Is it calling 6 prospects?
Clearing your desk?
Eating and hydrating?
Exercising?
Reconciling your finances?
Getting enough rest?
These are all excellent activities to do daily. However, these are tasks to take inside a productive infrastructure. And the fastest way to build your productive infrastructure is by….dum da da dummm….
Review and Confirm your schedule for the day that just completed AND the following day.
My students and clients use Joumor’s Daily Scheduling Tool and the Joumor’s Grand To Do, productivity tools which helps them keep track of what they’ve done, what tasks need to do, and what they are trying to accomplish as bigger goals.
Let’s face it. We are fascinated by ourselves. And it makes sense, we ARE fascinating, after all. So why not take the time to properly analyze our behaviors, AND set ourselves up to win? Part of Joumor is identifying the intangible clutter in addition to the tangible. Intangible clutter can include time, money, and emotions. When we are more aware of why we do and don’t do things, we can make better decisions.
Today’s Analysis
1. Write a list of what you did today.
2. Rate each item 1-5.
(1=horrible, I DON’T want to do this, it’s not who I am! 5= perfectly productive, I wish I could do this or things like this all day every day).
3. Look at the items that you rated 1, 2, or 3. What can you change to remove them or make them less unpleasant?
*Magical Joumor Note: We often feel negatively toward things that we did when rushed. Leaving extra time before and after unpleasant tasks can mitigate the unpleasantness- like ice cream after a root canal.
Now that you have the wisdom of what DID and DID NOT work for you today, let’s look at tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s Analysis
- Look at what you have scheduled for tomorrow.
- Confirm it all belongs/remove what doesn’t belong.
- Confirm you have ALL THE INFORMATION to complete each item on your list.
- Confirm you have enough time to complete each item.
This entire process can take as little as 8 minutes, but it is something that most people avoid. It takes discipline, intention, and the willingness to look at yourself like a researcher, not a judgmental monster. It’s definitely challenging, but the return on investment in doing this is enormous. Try it once…experience the magic…and then do it 6 days a week.
To your self-aware productivity!