Do you ever have those days where you blink and the day is already over as you ask yourself, Where did the time go? What did I get accomplished?…and you feel a little ashamed because you know you could have done more, you could have been more productive, but for some reason the day just ended BLAH.
Do you ever have those days Friend?
If so, then you can relate to how I’ve felt the past 2 weeks. I’ve been less productive, taking a longer time to get a simple task done, and after all of that I’ve just felt drained. I literally felt like I was trying to walk in 4 feet of mud struggling to make any progress.
Typically I’m on it! Typically, I’m like a machine moving from task to task, super militant with everything, feeling accomplished about the day. So then I wondered, why am I feeling this way, what’s going on Jason?
Fortunately, I took some reflection time. This time of solitude was extremely revealing as I figured out the WHY to my FUNK, and I want to share them with you.
- CONTEXT
The way you start your day sets the context of your day. Start off on a good foot, then that momentum will carry you into other good things; and before you know it, you’ll have had a good day.Example: Eat a healthy breakfast, exercise, wake up relaxed and not rushed. - POWER CHARGE
Part of setting the context of your day is not only from a physical standpoint, but from the mental arena. Upon waking and before you officially start your day, make sure to charge your brain with uplifting, educational, life enriching content. This may be a personal development book, content to improve your craft, or listening to a good audio.NEVER check email upon waking as you are automatically put into a reactive mode not a proactive state. Typically my daughter and I listen to educational audios from audible.com in the car on the way to the babysitter. - TIMER
Once you start the task for the day, make sure you have a timer handy. Timing yourself actively allows you to focus on the work at hand which forces you to immerse yourself in your work with fewer distractions. It also allows you to work more effectively during your time. Typically, I work in 50 minute increments at take a 10 minute break after each period. After 3 solid hours of work, I take a 30 minute break to zone out and start back again after. - REFLECT
Upon each working day, simply have solitude to reflect on the day. Ask yourself questions on how you think it went, areas you could have improved, etc. Reflection forces you to go within and it’s powerful for your well being. Actively always going with no reflection increases the chance of burnout. - WRITE IT DOWN BEFORE RETIRING
During your reflection period you will think on what needs to be done next. Take this time to write down your goals for the following day. Upon waking, you’ll know exactly what to do and what needs to be done with no ambiguity.
There you have it! After my reflection period over the weekend, I found I was just powering through the day skipping a ton of this stuff that has served me well and has allowed me to succeed seemingly effortlessly. What I just listed is a sure-fire way to improve your life in just about every aspect. I encourage and challenge you to just start it, and develop a routine to follow. If you’re in a funk, then this will get you out of it.
If you want to improve upon your effectiveness, then this will surely help. That’s all I got folks!
Keep on keeping on. Your best is yet to come!
~ Jason Bell
