1. Define your priorities.
What
are your main three priorities in your life? What three things do you
do with the majority of your time? Do your priorities match up with
where you’re spending your time? If so, awesome. If not, you’ll need to
work extra hard to be intentional about spending more time on your
priorities, and getting rid of the junk that prevents you from doing
what’s important to you. Really think about how you want to spend your
life – you will likely only feel successful if you spend your time on
what matters most to you.
2. Set a schedule for the following day.
Time
is our most precious resource, and it’s irreplaceable. If you really
want to be successful, you’ll need to plan how you’re spending your
time.
One
way to do this is to take time each evening to write out a schedule for
the next day. Writing out your schedule helps for three main reasons:
It helps you maximize every hour you are awake; it helps you set aside
time to focus on your priorities every day; and it helps you discover if
you waste a lot of time. I recently read that the average American
spends 5 hours a day watching TV. Setting a schedule will help you avoid
the trap of time-suckers like TV.
3. Eat the frog.
“Eat a live frog first thing every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” – Mark Twain
If
you’re like most people, there is a task every day you procrastinate
because it scares or overwhelms you. This task is your frog, and
according to Mark Twain, you should eat it right away in the morning.The problem
with procrastinating eating your frog is that it’s hard to concentrate
on getting other things done; you’re too busy thinking about the frog
you need to eat later. Also, putting it off makes it seem even more
overwhelming because you have time to imagine every possible thing that
could go wrong with the task.
Eating
the frog early in the day gives you a sense of accomplishment, and it’s
great to start the day feeling successful. Finishing your dreaded task
immediately can give you the momentum you need to get other tasks done
throughout your day. Plus, they’ll all seem easy compared to the frog
you started with.
4. Be honest with the person in the mirror.
Now
that we’ve talked about eating the frog, I want to encourage you to be
honest with yourself. Just because there’s a frog to eat at the
beginning of your day doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to get up way
earlier than you normally do to start eating it.
Some
people do their best work before sunrise, and others are incredibly
productive late in the evening. If you love starting your day at 5 a.m.,
wonderful – go ahead and eat your frog in the early hours of the
morning. If you prefer to sleep in, that’s fine too – go ahead and eat
your frog early in YOUR day.
Successful
people are honest with themselves. They know that setting a goal of
working out every morning at 4:30 a.m. isn’t the best idea if they’ve
never been a morning person. They set their goals based on their most
productive times.
5. Give yourself deadlines.
Take
advantage of a major productivity hack: Parkinson’s Law. Parkinson’s
Law states that work will expand to fill the time available for its
completion. If you have less time to complete a task, you’ll likely
increase your effort. Think about how clean you can make your house when
someone calls and says they’ll stop by in 20 minutes, and how intensely
you can focus when you have a an assignment due the next morning. Your
effort significantly increases when time is limited.
Giving
yourself deadlines to accomplish tasks can help you achieve your goals.
As you set your daily schedule, it can help to use Parkinson’s Law to
your advantage. One way to do this is by using time blocks. Give
yourself 55 minutes to accomplish a goal, and then take a planned 5
minute break. Knowing you have limited time will help maximize your
productivity during the 55 minute work session. Also, the mini mental
breaks from your hard work every hour can re-energize you.
6. Minimize distractions.
Get
rid of as many distractions as possible while you work. If the internet
distracts you, set your computer so it’s locked from certain
sites during set times of the day. Shut off your phone. Your messages
will be there when you’re done with your to-do list.
7. Pause.
Plan
time every day to take care of yourself. Set aside time in your
schedule for you to give yourself the gift of exercise, quiet time, or
ideally both.
8. Plan backward.
One way to move forward toward your big goals is to plan backward when setting goals.
For
example, say you want to lose 26 pounds. After you set an initial
long-term goal of losing 26 pounds by one year from now, start planning
backward and breaking the goal down into doable chunks. If you want to
lose 26 pounds in one year, you’ll need to lose 0.5 pounds (1750
calories) each week. This is 250 calories per day. Many people have 3
meals and 2 snacks per day, which means you can decrease your intake by
50 calories every time you eat. That’s a totally doable goal! You’ve now
taken a large, overwhelming aspiration and you broke it into very
small, achievable daily goals.
Planning
backward to move forward works for all kinds of big goals. I have a
financial goal I want to meet this year, and I know exactly how many
dollars and cents I need to earn each day to hit my mark.
9. Write it down.
Research
shows that just by writing your goals down, your chance of achieving
them increases significantly! Write down your goals, post them somewhere
easily visible, refer to them frequently, and you have a much higher
chance of success.
10. Find an accountability partner.
Accountability
partners are great; they encourage and support us as we work toward
achieving our goals. Maybe you’ve always wanted to write a book,
exercise regularly, or start a home-based business. Tell someone who
will help keep you accountable and check in with you weekly to review
your progress. It works great to have an accountability partner who has
some similar goals.
11. Compare yourself to others only to fuel your determination.
You
really want to feel good about your life? Quit comparing yourself to
everyone else if it makes you feel bad. Being envious of others can
quickly decrease your happiness and make you feel unsuccessful.
That
being said, comparing can be helpful if you’re doing it out of
admiration instead of jealousy. If your friend is constantly getting
promoted at work, study his habits at the office. Does he always arrive
early and stay late, and offer to take on extra projects? Emulating his
work ethic may help you get the raise you desire. Is your coworker the
picture of perfect health? Comparing your habits to hers may make you
realize she takes a walk every day over the lunch hour while you munch
on snacks at your desk. Join her for a walk if you aspire to improve
your fitness.
‘When
we compare in a healthy way (they have that, I’d like it, how can I
learn from them to get it?), it can fuel our determination to become
more successful.
12. Seek out a mentor.
If
there’s a specific area in your life you are passionate about, choose
a successful mentor to help you grow in that area. You may find that you
have different mentors for different areas in your life – I know I do.
Consider hiring a coach; the right coach can make a world of difference
in your life by giving you the inspiration and tools needed to reach
high levels of success.
13. Delegate.
“If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” – John C. Maxwell
As
difficult as it can be, it’s important to give up some control and
delegate certain tasks. After all, there are only 24 hours in the day,
and if you really want to focus on your priorities and become wildly
successful, you’ll need to trust others to take care of the things that
are less important to you.
A
few years ago, I wrote out my weekly tasks, and realized there were 56
tasks that I completed each week. No wonder I felt overwhelmed at times!
I began evaluating the importance of each of those tasks and decided to
delegate the tasks that weren’t imperative for me to perform, yet still
needed to get done. Now I have more time to focus on my priorities.
When we delegate some tasks to others, we are able to focus on what’s
important to us – a key to becoming successful.
14. Choose your company wisely.
Aside from having one specific accountability partner, choose your entire tribe with care.
According to businessman Jim Rohn, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Are
you hanging out with people who are encouraging, positive, and
supportive? Or, do you spend most of your time with people who are
toxic? Choose to spend your time with people who inspire you to be your
best.
15. Read.
Want
to be highly successful? Read. Read frequently. Reading invigorates us
and opens our minds. Read material that inspires you and lights your
fire. Delve into self-development. Absorb as much information as you
possibly can. There’s always more to learn.
Do these things every day and you will quickly be on the path to wild success!
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