3 THINGS YOU CAN DO EVERY DAY TO MAKE PROGRESS
Do you ever finish the day feeling like there is still so much left to do?
That important email that you were meant to have responded to, but you got caught up in other distractions.
That workout that you had planned to do, but you left it till the last minute and couldn’t find the energy to see it through.
That deadline you were meant to meet, but now you’re racking your brain trying to find a viable excuse.
And despite your efforts to organise your time, there just doesn’t seem like there are enough hours in the day.
So how do you get to the point where you can finish each day, feeling like you’ve taken care of everything that needs to be done?
Well, it first starts with you being able to identify what are the most important things that must be done today, that are in line with your values.
Notice that I chose to use the word important, but not urgent.
At times you’ll have things that may pop up unexpectedly, that require your urgent attention or action.
It may be an unexpected fine or bill that lands through your postbox, that requires you to get on the phone ASAP and hopefully find a way out.
These are the things that cannot be planned for. So there will be times in your day, where you will have to allow a level of flexibility when such things do arise.
However, when it comes to the most important things, these can be anticipated and planned for.
Where you spend most of your time doing things that are not important and much lower down on your list of values, you will always finish the day with a sense of dissatisfaction.
A rule I often use to identify what is the most important tasks for me to get done is asking myself the following question;
Which 3 things if not done today will have a negative impact on me, my health, my relationships and my business.
Here’s what that looks like for me currently:
Starting the day with some quiet time & prayer.
1 hour of exercise or movement.
Learning 1 new thing today, that will help me serve people better tomorrow.
For each of you, these may look a little different depending on your current set of values.
If you haven’t yet taken the time to identify what you truly value, here’s a link to a short exercise to help you in doing so.
I’d highly recommend you setting some time aside to do this exercise. The level of clarity it provides around what you truly value, gives you a head start in knowing what to prioritise.
The reason it’s so important to identify these things is because it’s human nature to want to do what’s easiest first. But often, there is little value or fulfillment provided by doing those things.
Whereas the tasks that are in line with your values require more discipline, focus and intentional effort.
When you have a clear plan and have identified the 3 most important things that you have chosen to do each day, you can plan and factor time in for each one accordingly.
This way you won’t fall into the trap of debating whether you’ll have time to do those things. Also allowing you to finish the day with a sense of fulfillment, knowing you have taken care of the things highest on your list of values.
