Having an effective day

Have you ever got to the end of a day feeling dissatisfied that you haven’t been very productive? I think it’s a pretty common experience.

I think there’s an art to having an effective day. We need to know what we are about, clear the decks for it, and keep the rest of the world at bay.

Here are three suggestions:

1. Have one main goal
2. Say no to other things
3. Process incoming demands

HAVE ONE MAIN GOAL EACH DAY

Everything we do clashes with everything else we do.  So if we give ourselves more than one thing to achieve, then those things will inevitably argue with each other.  Social goals will argue with practical goals, and so on.

It is best to decide, at the start of the day, what the main goal is.  This provides the brain with a single point of perspective from which to make judgements.

The goal doesn’t have to be functional (e.g. complete the report). It can be emotional (e.g. stay patient), social (e.g. stay tolerant), or attitudinal (e.g. stay mindful).

SAY NO TO OTHER THINGS

A common block to achievement is the constant noise of other requests coming in.  We want to please everyone, and it’s just not possible.  Without learning to say no, we will always be vulnerable.

Saying no to other things involves constantly asking the question ‘am I focused on the chosen goal for the day?’. It therefore exercises our powers of continuous decision-making, and makes us stronger in our conduct.

Constant practice in saying no to other things also teaches us social self-esteem, whereby we learn to define our own boundaried space in relation to others.

PROCESS INCOMING DEMANDS

It’s important not to ignore demands. Otherwise, they become a backlog, and eventually erupt into panic situations. Our bodies need rest, food and exercise. Things need repairing. Bins need emptying. Friends and associates need our attention. Time together needs planning.

Being focused on one thing doesn’t mean ignoring everything else – it means dealing with everything else quickly and efficiently. A quick way of managing incoming demands is:

1. Quick initial response to demand
2. Diarise any further response
3. File what needs filing

For example, an email comes in asking for payment.  If payment can be quick, then pay.  Otherwise diarise the payment, and file the correspondence.

SUMMARY

We are more likely to have an effective day if we:

1. Have one main goal
2. Say no to other things
3. Process incoming demands