Inspiration through writing
I have been following Richard Branson for some time now. He is an international entrepreneur, adventurer, icon, and the founder of the Virgin Group. The Virgin Group is one of the world’s most recognized and respected brands, with over 400 companies. Richard is always in the news, but most recently to gather aid for the many British Virgin Islands that were destroyed by Hurricane Irma. It is impossible to not be inspired by the work that he has done and IS doing, the teams he has created, and his intense energy for adventure.
Recently I have found a group of writers on Virgin.com that have been talking about how writing can improve your life both professionally and personally. There are two that directly relate to having a seamless and organized life, which are concepts that I shared during the #30DTAOL challenge. If you haven't had an opportunity to cruise around on the virgin.com site, I highly recommend it.
These are articles that I must share!
"Four habits that help make your dream a reality." published in May by By Sam Fentiman-Hall is a great quick read. We talked quite a bit about these two during the #30DTAOL challenge:
- Plan and schedule: "Getting out of bed a bit earlier and using that part of the day effectively is your first new habit to develop. Every minute is valuable, so reduce or schedule in your social media and email time. Breaking down big tasks into achievable steps is one way to keep your level of focus and interest high."
Keep fit - mentally and physically: Another "habit of successful people is that they still take time to read. But in addition to reading about business in books, blogs, news articles and magazines, they also read for pleasure.... Once you’ve worked your brain, you also need to work your body. Take a walk in your lunchtime, (whilst listening to podcasts), or get up and do some stretches, or yoga poses several times a day."
Another article that resonates with me, "How developing a writing habit could help your business" which was written by Emmanuel Nataf. The benefits of a writing habit that I have reaped myself and communicate through the #30DTAOL challenge are:
- Encouraging openness and honesty. When you allow yourself the opportunity really follow the #30DTAOL process to track your habits, outline your goals, and manage your schedule you can SEE on a daily basis both personal and business development or obstacles. Reviewing this progress gives you an honest look at how you are developing or the obstacles in your path.
- Waking up your creativity. Creativity isn't found only in the colors you choose for your layout or the drawings you add to a page, but in the way track your progress or outline your path. Daily pages give you a space to write out how a day went, what you experienced, along with the progress made and ways you celebrated.
- Reducing procrastination and cultivating discipline. "Taking a step back to explore your thoughts and work through ideas via writing, even if you take just 20 minutes out of the day to write and reflect could be highly beneficial." Part of the #30DTAOL process includes a morning and evening review of your journal to see what is ahead today/tomorrow and what you accomplished.