Doing This Once A Month Can Help You Reach Your Goals
Hello hello! How are you doing today? I’m doing pretty well. I am still buzzing from this tapping workshop I did over the weekend. And no, I don’t mean tap dancing! Though that sounds fun too! Tapping is also called EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique and it involves tapping on certain points on your body to help clear up trauma, negative beliefs and it can also help wtih stress and anxiety – from my personal experience, that’s what it’s helped me with.. I will admit it’s a little woo woo and I resisted it for a while! But sometimes you go where the woo takes you! And it took me to this workshop with Brad Yates. He has tons of Youtube videos where he taps on all sorts of things. I heard abotu the workshop from Gala Darling – you should definitely check her out as well! They are both doing amazing work – and are so fun to follow!
So I went to the workshop and I am still buzzing. I had no idea what to expect and I felt SO many shifts happen and met so many awesome people. So let that be a lesson – go do things you think are kinda weird and out there and that you would never do. Because you could be in for a real treat! I am already planning a trip to Northern California for another workshop with Brad this fall and I have convinced Tyler to go with me – I will be sure to report back on that!
Ok, today I want to talk to you about one of my secret weapons when it comes to getting the damn thing done. It was key to me launching this podcast and my coaching business. My secret weapon is The Unreachable Day.
The Unreachable Day is a day that I devote to my goals. It is dedicated time JUST FOR ME. No distractions, just me and my goals. I remove myself from my life for a day. I completely unplug in order to focus on certain goals and tasks. Everyone in my life has to fend for themselves for 8-12 hours. I got this idea from Neil Pasricha – except he does it every week. I am still building up to that! For now, I take one a month.
So what am I doing on these Unreachable Days? Is it a spa day? Am I taking myself to the beach? No, this is a work day. I usually go to a coffeehouse or other work space so that I am not tempted by the distraction of my house. Plus I find that going to a new environment jumpstarts my brain and I get all sorts of new ideas. There’s this great coffee house near the beach that I love. It’s about 40 minutes from my house, so there is no temptation to just run home real quick. My phone goes on airplane mode, I don’t connect to the WiFi. The only time I go on the internet is to complete certain tasks and then it is timed. And I love that coffee place because you can buy WiFi access for like an hour at a time. As for what I do while I am there, it can vary. Some Unreachable Days are big dreaming and planning days where I think about what I want the next 6-12 months to look like for my business. Then I will breakdown all the things that need to happen and when. On those days, I will also do some journaling and mindset work to see what blocks I may have about my business and where it’s going, who I am helping,etc. I will also calendar out the tasks and next steps so that they are in the books.
Some Unreachable Days are much more tactical and practical and I tackle various task batches. Last week I talked about batching and if you haven’t listened to that episode, I highly recommend it! But real quick…
If you aren’t familiar with batching, it is where you keep like tasks together. Multitasking doesn’t work. Batching helps your brain to focus on one type of activity instead of jumping around. For example, when it comes to the podcast, I will set aside time that is dedicated to sending out interview requests. I will have set time to write episode titles and descriptions for multiple episodes in one session. For coaching, I write weekly emails in one sitting for the month. That reminds me – get on my mailing list! It’s like getting a weekly love letter from me! I will drop the link in the show notes so you can join the fun!
An unreachable day takes batching to the next level. Usually I will focus on more long term and creative tasks but I am experimenting with using Unreachable Days to give me more time in the weeks between them. So that may look like dedicating an hour to researching networking events in my area and scheduling those out. Or creating the social assets for upcoming shows.
Unreachable Days are for things that will move the needle forward and get you closer to your goals. It is NOT for running errands. It not for doctors’ appointments or Costco runs. This is a day for you and your goals. Think of Unreachable Days as a gift to your future self because the things you do on those days, are paving the way for your future. YOur futrue self is going to be so grateful that you took those days to make your dreams a reality.
Maybe you are using these days to write that book you have always dreamed up. Maybe it’s setting up that blog that has been on your mind for the last 4 years. Maybe it’s dedicating time to updating your resume and LinkedIn and looking for your dream job. Maybe it’s dedicated time to paint and research where to exhibit your art.
I mentioned earlier that I take an unreachable day every month. I schedule it out ahead of time so that there are no conflicts. For me, I put them on the weekends that my son will be with his dad (yay for coparenting!) and I only move them if something life or death comes up. And guess what – that rarely happens. Because I hold them pretty sacred. But if I need to move them, I keep them within the same month. So that I always have that time once a month.
You might be freaking out about the no phone/no contact aspect, especially if you are a parent or caregiver, but let me tell you. All those emergencies you think are going to happen, aren’t. And if something comes up, other people can handle it for a couple of hours. You deserve this time. But if you are still really nervous, you can let people know where you will be.You don’t have to completely drop off the face of the earth. Or you can set aside a check in time when you take a lunch break. But I think you might be surprised at how capable everyone is! They will all be ok without you for one day.
It is totally normal for your brain to freak out a bit at this idea. What? I’m supposed to just leave my entire life for a day, not check social media and focus on MY goals and get shit done? No way! That feels waaay too scary. Let’s just keep doing the same thing where we overschedule ourselves, check facebook and instagram a whole bunch, compare ourselves to people who are doing the damn thing and complain we don’t have any time for ourselves or the things we dream of doing. Yup. Much safer that way.
Brains do not like change. They especially don’t like change that they think is going to stretch us or hurt us in any way. So if you are having any of those thoughts, CONGRATS! You have a working brain! YAY! That’s so exciting! Now, thank it and go schedule your unreachable day!
If you can’t seem to quiet that brain freakout, we should talk because I can help with that! Shoot me a DM on Instagram or Facebook or email me at hello@lizheron.com.
That’s all for this week! Next week, I am going to talk about the reason why every time management hack you have tried in the past didn’t work. Ooh, it’s a good one – so be sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss it!
Have a great week!!