Choose one of two ways to get off to a great start.
The first is to dive in; tackling whatever is in front of you. You might check your emails. This is an interesting beginning as it is always possible something fun and new came in since you last looked.
Another scenario is firefighting. Firefighting is the act of facing and finding quick fix solutions for all the
emergency situations that seem to be coming at you from unknown sources. These urgent problems can also eat up an alarming amount of your work day.
Maybe you are fighting fires. Are you facing and finding quick fix solutions for all the emergency situations that seem to be coming at you from unknown sources? These urgent problems can wreck havoc on your time.
What is an alternative method of beginning your day? Remember that this day is a gift to you. You can choose what to do with it, but you only get it once.
What if we do the important but-not urgent tasks first? These are the tasks that will advance your life goals. Prioritize and complete these tasks first and you will almost certainly complete them. Here is how.
2. At the beginning of your day, pull out your weekly goals. What will you do today to advance your weekly goal? List this (these) tasks.
3. Now get to work. Scan your emails — don’t read them! do not getted bogged down! Also, scan anything else you think needs your attetnion and cannot be put off. Phone messages, faxes inbox and anywhere else you receive communication. Get an overview of what new items will require your attention today.
You should have spent no more than 30-45 minutes and gathered up the information required to plan your day. You know what you have to do, and are already planning it in your mind. You don’t have to worry about forgetting something important.
4. On a clean sheet of paper, or index cards, prioritize 10 -15 things you intend to accomplish before the end of the day. Be realistic. You will not be able to do much more than this. From the 10-15 highlight 4 or 5 items that are important-but-not-urgent and critical to your long term goals. Prioritize these items first, and then follow with the remaining items in some sort of order. Put an estimated time to complete each item beside it.
At the end of the day, your review of what got done and the actual time it took will be a great education and experience for future planning. With practice, this skill will serve you well.
5. Now pick a task you’ll enjoy and do it.
How much time would all this take? Maybe 90 minutes! And – you have completed a step towards your 3-5 year plan. (What would a constant daily step towards your goal will produce?) You know what else you must do today, and you know where it will lead.
If you begin to do the important-but-not urgent items on a daily basis, you will find less urgent items surprising you. The feeling and knowledge of achievement will be encouragement for you to continue to strengthen your skills in this area.
Which way will you begin your day tomorrow?
Miami Phillips mentors and teaches business owners how to live have a successful business and personal life. http://www.smallbusinessexpert
Maybe its the use of the word “dynamic” or maybe it is the idea that the first thing you do is ‘dive in’ and start checking email and fighting fires, but these suggestions sound a little too “Type A” for my liking.
While they sound like decent approaches to getting things done, I’m not sure that they are how I would choose to kick off another day of life on the planet. Getting things done is not to be confused with having an enjoyable day.
Personally, here’s how I create my day. Once I’m done with that – I am in a better position to ‘dive in’ and start getting things done.
ENJOY NOW!
-Patrick
Patrick,
I guess much of it depends on personal preference, or even your mood when you wake up. I’ve found that days when I get a lot done are among the most enjoyable, but I’ve also had great days that didn’t include anything you could call “productive”.
The ritual you describe in that article sounds like a great way to start a day as well.
The very first thing I do every morning is spend ten minutes reading my mission statement. It basically lists every single one of my goals, all grouped by category (i.e. physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual).
That really helps me remember what it is I’m working toward so that I align my schedule appropriately. It also gives me a moment to stop and be grateful for how far I’ve come and excited about how far I still have to go!
Hey John,
Something difficult for me is gaining momentum to do the things that I need to do/want to do. Once I get it going, then it’s easy to knock tasks out. I guess I need to just “jump in” and begin my day taking out some of my tasks for the day. I think I’m going to start planning the night before the things that I’m going to do first thing in the morning to kick start my day with some action.
Yes, that’s intertia at work and it gives me problems getting started too from time to time. If only there was a magic “on” button you could hit when you need to take actions. The best we can do is develop our self discipline.
Hey John,
Great article! Just kidding – thanks for picking it up.
I have to admit to being a bit “type a’ I guess. But this article comes from being a business coach over the last nine years and seeing how many (most) small business owners work.
Emails and other forms of communication offer something ‘new and exciting’ in the day and can quickly take a lot of time. Here I am following my google alerts to see where my articles are! (I just made this part of my goals – building SEO with links and meeting people along the way.)
Certainly there is no one hard fast way to start your day. As long as you have a process that works… and you work your process.
I have a video product for doing that on my blog.
Great site. Congratulations.
Miami
http://www.miamiphillips.com
The way I work:
1. Never try to work alone: ask for sugestions or questions from your client/partner
2. Allways try to professionaly “put the ball on the other side of the net” but be carefull to antecipate the oponent moves (don´t be caught in unwanted scenarios)!
3. When the sea is calm make waves, when the sea is “waving” use apropriate filters. If there is peace use your machine gun, to conquer new ground, if there is war be a diplomat!
4. Work bite by bite and eat a wale
5. Spend 80% of your time design your own system of productivity (i.e. find ways to completely eliminate repetitive tasks) and only spend 20% on filling your system with information/product.
[...] worrying on what comes next is no way to pass your days. Miami suggests the alternative of making your day dynamic, at Pick the [...]
Great post. I like the mental frame of mind that these recommendations have – namely, be in a position to be pro-active and not re-active with what gets done in the day.
I know that I get more than my share of emails telling me to immediately do something, and it’s sometimes easy to fall in the trap of reacting. But starting the day off like this is like launching a boat with no rudders.