Category Archives: Experiments

Experiments conducted

Planning to the end of the year

Time to think

This is a good time to reflect on the first 6 months of the 2017 if you have not already done so.   Yes, just over half the year is already over. How did it go for you? How about those new year’s resolutions? Have you progressed your 2017 goals?  At this stage there can be no illusions about progress towards your goals or lack of it. Either you have made progress or perhaps you cannot even remember what your new year’s resolutions were?  January seems such a long time ago now.

The message I want to get across in this article is So What if you did not make the progress you expected!  The past is over so don’t beat yourself up about it.  Guilt over wasted opportunities and time is futile and will not change anything.  Let go of that guilt now.  Even if the first six months of the year went completely off-track you can make the next six months great and finish 2017 strong.  There is still plenty of time to make 2017 a year of goal achievement, steady progress towards your big goals and personal growth.

Now to action!  I want you to think of one thing that you can change in your daily routine which will positively impact your life in the next 6 months?  For example could you get up an hour earlier in the morning and use that time for personal reflection, goal setting, learning or planning your day ahead?  Could you spend some time each evening reviewing your day and planning tomorrow?  Can you build exercise into your daily routine if you have not already done so?  If you need more ideas to transform your life over the next six months then check out my book ‘Experiments in Personal Change‘. Commit right now to making at least one change in your life.  Change now, change today!  Its only through doing things differently that we can make the second half of 2017 much better than the first.  Action from today onward is key.

Write 10 Ideas Per Day on Any Topic

Girl Sitting On The Floor And Wondering What To Do
Pick any topic and generate 10 ideas on it. Do this every day and teach your brain to be creative!

Here is a great idea for a 30 day experiment.  Do this every day for the next 30 days and see how you get on. Simply pick a topic each day, any topic, and write 10 ideas on that topic.  Make it so that it’s difficult by idea #6 or idea #7.  They don’t have to be brilliant ideas or even good ideas – just ideas.  Don’t start analysing or judging the ideas.  Just write 10.

I adapted this practice from James Altucher.  This is how it appears in my e-diary:

Topic:
Brainstorm 10 ideas:

  1. ..
  2. ..
  3. ..
  4. ..
  5. ..
  6. ..
  7. ..
  8. ..

I use an electronic diary on my computer which is brilliant.  I have used this diary software for the past 6 years.  I have created a template for the 10 ideas exercise and simply click ‘Insert template’ and in it pops into the entry for that particular day.  You can find out more about my diary software from the links below:

Order Link
Demo Download Link
Product Information Link

I have adopted the 10 ideas exercise into my morning routine.  I have a routine which I follow every morning for 6 days a week.  The routine begins when my alarm goes off at 5am.  On Sunday my alarm does not go off and I don’t follow any routine.  Sunday is a day for me to do whatever I want such as write an article like this one or do nothing at all.

Anyway the purpose of the 10 ideas per day exercise is to train your brain to think and be creative.  Creativity is like a muscle – the more you exercise that muscle then the more it will grow.  You will get used to generating ideas.   If you generate 10 ideas per day you will generate 3,650 ideas per year!  Among these ideas might be one or two of which might just make you a fortune – who knows?

My experience of doing this exercise for the past 2 months is that I generally find more ideas popping into my head throughout the day and I am also more attuned to pay attention to them.  I think the exercise is helping me to become more creative.  If I was asked now to come up with 10 ideas on anything I would have no problem doing it.  I am becoming what James Altucher calls an  ‘Idea Machine‘.

Try this exercise each day for the next 30 days and see how you get on.  Please share feedback in the comments section below.