I was halfway through my day, and it was one of those days that was not going as planned. I had a long to do list, and looking back not enough time. On top of that, there were a few unplanned interruptions and the day was getting away from me. It is in these moments I am learning the importance of what I call the daily rhythm.
My daily productivity rhythm allows me to gain focus and remember what I need to focus on for the day.
There are 4 Rhythms that I have developed that are not unique to me. However, when I stick with them, these rhythms help me reach my goals, accomplish my work and stay focused. Check out part one here
My Daily Rhythm
Each morning at some point I will take a look at my day and ask by the end of the day what are my big three? Yes, this is not something unique to me, but it is something that when I do not do it. I find myself just running from one task to another.
There are days I change it to become my daily big four.
But I have learned that some times in trying to accomplish more I do not accomplish much. By asking my self what are the three big things that at the end of my work day I want to achieve. I have found that this keeps me on track. What this means is I have to say no to other tasks to do these first.
I will at times turn to the day’s page in my planner and find that one of my big three is chosen for me. This comes from some planning ahead, but I will cover that in the next post.
In 2019 I have started to wrestle with the number 4 being part of a big daily goal. This goal is not work-related but is a personal goal. For example, I need to pay the bills today. On my days off I still think through what are the big 3 for today. Those days I will write down rest, to remind myself to take a break.
Tasks and appointments
I have moved from analog to digital and back and forth over the years. My sweet spot seems to be a combo of both in this area. I have a digital tool that I put my tasks into, and this helps to track all the tasks, a big picture if you will. In that software, I can set due dates for those tasks, but each day I do still write in my planner what would be nice to finish. My reason is this lets me prioritize my tasks.
I use google calendar to set my appointments and even book some of my longer tasks. In the third quarter of 2018, I started writing down in my planner how I use my time. If I meet with someone that goes in the planner, even if it is in my google calendar, this allows me to go back at the end of day or month or quarter and see how I used my time. This also helps when I have to send reports in, I can look back and know what I did and where I was.
In planning my day, I have also learned to give some margin. My problem is trying to jam too much into the day or time. Margin allows for unplanned interruptions and even some thinking time in the day. Alongside this for some personalities, we need to give ourselves some grace and celebrate what has been done.
Next post I will share my weekly rhythm.
What tools or systems are helpful in your life?
Check out the other post in the Series