RazzWorks

At the end of the day do you sometimes wonder if you got anything done today at all? You perhaps started off going through your emails or notification feeds. Time slips by and you realize you almost forgot to do something that has now become urgent.

You have a job or task you have to work on right away because it’s due within a day or two. While in the middle of dealing with that urgent task that you probably could have picked at earlier in the month but just haven’t gotten to for whatever reason, you get hit with a text message, email, or phone call that comes where you need to deal with some issue right away. It might be a family member who needs your emotional support or a favor to do for someone, somebody who needs you to go pick up/drop off an item somewhere.

Now the urgent task you remembered you needed to get done, gets rushed. Now, as quickly as you possibly can, you get the task completed because you know it’s important to someone else. You managed to finish just in time and whoever it was for is pleased with it. However, deep down you know you could have done a much better job if you had gotten to it sooner.

You pause for a moment and look back. Have you gotten anything important done, that really mattered? Yesterday, last week, within the last year? You recall a few jobs you did, but you don’t feel really great about them. That is because you had to rush through it just like you have always done with other important tasks in the past. That’s just how you do things.

The worst part is, you think about what you wanted to do for yourself. How far did you get with anything? You realize you have not progressed nearly as far as you hoped. Why, because urgent tasks kept popping up that you needed to deal with right away. Once done running around completing these urgent tasks and then looking after the regular everyday routine stuff, there’s no time left to do what you really wanted or intended to do for yourself.

Everybody deals with urgent tasks in their lives. Many of us have projects or hobbies we want or need to work on that are truly important to us. So how in the world are we going to get them done? There must be a better way of doing things without having to rush all the time. It is nice to look back and say ‘yeah, I’ve been doing great this year. Look how far I’ve come with …’ whatever it is that you have been working on and consider to be important to you.

Today is a new day. That means you have a chance to do something different. Today you get to choose to do things differently. It is a great time to start fresh, yesterday is gone. You can’t assume there will be a tomorrow. Hope yes, assume no. Anything can happen, so take advantage of today not knowing if and how many tomorrows there will be. Today is the day you can do the stuff that matters, the things you feel are important.

The most awesome year built one day at a time

The first and most important thing to do every day!
Today let’s take charge and choose to do what’s important first. At least get a start on it. Urgent tasks you know you will get done today, but just not right away. Think about what will improve you or your life. Make sure to work on these tasks first every day. Make a goal or target goal for yourself if you haven’t already. Every day work on something that is important to you personally. Pull out a calendar or notebook and jot down a plan of things or steps you can do for completing or reaching your chosen goal or task in the coming days or weeks ahead.

How to free some time from all the inbound messages
Now, your emails and other inbound communications. Only, this time, don’t let yourself get trapped into reading every email, post, notification, tweet, and so on like most people do. Instead, skim over and make a note of the ones that are important. Do this with all your forms of communication. This way you can see what will truly require your attention and needs to be dealt with today. This should take no more than an hour and most likely a plan of action has already formulated in your mind as to when and how to deal with the information you got from skimming.

Best way to know what your day is going to look like.
OK now grab a piece of paper and make a list of tasks you plan to get done today. Split the list into 3 sections. Mark a T for stuff that has to be done today. P next to priority items, they might be urgent but not due today, maybe tomorrow or next week, you just don’t want to forget them. Put an I next to items that are important but have no deadline. Use the letter R for routine chores you do anyway. Now put a star next to a couple of items that are particularly meaningful to you. You can rearrange your list, making sure to put the starred items first. Jot down a guess as to how long it would take to complete each item. Now you have a game plan and you know you will be working on things that are important first.

Want a good start to increase the odds of a good day?
Lastly, just before you jump into doing your list of responsibilities for the day, circle or underline a couple of items that you like doing or would enjoy doing regardless of their priority level. Now already your day has started off in the right direction because first, you worked on something meaningful to you and your future. Then, you made a list of chores you’re going to work on for the rest of your day starting with something that is also important and moving on to things you like doing. It’s a good way to get your day off to a great start. Stuff that has to be done today, well, you will make sure it gets done. Priority items, you’ll see what you can do so there will be less to do tomorrow. As for routine chores, they tend to look after themselves because you’re used to doing them anyway. Doing one or two enjoyable things helps keep your mood and energy up to finish the rest of the items on your list.

OK, so seriously, counting the time you skimmed over your emails, texts, and voice-mail, and making a plan for the day, it took you what? An hour and a half at most? First, with practice each day you’ll get faster. Secondly, and more importantly, the whole idea is to do something different. Don’t forget why, you want to be able to look back and see yes you made progress and completed the things that are important. Not only did you get them done, but you can also honestly feel you did your best because you didn’t feel rushed.

The more you continue to work on what is important, the fewer that become urgent. You’ll still have to deal with on-demand favors and issues of course. At least the things you were already aware of don’t become urgent due to procrastination, neglect, or ‘oh I forgot.’

Bottom line. It’s what you do today and each day that makes your year awesome. Do what’s important, and work on what truly matters today, every day. Not only does it help to make an awesome year, but you could also end up looking back on memories of an awesome life.

I know this way of thinking isn’t the common way. Alot of advice you hear or read tells you to keep your nose to the grindstone, focus more, or do the hardest things first to get them out of the way. However what if you already tried that and for you, it didn’t work as well as you hoped? I, myself find this method of making sure to do what’s important first helpful. It gives me the sense of feeling that I’m more in control of my day rather than the day controlling me. However the real question is, do you feel it would be of benefit to you? Let me know what you think of this concept in the comments below.

Razz