If you fancy the feeling of being successful and would like to
go through each day achieving your goals, here’s how to pull that off in 7
simple steps:
1. Write Out a Basic
Plan for the Day
Write out a basic plan, showing all the important things you
want to do for the day. You can do this using a computer, a mobile device, or
going traditional with a real pen and paper. It involves evaluating and
prioritizing the day’s activities in the order of their rewards and benefits to
you. You’d have to do this before you start your day.
It’s about getting organized; it’s about getting to know what to
do and how to do it; it’s about getting things in place on paper and in your
mind, so you wouldn’t lose your bearings or become disoriented in the middle of
the day, thinking what to do next.
Make the tasks in the list as SMART (Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) as possible.
You don’t have to include 30 tasks that require at least 2 hours
each to accomplish; there are just 24 hours in a day. My personal strategy here
is to try to make my list have 3-5 MITs (Most Important Tasks) plus a couple
other non-MITs. If you end up accomplishing just the MITs, you still had a
great day. The non-MITs can be outsourced or delegated if you’re
time-challenged.
Obviously, planning your day ahead involves some thinking and
visualization, where you forecast your day before you even live in it. You can
even go a step further by doing this the night before. I usually do this while
carrying out step 7 below.
2. Set Time for each
Task
After writing out a basic plan for your day, allot time to each
activity. Possibly, indicate when to start the activity and when to end it.
Visualize how much you hope to accomplish the task within the stipulated time
frame, and of course, keep it SMART. Doing this will put you in control of your
time and day. It will also help you measure your progress, manage your time
effectively and get more done.
3. Follow Through
Meticulously
It’s not just enough to write out a plan and allot time to the
activities; you actually have to follow through strictly if you want to achieve
results. This entails getting up to do what you ought to do when it’s time to
do it.
The truth is, if you shift things, it could change everything.
Let’s say you had fixed to write an article from 10 a.m to 11:30 a.m. And so
when it was time, you opened you computer, logged in, and just as you were
about to open your word processor, something happened: A notification box
popped up out of nowhere, showing that you have a new email in your inbox. So
you head over to Gmail to check it.
Then to FB to quickly see how
many new Facebook likes your page just got; then to Twitter; then your favorite
blog. And before you know it, it’s already 30 minutes into your article writing
time. But just because it’s so necessary to write the article, the time has to
be shifted from the initial 11:30 to 12:00, eating into the time for another
activity. And the cycle continues.
If you ever get into that kind of cicle, the next point can come
in handy.
4. Give Total
Attention to the Task at Hand
It’s easy to get distracted in the midst of the activities and
happenings around you during the day, but you have to make up your mind not to
be distracted. Staying focused is important for the accomplishment of your
tasks. If you really want to get something done, give total attention to it;
concentrate all your strength on it, psychologically, physically and otherwise.
Clearly, this is against multi-tasking. You really cannot get
much done by trying to do everything at the same time. Single tasking is the
way to go. If you find yourself struggling with staying focused and giving
total attention to the task at hand, here are some things to do:
·
Create a Distraction-Free Environment (DFE) for yourself,
whether physically or virtually.
·
Get rid of everything that can sidetrack you.
·
Stay mentally alert and be watchful of yourself.
·
If you have to take breaks to avoid burnouts, do so.
·
Monitor your progress and redirect your focus if it seems you’re
diverting.
5. Give Precedence to
those Activities that Produce Quality Results
To have the best results, you’d have to concentrate on the most
important activities and give them your best shot. By important activities, I
mean those activities that will help you most in achieving or getting close to
your ultimate goal. You will have to do this because during the day, several
unimportant activities may pop up, looking to steal
away your time.
And the unfortunate thing? You may not realize that your time is
being “stolen” until it’s 5:00 PM when you suddenly realize that you haven’t
done much for the day.
Here are some steps you can apply to overcome this:
·
Make sure your activities are focused on the achievement of your
greater goal.
·
Cut off any and every trivial and unnecessary activity.
·
Write out at least 3 MITs you’d like to accomplish for the day.
You’d also have to beware of “time-stealers.” Time-stealers
could be unimportant and unnecessary activities, social networks, or even
friends who always come around to yak and chew the fat. Avoid them like the
plague.
6. Be Sensitive to the
Schedule. Respect the Time
Not only should you be sensitive to the scheduling and timing of
your day, you should also treat other people’s time with respect. For instance,
if you told someone to come see you by 3:00 PM, when the person gets there by
the said time, don’t keep the person waiting until 4:00PM. If you were
unavoidably in the middle of another meeting, see about calling the person up
before 3:00 PM to re-schedule the appointment.
Don’t keep people waiting gratuitously. They might have gotten
at least one useful thing done while waiting and doing nothing. On the other
hand, if you find yourself waiting, make productive use of the little blocks of
time you have. Maybe while waiting for a meeting to start, queuing up at the
ticket station, waiting to catch a flight, or even while sitting in a bus, get
something done.
It could be a simple, streamlined task like replying/sending an
email, making a short important call, signing up for a service or a helpful
task like reading. Whatever it is, create a list of 5-10 minutes tasks, ready
to be executed at any given “block of time.”
Remember what the sixth part of Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues
says:
“Lose no time;
be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
7. Go Back to Your List
of Basic Plans and Evaluate
This comes at the end of the day. Write out a list of the things
you’ve done since you woke up. This will help you measure your progress and set
new goals. It’ll also help you redirect your focus on the tasks that need to
get done. If after evaluating your list you’re not satisfied with the results
you’ve gotten, don’t complain but just do it better the next day.
Conclusion
Accomplishing all your tasks for each day is doable and it comes
with a great feeling. It’s also important because meeting your daily goals
contributes immensely to your overall success and to the achievement of your
ultimate goal. When you want to have a great day, apply the productivity hacks
above and you’ll be set to getting that done, stress-free.
Source: Life Hack
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