TIL: stress, balance & time-blocking

This is your friendly reminder that stress doesn’t come from hard work.

Stress primarily comes from not taking action over something that you can have some control over.

That’s something Jeff Bezos shared in an interview 20 years ago, but I think everyone should be reminded of it every so often.

Stress doesn’t come from hard work, it comes from not taking action over something you can control.

THINGS I’VE LEARNED

1.
“Work-life balance”

9-5 you work to feed your present.

5-9 you work to feed your future.

To reach your goals, you have to put in the effort as if you’re chasing success from behind.

Because that’s the situation you’re in.

This one was for all my influencers who don’t have an established business or brand yet.

If you need some external help, this class might help.

2.
The nothing in between the something has actually different classifications.

Interplanetary Space:

The space between objects within a solar system, like planets and the sun. It’s influenced by the solar wind from the sun.

But space goes even farther.

Interstellar Space:

The space between entire solar systems. It’s beyond any plasma bubbles and is dominated by the black hole at the center of the galaxy.

That might sound scary, but there’s another type of empty space.

Intergalactic Space:

The vast emptiness between galaxies. It makes up a whopping 90% of the universe.

The more I learn about outer space, the more my mind is blown, every single time.

3.
Social Relationships and Longevity.

What keeps you living the longest is the number of relationships that you have.

More than stopping smoking.

More than going to the gym.

More than changing your diet.

The single biggest predictor is how many friends you have.

There’s considerable scientific evidence supporting the idea that social relationships and connections contribute significantly to longevity and overall well-being.

The phrase “Ο άνθρωπος φύσει ζώον κοινωνικόν” (Man is by nature a social animal) is attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and interestingly enough is validated by science in the 21st century.

GROW YOUR INFLUENCE

“Screw to-do lists.”

This is an advice that took me years to comprehend.

It’s been 5 years since I heard this phrase from a successful person I met online.

My intuitive thought was “How in the world do you plan to function without a list of daily tasks?”

This was so insane that I couldn’t just forget it.

I kept it at the back of my mind and years later it all made sense.

For many years, the way I organized my day was quite simple.

I used Trello (trello.com) to write down all the things I wanted to do.

Every morning I opened Trello and prioritized what I would do.

Every time I had a cool idea or something urgent came up, I would write it either on my own or my team’s Trello.

A completely different approach that doesn’t require you to (1) prioritize (2) organize (3) neglect anything in the long term is the following.

Instead of having a list of things you want to do, you can have a list of the hours of your day.

Blocking a specific time for a specific task on a weekly or monthly basis doesn’t only allow you to focus on the few things that actually matter to your brand.

It also helps you snowball those few things even faster.

How can you transition from a long list of tasks to time-blocking?

The action steps that have helped me and countless influencers tremendously manage our brands and/or our agencies are the following:

1) Identify the areas & subareas that are important to you

2) Sign up for a free (but awesome) digital calendar like Google Calendar

3) Block the SPECIFIC time that you want to focus on a SPECIFIC area on a SPECIFIC day(s) (EVERY week!)

Pro tip: Block some time to your calendar once a week, at the end of your week, to evaluate yourself. Every time at a set date, ask yourself (1) Have I done every I wanted? (2) What went well? (3) What should I prioritize or change this week?

Stick to your weekly calendar consistently for a few months, and you’ll likely feel overwhelmingly grateful as you surge ahead in life.

to your growth and influence,
>> Chris Fountoulis
Founder – GrowthOfInfluence.com & Elcune.com
chris@growthofinfluence.com

Interested in our ventures? Find them here:
– Women’s clothing brand: Elcune.com
– Agency for creators: GrowthOfInfluence.com
– Personal Website: ChrisFountoulis.com