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Saturday 30 April 2016

8 Ways Successful People Beat Procrastination

COREY FERREIRA

CONTRIBUTOR
8 Ways Successful People Beat Procrastination

CONTRIBUTOREveryone procrastinates. Even the most successful people struggle with it every day. But successful people do something that most of us don't -- they push past it. They don’t make excuses or allow it to affect their output. They come up with smart, actionable strategies to break past mental barriers and stay productive.

Related: How to Crush Procrastination in 4 Steps


Here are eight ways successful people defeat procrastination.

1. They keep themselves accountable.
Show yourself commitment to getting things done. Making a commitment to yourself helps keep you accountable. You can do this by writing your goals down, keeping a to-do list with you, and creating reminders in your phone and on your calendar.



There are other more creative things you can do to keep yourself accountable: Change the wallpaper on your phone or computer to something that says “get work done”. Write your tasks and goals on a whiteboard or large sticky you keep on your monitor. Set the new tab screen of your browser to something that reminds you of the day’s priorities using Momentum or Limitless.

Related: Leading By Accountability Is Contagious

2. They make themselves accountable to others.
If you can’t stay accountable to yourself, you might have more success staying accountable to other people.

Tell everyone what you plan to do and talk about your goals. Tell friends, employees and employers your intentions and you won’t want to let them down. For example, if you want to go to the gym every day, ask a friend to text you every evening asking “did you go to the gym today?”

Another suggestion is to start documenting and sharing your journey. A blog or vlog where you share the projects you’re working on and your progress will encourage you to get things done. Allowing yourself to be under public scrutiny can help light a fire under you.

3. They tie themselves to the mast.
In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus has his ship’s crew tie him to the mast so that he could hear the Sirens’ song without being drawn in and tempted to jump into the sea. If you’re a chronic procrastinator and simply can’t resist the temptations of things like Facebook and Youtube, it might be time to tie yourself to the mast.

There are tools such as Rescue Time, SelfControl and Focus that will temporarily block access to distracting websites like Facebook so you can work on the things that matter. It’s an extreme measure but also very effective.

There are less aggressive tools such as Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator and Distraction Free Youtube. These will allow you to have access to Facebook and Youtube but block the distracting parts of these websites (such as the newsfeed) so you can still use them for business purposes, like managing ads.

Related: 7 Personality Principles to Boos Office Productivity

4. They have self awareness.
Self-awareness is a common trait many successful people have. Having self-awareness allows you to properly understand why you’re even procrastinating in the first place.

Once you understand why you’re procrastinating, it will be easier for you to form a plan to beat it. This will allow you to see the root cause of your procrastination, which you can then either solve the problem or formulate a strategy to overcome it.

Becoming aware of why you procrastinate means taking a step back and looking at some of the possible reasons such as boredom, lack of confidence in the project, lack of self-confidence, and feeling overwhelmed. Once you know the reason, it’s a matter of finding things to remedy it and cut your procrastination off at the source.



5. They plan ahead.
How often do you, at the start of your work day, sit at your desk and begin looking for things to work on, only to wind up on Reddit or checking email?

If you get to your work desk and have no idea where to start, it can lead you to work on low-impact tasks (such as checking email) or other worse forms of procrastinating.

Those without a map, wander. Put together a plan or to-do list before starting work or any project.

The night before is a good time to do this. It allows you to reflect on what you’ve accomplished during the day and then come up with what needs to get done tomorrow. Now, when you start your work day, you know exactly what you need to work on and what’s the highest priority.

6. They commit to at least showing up.
After starting a task, you’ll likely stick with it a lot longer than you initially committed to.

It’s like working out. Half the battle is just showing up to the gym.

Commit to just showing up and you’ll find yourself completing a lot more tasks. The next time you don’t feel like tackling a task, commit to only working on it for one minute. Set a timer for 60 seconds, then sit down and get to work. More often than not, you’ll find yourself wanting to go beyond the 60 seconds and continue.

I constantly use this technique to trick myself into working on tedious tasks.

Related: The 10 Commitments for Excellence in Business


7. They break up large tasks into smaller tasks.
The classic but seldom-followed productivity advice to conquering large or overwhelming tasks is to break them up into smaller chunks. Successful people understand that tasks need to be broken down into much more specific and measurable sub-tasks.

For example, an overwhelming to-do list item might be “write book.” Does that item in my to-do list mean I need to write the entire book today, or does only writing one sentence count towards the completion of the task?

A better approach would be to set a goal of writing a specific number or words each day, or spend  a certain amount of time researching.

“Write 1000 words” or “spend 30 minutes researching examples of productive CEOs for book” are much more specific tasks, and therefore easier to tackle. This often encourages me to get more done and feel accomplished and motivated by scratching to-do items off of my list.

8. They give up.
Just because you already poured hours into a project, doesn’t mean you need to finish it. This is known as the “sunk cost fallacy.” The “sunk cost fallacy” affects gamblers, investors, and even procrastinators. Sometimes, a project just isn’t worth burning more hours over, and you ultimately need to figure out if it’s time to quit.

Related: 5 Signs It's Time to Put Your Startup Out of Its Misery

Take a step back and figure out the reason you’re procrastinating on the project or task. Is it because it’s actually not that important, or doesn’t move you closer to your big picture goal?

Subtraction, instead of addition, is efficient and productive. Maybe you need to focus on doing fewer things. Maybe this project you’re procrastinating on is actually making you much less productive and needs to be dropped.

Your turn.
Procrastination can be beat, it just takes some self-awareness and effort. Applying even just a few of any of the above methods can put you on the path to being a much more productive individual.

8 Reasons You Will Love and Hate Living in London



LIFESTYLEBY 8 Reasons You Will Love and Hate Living in London

Like every other city in the world, there are two sides to London. There is its culturalism and diversity to make it a wonderful place to live, but then there is also the cost of living and somewhat depressing weather that can make living there a bit of a trial. If considering a move to this picturesque, yet crowded, city, here are a few pros and cons to think about before finalizing any paperwork.

Reasons You’ll Love Living in London

1. The Entertainment Scene – It doesn’t cost a thing to visit cultural places like museums or art galleries, and there is a wide array of both in London. It also has a vibrant music scene, brilliant party ideas by groups, as well as a wide variety of plays and musicals being performed nightly throughout the city.
2. Friendly and Safe – The people of London are some of the friendliest in the world, which is why it has been repeatedly rated one of the top 5 cities. It is also one of the safest, thanks to the excellent police system, coupled with the CCTV cameras that keep watch over the city.
3. Excellent Schools – London boasts amazing schools, both private and state operated, all of which have great facilities for their students.
4. Diversity – People from all over the world have come to live in London, which means a great opportunity to learn one of the 200 languages spoken there, as well as seeing the customs firsthand.
5. Great Location & Citizenship by Investment – Because of its size, and the fact that so many other countries are so close, London offers great week-end getaways to locations like Paris or Italy. The UK also encourage a form of citizenship by Investment, where those who wish to visit this destination often (on business or other means), can literally acquire citizenship by virtue of making a substantial financial investment to the country.
6. Beautiful Parks – No matter where a person is, there is always a gorgeous park nearby, where a person can jog, swim, skate, or just relax and enjoy the view.
7. Public Transport – With buses and cabs on top and The Tube below, there is nowhere in London a person needs to go that can’t be reached by public transport.
8. Changing Seasons – Winter snow, fresh air to breathe life into the spring flowers, sunny summer days, and the beautiful autumn colors of red and gold all represent the range of London’s seasons.

Reasons You’ll Hate Living in London

1. Expensive – From the price of gas, to rent, to cost of living, London is quite an expensive place to live. Finding cheaper solutions may be difficult, so it may be necessary to seek out London relocation services long before a move, to keep the stress of house-hunting to a minimum.
2. Queues – Whether queuing for a club, an art gallery, or even a bank machine, standing in line is a way of life in London.
3. Tourists – London is one of the busiest cities in the world for tourists, thanks to its history and landmarks, which can become a bit trying for locals.
4. Weather – With changing seasons comes changing weather, from pouring rain to burning sun, with wind or worse thrown in at any given time.
5. Someone’s Always Watching – Remember the CCTV cameras listed above?  With the safety comes the lack of privacy of having cameras watching wherever a person goes.
6. Pollution – Thanks to the horrendous amount of traffic in the city, it is one of the worst cities for air pollution.
7. The Need for Supplements – With most of the city’s population spending the short days inside, Vitamin D supplements are a necessary replacement for actual sunshine.
8. Traffic – Rush hour in any city is usual a horrendous experience, and London is no exception. But not only is driving in the city a chore, riding The Tube is equally frustrating, as scores of people cram together on their commute to and from work.

Jermaine Jackson live in Lagos for Jazz Concert hosted by Gov. Ambode Tonight


Jermaine Jackson Jazz Concert in Lagos_April 2016 1
Lagos State Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, Jermaine Jackson and Special Adviser, Lagos Global, Prof. Ademola Abass during Jackson’s visit to the Lagos State Government, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, April 29,
Jermaine Jackson, co-lead singer of global music brand, Jackson 5 and elder brother of late king of pop, Michael Jackson on Friday confirmed readiness to participate at the star-studded Jazz concert being put together by the Lagos State Government in commemoration of the 2016 International Jazz Day.
The concert, which is to be hosted by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, will hold at the Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja on Saturday, April 30 by 5pm.
Jermaine, who confirmed his readiness to participate at the festival during a press conference held at the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, said he would be at the festival to support the government and array of international and local artists who would be performing.
Jermaine, who is in Nigeria as part of activities marking the Jackson Golden Africa Tour, also disclosed plans by the Jackson 5 to establish a music academy in Nigeria to nurture and prepare the talents in Africa for global market.
Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Steve Ayorinde (right); with Jermaine Jackson during Jackson’s visit to the Lagos State Government, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, April 29, 2016.
Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Steve Ayorinde (right); with Jermaine Jackson during Jackson’s visit to the Lagos State Government, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, April 29, 2016.
He said: “It’s been 50 years for the Jacksons and we are bringing a team together of people who can produce a concert. I like coming here because I have a lot of questions. I was just in China and I learnt that the first dynasty that started in China came from Africa here and I had a professor in China to tell me this. That made me very proud and the world needs to know this because in our history books in America, they don’t put this there; they don’t want us to know this but when you travel and you have the opportunity to see things for yourself, you will realize that the history books were written by someone else and it is their version and their interpretation of what happened which is usually not the truth.”Jermaine Jackson in Lagos
“We are going to give you nice compilation of songs that you know and I am just very honoured to be here because we have been kept away from you because of the politics and we are not interested in such politics because we are people who care about people. We need to have a closer relationship with African-American and the rest of Africa because we have been separated for long and we can reach out to do other things.
“There are lots of great talents here and we want to use our 50 years experience of being in the business to teach the arts. We have in our plans to establish Jackson Academy Performing Art School and the school will have a curriculum and also will teach music, directing, film, lightening, producing, dancing and so on. We want to get the talents here ready for the global market and I do believe that the drums and the beat started from here,” Jermaine said.
Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Steve Ayorinde (middle); Jermaine Jackson of the defunct Jackson 5 (left) and Special Adviser, Lagos Global, Prof. Ademola Abass (right) during Jackson’s visit to the Lagos State Government, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, April 29, 2016.
Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Steve Ayorinde (middle); Jermaine Jackson of the defunct Jackson 5 (left) and Special Adviser, Lagos Global, Prof. Ademola Abass (right) during Jackson’s visit to the Lagos State Government, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, April 29, 2016.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, who received Jermaine and his entourage alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Oversees Affairs and Investment, Professor Ademola Abass and other senior officials of the Ministry, expressed delight to receive the visitors to the state.
Ayorinde added that the visit of the Jacksons to Nigeria in commemoration of the 50 years anniversary coincided with preparations by the Lagos State Government to mark the 50 years anniversary of the state in 2017, and welcomed collaboration with the Jacksons in that regard.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Fola Adeyemi; Special Adviser, Lagos Global, Prof. Ademola Abass; Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Steve Ayorinde; Jermaine Jackson and Chief Executive Officer, Arena Plus International, Kunmi Akinade during Jackson’s visit to the Lagos State Government, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, April 29, 2016.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Fola Adeyemi; Special Adviser, Lagos Global, Prof. Ademola Abass; Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Steve Ayorinde; Jermaine Jackson and Chief Executive Officer, Arena Plus International, Kunmi Akinade during Jackson’s visit to the Lagos State Government, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, April 29, 2016.

World's largest theme park the size of 26 football pitches set to open in Dubai (photos) The world's largest indoor theme park, IMG Worlds of Adventure located in Dubai is set to open its doors to fun seekers in August, indoor because the $1billion attraction is completely insulated from the hot Arabian weather and temperature is controlled. Attractions include four zones themed around Marvel, Cartoon Network, Lost Valley Dinosaur Adventure and IMG Boulevard rides and amusement attractions. The indoor arena, the size of 26 football pitches, has a capacity for over 30,000 people at a time, and park designers say they anticipate 4.5million guests during their first year in operation. For £56, an adult gets access to 20 signature rides and attractions, including live shows and a 5D cinema experience.


The world's largest indoor theme park, IMG Worlds of Adventure located in Dubai is set to open its doors to fun seekers in August, indoor because the $1billion attraction is completely insulated from the hot Arabian weather and temperature is controlled.

Attractions include four zones themed around Marvel, Cartoon Network, Lost Valley Dinosaur Adventure and IMG Boulevard rides and amusement attractions. 

The indoor arena, the size of 26 football pitches, has a capacity for over 30,000 people at a time, and park designers say they anticipate 4.5million guests during their first year in operation. 
 For £56, an adult gets access to 20 signature rides and attractions, including live shows and a 5D cinema experience. 











Friday 29 April 2016

21 successful people who wake up incredibly early


Tim CookGetty Images/Chip Somodevilla
They say the early bird catches the worm, and research suggests there might be some truth to the old adage.
Waking up with (or before) the sun allows executives like Apple CEO Tim Cook and "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary to get a head start on the day, knocking out tasks before the rest of the world has rolled out of bed.
Those "extra" hours with less distractions and fresh energy also give them a chance to do some creative thinking, fit in a workout, and spend time with family. And it should be noted that waking up early doesn't necessarily mean losing sleep
Here are 21 early risers who may convince you never to hit snooze again.
Max Nisen, Aaron Taube, and Rachel Sugar contributed to earlier versions of this article.

View As: One Page Slides


Apple CEO Tim Cook wakes up at 3:45 a.m. and gets a head start on email.

Apple CEO Tim Cook wakes up at 3:45 a.m. and gets a head start on email.
REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
The tech titan is known for getting up early.
According to a Time profile, "He wakes up at 3:45 every morning ('Yes, every morning'), does email for an hour, stealing a march on those lazy East Coasters three time zones ahead of him, then goes to the gym, then Starbucks (for more e-mail), then work. 'The thing about it is, when you love what you do, you don't really think of it as work. It's what you do. And that's the good fortune of where I find myself.'"

FLOTUS Michelle Obama is working out by 4:30 a.m.

FLOTUS Michelle Obama is working out by 4:30 a.m.
Win McNamee
While the president is known for getting very little sleep, he's got nothing on the first lady, who tells Oprah she starts her days with a 4:30 a.m. workout before her kids wake up. 
"If I don't exercise, I won't feel good. I'll get depressed," she says, noting that it's easier to pull that off at the White House, where she has "much more support" than the average person.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong starts his day at 5:00 a.m. but tries not to send too many early-morning e-mails.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong starts his day at 5:00 a.m. but tries not to send too many early-morning e-mails.
Jessica Rinaldi/Getty Images
The former Google executive tells The Guardian that he's "not a big sleeper" and wakes up at 5 a.m. or 5:15 a.m. every day to work out, read, tinker with the site, and hang out with his middle daughter, who is also an early riser.
Armstrong says he tries to hold off on sending emails until around 7:00 a.m.

Xerox CEO Ursula Burns rises at 5:15 a.m. to email and work out.

Xerox CEO Ursula Burns rises at 5:15 a.m. to email and work out.
Kimberly White/Getty Images
Burns uses early morning hours to get caught up on emails, getting up at 5:15 a.m. and sometimes working until midnight, according to Yahoo Finance.
She also uses the time to fit in a workout, according to Laura Vanderkam's "What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast." Burns schedules an hour of personal training at 6 a.m. twice a week. 

GE CEO Jeff Immelt rises at 5:30 a.m. to work out.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt rises at 5:30 a.m. to work out.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Immelt tells Fortune that he gets up at 5:30 in the morning every day for a cardio workout, during which he reads the papers and watches CNBC. He claims to have worked 100-hour weeks for 24 straight years.  

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is in the office by 7.am.

Nooyi wakes up as early as 4 a.m., telling Fortune that "they say sleep is a gift that God gives you ... that's one gift I was never given."
In a speakers series at Pepsi, she reveals that she is at work every day by no later than 7 a.m.

NextDesk director Dan Lee starts his day at 3:30 a.m.

NextDesk director Dan Lee starts his day at 3:30 a.m.
Courtesy of Dan Lee
The standing desk company leader tells TechInsider he wakes up at 3:30 a.m. "It's not for everyone," he says.
The first thing Lee does when he wakes up is drink two liters of water followed by two cups of coffee and a smoothie. Then he spends 30 minutes with his dog followed by an hour of reading time.
By 5:15 a.m., Lee is at the gym, where he works out until 6:15 a.m. He spends the next hour showering, shaving, and traveling to his office, and by 7:15 a.m., he's ready to start the workday.

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey wakes up before dawn for a 6-mile run.

According to New York Magazine, the Twitter cofounder wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to meditate and go for a six-mile jog.