Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Take Time to Plan

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Alchemist, brain type, Chunking, Efficiency, planners, Planning, Project EVO, rituals

Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

I think many people avoid planning because they want to avoid pushing themselves into a corner or they feel they don’t have the time. They ramble through their days, constantly reminding themselves they have this to do or that to do and just do things as they rise to the attention level that mandates they do something. I used to be one of these people.

I’m not here to judge you. If you still operate this way, cool. I just found it has become easy to get a lot of things done, track everything, and cultivate a more organized, efficient, and productive way of doing things. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I ritualize everything and constantly look for new ways to become even more “automated”.

First, I’m a night owl. I start my new day at Midnight. This is when I do the bulk of my writing. The house is quiet, my inner muse is active, and the words just come. Subsequently, all of my writing tasks are between 12:00 Midnight – 2:00 AM. During this time, I knock out a section of my book, complete my blog posting for the day, work on any drafts of letters I am working on, along with any other writing on my radar. During this time I also do my planning for the day. I typically head to bed between 2 and 3 AM. I like to plan before I go to bed to take advantage of the subconscious mind’s ability to work on these things while I sleep. Later today, at 9 AM when I rise, I’ll dig right in and knock out the day.

I also take advantage of a technique called chunking. I write in a chunk right now. I learn in a chunk, moving through all the online courses and tutorials I am enrolled in. Finally, I read in a 1 and 1/2 hour chunk. The only thing I do not chunk is my exercise routine. This week that routine is 1 mini workout as soon as I get up, followed by a gym visit in mid-afternoon, and then ending with another mini-workout early evening.

Let’s talk about rituals for a moment. My rituals are trigger points, coupled with other trigger points. My first trigger is getting out of bed. Before I do anything, I do my first mini-workout. Meals trigger my next workouts. I workout at the gym after I eat lunch. I workout in the evening after I eat dinner. It’s a great way to settle the stomach and take advantage of those recently digested calories.

Meditation triggers the start of my day at Midnight. These triggers or antecedent events cause a cascade of events that are automatic. It took me a while to get in this position, but now that I am here, it is terrific. The day flows by smoothly.

That’s all fine and good, Dave, but what happens when your schedule gets blind-sided by something you have to take care of that is not in your ritualized day? This is when planning is most important.

Let’s say I have a project or a problem I’m need to solve. I plan thinking time to iron out what I will do. Note: Even when emergency problems arise, I take the time to think through a solution. Initially, I’ll brainstorm. Brainstorming is nothing more than writing every idea that comes to mind without judging or critiquing them. I enjoy using mind mapping software for this. Once I have all of my ideas down and cannot think of anything else, I look at all the potential solutions to my problem and choose the best course of action. Once I make a choice, I outline all the things that have to happen and organize them into a pecking order. Then, I transfer that outline to my current to-do app and begin knocking out the steps.

Here’s an easy checklist you can use:

1. Problem or situation arises that requires your action
2. Brainstorm
3. Critique ideas on time available, funds available, feasibility (can you execute all these steps without further training), and quality.
4. Choose the best solution
5. Visualize the end state of your solution
6. Work backward from this end state to the beginning of your work effort
7. Outline the steps or actions you must take to get from initial steps to final deliverable
8. Transfer your steps into your to-do app or a list you will track as you work through your project

 

I have recently purchased a new planning journal, called the Project EVO daily planner, and must say it is terrific. I realize there are a lot of planners out there. Investigate these and decide for yourself. What I like about the EVO planner is the test you take at the beginning to figure out what your brain type is. My category is Alchemist. My brain type is accurate (scary accurate). The initial evaluation is free. Once you complete it and order your planner, they’ll send you a planner for your brain type. If you’re curious, check them out here.

 

Another great thing about their service is the accompanying app they offer in the Google Play and iTunes stores. This app is used to scan your daily planner to track your daily and weekly results. It is awesome!

I hope all of you are having a terrific week so far! I appreciate all of you and hope my advice helps. I am constantly seeking new ways to organize myself and squeeze more and more efficiency out of my day. These hacks will help.

Well, that’s it for now.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Habits

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Chunking, Consistency, Daily Actions, Feed good habits, habits, rituals, Starve bad habits

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay 

“There is no influence like the influence of habit.” Gilbert Parker

Read more at: Brainy Quote

Habit is a terrific thing, as long as the habit is good. Good habits like eating right, exercise, working on your goals, keeping your living space tidy, and all the rest. Habits are hard to break once they have been built, especially bad ones. You are capable of whittling these habits down, however. You stop feeding them little by little and they will fade away.

I have written about this before, but it is worth mentioning again. It is the daily little things that build on one another. My goal this year is to read 48 books. Each year I participate in Goodreads’ reading challenge. I read every day to accomplish this goal. Some days I’ll read for a few hours. Other days I may only get in a chapter or so. I like reading multiple books at a time. I typically read a history book, self-help book, a religious or spiritual book, and a fiction book. I like the variety. On a typical day, I’ll read a chapter out of each book. If one of them catches my interest, I’ll put more time into that one, after I’ve knocked out my chapter requirement. This way, I am chiseling away at all the books I am slated to read for the month (4 books per month x 12 = 48). I read more than just books. I read articles on Flipboard. I read the news briefly. I also read my emails and any messages I receive in my Facebook feed.

One interesting thing I have discovered is that when you do one type of task, it is easier to clump these like-tasks together. For example, I tend to do my journaling and my blogging together because they both involve writing. Then I do all my reading together. Then I do my exercises. Then I do my meditation. Then I do some learning and finally some admin (paying bills, keeping track of my bank accounts, and tying up loose ends with anything else I have that is upcoming. These clusters of habits I call rituals. Each ritual involves certain key items before the ritual is completed. When I journal, I have a dream journal, a gratitude journal, and my diary (morning pages and daily review). My book writing I keep separate. This is in the evening when the house is quiet and I can sit in solitude and just write without interruptions by the family (who don’t mean anything by it). I also seem to be my most creative in the evening, so around 10 pm I do another stint of writing, first doing my daily review, followed by my book writing. The goal I set for myself is 500 words a day. I don’t set a time limit. Some days I knock out 500 words in a short amount of time. On nights where I am struggling with my words, it could take me a lot longer to hit the 500-word goal.

I have found with much trial and error the optimal times for me to do certain things during the day. I like to journal first thing. Then I like to read. Then I like to meditate and take a short nap if needed. Then it’s learning for the remainder of my first work session. Then it’s an evening of some shows and some video games, then at 10 PM I cut off the fun time and get back to writing, my daily review, and all of my relaxation techniques to hit the sack. I have found by putting these “like” habits together that I am more efficient and these rituals are in sync with my daily rhythm.

I took two days off from the gym this weekend. My sister was visiting, and we actually had our first tornado warning yesterday afternoon. It was a false alarm. The storm that hit us rained a lot with a little thunder, but moved through the area quickly. We did not see any report of a touchdown anywhere in our county.

I hope each of you has a great week! Continue to push forward on any goals or initiatives you have. You can’t lose if you don’t quit. You can’t fail if you don’t quit. You can win as long as you keep going.

Until next time…

Dave.