Use these 7 Simple Steps to get the most out of your day. Did you ever notice that our lives are filled with routine events and that we often can’t even remember the details of any particular day?
Only once in a great while do we experience a day that we will remember as special. Because of this, we usually don’t look to see what changes we could be making that would allow us to get more out of our Days.
We tend to spend too much of our time living our daily lives and just
letting them happen to us. One day I started to make small changes in my daily
routines. I immediately noticed that they really made a big difference in my
life. These 7 Steps will allow you to gradually change your personal habits and can be put into practice in almost any location.
1. Start Your Morning the Night Before: I found that when I prepare as much as possible the night before I am able to get out the door with less hassle. This minimizes the number of decisions that I have to make in the morning under pressure!
To
do this, review your schedule for the following day and before you go to bed…put
the coffee in the coffee-maker…set out non-perishable breakfast items…put out
the clothes you will be wearing the next day…pack your brief case and put it by
the front door. Add to this any items that are unique to your household, such
as packing your children’s lunches.
2. Rise
Early: I started getting up at 5:30am every morning, even on the weekends. This
was not easy at first because I used to stay up late and of course that made
getting up early a problem. So now I’m in bed early enough to allow myself to
feel rested by morning.
Rising
early has helped me to feel more energetic and alert and I am able to accomplish
more in the cooler morning hours. This quiet morning time has allowed me to get
an early start on projects before I am distracted by others. Also, I have found
that I don’t procrastinate about doing them anymore.
3. Getting into an Exercise Routine: Another way that
rising early has been beneficial is by allowing me to have the time to do my
run, push-ups and sit-ups early in the morning while it is still cool. I do a
half mile walk “warm-up”… I run 2-3 miles… then I do a 1 mile “cool-down” walk.
I do this 3 times per week. If I have a need to be somewhere early on that day
I simply move the exercise to that evening or to the next day and adjust the
week. I have seen not only physical strength improvement but it seems to be
improving my mental health as well. I seem to be able to concentrate better and
longer. 4. Create a Comfortable Workspace: As I do spend a lot of my day at my desk, this environment should be comfortable. I have gotten rid of the piles of paper on my desk, added plants, surrounded myself with calming music, added warm family photos and gotten a comfortable chair. For more information read, “Creating a more Comfortable Workspace”. It only takes me a few minutes to get settled-in, but after that I’m relaxed and ready to turn out some awesome work! The basic idea is when your feeling good about yourself and your surroundings you will be much more creative.
5. Gaining
Control over your Life: People with the most control are those who work for
themselves. But if this is not you then look for areas in
your life that you can control. One way to do this is to start taking an
interest in hobbies. Pay attention to what hobbies you really enjoy and perform
well. Some of these hobbies will actually be your strengths. As you find your
strengths you can start looking at how these can be monetized to generate
income. Many people are finding ways to share their hobbies on-line. This can not
only give you some extra money, but may allow you to become totally self-employed.
Then you will become the boss and the one with all the control over your life. Think
what you can do with that canvas!
You
would be surprised at the number of people just like you who have been able to
enjoy having their own profitable businesses as a result of using their own strengths
found while pursuing a hobby or passion.
6.
Read: Find books about your hobby and about
entrepreneurial people who have started their own businesses. Read books about
finance and business law. But most of all learn everything you can about the
hobby that you would like to turn into a business. Find out if it is being done
by anyone else and study their methods.
On-line searches are good also, but books are often
better as they provide more information and greater detail and will be properly
foot noted & cited for your further investigation. Just make sure you are
aware of the print date of the book you are reading and adjust the level of its
significance and relevance to your research accordingly.
7. Take Notes: Ever notice that when you go into a store to buy something without a note, you come out with three things you didn’t go in for, and you don’t even have the item that you originally went in for? This is why it is so important for us to write down our goals.
Write down where you would like to be in your life in the next 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and 5 years from now. If you don’t, you will still get there but how do you know if you are making any progress?
You can use a notebook or a computer but doing it is the important part. Create a master task list and keep track of the items as you accomplish them. Make sure as you progress that you take the time to note and recognize your accomplishments in this endeavor. Give yourself a small prize when you successfully accomplish a big step in your goals. Stay on your course but be flexible enough to make changes when needed.
Also, write down any ideas that come to you during each day. You will be surprised at how these can help you brainstorm and organize things that you may have overlooked without them. Add any ideas that seem important to your master task list for further action at the appropriate time.
In the end the important thing is to know what you are doing with your day and if what you are doing is really helping you get the “Most out of Your Day”. If not either change it or remove it from your list and stop doing it altogether!
Begin this exercise by putting the first step into practice for two weeks then add the next step and keep adding steeps until you have added all Seven Steps.
You are now choosing what you are going to get out of your day instead of it choosing for you.
Mark
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