Leverage Your Accumulation of Knowledge

The role of a health and fitness professional involves teaching, leading, and inspiring others toward a healthier lifestyle. The wisdom and knowledge acquired through life experience, especially during middle age, provide a strong foundation for success in this field.

Increasing Need 

As the Baby Boomer generation enters retirement and Generation X follows, there’s a growing demand for health and fitness services catering to the over 50 market. This demographic’s diverse needs, from beginners to competitive athletes, present endless opportunities. Despite the growing number of active older adults, the majority don’t meet the minimum requirement for physical activity and sedentary behavior is highest amongst older adults. This is an opportunity to engage, motivate, and guide others toward a more active life.

Personal Experience

With the growing active aging market, mature adults often seek guidance from someone who understands their life stage. As a mature fitness professional, your relatability fosters trust, especially for those embarking on their fitness journey in later years.

Opportunity for Innovation and Creativity

Approaching the second half of life prompts reflection on future activities and health. The activities you aspire to engage in now and in the future are likely shared by others. You have the opportunity to lead the way by creating the programs and services you wish existed. Witnessing the  aging process of loved ones can inspire you to create programs or services that enhance the health and well-being of older adults.

Harness Your Work Experience

Skills developed over years of work, such as relationship-building, professionalism, and maturity, are valuable assets in an industry often skewed towards youth. Your diverse background can set you up for success as a health and fitness professional. As Dan Duran, a former police officer turned personal trainer, aptly notes, “All the skills you learn in other careers or in life, are what I believe truly make you successful as a personal trainer. That is  some maturity. The ability to communicate. Those are  some of the skill sets that really helped me take off.” Your work skills can serve as the cornerstone of a fulfilling second career in the health and fitness industry.

The fitness industry is currently in need of health and fitness professionals who can cater to the unique needs of mature populations. Whether you choose to work in health clubs, community centers, assisted living facilities, or venture into entrepreneurship, seize this remarkable opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of others while enjoying a fulfilling second career.

Erin Eleuterio is an experienced older adult fitness professional and host of the Second Act Fit Pros podcast. Her podcast highlights the lives of individuals working in health and fitness in their second act and those that are dedicated to improving the quality of life for mature adults through movement and improved health. Click here to sign up for the Second Act Fit Pros newsletter to get information on upcoming, online events on how to become a health and fitness professional.

The post Experience Meets Wellness: Why Mature Adults Thrive in Health and Fitness Professions appeared first on Beyond Retirement.

Working as a health and fitness professional and catering to the over-50 population is a fulfilling career path filled with abundant opportunities. Senior living communities value the presence of skilled health and fitness experts who can lead exercise and wellness sessions. This demand is fueled by the continuous expansion of the over 50 demographic, with Baby Boomers enjoying longer, active lives, and the entire GenX generation by 2030. This mature population is increasingly health-conscious and possesses the financial means to invest in services that enhance their overall well-being. Consequently, there is a compelling need for fitness professionals to serve this older adult population, driven by a multitude of significant factors:

Health and Well-Being: The majority of adults aren’t meeting the physical activity guidelines to stay healthy and sedentary behavior is most prevalent for those over 65. The lack of physical activity contributes to health challenges such as reduction in muscle mass, bone density, and flexibility. Fitness professionals can design tailored exercise programs to improve these aspects, promoting better overall health and reducing the risk of chronic conditions like osteoporosis and heart disease.

Improve Resilience to Falls: Fitness professionals can help individuals retain muscle mass and improve bone health, bolstering their resilience to getting injured from a fall. Furthermore, specialized balance training equips adults with the adaptability and stability necessary to navigate various terrains with confidence. As individuals witness noticeable enhancements in their balance and strength, their confidence in their ability to effectively prevent falls and recover from them is improved.

Functional Independence: Helping older adults maintain their physical abilities and functional independence is crucial. Fitness professionals can focus on exercises that enhance balance, mobility, and strength, which are essential for performing daily tasks and help older adults avoid the need to stay at assisted living facilities.

Mental Health and Cognitive Function: Physical activity has been linked to improved mental health and cognitive function. Fitness professionals can create exercise routines that not only strengthen the body but also stimulate the mind, potentially reducing the risk of conditions like dementia and depression. Research has shown that exercise plays an important role in helping to reduce the risk of cognitive decline.

Social Interaction: Loneliness and social isolation can be significant issues for older adults. Group fitness classes and personal training sessions provide opportunities for social interaction, fostering a sense of community and emotional well-being. In an interview with Diana McNeill, a Bone Health exercise coach, she stated one of the primary reasons she started her business was to build a community to help address the loneliness epidemic. 

Programs that work: There are numerous turnkey programs offering training and/or certifications that have been shown to improve the health, well-being, and physical abilities of older adults, from fall prevention programs like Stepping On to Parkinson’s Wellness Recovery programs. As a health and fitness professional, you’ll have the chance to deliver these life-changing programs and help people improve their health and achieve their fitness goals.

Becoming a fitness professional can take just months to get certified. To learn more about becoming a health and fitness professional, listen to the Second Act Fit Pros podcast episode, “How to Become a Fitness Professional” or attend a free, live, online event, held every month “The Ultimate Part-Time Job for Active & Healthy Adults Over 50.” By entering this field, you can play a vital role in promoting the health, independence, and overall well-being of older adults, helping them maintain physical and mental health, improve their quality of life, and stay active and engaged in their communities.

Erin Eleuterio is an experienced fitness professional working with older adults and host of the Second Act Fit Pros podcast. Her podcast highlights the lives of individuals working in health and fitness in their second act and those that are dedicated to improving the quality of life for mature adults through movement and improved health. Click here to sign up for the Second Act Fit Pros newsletter to get information on upcoming, interactive, online events on how to become a health and fitness professional.

The post The Growing Need for Health & Fitness Professionals to Serve the Mature Adult Population appeared first on Beyond Retirement.

If you’re already enjoying retirement and have a passion for staying physically active, consider the fulfilling path of becoming a health and fitness professional. This choice allows you to channel your love for physical activity into a rewarding endeavor that positively impacts the lives of others. Whether you aspire to work in a gym, lead fitness classes, become a dedicated personal trainer, or even venture into entrepreneurship, the world of fitness offers a plethora of opportunities to make a significant difference in people’s health and well-being. Below, discover seven reasons to embark on this journey as a health and fitness professional, accompanied by inspiring real-life examples of individuals who transitioned into a second act career in health and fitness.

1.You Will Be an Inspiration to Others: As a health and fitness professional, you will be a role model for people of all ages, showing that it’s possible to learn new skills, stay strong and active, and make a positive impact on the lives of others. Your peers and younger generations will be inspired by your commitment to lifelong learning and your dedication to living a healthy lifestyle. Take for instance, Tim Minnick, at 80, who is the world’s oldest active personal trainer. He reports that gym patrons and clients have commented on what an inspiration he is to them to continue with their exercise program.

Patricia Linderman from Fierce After 45 started adopting a healthy lifestyle in her 50s, after years of mostly sedentary living. After losing over 40 pounds and starting fitness activities she’d never tried before, like Zumba and running, she went on to become a health coach. Her journey has allowed her to be an inspiration to her clients and a reminder that it’s never too late to start on the path to improving your health.

2. An Opportunity to Learn Something New: Pursuing a new career can offer the opportunity to keep your brain and body active, and to continue developing new skills and knowledge. Just like exercise prevents physical decline, embarking on new learning experiences bolsters our cognitive capacities. Research illustrates that older adults, after just six weeks of mastering new tasks, exhibited cognitive capabilities equivalent to individuals 30 years younger.

Marla Mulkey decided to learn about nutrition and holistic health after she found traditional medicine wasn’t helping her daughter’s skin issues. Marla discovered the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and took the certification program. She started imparting the knowledge about nutrition and health she was learning to friends and family and she eventually launched a health coaching practice that helps women in middle age and beyond. 

3. It’s Rewarding to Help Others: Exercise is a powerful tool for preventing many lifestyle diseases.  Assisting people in preserving their health and improving their physical abilities is a gratifying endeavor. By becoming a health and fitness professional, you can gain the knowledge and tools to make an impactful difference in someone’s health and quality of life. 

In podcast interviews, Melinda Sukle, an experienced fitness instructor for assisted living communities, stated “I get more out of it than they do.” Adela Vangelisti, a professional dancer who teaches Silver Swan ballet classes said “from everything I’ve done, this is the one that has given me the most enrichment to my life.” Randy Bernard, a personal trainer, said “this is really an incredible way to spend your time and there’s an enormous need.”

4. Turn your passion into a career: If you already spend a lot of time working out and staying active, why not get paid to pursue the activity that you enjoy.  Entering the health and fitness field can allow you to turn your passion into a fulfilling career, as you help other live healthier, happier lives.

Traci Townsend, a retired public educator, always had a love for working out and lifting weights. After she retired she decided to get certified as a personal trainer and specialize in training women over 50 to lift weights. She now has a large following on Instagram and a successful  online personal training business.

5. Create the experiences you want: When you’re passionate about fitness, you likely have a vision of what you’d like to do to stay active as you get older. With a career in health and fitness, you can make that vision a reality and help others do the same. Whether it’s starting a basketball league for masters athletes, a rock climbing group for those over 50, or a dance class inspired by Saturday Night Fever, you can bring your passions to life and help others do the same.

Arlo Niederer, a retired geophysicist,  leads the Boomer Climb Club in Colorado Springs. It’s an indoor rock climbing club where people over 50 can improve their rock climbing skills and meet other climbers. The club has given Arlo an opportunity to use his extensive rock climbing experience to teach others and create a supportive local community of fellow rock climbers. 

6. Enjoy flexible hours: For many people, one of the biggest benefits of a career in health and fitness is the ability to set their own hours. As a personal trainer or group fitness instructor, you can often choose when and how many clients or classes you want to work with. This can make it easier to balance work with other commitments or interests, and can be a great fit for those who prefer seasonal or part-time work. 

Personal trainer Randi Bethel, with Move Thru Life, trains three clients and she’s happy with the schedule and has no intentions of growing her training business beyond the people she’s currently serving. 

Personal trainer Becky Harkema, with Fit 4 Life with Becky teaches online fitness classes to give her flexibility to travel. 

7. Connect with others and improve your own health: Retirement can mean losing the social connections at work. A career in health and fitness can be a great way to stay connected with others and build a supportive community around your shared interests. You’ll also have the opportunity to apply the knowledge you gain to your own training program, helping you stay fit and healthy as you age. 

Mary Jane Fast, a Zumba Gold instructor, says her class participants are like family. The bonds that have been created in class have extended beyond the studio walls with participants becoming friends and gathering outside of class.  

The fitness industry is currently in need of health and fitness professionals who can teach and train the mature population. You can choose to work in health clubs, community centers, or assisted living facilities, teach and train online, or even become an independent contractor or entrepreneur to start your own health and wellness business. Take advantage of this great opportunity to join the health and fitness industry and make a positive difference in the lives of others. You’ll be an inspiration to those around you and benefit yourself in the process.

Erin Eleuterio is an experienced fitness professional working with older adults and host of the Second Act Fit Pros podcast. Her podcast highlights the lives of individuals working in health and fitness in their second act and those that are dedicated to improving the quality of life for older adults through movement and improved health. Click here to sign up for the Second Act Fit Pros newsletter to get information on upcoming, interactive, online events on how to become a health and fitness professional.

The post Embracing a Second Career: 7 Reasons to Become a Health and Fitness Professional in Retirement appeared first on Beyond Retirement.

Human beings are excellent at adapting to new environments. We have powerful brains and capable bodies, and the way we are hardwired allows us to succeed in unfamiliar areas if we have to. This inherent ability sometimes leads us to question our current career path. You may have done this yourself. You are pretty confident that you can succeed in some other career, because your current occupation doesn’t reward you financially, mentally, or in some other way that you desire.

You should always be looking for ways to better yourself, physically and mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Some people decide to bounce from one career to another for purely financial reasons. Your motivation may be to spend more time with your family or to retire at a younger age. If you are seriously considering changing careers, you may have a new field of employment in mind.

Don’t leave your current career until you understand the “Big Why” behind your desire to move on.

Find a quiet room in your house where you feel comfortable. Don’t try this practice at work. Wait until you have some free time to yourself. Take a few deep breaths and clear your thoughts. Then ask yourself this simple question, “Why do I want to change careers?”

Your first answer is going to be a knee-jerk reaction. It is going to be something that people traditionally leave jobs and careers for. One of the most popular reasons for seeking a new occupation is to make more money. If that was your answer to this question, that could be a very valid reason, but it is far from your deep-down desire for a career change.

The next step in the process is “the 7 Levels of WHY” … Continue to ask yourself, “Why do I want to xxx?” until you finally get to the heart of the matter.

In this example, you may answer that you are tired of being broke all the time and living paycheque to paycheque. Now it is time to ask yourself, “Why am I tired of being broke all the time?” You may finally say to yourself that you hate being broke because it makes you feel like a failure, and you will never be able to travel and see the world, which has been a lifelong dream.

This is a real “Big WHY”!

In the beginning, you thought consciously that you only wanted to change careers to make more money. Money has very little to do with it, other than money is the vehicle which will allow you to travel and see the world. This is “why” you want to make more money. You only discovered this as your main motivating factor when you kept asking yourself “why” after each successive answer.

Sit down and ask yourself why you are considering moving from one career to another.

Your initial answer is not going to be your true motivation or desire. After each successive answer, keep asking yourself why you feel that way. Eventually, you will discover your “Big Why.” This is the emotion-driven motivation that you need to never forget. Write it down on a piece of paper and carry it with you, looking at it several times a day. This will give you the focus and courage to make the career change necessary to realize your most important dreams and desires.

A Successful Career Change Means Getting Uncomfortable

Most human beings cling to comfort, though science has proven that when you step outside of your comfort zone, that is where the most significant achievement takes place. If it weren’t for taking uncertain steps out into a scary world, we would still be living in caves and throwing rocks at dinosaurs, waiting around for someone to discover fire. Thomas Alva Edison would never have given us the light bulb, and we probably wouldn’t know that bacon goes great with everything.

Thinking about changing careers can be scary.

Most people just stay right where they are, because they are frightened by the possibility of failure. Since they have their family to provide for, they make the justification that they shouldn’t tempt fate, since moving to a new career might not turn out so well. So that person sticks with their current career even though they are not happy, years later wondering “what could have been.”

If You Never Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone, How Do You Know What You Are Truly Capable Of?

Sports records fall every day because athletes keep pushing themselves. They are not happy with their current level of achievement. They want to know how good they can be, so they train and work very hard. They push themselves out of their comfort zone, their regular training regimen. They lift heavier weights, work out longer, and run faster. The result of becoming uncomfortable, training as they have never trained before, is new personal bests and sometimes world records.

This is because of something known as the Yerkes-Dodson Law. Dodson and Yerkes were a couple of psychologists who, in the earliest years of the 20th century, discovered that stress leads to achievement. What they found was that significant achievement did not happen until a person took small steps outside of the environment, surroundings, and behaviors where he felt most comfortable.

Small Steps Lead to Big Change

They noted that when someone was put in an entirely uncomfortable, stressful environment, performance was horrible. However, taking small steps outside of a person’s comfort zone slowly began to expand the area where that person was happy and comfortable. Over time, it becomes easier and easier to take on new tasks and expose yourself to unfamiliar experiences.

If your job is killing you, physically or mentally, maybe you should switch careers. Don’t take a giant leap, take a baby step instead. Rather than immediately moving from one career to another, why not take a part-time job in a career that interests you? Maybe you can sign up for classes or certification in some field that has captured your attention. These small steps outside of your comfort zone will eventually give you the confidence to move onto an entirely different career if your current field of employment is not working out.

The post So You’re Thinking of a Career Change appeared first on Beyond Retirement.

I seem to say that a lot; I wonder if deep down I’m not really “meant” to be a blogger? How do you actually know for certain what you’re meant to do? I’m having a bit of a challenging time right now, trying to sort out what I’m doing and WHY.

My heart isn’t in the activities I’ve been doing. Oh, don’t get me wrong – I do believe in what I’m promoting, and I have seen improvement in myself and in others from the products I offer. But it’s not what I want to be doing.

As I said to my husband, and to a friend that I chatted with, I spend my entire day sitting in front of my computer and I’m not accomplishing anything because I’m busy doing things that keep my mind OFF the tasks I feel I “should” be doing. I really don’t want to do those things, so I find ANYthing else to do instead. So each night I go to bed feeling that I’ve accomplished nothing on my daily to-do list, but I’ve spent at least 14 hours sitting at my desk (more, most days, according to the report that pops up every day telling me my average daily screen time.)

Let me tell you, that is a truly soul-numbing feeling…

Oh, I know, lots of people spend MANY hours every day sitting at their computers and NOT being productive. I don’t have a monopoly on that! However, I thought it might be useful to someone to hear/see the process that I went through to get myself unstuck when I finally realized what was going on.

The first step is AWARENESS. You have to recognize that you’re IN the downward spiral, headed toward the bottom, before you can do anything to get out of it. The trajectory isn’t always clearcut; you can spend a long time in the spiral before realizing what’s going on. Watch for signs: increased mental fatigue, general disinterest in the routine activities of your business day, tasks building up because you’re not accomplishing them, discovery of new pastimes that pull you from the to-do list (such as a new game on your iPad…just one more level before you get back to work!)

Personally, I’ve been trudging along in this phase for a long time. Each day, I’d log into whatever site I decided I was going to work on first – it could be my main website, the jumping off point for all my programs and products, or maybe one of my programs themselves that I felt needed attention. Or perhaps I felt that it was time to work on another solo episode for my podcast, since I have all the interviews completed and ready to air. Then I’d sit and stare at the screen for awhile, thinking about all the activities I should be doing for that particular site or program. While I thought, I’d invariably pick up my iPad and start playing a game because if I didn’t login to the game each day, I’d lose my streak and all the points that come with maintaining it! Now THAT was something worth accomplishing each day.

After a few puzzles were completed, or a few rounds of some game were lost (or won, if I was lucky that day) I’d put the iPad down and stare at the screen again. I’d check my email, pop over to Facebook to see what’s going on there, even login to Instagram, even though I rarely use it, to see if there might be some inspiration to be had. Inspiration for WHAT, I’m not sure, because all the resources I needed for the work to be done were already in my files.

Finally, a couple of days ago, I realized that I was in that downward spiral and if I didn’t do something about it, I was going to hit the bottom. Or maybe I DID hit the bottom and that’s what saved me… who knows? I spent a few emotional hours trying to sort myself out and finally reached for help.

The next step is SELF-EVALUATION. This is the time to really be honest with yourself. Sit down somewhere quiet and answer these questions:

1. Why did you start the activity you’re involved in? (what was the desired outcome, what did you hope to get from it)
2. Have you achieved what you hoped to?
   • If yes, do you need to keep doing the activity?
     • If continuing the activity -> Find a related NEW goal to move toward
     • If not continuing the activity -> Stop & find a NEW activity (don’t flog a dead horse)
   • If no, is the activity bringing you closer to your goal?
     • If yes -> Continue the activity (make sure you’re moving forward)
     • If no -> Stop & find a NEW activity (again: don’t flog that dead horse)

Step three is TAKING ACTION. This is the step that actually sees you moving out of the funk and into something wonderful! Yes, it might take a bit of time to get to this point, especially if you have to identify a new goal or find a new activity in step two. But it’s worth it to get here! Believe me, once you find the path you’re supposed to be on and begin working toward the goals you’ve put in place, taking action is FUN!

Taking action means searching out the activities that bring you JOY and FULFILLMENT. Take a look at your answer to the first question in step 2. Why did you start your activity in the first place? There really WAS a reason… and it might not be valid anymore. Accepting that fact will set you free – it certainly did for me! The secret to this action step – and my salvation this past week – is that sometimes the path you’re on isn’t the right path and when you figure that out, it’s okay to stop going down that path. You are not “failing” and you’re not “unsuccessful” simply because you’ve decided the activity or business you’re working on isn’t right for you. It takes courage and strength to admit that you’ve made a wrong turn and to turn yourself around and head down another path, knowing full well that it’s going to take time to get to the level you were at in the previous activity.

In the entrepreneurial world, people are forever saying “remember your WHY”. Well, you know what? You may discover that the reason you’re driven toward a certain goal changes over time. And that’s okay! Life is a journey and the most important part of the journey is to do your best to enjoy it. We only get one stab at this particular journey, so don’t let someone else tell you what you’re looking for.

The post Finding Your WHY…if you NEED to appeared first on Beyond Retirement.

It feels like such a short time ago that high school was my biggest concern…not the worry of getting good grades, but of having good friends. Then university came and went…good grades were substantially harder there, but I managed to find and keep some really good friends. I guess things have a way of balancing out so you’re not stressing over too much all at the same time! That’s a really important aspect of life – balancing all the moving parts so you’re not overwhelmed.

So, how do you go about achieving that balance? Do you have to decide which activities to drop, which friends to stop seeing so often, which business ventures to ignore? Yes, actually…you have to make choices. But that doesn’t mean you have to give things up completely. You need to recognize that you can’t do all things, all the time. Sure, you can take part in a multitude of different activities, but you have to decide which you want to focus on RIGHT NOW.

What stage of retirement preparation are you in? That will help you decide what you need to focus on. If you’re nowhere near ready to retire – meaning that you’re enjoying what you’re doing and can’t imagine not continuing to do it – then your focus will be on continuing to build whatever you’ve got underway. If you’ve determined that you’re ready to move to the next stage, then you’ve got to start to turn your focus to cleaning up and winding down your current work activities (unless what you do is something you can simply walk away from). If you’re already retired, then your focus can start to expand again: what do you want to be involved in, now that you’re free to choose? Maybe you should make a list and still focus on one or two activities at a time, but your path is wide open now.

There are a few questions to ask yourself as you’re getting ready to retire. They’re important questions because they’re going to determine whether you’ve set the stage properly. But it’s not just a matter of knowing what questions to ask. You also need to be comfortable with the answers to the questions, or you’re going to find yourself unhappy. Let’s not go into this great stage of life unhappy!

Ask yourself this: Am I ready for the next step?

If you hesitate before you answer, or if you’re not sure what to say, then YOU’RE NOT READY. It’s a pretty simple test. If you’re ready, you’ll know it. Even if you don’t have all the steps worked out yet, if it’s time for you to move on from whatever it is you’re doing, you’ll know it. Your answer will be some version of “Bring It On!”

If that’s not your answer… if your answer is “I’m not sure” or maybe even “Ready?! I’m hardly even started getting ready!” that’s okay too. Everyone gets there on their own schedule. You don’t have to retire when the calendar says you’re at a certain age. You don’t have to retire when your boss tells you to. You may have to leave whatever it is you’re doing at some point, but retirement – the time when you get to decide where and when and how much you work – is YOUR decision.

So make it wisely.

Many people are counting on their calendars, making little comments about it being “almsost time.” That doesn’t mean they’re ready. You’ll know – and so will they – whent the time is right, because a new leaf will find them, bringing with it promises of new days and new adventures. When that excites you (more than the idea of leaving your current work does) it’s time to go.

So take a moment today and look around you as you walk down the street. What new leaves do you see? What excites you today? Tell me about it below.

The post A New Leaf appeared first on Beyond Retirement.

How do you navigate through all of the offers and all of the hype, to find something that’s real and valuable and might actually help you grow (or start) your business? If you figure it out…send me a message – PLEASE – because I am very seriously afflicted with Shiny Object Syndrome.

Shiny Object Syndrome, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it, is the inability to pass up taking a look at every offer that comes along…and often involves also purchasing those offers…because you simply cannot imagine life without THAT THING. What this means is that the creator of that offer (and every other offer that catches your attention and causes you to drag out your credit card) has NAILED it when it comes to identifying your PAIN POINT(S).

The art of writing copy – creating the tantalizing sentences that catch our attention as we browse through the online world – is exactly that…an ART. Getting the reader to continue reading past the headline is the first step, so that headline has to have a HOOK  . And that hook is the reader’s pain point…something the reader wants to have, or wants to lose, or dreams of doing…you get the picture. By drawing on that pain, the advertiser has nabbed the reader.

Then the next step is to make sure the reader knows that the pain is going to be relieved soon. That involves the STORY. It has to be a great story – something that keeps the reader’s attention and promises to solve the problem(s).

And then comes the final step, the OFFER. This is the key point  , where FOMO strikes the reader (Fear Of Missing Out). If the advertiser can convince the reader that they will NEVER achieve what they’re hoping to achieve, or that the pain will NEVER go away without this product or service, the reader is sold.

I started examining various ads and offers with the hope of learning this art – I want to become a great copywriter…I’d even settle for being reasonably good. So I look at lots of offers every week. The problem is, I also have lots of pain points! That means these great copywriters are singing my song!

How can I study them and learn from them, when I’m so busy buying all their products and services instead?!

The post Shiny Objects appeared first on Beyond Retirement.

I guess it’s not really productivity that needs assistance so much as it’s US…as we move through our days, we sometimes run up against some interference from outside sources (and sometimes from inside sources too!) It doesn’t hurt to get a reminder about some ways to overcome that interference.

As hard as we try, we are often foiled by the little “time-stealing gremlins”…those random activities that take us from the REAL project. For example: I sat down to write this post two days ago and I’m currently on the third paragraph. BUT I’ve completed a grocery list, although it’s my husband who does the shopping; made up a detailed list of when all my various domains expire and what company is hosting them, if they’re not hosted by the domain registrar; sorted through all the screen shots and downloads that I’ve collected over the past few months, deleting or renaming them as appropriate; and rewritten my to-do list four times, changing nothing on any iteration.

Ah, those time-stealing gremlins…your subconscious mind works REALLY HARD to make sure you don’t get outside your comfort zone. Keeping you busy with seemingly important activities that prevent the uncomfortable tasks from moving to the forefront is a full-time job! But there are things you can do to improve your productivity even as you’re completing those “busy-tasks”.

Here are a few ideas of ways you can improve your productivity in the moment:

• throw out the to-do list, replacing it with a “must-get-done-today” list
• set a deadline to be finished working on each essential task, based on its hard due date
• work on only one task at a time, till its deadline arrives, then put it aside
• put similar tasks together to work on over a given period, so you aren’t changing thought patterns too often
• reduce the number of options available in a given task (fewer choices makes choosing simpler)

Productivity can improve dramatically in a short period of time, if you’re willing to put in the work. One of my mentors, Jason Fladlien, wrote a book a few years ago called “Double Your Productivity for Life”. It’s an easy read, and it contains a few relatively simple actions to follow, with the promise (right in the title!) that it will double your productivity. He points out in it that by doubling your productivity, you double your worth, and therefore, in the right environment, your money.

As I mentioned in the title, summer is the time for reruns. This is when business often slows down and we’re given the chance to look over our activities and make some adjustments…we get a do-over, so to speak. So…why don’t you put aside whatever screen you’re reading this on and go accomplish something on your “must-do-today” list?

I just did.  

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Also while on my walk, I was listening to a podcast, like I always do. The message in this episode was basically “If you’re asking the universe for something, stop turning down the opportunities presented to you just because you don’t like the wrapping.” That really resonated with me – it’s happened before that something was practically dropped in my lap, but I overlooked it because it wasn’t in the form that I was hoping for.

I’ve been doing a bit of soul-searching over the past few days…it’s probably been going on a lot longer, if I’m honest…that’s why not much has been happening in my business life. I thought I had a grasp on the direction I wanted to go, but it seems that life had different plans for me. I just wasn’t recognizing those plans.

I’ve been doing some affiliate marketing for the last few months. The idea behind it is great – you promote a product that you believe will help people achieve whatever goal they’ve got in mind, and if they purchase that product through the links you provide, you get a commission. Pretty simple, pretty straightforward, and on the surface a seemingly easy way to move forward.

But one stumbling block in this plan is that you need to have people to promote TO. It’s not effective marketing to simply throw a link out into the media and say “Hey, this is a great product! You should buy it!” But many – well, let’s say inexperienced – affiliate marketers gather contact info from many sources and send out emails or tweets or whatever, saying basically that. And the message tends to fall flat.

The reason is that old cliché – People don’t care about you till they know how much you care. Firing out email after email to a group of people who don’t know you and don’t really care what you’ve got to say is a surefire way not to succeed at sales.

And I fell into that trap with the program I was in. The campaigns came quickly, with short fuses, not giving us much time to warm up our contacts to the idea that we’re going to be sending them stuff. As a result, many emails went unopened, many people unsubscribed, and very few showed any interest.

Also as a result, I was left feeling cheapened by the process, and I think many of the people on my email list also felt “used.” I don’t care for the last-minute, FOMO-type approach to marketing. Maybe I’m naïve, or maybe I’m simply not a marketer at heart…that remains to be seen, I guess.

So…each new day…I’m a new person. I’m reinventing myself and holding fast to the parts that feel right, while sloughing off those that don’t suit me anymore. And one of these days, I’ll have the pattern right and the formula will be perfected…or maybe not.

After all, aren’t we all simply works in progress until the end?

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Setting up a “system” or a “process” sounds like a very technical or procedural activity. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I just look at it as following the “flow” of an activity.

Think about when you were younger – okay, yeah, I’m dating myself a bit here because I have a LOT of “when I was younger” times to draw on – but realistically, when we were younger we figured we knew it all. There wasn’t any aspect of our life that we couldn’t conquer…right? Except maybe dating…but I digress…

As a teenager or young adult, we didn’t really think in terms of processes or systems. Life was more black and white – you either knew how to do something or you didn’t. And if you didn’t, you figured it out. But life in general was pretty much a “system”: you got up, went to school, came home, maybe did homework, maybe did a job or hung out with friends, and went to bed. Pretty straightforward and done each day without a second thought.

As you got older, there were new steps added to the system, and maybe a few side systems that got started. Suddenly life is a lot more complex, as you try to figure out how to fit them all together. That’s where the idea of multi-tasking came to life.

I think multi-tasking is an illusion. People really aren’t getting many things done, they’re usually just slowing down the process of any one task, resulting in all of the tasks taking longer than they should. They feel like they’re being more productive because they’re touching on a lot of different activities, but the reality of it is that each of those activities is getting less attention than it needs. And when you give something less attention than it needs, it doesn’t flourish, but rather languishes.

Maybe that’s pushing the idea to an extreme. I know many people will argue that they’re still getting the work done – and getting more of it done – by multi-tasking, but I believe that if you spend the time needed to complete each task separately, the final result will be superior to the result seen when you split up the time between tasks. Yes, it may take longer to perform each task individually…but not having to refresh your memory on where you are and what has to be done next saves a lot of time in the long run.

That’s where the systems, processes and potentially automation come into play. By examining the tasks and determining what the steps are to complete them, you can often identify ways to automate certain steps and this automation can be used for numerous tasks…

So you get to “multi-task” after all!   

Productivity picks up when you can automate the mundane, repetitive processes, allowing more time for the activities that require your attention.

I’m happy to say that productivity is definitely NOT an illusion…but maximizing productivity DOES take some effort. You need to see the “big picture” but also understand how the parts go together to make that picture come to life. Sometimes you can get lost in the weeds a bit, bogged down by “how the parts go together”…that’s when it’s great to have someone who can assist in laying down the framework…setting up the processes or putting the systems in place…so your business (whatever that might be) runs like the well-oiled machine it should be!

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