01/06/2023
Have you ever thought about what separates your "good" workdays from your "bad" or "blah" ones?
From those items, what ones do you have control over, and would you WANT to ensure are part of most of your workdays, if you’re being practical/realistic?
This should not be additive—"to-do” lists are already too long, and it exhausts me even thinking about doing that.
Here’s my list (in no particular order):
1. Physical activity:
Lifting weights/biking/running, ideally, even if it’s only 15 minutes (trying to avoid an “all or nothing” mentality). The big thing is that it happens, to any degree—it doesn’t have to be perfect.
This one is a bit additive in that it requires an additional activity, but it has a huge impact on my mood, focus, etc.
2. Moving forward despite uncertainty:
This could apply to so many things, but that's kind
of the point. This might be:
- reaching out to a prospective client
- acting on my intuition
- hitting “send” on an email, instead of hitting “save” to mull it over later
Doing this feels like growth to me—professionally and personally. Quite frankly, it makes me feel more alive.
3. Social connection:
Again, this could be so many things. This is almost always accomplished from my 1-on-1 coaching sessions.
But, when I don’t have calls, my work environment, itself, can accomplish this. My ideal work environment is a Starbucks-type atmosphere where there's a lot going on, but people aren't speaking directly to me. I really don’t like working in isolation.
4. An intentional block of uninterrupted time for focused work (no phone!):
It’s shocking how much you can get done with uninterrupted time, vs. time filled with interruptions and distractions (many of my own doing (e.g. my phone). Some days this might only be 30 minutes, but I’m shooting for at least an hour. Any amount of this helps me feel productive.
If those 4 things happened on MOST of my working days for the year (which is totally reasonable), it would likely be an incredible
year. And this is completely within my control!
I'm genuinely curious, what are 1 or 2 of yours?