Many people complain that they don’t have the time to effectively get all the things done in a day that they are being challenged to accomplish. However, until your responsibilities have been simplified into well defined actions that are clearly understood you don’t really know if that is true.
Try this simple exercise to understand what I mean. Think of something that is working its way through your mind. Something that you know you have to take care of, but have not gotten a chance to deal with yet. Write it down so that it now exists outside your brain. Next, I want you to read it and think about what it is that you want to change about the situation. How do you want the situation to be different from what it is currently? What is the future result that you would like?
Once you can clearly define the end result that you are seeking you can determine the very next action that needs to be taken to move you one step closer to that conclusion. Finally, if it will take less then a few minutes to do – go do it. Otherwise, you need to create a way of reminding yourself of the need for action at an appropriate time and in a way that you can trust.
Now think about all the things that you are currently juggling at work and at home, on and off your mind, distracting you from focusing on any one thing for fear of forgetting, missing, or dropping the ball. If you had one location where everything could be stored, next actions could be planned, and reminders could be trusted, imagine the peace that could be created in your mind.
Start with the small stuff.One of the most effective places to start is by making use of a notebook or journal to make a simple list of everything. While that may sound contradictory that’s just what I want you to do. Just start writing down 100% of the things that you are currently thinking about. Include everything from the three things you have to pick up at the grocery store to that huge project that if completed would exponentially improve your life. Write everything down until you can’t think of anything else and you have a clear head.
Now sort out your list pulling from it all the little things that would take just a few minutes to do and write down the next needed action. If it makes sense to do it – then take the time to get those things done. Otherwise write down exactly when you can get it done. Remember that YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT ALL YOURSELF! You will most likely find that many of the things that cloud your mind and distract you through the day are easily completed. By creating a hub or location for all these things to be recorded you can begin to train your mind to only think of things one time and with the right systems in place you can trust that you will be reminded at just the right time to accomplish the task.
Take the time to go back to the other items as well and define what the next needed action is on each of them. Begin to define your day and week in segments based on what action you need to be taking to get things accomplished. This includes things like attending your son’s soccer game or taking your spouse out for dinner. Because you know you are where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing, your mind can relax, focus, and enjoy the action taking place at just that moment.
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excelent !
this is a most effective tool to clear the mind and pave the road ahead,
a little bit hard for me to explain the advantages and benefits that will result from actualy implementing this knowledge, but i am sure that the results will speak by themselves.
keep up the good work.
love
aaron
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