Michelle Cederberg - Live Out Loud

“Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.”

– Eric Zorn

January 1^st arrives and so many of us resolve to lose weight, eat better, decrease stress, save more money. Telling ourselves, “This year will be different.”  A month or so has passed, and if you made resolutions, by now you will have experienced one of the following scenarios:

1)                 “I’m on track and doing well!  Hooray for me!”

2)                 “I’ve been pretty good at sticking to my resolution(s) but I feel like they may be slipping away…”

3)                 “Resolutions?  They’re long gone… Who sticks to them anyways?”

Why is it that some people seemingly breeze through the change process while others struggle?  When it comes to starting and staying with fitness, for many it is a challenging proposition.  The Canadian Community Health Survey (2000/01) suggests that while the proportion of people who are active in their leisure time has grown, obesity rates have increased, and upwards of 60% of the Canadian population are sedentary – or engaging in insufficient activity to maintain optimal health. 

We all have the best intentions to do better for ourselves with health and fitness, so it can feel like failure when the results don’t come.  When motivation starts to drop – fear not.  An energy injection is as easy as 1, 2, 3…

3 Steps to Getting Back on Track When Motivation is De-railing You

1)         Research your Roadblocks

If you looked back on all your ‘failed’ attempts at exercise would you notice a pattern? 

Do you plan to exercise first thing in the morning ignoring the fact that you’re not a morning person?  Do you plan a ‘5 minute’ couch break before your walk, even though you know the couch will trap you indefinitely?  Do you religiously sign up for the step class at your gym even though you don’t really like step and you’re not sure the gym is the place for you?  Do you keep your exercise plans to yourself even though there are people around you that can help?  The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.  Unfortunately, many of us go with what we know, and when it doesn’t work, rather than make a different plan, we berate ourselves and throw in the towel.  If you pay attention to the patterns that stop you, you can strategize or plan ways around them.  If you ignore them, they will continue to get in the way of your success.  Do your research and make adjustments for your success. 

Here’s a tool that can help!

Download my Barriers to Physical Activity Questionnaire under ‘Just for You’ at www.michellecederberg.com. The questionnaire is a simple tool to increase your awareness around what stops you from exercising.  It also asks you to write down your top 3 barriers and strategize ways around them.  Think, write, do…

2)         Re-energize your Goals

The first step to success, whether it’s in fitness, career, or finances, is realistic goal setting.  When you set your fitness goals what sorts of expectations are you putting on yourself?  If you find your motivation dropping, look back on your goals and ask yourself the following questions:

Were my goals realistic to begin with?

It’s important to choose your goals realistically, and frame them within your current level of fitness and activity.  For instance, a realistic (and healthy) goal for weight loss is a pound or two per week.  If you have set a goal to lose 20 pounds by your best friends wedding two weeks from now you’re setting yourself up for failure and frustration.  Think ahead.  Even at a healthy 2 pounds of weight loss a week (which can be on the high side) you can plan to reach your goal in 2 ½ months, and it could take as long as 5 months if you moderate your weight loss to one pound per week.  The good news is, if you make your plan and stick to it you WILL reach your goals.

Am I attacking my goals through activities that I enjoy? 

Your chance of success increases greatly when you choose activities that are meaningful to you.  You’re more likely to get to your workouts and complete them if the outcome is something that you value.  Try something new.  Re-visit a lost passion for dance.  Take your beloved dog on walks through neighborhoods or parks with lots of hills and stairs.  Check out sport clubs in your city, and get back on the volleyball court for the first time in ten years. Remember… do your research!  Think carefully about an activity that would really fire you up!

Have you picked a good time to exercise or a great friend to exercise with?

I’m fully aware that some of you simply do not like to exercise.  That doesn’t negate the fact that your body still needs it and your mind will love you for it.  If you can’t seem to find fitness that fits for you, there are two simple things you can do to improve your chances of getting to the workout you despise.  The first is to choose a workout time that has the least interruptions and/or the highest energy levels for you.  The second is to exercise with a buddy.  On a bad day your buddy will suffer with you, making sure you get there and at least have fun getting caught up on gossip while you’re getting beaten down with your weight routine.  Your buddy will hold you accountable when you try to bail out, and your buddy will be there to celebrate with you when the results start to come…and they will.

3)         Beware your Inner Censor.

What do YOU say when you talk to yourself?  Our days regularly start with an internal dialogue (or self talk) that we use to describe ourselves to ourselves.  This is effective if the thoughts we feed ourselves are positive and empowering: “Today is going to be a GREAT day!  I’m alive, healthy, and happy, and I AM going to the gym JUST BECAUSE I CAN!”  Your subconscious brain believes what it hears most often, and the strongest message always wins.  Unfortunately, according to behavioral psychologists, as much as 77% of self-talk is negative, or works against you, and it takes as many as 20 positive statements about yourself to counter-act even one negative personal statement.  Choose today to start talking to yourself with more kindness and support.  Congratulate yourself for every effort at exercise.  If the amount seems insignificant to you, remember that every effort adds up, and it’s better to do a little than nothing at all.  Eventually your positive attitude will resonate in many aspects of your day, and before you know it you’ll be loving yourself and your efforts to be more fit in 2010!

A great tool to get you on track in 2010, my GOT TO IT Accountability Journal BUY NOW

Michelle Cederberg – “Your ‘Getting to It’ Guru”

Michelle Cederberg leads the industry for life balance, health, and stress management programs, resources, and tools that actually conquer procrastination, fatigue, and loss of motivation.  Her expansive education and experience combined with her unique products, platform skills and messaging will ensure individuals and corporations understand that “It’s not the doing that’s tough, it’s GETTING TO IT!” and she helps you figure out how.  With a Masters in Kinesiology, a BA in Psychology, and a specialization in Health and Exercise Psychology, Michelle combines mind, body, and practicality to inspire change!  She has built her career since 1990, as a college educator, personal trainer, fitness coordinator, author, and business owner.  As a professional speaker, she shares her experiences in a humorous and realistic way with delighted audiences across North America.  Michelle knows her energy has fueled her business success!  Today, through her products and presentations she motivates you to take small steps toward BIG changes, so you can actually GET TO the good things – even with a busy schedule! 

To book Michelle to speak at your organization please fill out a booking request at www.michellecederberg.com

Corporate/Group Keynotes and Seminars, Fitness Coaching, Workplace Wellness Consulting

Recently I was lamenting an accountability agreement I had made with a friend. As I was reluctantly working at the task I’d told him I would complete I realized that I don’t like being under the gun to get work done.  I’m a hard worker for certain, but on my own terms.    Ironically, I always feel great when I complete a long procrastinated task, or do something I’ve always told myself I’d get to, but the slothful person that dwells within me much prefers to get to it in my own time.  The problem with that line of thinking for me and I expect a good deal of the population is that without a little well positioned accountability, life goes by with less tasks accomplished and less success achieved.  Believe it!

Process versus Outcome:  Most of the items we have on our ‘to do’ lists are interesting and important, more for the outcome they will achieve rather than the process of doing them.  We don’t always love getting to our ‘to do’s’, we love striking them off the list.   For instance, it’s good for my business, and I love how it feels to be up to date on my book keeping and accounting, but on most days I’d rather stick bamboo shoots under my fingernails than sort through receipts and reconcile expense claims.  Many of my past personal training clients would tell you they dreaded coming to their exercise sessions but always felt great when they were done.  And as my mother said to me so many times as I was growing up, “I don’t care if you don’t like your vegetables.  They’re good for you!”

Back in August I was forced to take a closer look at my own accountability practices.  Maybe I wasn’t as committed to them as I should be for my own good, and for someone so wholly connected to motivating others? While meeting with my accountability partner (I use that term loosely given the outcome of the meeting) I discovered – through a brainstorming process – that I have been exceptional at holding myself accountable in all matters connected to my health, be it exercise, nutrition, or even stress management, but in certain of my business practices I have been the queen of procrastination and rationalization: “I’ll get to it later.  It’s only a small task.”  If you’ve seen me speak you know that one of the core messages I repeat again and again is the concept of ‘small steps toward big changes’ … anything worth doing is worth getting to today even with a small step, rather than waiting for more time and the hope of a bigger step down the road.  I believe this to the core of my being and yet when I looked closely at my own efforts as they related to my business I realized I had adopted the do as I say, not as I do mentality of a dispassionate, disconnected authoritarian – albeit by accident, but that didn’t ease my mind.  I wasn’t walking my talk!  <humble admission #1>

My next kick in the proverbial behind came in a meeting with my Mastermind group in September.  When our group first met last April, I proudly presented them all with a copy of my GOT IT IT! Accountability Journal honestly expecting that they would take their copy and put it on a shelf at home, never to be seen or heard from again.  I told myself most people are too busy for extra-curricular reading.  I didn’t think they would actually use it.  The problem with aligning yourself with ‘do-ers’, however, is they’ll go for it in situations small and large, and they did.  God Bless my Mastermind group.

My Humble Turning Point

At a future meeting one member of the group sung my praises and told me the journal had changed her life.  “Wow.  I’m good.”  I thought.  At our September meeting another of the group piped up with the same glowing testimonial and I had to ask myself “I wonder what all the fuss is about?”  <Brace yourself for humble admission #2>  Up until this point – 6 months after the publication of my own accountability journal, I had yet to put it to use myself.  When the books first came back from the publisher I opened a box, proudly surveyed my flashy new journal, and promptly placed it aside telling myself, “I’ll get to it soon.  No rush.  I wrote it.  I know what it’s all about.”  When I made this admission to my group they were kind and gentle in their scolding and promptly issued the challenge: USE YOUR OWN JOURNAL.  

ac·count·abil·i·ty n: the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions

Accept responsibility for my own actions, indeed.  So I got to it, and that’s when I humbly learned the brilliance of accountability.

My journal is simple and only takes a few minutes to complete each morning.  Each day you’re prompted to write down small goals in key areas like physical activity, nutrition, work, and even fun!  The idea is that if you can set and consistently complete these goals each day imagine your progress over the course of 365 days?  It made perfect sense to me in theory.  In practice I learned exactly why.

As I began the process of writing my small daily goals in a nice journal versus random pieces of scrap paper I immediately placed more value on getting them completed.  Interestingly, in those first couple of weeks of use, I was surprised at how few of my goals I actually accomplished.  I’ve always been a list maker, but until I started using my own journal I didn’t realize how often I would transfer small tasks from one day to the next, telling myself “They’re just small tasks.  I’ll get to them tomorrow.”  Philosopher Lao Tzu once stated that the journey of a million miles begins with a single step.  As I looked back on my own micro procrastinations I couldn’t help but think of the miles and miles I might have journeyed through years and years of daily single steps if I’d only placed more importance on the simple act of completion.

After this revelation I switched my thinking to “They’re just small tasks.  I’ll get to them RIGHT NOW.”  I know this will sound amusing and even self-congratulatory, but my own journal changed my life!  It truly did, and it’s not because it holds a brilliant secret tool that will unlock your greatest potentials – or maybe it does?  Through the process of marking and tracking my daily efforts I started doing more and was manufacturing fewer excuses.  I began embracing small steps as big accomplishments.  I came to understand the brilliance of ‘Just Do It!’

Get to It Yourself!

I’m not suggesting for an instant that personal accountability can only be found in the pages of my journal.  It’s a good tool for adding value to the process (as it turns out) but the message I really want to get across here is the humble awareness I gained by simply paying attention to my habits around accountability – and this information is free and available to anyone who chooses to accept the challenge.  Journal or not, here are 4 tips to consider in creating an environment of accountability in your life:

1.  Prioritize your growth.  Take a close look at all the areas you wish to improve in your life, and then decide which are most important.  My journal includes 7 areas for growth, including physical activity, nutrition, work, fun, and relaxation.  You may choose to include a daily financial goal or do one small thing everyday to nurture your relationship.  Remember the steps will be small, so 5 to 7 goals shouldn’t be unmanageable.

2.  Everyday, plan your day.  Check in with each category every morning, and choose a goal for each of your chosen areas of growth.  Write them down and then set out to complete them by days end.

3.  Keep track.  Don’t toss away your daily lists like I used to.  By having all of my lists in one location in my GOT TO IT journal I started to identify my procrastination habits and work to correct them.  Purchase a journal or an empty notebook and carry it with you through the day.  It’s a truly eye-opening experience.

4.  Adopt a ‘Just DID IT’ mindset.  It feels so great to check off completed ‘to do’ tasks, so make that endorphin release part of your daily reward.  Stay focused on growth in small steps.  

If there was a fifth tip to add I’d say find an accountability partner or two to help keep you on track.  I believe your dreams will come true in leaps and bounds if you share them with others.  I meet with a colleague regularly (if not reluctantly) to talk business and we hold each other accountable for getting to necessary tasks that will grow our respective businesses.  In the fitness realm that might be an exercise buddy or a personal trainer.  In the business realm it can include a Mastermind group or mentor.  The simple act of sharing your plans and asking for follow-up will ensure you’ll step up your game.

I wish we could all wander spontaneously through life and experience health, wealth, and happiness at the highest levels without effort, but the truth is, change – and the success connected to it – requires structure, discipline, and consistency from you.  It took me awhile, but I finally, humbly GOT TO IT!  Don’t be like me.  Begin your own accountability plan today, experience growth without delay.

*******

If you want to experience FIRST HAND the eye-opening process I went through I really encourage you to check out my new GOT TO IT! 365 Day Journal for Getting to the Good Things.  Now that I have actually used it I know it works, and I’m convinced it can make a difference for you! 

It’s every day accountability to help you switch “I’ll get to it” to “GOT TO IT!”  Have better work-life balance, finally fit in fitness, increase your energy, and love your life - one day at a time.  This journal shows you how!  www.gottoit.ca  

Are you READY to GET TO IT?

I like my job, and as a result I can be guilty of spending too much time at it … or thinking about it when I’m not around it.  I worked straight out of university, went back to school 4 years later to do my grad studies, and when I was done that I went straight into building the career I now have - professional speaker and fitness professional.  I’ve always been in pursuit of more.  I had this idea that if I’m not ‘on top of my game’ the whole show will pass me by.  As a result, my holiday time was usually a week maximum, or an extended weekend, and I’d always have my email or data device close at hand.

What kind of break is that?

Back in May I looked at my summer speaking schedule and realized I didn’t have one.  It’s pretty typical in my industry as companies elect to delay staff sessions until fall when everyone has returned from holidays.  I would essentially be unemployed for the month of July.  In Calgary, that lull is made worse by our famous Calgary Stampede that slows business down to a snail’s pace for the first two weeks of the month.  It would be a quiet month of cleaning my office, sorting files, and wishing I was elsewhere… so I decided to go elsewhere.

From June 25th until July 27th I shut down my office and flew to Europe.  I turned off my Blackberry and created a travel email address which would allow me to be in contact with friends and family and NOT my work inbox.  My voice messages and email replies all said “I speak on Life Balance and Stress Management so I’ve chosen to walk my talk and will not be responding until I return.”

FREEDOM!  I was away for nearly 5 weeks and didn’t really think of work … and for me it worked to travel in July, because while I was enjoying Paris, Rome, and the south of France, clients back home were busy eating corn dogs at Stampede, or taking their own holidays.  My inbox remained remarkably empty.  My phone messages were few.  I coudl have taken that as a slight, but it had nothing to do with me.  Summer is for holidays.  Why am I less deserving of a real break than anyone else?

Never confuse having a career with having a life.  Instead of staying in Calgary and creating ‘make work’ projects or waiting for return calls from clients away on their own holidays I had the time of my life travelling to new and wondrous places, meeting great people, literally eating my way across Europe and walking it off in each city I visited.  I felt as though I’d given myself a big gift by choosing to leave work behind.  It was still there waiting for me upon my return.

Yes, I’m back now and I’m refreshed, energized, and of course motivated to create the work I need to have a busy speaking schedule this fall and pay for my trip! 

What do your summer break plans look like?  Has it been awhile since you cut yourself off completely from all things job related?  In as much as your work allows, step away this summer.  Take a real break from checking emails, calling in to check messages, or bringing work along.  It can all wait.  You’ll only truly learn that if you give it a try.

Once fall hits and you’re back at it, contact me about coming in to your workplace and enforcing some of these life balance and stress management concepts with your team.  www.michellecederberg.com

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Michelle Cederberg, MKin, CEP, Professional Speaker

Are you READY to GET TO IT?

Michelle’s products and presentations help your organization increase energy and productivity and actually GET TO the good things – even with a busy schedule!

Her new GOT TO IT! Accountability journal is available NOW!  Click here to purchase today! 

cel) 403.850.5589

office) 403.984.4509

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BLOG: www.michellecederberg.com/blog

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An article with this headline appeared in today’s Calgary Herald and it really got me thinking.  It reported that the oldest baby boomers showed little interest in leaving the workforce even before the economic downturn descimated their savings.  Financial necessity has made retirement even less attractive. Still, experts believe deferred retirement is more about baby boomers wanting to stay engaged.

Whatever the motivation for staying employed, gone are the golden years of retirement, when one would adopt a life of leisure and enjoy the fruits of years in the labour force.  These days we’re literally working ourselves to death.

While an older ‘willing to work’ force will stave off an anticipated shortage of skilled workers as boomers age, it could also mean more health problems and higher benefit costs, and employers may be compelled to confront the “very delicate” issue of dementia on the job - especially if health and wellness continues to take the back seat among working Canadians. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m all for having a choice ‘to work, or not to work’.  The problem lies in the choices we then make as busy, working Canadians ‘to exercise or not to exercise’.  Health Canada statistics suggest that it’s during our prime working years (between the ages of 18-59) that lack of time, energy and motivation sap efforts at getting and staying healthy.  If boomers are in fact delaying retirement in favour of work, I expect the above age range will expand to include 60+ and we’ll see a further increase in sedentary rates and diseases of lifestyle across the country.

Work is a necessary part of life, but if it impacts our overall health and enjoyment of life we have to ask ourselves if the long hours and extended working years are worth compromised health? 

I regularly present life balance and stress management seminars to busy individuals in big organizations, and since work is non-negotiable, your health should be too.  I encourage workers of all ages to re-prioritize health practices like exercise, eating healthfully, and getting enough rest amidst the busy schedules demanded by today’s employers. 

GET TO IT

No matter how busy you are, you have the responsibility to grab hold of a portion of each day where you put yourself first.  Get over “I’ll get to it when…” by simply making a commitment to begin.  The clincher is you needn’t go big to experience success.  Remember these two truths:

1)       It’s not the doing that’s tough, it’s getting to it!  

2)       Doing on any level is better than thinking about going BIG.

Once you commit to spending even small amounts of time on daily health practices, you’ll find more time to build the possibilities.  Create the habits that align with energy and vitality, and be ready when the momentum of your actions starts to pull you toward new levels of health, self-esteem, and productivity.  It will happen, and I promise you, it is wonderful.

My new accountability journal will help you have better work-life balance, finally fit in fitness, increase your energy, and love your life!  Email me here to learn more, or click here or on the image below to purchase.

Since 1990 I have worked as a personal trainer, group exercise leader, lifestyle coach, educator, author, and speaker and if there is one singular challenge my clients, participants and students have had difficulty overcoming it has been without a doubt not being able to get to all the things they want and need to do.  Call it lack of time or lack of motivation, but however you define it, millions of people across North America are regularly putting their dreams on the shelf telling themselves “I’ll get to it when I’m not so busy – tired – overworked…”.  The dreams include anything you wish you could spend more time doing – exercise, eating right, building a business, writing, leisure activities, time with family and friends, hobbies, saving money for travel, even sleep – and feel you have no time, energy, or resources to get to.  Forget finding enough time, you just need a little time every day. 

What do you want to get to more often?  Why not begin today?  You have nothing to lose but another few years of lost progress waiting for the ideal circumstances to arise, so the choice should be easy.  My new GOT TO IT journal for every day accountability will help you switch “I’ll get to it” to GOT TO IT!  The information in this book will set you up for success like no journal or book before.  It will guide you to embrace small changes in important aspects of your health, business, and relationships.  It will help you finally GET TO IT and grow. 

The journal will be available mid MARCH and you can order it now by clicking here!  Once you get it, prioritize a few minutes each morning to connect with your purpose, write in the journal, and commit to one ‘get to it goal’ for the day.  Chart your progress as you go, and celebrate your success … one step at a time, because that’s all it takes

You’re on a path to better balance but from where you’re standing, the trail looks cluttered and steep, and you wonder if you will ever regain control of the chaos that is your work environment.  As you survey the clutter on your desk and sort through dozens of unanswered phone calls and emails, the next thought that probably runs through your head is, “Where do I start?”  The reality of that question is usually enough to cause even the most hopeful person to put the blinders on and ignore the whole mess.  “It will never get done, so why bother?!”   Do you wish to continue your suffering or make an effort to change?  Yes I know.  You’d clean up, organize, and prioritize if you had more time!  Since the mess won’t go away unless you make an effort, why not start small?  Today choose one area of your work space to de-clutter.  Sort through emails and delete all obsolete messages, scan through your phone log and highlight the calls you will return this morning – then call them, or sift through that pile of paper on your desk and put everything in its place.  Tell yourself you won’t add any more to the pile this week.  Once you make an effort at cleaning up one ‘problem area’ you may be motivated to work on other areas too.  If you’re way too busy to even move a paperclip out of the way, hire a professional organizer to make a clean sweep of your work space.  

1  Make a list, check it twice, check them off.

Lists are helpful to organize and manage the overwhelm of tasks running through your head.  At the start of your day write a list of your ‘to do’s’.  You’ll immediately know whether you can realistically manage all you have on your plate for the day.  Sort items into ‘immediate’ and ‘by date’ categories, eliminate any unnecessary tasks.  As you tackle each item cross it off the list! 

In my last post I talked about reconsidering the term time management and focusing instead on energy management and reminded readers that the first way to address this is through taking care of personal health through exercise, eating healthy foods, and getting enough rest.  This first step is on-going, and the reminder we need to give ourselves is that small daily changes in our health will add up to big improvements in energy over time.  If you want a better outcome, put in a better effort, but keep that ‘small steps’ mantra in the back of your mind for days when energy and motivation are low.

Contact me for ideas and tips on how to stay motivated. 

The second way to manage energy is through day-to-day task management – making an effort to simplify home and work practices so jobs only get done once, or get accomplished with least possible extra effort.  Let me give you 2 examples:

1)  Email management.

Problem:  Do you spend far too much time managing emails?  Maybe this sounds familiar.  Emails arrive in your inbox with a notification that immediately prompts you to look at who has contacted you.  You don’t have time right now to return emails, but you wast 30-90 seconds checking, and clog your brain with information and ‘to do’s’ that could have waited until you were ready to respond.  You may check in with your email in this manner 10 times before you actually get to responding to them.  That adds up to 5 to 15 minutes of time wasted and dozens of emails that have clogged your mind and sucked away portions of your energy that could have been used for other more productive tasks.

Solution:  Turn off your email notifications so you’re not tempted to check in every time a new message shows up.  Choose to check emails first thing to ensure there are no fires to put out, and then commit to checking emails during a scheduled slot when you have time to actually respond.  Time and energy restored!    

2)    A place for everything.

“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.”

~ Unknown

Problem:  Do you complain about being too busy to get organized?  If you regularly rifle through piles of papers and files every time you need to find something, you may want to take time to tidy up!  You may tell yourself you’re too busy, but how much time do you waste in search of that missing file, set of keys, unpaid bill, or colleagues phone number?  In addition, your mind, once again, gets clogged up with processing as you wrack your brain to try and figure out “where the %#&* did that file end up?”  Energy wanes under these circumstances, so you can’t afford not to get organized.

Solution:  The time to organize is the minute you receive something in your hand.  Find a place for everything, and when you get something new in your hands, put it in its place now.  That may mean that unpaid bills get placed in the allotted file for later, but when the time comes to deal with them you’ll know where to look won’t you?   This may mean you schedule an afternoon to ‘clean house’, or hire a professional organizer to create systems, but the investment will pay dividends in time and energy for you.  

As you navigate through your day, pay attention to other time and energy traps that regularly sucked you in.  Emailing when a call would be quicker?  Letting a call go to voice mail rather than clearing your slate of it by answring it NOW? Scheduling meetings during hours when your staff is most productive…

I bet you know if a few time and energy traps!  How did you work past them?  I’d love to hear your ideas!  Send me an email and tell me how you save time and energy at work and home!

A special request for your HELP! 

I have applied to be a ‘W Expert’ for the W Network which is a Canadian women’s television network that produces a lot of reality based TV shows on health, personal development, etc.,

I have posted two video applications and I am asking for your votes on both.  The top 20 entries will move to round two of casting, and I want to be among them.  The end result could be a TV hosting opportunity!

Add your comments, and click on the stars under my video to rate me! 

Click this link to vote on my Health and Wellness video submission.

Click here to vote on my Personal Development video submission.

My video should start playing after a moment or two, but if you have difficulty, follow the links at www.wnetwork.com and scroll through the pages until you find my video.

You have until October 26^th but I’d be very happy if you go there right now and cast your vote in my favor.  THANK YOU so much for your help!

I do a lot or presentations on ‘Exposing the Myth of Life Balance’, and it’s true, I don’t believe that life balance is possible.  I’m a motivational speaker, so some would think me a bit pessimistic carrying that belief to my audiences.  People want answers, quick fixes for life’s day-to-day challenges - they want to believe in life balance and the pursuit of more free time.  Well, I do too, but I think we’re fighting the wrong battles, or at the very least, neglecting to include another important goal in our efforts at better balance.

I’m often asked if I can share tips and ideas that would help individuals make better use of what little time they have.  I do agree that many of us toss away precious time on endless emails, text messages, and inefficient business and time management practices … to many ‘to do’s’.  If only we could manage that endless list then that balanced lifestyle would finally be ours.  Fair enough.  I don’t however believe that better use of time is the only answer to better balance.  I believe we must also work on better use of energy as we navigate through ‘to do’.

Energy management is as important as time management but our task oriented habits drive us toward the idea that everything will be fine once the work get done, once the inbox is empty, once ‘to do’ is DONE. 

Have you ever considered what drives your work ethic day in and day out?  When energy is high things get done, and they get done well.  When energy is low, productivity drops in both quality and quantity of effort.

There are two ways to consider energy management.  The first revolves around how well you’re taking care of your physical machinery to ensure you have enough energy to get through the day.  Are you exercising regularly, eating healthfully, and getting enough rest?  Most of us aren’t.  As a nation we’re inactive, unhealthy, and plagued with diseases of lifestyle such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and high cholesterol that attack our energy and vitality, and shorten our life span.

We forgo exercise and healthy eating in the name of getting more work done, and in the process our health suffers.  Is the trade-off really worth the couple of extra hours of output you’re gaining?  If you’ve yet to gain control over this first energy management practice - if exercise alludes you, healthy eating scares you, or you don’t yet know how to wind-down and step away from work in favour of rest - take a step to take care of your health first.  Contact me for ideas and tips on how to get started. 

You can also download this free article “Embrace a NEW ATTITUDE about your health, starting now” and begin to shirt your mind set toward finally fitting in fitness.

Stay tuned for my second Energy Management focus in my next posting!

Michelle Cederberg and Live Out Loud Speaking and Consulting

Life Balance is possible, even with your busy schedule!  Or IS it?  If only one in four Canadians believes work-life balance is possible, what are the rest of us going to do?  Michelle is EXPOSING the Myth of Life Balance and in her lively sessions she reveals the real secret to better life balance.  She makes you think, laugh, and implement REAL change.  With a Masters in Kinesiology, a BA in Psychology, and a specialization in Health and Exercise Psychology, Michelle combines mind, body, and practicality to inspire change!  She has built her career since 1990, as a college educator, personal trainer, fitness coordinator, and author.  As a professional speaker, she shares her experiences in a humorous and realistic way with delighted audiences across North America.  Michelle knows her energy has fueled her business success!  Today, through her seminars and products, she helps people overcome big challenges through a start small solution that really works!

Michelle Cederberg, MKin, BA, CEP

To book Michelle for your next keynote or seminar, click here and send us your request!