We all have the same opportunity every day — to do our best work and strive to achieve our monthly or yearly goals.
In practice, though, some people are better at making the most the day — they are good at starving distractions and feed their focus.
Success in all fields of endeavour is all about creating real intentions.
We all have important choices to make every day — successful people focus on the smart choices that make it easy to get ahead and achieve their long-term goals. They don’t just manage their time, they defend it to deliberately make time for high-value work every day.
In most things you attempt to do every day: form a new habit, solve a problem or boost your productivity — learning to ask the most important questions will make you more effective, efficient and happier.
A successful day starts with asking yourself the same few questions every single day. The goal of these questions is to get your brain as intentionally as possible to get real work done every day.
What is the one thing I can do today, not tomorrow, to make the day a success?
“Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.” — Peter Drucker
What is truly your top priority today? What is today’s single most important objective? How is today’s task bringing me closer to my long-term goals? If you ended yesterday on purpose, you already have your high-value task ready for today.
This question can help you focus on the most important things you should focus on to have a successful day. It prods you to focus on the specific actions/tasks that you’d like to occur in the next few hours you have.
The point is to think beyond contemplating what a successful day looks like and focus on the most important actions (the fewer the better) you want to tackle before the day ends.
Each day, successful people know exactly what’s needs to be done and focus their efforts on getting that one thing done without compromise.
This question can help you get a grip on how you want your day to unfold and what you can do to have a productive day. Do not let anything stop you from completing those actions.
How can I end the day better to make tomorrow even more productive?
Get ready for tomorrow today — end your day on purpose.
This is one of the most important things you can do before tomorrow morning. This habit has changed how I work. I don’t plan in the morning. I start working on my high-value tasks (HVTs) first thing in the morning.
Success in the morning begins with the plan you made the night before. Spend your last 20 minutes every day to reflect, process, and prioritise for the next day.
To prepare better for tomorrow, you could write down how you want to spend your morning. If you do this, you will wake up and know exactly what you need to do to make your day a success.
You will become more effective and more productive because you’re ready and everything is within your reach. Conversely, if you’re not ready for the next day, imagine what can go wrong.
You wake up late, spend time deciding what to work on, and get distracted by almost everything you shouldn’t be doing. Your day will be in a mess.
So always ask yourself what you can spend the last few minutes of your day on to make tomorrow a productive day.
. . .
A purposeful day isn’t something that can happen unconsciously. You have to deliberately plan it. Winning the day is what turns into your big wins at the end of the month or year. Putting some time into how you use your time every day, can make all the difference.
“Morning and evening routines prime you for success. They help you achieve more, think clearly, and do work that actually matters. They keep you from thoughtlessly stumbling through your day and make sure you get the most important things done,” says Stephen Altrogge of Zapier.
High achievers tend to find routines. practices and habits that work for them and stick to them to get their best work done — it’s typically something they credit as a core to their success.
No matter how you feel in the morning, the practice of asking yourself the right questions can help you tap into a productive and efficient day.
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This post was previously published on Entrepreneur’s Handbook.
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