Self Improvement Daily Podcast

kaya ismail, the founder of Wordify, tells us about a technique he uses in his company to create good and consistent content for his clients.

"Whether you are a personal brand or a multi-million dollar company, we all know the value of content marketing. We all need to provide content to our social media platforms. The hard part is not knowing it is doing. We all look back to our calendars and realize we just are staying consistent enough with our content marketing strategies. So what is the secrete to producing great content regularly for your audience? Producing great content is an art form. You cannot master an art form on a regular basis. Most people try to squeeze their creativity into their everyday life and work. Trust me, that is not a long-term strategy. Instead, you need to identify time slots and give your content marketing strategy you undivided attention. Not only will this help you stay focused and consistent, but it will help you stay focused on your other tasks during that day of week, because unlike everybody else, you know that your content is already taken care of".

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I imagine you have at least one friend for family member that you keep in touch with. This person supports you when your low, celebrates when you’re up, and is always there for you. As great as that support is, their role in your life still goes undervalued. There’s a reason social acceptance is in Maslow’s Hierarchy of of needs, because it is essential to our well-being!

An article in Time Magazine says that having good relationships, “protects your health as much as quitting smoking and a great deal more than exercise!”.  This has the potential to extend your life by boosting your immune system, decrease your cardiovascular activation, and reducing stress.  

The objective is to actively foster the relationships that are important to you but are no longer convenient. This means, make the time to be in touch with the people in your life and from your past. Whether that is on the phone, over Skype, or on Snap Chat, it doesn’t matter, as long as both of you know that you support each other and are committed to maintaining the relationship. That support, paired with being able to comfortably speak your mind and get things off you chest, will positively impact your health.  

So don’t overthink it. They’re your friend for a reason and would love to hear from you! Send them a text that you’d love to catch up and chat, and be sure to make it happen. 

We are going to be listening to Mark Metry about something that he does to relax during work.

"I discovered this because I was looking for a natural way to feel more calm so I can focus more on my work. Take six deep breathes. Ever since I started doing this, I became much more productive because I wasn't so busy being distracted. Taking six deep breathes has been scientifically proven to help dampen the nerve activity that governs your blood pressure and deep breathing triggers our nervous system into neutralizing stress to elicit a calming feeling. Also, when you are working and living life, you got that mental critic inside of you talking and distracting you. Taking a deep breath helps you recenter and brings you back to the present moment".

If it isn’t already, this must be incorporated into your daily routine. It demonstrates the importance of childhood chores because it sets the foundation for positive behavior.  

Make your bed every morning!

The importance of doing this was explained by Admiral William McRaven in his famous commencement speech for the University of Texas.  Although the speech was around the premise of changing the world, his first suggestion was simply to make your bed every day

The beautiful part about being a human is how seamlessly we can share our thoughts and communicate with each other. With that communication comes a complex package of expectations, etiquette, formalities, and nuances.  We are all very attentive to these subtle differences in our conversational partners and sometimes make assumptions about them based on our observations. For that reason, being a strong communicator is a very important skill to have in any setting.  

So, how can you be a strong communicator? One good thing to do is listen to understand, and not to respond.  

This is a difficult skill to have but it gets better with practice. Retaining and recalling information is hard enough as it is. Only 25% of what we hear is remembered, and when we are distracted thinking about what we should say in response, we retain even less information. To enumerate, a Princeton study shows that there is a lag time between what you hear and what you understand.  

A way to counteract this is to actively listen. This means that when someone is telling you something, you respond with a paraphrased version of what they said, then go on to elaborate with your own thoughts. This same technique can also be used when trying to remember someone’s name. This method drastically increases recall.  

So try it in a conversation you have today, and focus on actively listening and reiterating what your conversational partner says. Hopefully you notice verbal and non-verbal cues that indicate their engagement in the conversation,. You have a talk with more quality.

We are going to be listening to Jake Jordan who is the co-host of the YouTube Channel, "The unlearned show".

" Hey there. This is Jake Jordan, and this tip is going to be about distraction. Distraction is one of the most distinctly unique things we go through in the twenty-first century. So much that is right out in front of us. Depending on what research you read, in a typical business day we lose 3.5-5 hours a day just on distraction. So that means you might work two hours a day. Isn't that crazy? That is when it becomes so critical to spend our time on things that we know will help us produce outcomes. Good news is distraction can be overcome with one surgical chest move in your day. It is called time-blocking or schedule everything. Get a calendar and schedule all of the important things in your day. I know that sounds tedious, and like there is too much to it. So, her is the shortcut. If you do not want to schedule everything, Take the most productive hour of your day, and do your most important tasks. That is it. That is the whole thing. Take your two or three biggest things to accomplish and try to do it in that one hour and I guarantee you will get more done tomorrow. So, go out, find that hour, and do that work".