 5 tips to implement mindfulness to your life. Read on to find out more.

Start Small

Our brains are incredibly powerful and smart organs. They allow us to think, act, and live our lives as rational and competent beings. They even allow all of us to practice mindfulness when we want, meaning that we all have the capacity to become mindful.

With that being said, we have to work our brains in order for them to be as powerful as we would like. Mindfulness is an area that the brain especially needs a little help in. Although we all have the capacity to be mindful, we have to practice at becoming more mindful each and every day.

For this reason, it is okay to start small. To unlock the full benefits of mindfulness, you need to practice for at least 20 minutes a day without stop. For most people, being mindful for a whole 20 minutes is incredibly difficult at first. Our minds wander, we get distracted, and we simply can't remain focused on the mindful practice for that long.

If you are finding that being mindful for 20 minutes at a time is incredibly tough, start with 5-minute practices instead. As you get better, slowly increase the increments until you finally reach 20 minutes. After that, you can try to be mindful for longer periods of time if you would like, but you don't have to.

There is absolutely no shame in approaching mindfulness like this. Even practicing for 5 minutes will be more beneficial than doing nothing at all, and it is teaching you mental endurance to practice mindfulness for longer periods of time.

Incorporate Mindfulness Into Your Daily Routine

Let's face it. Many of us simply do not have enough time in the day to finish work, eat, communicate with loved ones and family, and be mindful. It seems that the modern world is constantly filled with never-ending tasks and to-do lists.

If this sounds like you, try to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine. This can include your morning routine, commute to work, or anything else that you do on a daily basis. Doing so will allow you to maximize your time in a way that is efficient and healthy.

If you're unsure how to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine, here are a couple of ideas:

Morning Routine: Almost everyone, whether it is intentional or unintentional, has a morning routine. Yours may be reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, or preparing a nice breakfast. Find little ways to be mindful and present in the moment throughout this routine. It will allow you to practice your mindfulness and set a relaxing and healthy tone for the day.

Commute: Most people spend at least 30 minutes in their car a day, and that time is often filled with mindless wandering. Use your commute time to become mindful and relax your brain. It is a great time to focus on your feelings and thoughts without taking up any extra time from your day.

Shower: A lot of people think about their past and future while they're taking a shower. Instead of ruminating, be mindful and present while you take a shower. Your shower is a great time to get in touch with your senses and think about your feelings in a relaxing setting.

Waiting in Line: Some days, it seems that all we're doing is waiting in line: waiting in line for coffee, waiting in line at the store, waiting in line to speak to your boss. Make the most of this waiting time by being present and mindful while in line.

Before Bed: Help yourself fall asleep easier by spending a simple 5 minutes before bed being mindful. You may want to do this after you've already put on your pajamas and tucked yourself into bed. Simply close your eyes and be mindful before falling asleep. You can do this either in your head or write it out in a journal.
Any of these ideas will be easy and efficient ways to incorporate mindfulness into your routine.

Set Aside Time Every Day to Practice Mindfulness

If you want to see the true and full benefits of mindfulness, then you have to set aside time every single day to practice mindfulness. Being mindful for long periods of time on a daily basis is the best way to rejuvenate your life and feel more satisfied with it.

Sample Content Preview

If you want more free traffic from Facebook then the best way to do this is to increase the amount of engagement that you get with your posts. Engagement is an action that a Facebook user takes in respect to your posts.

The most popular forms of engagement are commenting, liking your posts and sharing them but engagement can take other forms such as clicking links and tagging you in other posts. All of this engagement helps you to improve you organic reach.

When your posts have a lot of engagement this will help to get them increased exposure in the news feeds of your audience. Getting more shares and likes will help you to reach the extended network of your audience.

Having an engaged audience should be at the top of your priority list when you want to drive as much free traffic from Facebook as possible. There is nothing better than having a Facebook audience that wants to interact with you and your brand.

You know that increased post engagement will curry favor with Facebook and their algorithm will help you to extend your reach. So it is worth you identifying the best times to make posts and get this timing really perfect.

It is just common sense – if you add your posts at the times when your audience is the most active then you significantly increase your chances of getting more shares, likes and comments. Fortunately there is data driven research to help you identify the best social media posting times so that you can align your posting schedule with these.

Posting at random times and expecting a lot of engagement just doesn’t make sense. So go to your favorite search engine and search for “best times to post on Facebook”. You will see the results of data driven research that you can use.

There are a number of Facebook content scheduling tools available and we recommend that you look into these. Most offer a free service but there will be limits on the number of posts that you can schedule. You should be able to find a low cost scheduling tool that will help you to synchronize your posting days and times for optimum results.

Do you give your audience what they really want on Facebook? Most marketers don’t do this and then wonder why their engagement levels are so low. Let’s say that you are a local restaurant using Facebook for marketing. Does that mean that everything you post has to be about food or drink – no certainly not!

When you think about it, there is only so much that you can talk about any niche on a day to day basis. What you don’t want to do is to start to repeat your content because if you do this you will certainly lose part of your audience.

Think about your Facebook content in this way – it is about your audience and not about you! Of course you want your fans to know, like and trust you but you don’t want to force yourself down the throat of your audience all of the time.

What you need to do is to find some current content that will engage your audience. A good way to do this is to ask yourself some questions:

What real world events can I use in my posts?

There is always something going on that you can use to link your business to. For example, every year there is International Women’s Day so you could create a post about how you support this and you are offering half price for the ladies in your restaurant.

What facts or statistics will interest my audience?

If you are in the restaurant business then there are facts and statistics released all of the time about obesity, healthy eating and so on. You can really use these to your advantage. Ask your audience how they feel about the statistic or fact and watch the comments roll in.

How can you make your audience laugh?

This is a really good question. People like Facebook because they can keep in touch with their friends and family and they can be entertained. So entertain them! There are thousands of funny videos on YouTube for example and you should be able to find something that relates to your niche.

It really is all about your audience. Making posts about yourself or your business is not going to drive much engagement. Use an 80/20 rule here – 80% of your content is for your audience and 20% is about promotion.

Your audience will appreciate that your content is a “mixed bag”. It will make them more curious about what you will post next. They will look forward to seeing your future posts which is just perfect.

If you have been making posts on Facebook for a while then you can easily identify which of your posts were the most popular with your audience. By looking inward like this you can see what type and format of content really resonates with your audience.

It is likely that you are going to have some posts that just really performed well. They got a ton of shares, likes and comments because your audience really loved the content. Don’t just dismiss these posts as something out of the ordinary – analyze them to see why they did so well.

The aim here is to learn all that you can from your successful posts so that you recreate this engagement love with your future posts. Did you use an appealing meme? Did you answer a specific question in detail? Did you show your audience how to do something useful?

It is so easy for you to keep your finger on the pulse with your top performing posts using Facebook Insights. You can see all of your posts and the amount of engagement that they received as well as the reach of the posts.