“Miss a meal, but don’t miss your reading”

As part of my continuing series, “Tips to Help Your #Hustle,” here is another quick tip to help dominate in your working life. The sooner you conquer your career the sooner you can be free to start living the life you’ve worked so hard for. For me, that life happens up high in the mountains of Park City, Utah.

My Tip to Help Your #Hustle today is:

Read for 30 minutes a day.

Okay I know this sounds trite. But our world consists of instant email notifications and Twitter; constant short bursts that need immediate and surface attention. How long has it been since you’ve actually sat down and read a real book…for longer than 10 minutes?

I committed to myself that I would read for 30 minutes per day. I try to do it in the morning with breakfast and I set a timer. If I have to go back and read the same passage three or four times because I got distracted then so be it. If I’m antsy and want to get on with my day, too bad. Thirty minutes. FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not always successful with this quest. However, we soldier on.

The book I’m working on is the Tony Robbins classic, Awaken the Giant Within, and I do mean classic; it’s the original printing with 1990s hair and all. But something fantastic has happened since I started: I’m focusing. Don’t laugh; when you’re expected to be instantly available 16 hours a day and you’re submerged in social media culture, focusing on something for longer than 140 characters is a big, familiar, calming deal. And lo and behold, in my book Tony quotes his teacher, Jim Rohn, about reading daily: “He said, ‘Miss a meal, but don’t miss your reading.'” Sure enough, when I am feeling scattered, flitting about from project to project but not really connecting with anything, not accessing that Kristina brand of magic, sitting down and focusing on the words on the page is like pressing the reset button. When I’m finished, I’m clear, focused, and ready to rumble.

Bonus tip: Download Audible. Listen to an audio book on your phone to keep you focused while you commute. Right now my car book is How to be a Power Connector, by Judy Robinett.