Discardia_ More Life, Less Stuff - Dinah Sanders [25]
Home. Clean up, get rid of, or pass along one of the projects through which you drew a dotted line on yesterday’s list. Cross it off now. Reward yourself with a little chunk of time working on one of your starred projects. Even if you only have time to look at it and write down a little list of what you want to do next, that's great. It is nice to think about a fun project as you head off to bed.
Day 4
Work. It’s time to put in some progress on “the projects your boss has been waiting for you to complete that can be finished in less than an hour.” See if you can knock out two of these—even one is good—without negatively impacting other important things. Be sure to send an email to your boss reporting any significant progress.
Home. Clean up and optimize your project space for a bit this evening. Good progress would include vacuuming or sweeping if that area has become less pleasant. Does it need to change to make it easier for you to work on things in comfort? What would make the space more inviting to sit down in and move things forward at last?
Day 5
Work. Carve out at least 30 minutes today to work on something that results in “a demonstration of the required skills for the position to which you'd like to be promoted.” Good candidates are things like giving better presentations, being able to succinctly and effectively summarize a lot of information, writing clearly (particularly valuable for technical folks but also great for anyone who has to articulate what their organization is doing or hoping to do), and being a mentor.
Home. Get rid of or pass along another of those projects through which you put a dotted line on your list, and cross it off for good. I recommend the one that is taking up the most space or the space you most want to be using for other things. Again, look at the starred projects and think about what you might want to work on this weekend. Is there a project you'd love to work on that's waiting for some supplies or other errand to move it forward? Weekends have opportunities for such things. Mmm, weekends …
Days 6 and 7
Work. What? Work on a weekend? Yes, because this time I want you to do something that doesn't necessarily relate to your present job but to your ability to do jobs in general well and with less stress. Stroll on down to the library or your local bookstore and get your hands on one of these books or something else that's been recommended to help build the skills you want:
Getting Things Done by David Allen (to help prioritize your time)
Don't Sweat The Small Stuff or Don't Sweat The Small Stuff At Work by Richard Carlson (to help with general stress reduction)
Wishcraft by Barbara Sher (to help identify what you really want to be doing)
Home. Yay! You have time to work on a project if you want, I hope. Or you could go to the movies or take a long bath. Whatever … enjoy!
Focus
Pay attention to real, top priorities. Clear your mental clutter. When you’re doing something, you’re choosing not to be doing other things. That’s fine. You can do anything—just not everything. You want to choose what to do in line with your overall vision for yourself. Pick three active goals for your projects to serve. Choose just one habit to form. However you set your priorities—whether by targeting specific important qualities like, “What will best demonstrate my performance to my boss?” or “What will help me feel most happy and relaxed this weekend?” or by putting all your goals and projects in order—keep your time and effort flowing mostly to the top of the list. You’ll find yourself more energized and more successful in achieving even your biggest goals.
What does it take to do something big? Just one chunk at a time, but you have to start. Now.
Part Two
June Discardia: Core Principle #1—Decide and Do
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