1. Write down your Big Three: one problem, one thing, and one worry you want to solve (or do) tomorrow
Before you close your computer for the work day, get in the habit of resetting, reflecting, and writing down your Big Three problems, things, or worries that must get done tomorrow, no matter what.
This could be a worry that’s been occupying your mind too much. Or a problem you need to solve with an employee who isn’t doing what they’re supposed to do. Or a big thing like P & L accounting you’ve procrastinated on doing before the year ends.
Reflect and write down your biggest worry, problem, and thing that will move the needle tomorrow. I’ve found that whatever stays on a single track repeat in your head will usually cause you the most anxiety and least productivity.
You’ll learn the secret sauce for success if you see the Big Three: worries, things, and problems as the obstacles that point you toward your dreams. And even if you don’t like some of the challenges today presents, moving through them will teach you more about which problems you do or don’t enjoy solving.
My Big 3 for tomorrow:
- One Big Worry: I’m feeling anxious about all the changes in my life, moving to a new city and buying a new home (and our cat not coming home before we moved). What I’ll do about it: I’ll connect with my partner and make a nice dinner to discuss our lives, challenges, and feelings before heading to Michigan for the holidays.
- One Big Thing: I need to do is write a badass article this week. What I’ll do about it: Spend 60 minutes researching and reading and taking notes from my favorite writers on a topic I find interesting.
- One Big Problem: I can’t think of any good article titles. What I’ll do about it: I’ll write and brainstorm ten headlines for my article ideas tomorrow morning so I can pick one to start writing a draft on.
I’ll assume most of us have too many programs, problems, worries, and open loops in our brains, which causes more stress, distraction, and higher cortisol levels.
Focusing and reflecting on getting our Big Three, we shift our minds towards progressing on dreams and improving productivity, performance, and focus.
1a. Figure out how to maintain healthy cortisol levels daily
“Cortisol is a steroid hormone that your adrenal glands… Cortisol affects several aspects of your body and mainly helps regulate your body’s response to stress.”- Mayo Clinic
I put this “1a” because a core problem I keep having is living in a modern society that aims to keep my cortisol levels out of whack. If I can’t get in the flow of solving the problems I need to work on because I’m too stressed, anxious, or exhausted, I have a more significant issue to solve before the others even have a chance to get done efficiently.
Here’s what you can do. Make a list of cortisol-decreasing activities to combine into your daily lifestyle to ensure you have enough energy and focus and willpower for your Big Three.
- Go for walks in nature
- Meditate
- Get massages (or give them)
- Cardio, play sports, lift weights, or exercise
- Watch comedy
- Cuddle with pets, partners, and pillows (lol)
- Write in a journal
- Read inspirational, uplifting books or fiction you enjoy
- Try different natural supplements that reduce cortisol (Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Lemon balm, Chamomile, magnesium threonate, ashwagandha, neurotropic mushroom blends, kava root, etc)
- Follow funny accounts on social media
- Put my phone away when I’m trying to wind down at night
- Hanging out with friends that induce laughter
- Join a club in something you’re curious about learning
- Make art and be creative without any goal of being good at it
- Sleep 8+ hours on a great mattress
- Have a clean, organized home without too much clutter (or hire a cleaner bi-monthly)
By maintaining healthy cortisol levels, we naturally improve our relationship with stress, which improves focus, productivity, and performance.
2. Use time blocking strategies
9–9:45am: Read and study my favorite writers over espresso
9:45–10:00am*: Go for short walk, move, do light calisthenics, drink another espresso.
10–10:45am: Write my ten headlines and start a first draft on one I’m curious about doing.
*Do 100 pushups and squats or some hip mobility drills
11–12pm: Head to the store to buy the food for my partner’s dinner tonight.
*Eat lunch, hydrate, take my cortisol-reducing supplements, or head to the gym for a workout.
3. Use a scheduling app to help organize meetings
I use Calendly.com to help relieve the stress of scheduling and finding times for meetings, coaching, or friends.
I love Calendly because it integrates with my Google calendar, allowing only available times.
By controlling when you’re available and letting people schedule easily through Calendly, you can focus on solving problems and priorities every day instead of trying to find the times on things that don’t move the needle (but need to be done).
4. If you can do something in 60 seconds or less.
Once I get to my afternoon, I use the 60-second decision framework.
Can I email, text, or call this person quickly and efficiently in 60 seconds or less?
If not, I don’t do it and put it on my master to-do list on my whiteboard. After lunch, I choose which longer to-dos to focus on, and I move them across the board from a column labeled, “not done”, to “working on,” and lastly, “LFG-IT’S DONE.”
If I get sh*t done that is annoying or laborious or tedious, I celebrate it later that night with good dark chocolate and aged Flor de Cana rum (with a dash of Coke Zero and lime).
5. Only compare yourself to who you were yesterday.
Comparing status and ego is a fool’s game.
Don’t waste time or energy on what you aren’t relative to the humans around you. Focus on moving in the right direction. This is your life. This is your reality. You are where you are.
Knowing the destination is nothing without the journey. It’s what makes any destination worth it.
Most humans have the same 960 minutes of consciousness, energy, and focus to tap into every day. Make the most out of these minutes and moments you’ll stack compounding growth like a Berkshire Hathaway fund.
Whether you’re an artist, musician, or business leader, we’re all trying to make sense of and improve this human experience. The less you compare and the more you focus on what you need to do, the better (and happier) you’ll be in the long run.
Don’t let status and comparing yourself to others rob you of the fun progress you could be having.
6. Be intentional about what you say yes to.
You can’t say yes to solving every problem, worry, or thing.
As a former pro athlete, I’d pick something from my game I’d try to improve every week based on what I didn’t do well in the last game. I’d watch the game tapes to see what technical things I could improve. Was I leaning going right? Fading? How was my footwork? Did I need to set up my defender better?
If it were shooting threes poorly going to my right hand, I’d focus intently on getting 400–500 shots after practice each day, working intentionally on what I didn’t do well in the last performance. I wouldn’t waste time doing stuff I didn’t need to focus on.
This is why honest feedback is so important. Performance and analytics and mentors can be used as a reflection tool for what essential areas you need to improve this week (or quarter).
Be intentional about your development. Only say “yes” to what matters to your productivity, happiness, or life.
7. Focus on slow, authentic daily growth
Stop going trying to hit grand slams every day. The old saying, “If it’s too good to be true, it usually is,” is, well, usually accurate.
Take whatever you do once a week and turn it into a daily habit.
This is my favorite dream hack of this year. It takes a little reflection, but it’s easy to implement.
I ask myself, “How can I do what someone does in a year and achieve it in 30 days?”
How can 52 weeks of work can be done in 30 days?
Start with daily focus, prep, and planning in your 960 minutes with intention.
By doing what others can’t or won’t do, your one percent growth happens in the areas that truly matter to you. By doing this dream hack, you’ll compound your growth in whatever you do every day by 37 times by the end of next year. Think about that — one percent daily growth will make you 37 times better at whatever matters to you.
This isn’t magic, it’s Albert Einsteins’ eighth wonder of the world: compounding interest.
Slow growth is usually more sustainable (and authentic) than those magical overnight weight loss pills, get-rich-quick schemes, and swing-for-the-fences thinking.
Don’t let the dopamine clown in you seek out behaviors that stop that one percent from happening daily. Slow down, be intentional, and stack your best effort day after day. This is how you create real growth.
This is how you start making progress towards your dreams.
If you want dream hacks for your home life— read this Dream Hack article. It was fantastic.
Good luck out there. Let me know what dream hacks you like to use.
—
This post was previously published on medium.com.
***
From The Good Men Project on Medium
 |
 |
 |
 |
***
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—–
Photo credit: Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash
