I’m not a reader.

In high school my 11th grade English Teacher (who will remain nameless…) ruined reading for me. Without going in to TOO much blah blah blah detail, it turns out I suck at interpreting major American literature.

Flash forward to college and young Casey is dropping any class that comes with ‘required reading’.

When I was 22 I was required to read “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie after attending Parisi Franchise Training Week.

So I read it.

And I liked it.

I found out that I do way better with non-fiction than fiction and I enjoy reading books that give me tactical takeaways so that I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time.

Maybe I’m a recovered reader? Who knows.

In an attempt to balance parenting, stroller walks with the kid and dog, cooking for a family if 3, car rides, etc. I’ve really enjoyed audio books. Specifically the LIBBY app, which is free with a library card (boom, free!). This book, “Make Time” came right up as a most popular, it was a bout 4.5 hours of listening, perfect specs for me.

I had so-so expectations going in to it, but pulled out some super useful takeaways

1) Identify your ‘defaults’.

The authors compared our daily habits to the default apps that come on your phone. Useful, and used often. They then went on to talk about the how and why people ‘swap’ apps and replace the default apps for more enhanced versions. They finished by comparing this default process to our habits. We default to our day to day habits with the hope of swapping or ‘upgrading’ our habits for the better., or at least we hope, for the better!

This comparison immediately resonated with me and is an awesome way to approach habit change.

2) Rearrange your phone’s home screen.

I paused the book to do this.

The goal of rearranging your home screen is two fold. 1) remove apps you don’t use and 2) make your phone less desirable. First move every app that is a distraction to the second page of your home screen. My first page apps are now the clock, calendar, Libby, and the camera. On the bottom is face time, text, and phone. Whenever I habitually turn on my phone all I see is a reminder that I don’t need to scroll Instagram, or check snapchat.

The last note on the phone front is to turn off ALL app notifications so your phone can’t speak to you, thus distract you. Game.Changer.

3) Find your ‘lazer mode’ cues.

When it’s time to work, it’s time to work.

One of the elements the authors mention frequently in order to enter a deep work state is to find the cues that help trigger that response for you. Maybe it’s music in the background, the room you work in, a pre-work snack, or a bout of exercise. It’s unique to every individual and the goal is the find your cues so you can make them routine as you enter your lazer mode to get shit done!

I think this concept is crucial in creating self-awareness surrounding our professional well-being, but also for health and wellness, nutrition and exercise. What are our cues that allow us to eat better and make exercise a willing activity?