Schedule Your Day
This keystone habit is most ideal to be done in the morning. If you do not
have a schedule, you may forget important meetings and social events. You
will also not be able to maximize your time. Your schedule allows you to
accomplish tasks as well as determine your priorities.
Each day, you should create a list that outlines the tasks that you need to
finish. Make sure that you consider the approximate duration of every task to
avoid having unrealistic expectations. To help you determine the importance
of your tasks, you can use the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. It tells you which
tasks are urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not
important, and neither urgent nor important.
See to it that you focus on activities that give value to your business or job.
You need to structure your day accordingly. Work on the urgent and
important tasks first. Be clear about the time of every task. Do not forget to
take breaks. You can also cut your schedule in half — one for the morning
and another for the afternoon. Splitting your tasks can help you avoid feeling
restricted by your tight schedule.
Determine Three Of Your Most
Important Tasks (MITs)
This keystone habit should be done in the morning on a daily basis because it
helps you avoid putting too many activities in your schedule and feeling like
you failed when you are not able to do all of them.
When you determine your MITs early, you are able to focus on your
priorities. In fact, even when you only accomplish your MITs and nothing
else, you can still say that your day was productive.
To determine your tasks more easily, you should use applications such as
Evernote and Todoist. From your list, you can select three tasks that are
important and urgent. You should not do any other tasks unless you are done
with these.
Review Your Goals
Every person has his or her own goals in life. Unfortunately, busy work
schedules and other commitments tend to get in the way of accomplishing
these goals. This is why you need to review your goals on a daily basis. You
have to make a plan and determine what you have to do on that particular day
so that you can achieve progress.
You can set goals for the year, month, or week. Ideally, you should set about
seven goals each quarter. Quarterly goals help you achieve great results while
still having enough time for long-term plan adjustments.
See to it that you list down your goals in your notebook so that you can easily
review them later. You can also use applications if you prefer to use a mobile
gadget. Once or twice a day, you should take at least five minutes to
reevaluate your goals.
Read your written goals out loud and reevaluate your scheduled tasks. Ask
yourself if your actions are bringing you closer to your goals. Be honest with
your answer. If your tasks are not helpful, you should probably delegate them
to others or not waste time doing them at all.
Finish The Most Difficult Tasks First
This support habit can be completed at any time of the day. Nevertheless,
make sure that you complete it because it is essential for achieving your
goals.
When you check out your list, you may be tempted to do the simpler tasks
first. After all, they are simple enough to be completed quickly. Bigger and
more difficult tasks are usually intimidating. When you see them on your list,
you start to feel discouraged and doubtful of your own abilities. This causes
you to procrastinate.
However, if you actually start with the most difficult tasks, you will feel a
sense of accomplishment afterwards. You will realize that if you can finish
such tasks, doing the simpler ones will not be a problem.
According to a study that involved elite musicians, the most difficult tasks
often have the best benefits. In the study, researchers discovered that these
musicians preferred to focus on difficult tasks and stay productive throughout
practice rather than practice with other musicians.
So, go over your list of MITs once more and identify the tasks that intimidate
you. Then, you should start doing these tasks right away. Do not shift to any
other tasks until you are done with your current one.
Break Down Tasks Into More
Manageable Parts or Steps
This is another support habit that you need to do on a daily basis. At times,
you might find certain projects to be too overwhelming. The complexity of
the tasks involved can cause you to procrastinate and engage in unhealthy
behaviors. Then again, if you create a detailed plan, your productivity can
improve. This happens because you are aware on where you should start.
Think about the major projects that you have. Then, break them down into
smaller and simpler pieces. You can classify these smaller tasks into certain
specifications so that you can gain more understanding with regards to what
should you do and how you must schedule your work daily.
Get Rid Of Distractions Before Getting
Started
A lot of people find it difficult to ignore their social media and email
notifications while at work. This causes them to be distracted and less
productive. These social activities are fun and exciting. They also increase
the production of dopamine in your brain. However, they can also be
addictive. So, even though you tell yourself that you are only going to spend
10 minutes on social media, you may still find yourself spending a couple of
hours on it.
Instead of fighting the natural inclination of your brain to procrastinate, you
should simply get rid of the distractions around you. You can deactivate your
social media account or log out from your email while you’re working. If you
think that your willpower is not strong enough, you can use websites or
applications that will block your access to these distractions.
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