5 Things to Start Doing This Week

I'm always looking for new things to try that could give me an edge and help me be more successful.

In an attempt to learn from a few of my peers, I asked them about things that they wanted to start doing. We shared ideas and came up with a solid list.

Here are five things to start doing this week that my book club thought would help you and I enjoy life!

I recently shared four things you should stop doing immediately. Many of those ideas came from my wonderful book club. If you haven't started your own book club yet, you should! Mine is awesome! While we looked at things to stop doing a couple of weeks ago, we also wanted to look at some things we should start doing. Below is what the group came up with.

5 Things to Start Doing This Week

1: Start reading – Is there a classic work of literature that you've always wanted to read? Not to say that all classics are worth reading, but surely there is something you've always wanted to read. One of the only books I've ever read twice is Rifles for Watie, a fictional book about fighting in the civil war. Maybe you have a book you'd like to read again!

2: Start spending more time with family – My wife and I spent a few hours with my dad yesterday. It wasn't enough. Spend time with your family; work can wait.

3: Start exercising – Just like Jeff Olson taught in The Slight Edge, success and failure don't happen overnight. Neither does gaining or losing weight. Invest in improving your health today so you can do the other things on this list!

4: Start waking up earlier – I'm a night person. I'd much rather stay up late than get up early, so this suggestion comes from someone else in my book club. However, there is something to be said about getting up early.

As the saying goes, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” And, as the Chinese proverb says in Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, “No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.” I love to sleep in, but it's hard to argue with Chinese proverbs!

5: Start learning something new – Is there something that you're curious about? I once got curious about how we got caffeine into drinks and where it came from. I did my research and learned something new! What about learning a new language? Or developing a new skill? What have you always wanted to learn about but never got around to?

To live life to the fullest we must be intentional. We can't sway with the changing winds. You have to start today doing the things that will change your life tomorrow! I hope you'll walk with me as I start doing these five things this week.

Question: Which of these five things could you start doing this week? Or, what would you add to this list?