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Dearest Darling friends,
"How to make
the day PRODUCTIVE?" is a question that many of us ask
ourselves.
The adventurous and
the ambitious have so much that they want to achieve, they find
themselves running short of time, almost every time.
Besides the obvious
idea of delegating work and doing things efficiently, there are a
few personal rituals that I follow that have always helped me. At a
personal level, I have share these rituals with a few of my friends
and it works great for them as well.
Here, I take this
opportunity to share it all with you.
Every morning I sit with a piece
of paper asking myself what will make this day a 'remarkable'
day. Before turning on my computer, before making
any phone calls, before starting any meeting, I compulsively make
this list.
 In this list there are three
columns.
The first column has things that I would
'love to accomplish' today. This list has all
meaningful things to be done. Doing even a single thing on this list
makes me feel good. Doing all the things on this list makes me very
proud of myself. It gives me an amazing sense of achievement. It
increases my sense of self-pride. It gives me a sense of control
over life. It makes be believe I can do MORE.
The second column has things that
'I MUST accomplish' today. This list includes a few
emergencies. It includes things that may be trifles but necessary to
be done. It also has things that may be unnecessary for me but it
will help someone else emotionally without me losing anything in the
process (seeing someone is hospital etc). While some things are
progressive, some are headaches, some are emotional duties. Human
beings like you and me search for a holiday for a reprieve from THIS
list.
The third list has 'things that
can be postponed' but I would be glad to see if a few of
them are done. It can be buying new shirts (God knows I have enough.
But then I saw one that I just WANT to possess). It can be enrolling
for a hobby class that I MAY be interested in. It can be cleaning my
desks. I have no idea how I stuff so many unnecessary things in
them.
Sometimes, I also have an interesting
fourth list. This consists of things 'I will NOT do
today.' Most of the activities in this list are interesting
to me but at the same time they are NOT necessary at all. Things on
this list help me to create time by avoiding them. It can be 'no
afternoon nap'. It can be 'no counseling sessions'. It can be 'not
watching world cup cricket' etc. I avoid these things for THAT
day.
To make the most of my day, I do my best
to schedule important things at the beginning of the day. All things
that will require peak intelligence, I schedule them right at the
top of my day. I also ensure two things on column one are
not scheduled back to back. This ensures I am relaxed for every
important thing during the day.
For some reason when I am not able to schedule time for things
that are on list one and two, I just shift them to list three.
I have noticed that things on column
three rarely get done. This teaches me that when I have FIXED a time
and place for a thing, chances of it getting done are very HIGH.
Otherwise, it rarely gets DONE. If anything is on column three for
three continuous days, either I shift them to column one or two or I
take them off this list for some time.
This 'Four Column LIST' helps me to get the best of the days. It
has worked fantastically for me. I am convinced it is worth giving a
shot.
My laptop has been set to 'laugh' (I have a ring tone like that)
every half an hour. That is the time for me to take a few seconds
and glance at that list. In seconds I am able to review if I have
used the last half an hour 'productively' or not!
When I have, I feel so glad and in control. When I have failed to
do so, I take immediate remedial actions.
This small technique may not make you push your boundaries or
make you achieve your remarkable dreams or generate the resources
that you dream of, but, it will certainly help you to get MORE out
of every day. That by itself will be fulfilling, isn't it?
A few of you must have your techniques that have worked for you
and given you a sense of control over life. We would love to listen
to you about them. We would also love to hear from you when this
'list' has worked for you.
With love, prayers and best wishes,
naren
As I live...I learn
na...@lifeschool.co.in
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