Ideas from Ralph Waldo Emerson

Filed in archive Personal Development on July 1, 2008

What can you learn from Ralph Waldo Emerson?

© mmc154

The Zen Habits blog has some suggestions from Emerson that can help you be more productive.

The first idea is to write everything down. Now I have gone over several times about how important it is to write down your goals since you need to write them down to make a commitment to keep your goal.

However, Emerson also kept a journal since he usually had so many things going on in his head so he could keep track of them. I have done this for many years not only to keep track of ideas I have, but also to write down ideas that can pop into the mind at any time.

While I have a excellent memory, I don't want to take the chance on forgetting something important or that can be of use in the future. So remember to write things down.

Second thing you need to do is eliminate distractions. Like Emerson, you need to create an environment where you have no distractions. This can be especially hard if you're like me and work from home. There is always the phone ringing, your spouse needing your time, kids running around, and the doorbell. That is why it is so important to have an office that is free from those distractions.

Finally you need to keep moving. There are times when we loose our motivation, or just get tired but Emerson would keep on going and we need to also keep ourselves moving also. Find something that can motivate you and get you going again.