Contents
- 1. Plan your day the night before
- 2. Return to your long-term goals every morning.
- 3. Define 3 priorities for the day
- 4. Drink 2 glasses of water immediately after waking up
- 5. Summarize the day at the end
- 6. Connect with friends who energize you
- 7. At the beginning of the day, especially try to avoid information overload.
- 8. Do the most important and difficult things in the morning
- 9. Spend the afternoon on organizational matters
- 10. Turn off your phone during the hours that require maximum concentration.
- 11. Have fun
- 12. Focus on results, not effort
5-minute actions that will lead to great results: you will start to focus better on tasks and feel more energized.
1. Plan your day the night before
Good planning is half the battle. Once you’ve mapped out the day ahead in great detail and prioritized it based on how close a specific task is to achieving your global goal, all you have to do is stick to the plan without wasting energy thinking about what to do next.
2. Return to your long-term goals every morning.
Many of us do not achieve goals precisely because … we forget about them, spinning in the maelstrom of affairs and daily tasks that require attention. To prevent this from happening, every morning, before starting work, remember the point where you want to be. In addition, this will allow you to timely exclude tasks from your list that do not bring you closer to the goal.
3. Define 3 priorities for the day
Before starting work, ask yourself: “What are three things I can do today that will help me take a significant step closer to my dream?” Otherwise, again, there is a risk of getting bogged down in less significant matters, firmly believing that you “just don’t have time” for the main thing.
4. Drink 2 glasses of water immediately after waking up
You didn’t drink anything for six or even eight hours – which means it’s time to replenish the fluid in the body. Otherwise, you are more likely to be slow, lethargic and irritable.
5. Summarize the day at the end
Once you’re done, take five minutes to ask yourself the following questions:
- Did I manage to complete the three priority tasks? If not, why not?
- What things took the most energy and time from me, but did not help me get closer to the global goal?
- What people and activities have helped me feel happy?
- What should be done differently tomorrow?
Answering these questions will help you optimize your schedule for the next day.
6. Connect with friends who energize you
If a person is truly passionate about something, as a rule, his energy and passion are transferred to others. Make sure that there are such people in your environment, and try to communicate with them regularly – this will positively affect your level of energy and motivation.
7. At the beginning of the day, especially try to avoid information overload.
What do most of us do right after waking up? That’s right – reaching for a smartphone. According to some reports, 80% of mobile device owners get into the phone within the first 15 minutes after waking up. This means that an avalanche of work tasks, news and other people’s opinions immediately falls upon us.
Starting the day like this makes us feel stressed and information overload. Instead, try to get in the right mindset for the day ahead, focus on your priorities, and take time for yourself and your body.
8. Do the most important and difficult things in the morning
Because, unless you’re a classic night owl, this is the time of day you’re most likely to remain most energetic, focused, and disciplined. Do in the morning what requires you to the maximum return. AND…
9. Spend the afternoon on organizational matters
After lunch, we are more easily distracted, feel less energetic, and often procrastinate. Use this time for meetings and calls with colleagues, as well as for solving tasks that do not require enormous mental effort.
10. Turn off your phone during the hours that require maximum concentration.
Today, we practically do not part with gadgets: according to research, the average user unlocks the phone 150 times a day, spending an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes a day on it (and millennials – 5,7 hours). No wonder our attention spans have dropped 2000% since the year 33, according to Microsoft.
And that’s not all: after each call or reply to a message, we need time to return to the task. So try to turn your phone off and on, or at least mute it, after discussing with colleagues and family how you can be contacted in an emergency.
11. Have fun
Too much seriousness prevents us from experiencing bursts of inspiration and energy, so don’t be afraid to fool around, act “childish” and have fun at least from time to time. Even if you are a respectable boss.
12. Focus on results, not effort
Often we procrastinate precisely because we focus too much on the effort that a given task will require of us. It is much more effective to remember how what we have done will help us achieve our goals, grow, or, in the end, receive additional income.
Find this “mental lever” in your head and try to switch it – this will help reduce your resistance and achieve more. Unless, of course, that’s exactly what you want.