Make Things Happen

Do I feel like I get enough done? No. To be honest, no matter how much I complete in a day, it never feels like enough.

And I’m sure most of you can relate.

(It’s something my coach has me working on, and I can say I’m way more productive than I used to be…so there’s that.)

Now, let’s talk about one of our members, Tracey.

Tracey, as you can see here is about getting things done! To me, she’s a reminder of what the word “focus” really means. She gets an incredible amount done and inspires me doing it!

So what makes Tracey different than some of the rest of us? She takes an active role in making things happen. And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about today.

“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.”-Jim Rohn

I love that quote. It encapsulates one of the key philosophies of people like Tracey. Because the way I see it, a person can be either passive or active in their day (most of us are a mix of both).

So let me ask: when you go to bed at night, do you have a plan for the next day? If you do, fantastic. You are one of the few. Many people, however, roll out of bed every morning in a panic. They scramble to shower, dress, get the kids ready, and then drag themselves to their job or begin their day. And what a day!

Does this sound familiar? A constant barrage of tasks, problems, responsibilities, and chores. Let’s not leave out all of the surprising things that always seem to pop up just when you think you’ve made progress on your list.

In short, you spend your day reacting to life. It’s like being in a boxing match where you duck some punches while others catch you square on the jaw. You can absorb some hits and manage to land a few of your own, but either way, it makes for a stressful existence day in and day out.

We’ll, that was me until I decided to put a stop to it. 

RUN YOUR DAY
Taking an active role in how your day plays out is one of the most important ways to get stuff done. It also gives you the power to focus on what NEEDS to get done…

To take you where you want to go…

To accomplish YOUR goals…

And to more fully live the life YOU want.

That is a lot of CAPS, but I want you to realize that a way out is just a few steps away:

1. Seize control (of what you can). This one is important and will most likely take a mental shift on your part. Many people feel they have no control over too many things in their life. This is almost always a lie we tell ourselves. So while we can’t control everything, you’d be surprised at what you can control. I wrote another blog that walks through an exercise to help you gain some perspective in this area. 
2. Write it down. I know this is nothing new, but a daily schedule has worked wonders for me. A schedule is more than a checklist (Btw, I think you need one of those too). Write out your day: start with when you wake up and end with when you go to sleep. Then put everything else in the middle. These are things you cannot miss and which occur at a specific time. With the blocks of time you have left, you can schedule your other tasks on your checklist. My checklist is an integral part of my day and grounds my wandering mind. 
3. Tweak away! Your perfect day won’t appear overnight. You will need to adjust as you move forward. 
4. Be consistent. Just like with anything, you’ve got to keep at it! Making yourself an active leader of your day will take time. Then, one day you decide you don’t need to have a plan, and you make it harder to get back to it. We need this to be a habit and a habit is all about consistency.
5. Ask for help. I gave up the “I can go it alone” mentality years ago and have employed a coach for the last ten years. I’ve never felt better about a decision in my life 🙂

So take a cue from Tracey’s mug and “Get Things Done.”

~Coach Brad