Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Mini days

Tags

4-hour increments, Efficiency, Mini day, Monday, motivation, Productivity, Variety

All, I read a book about 10-15 years ago. I can’t remember the name of it, but my brother passed it along. Anyway, it discussed a topic called mini day. What is a mini day, you ask? A mini day is section of your calendar dedicated to something you typically do as part of your job or personal day.

Here’s how my day looks in a nutshell:

Mini day 1: reading, writing, learning, spiritual disciplines, physical exercise, socializing, eating, 20-minute nap.

Mini day 2: reading, writing, learning, spiritual disciplines, physical exercise, socializing, eating, 20-minute nap.

Mini day 3: reading, writing, learning, spiritual disciplines, physical exercise, socializing, eating, 20-minute nap.

Mini day 4: reading, writing, learning, spiritual disciplines, physical exercise, socializing, eating, 20-minute nap.

Each part of my four mini days involves reading one of my books, watching some courses, reading the Bible, Spiritual Journaling, exercising a particular body part (legs, abs, shoulders, arms, chest, or back), socializing here and on my other social networks, writing for my blog, my book, and anything else I want to write for the day, etc.

I run each mini day for four hours. So, 16 hours of effort across a myriad of activities. I just started it, and I’m pretty happy with the results. I was prompted to do this because I was falling behind on my reading and wanted a way to keep all of my goals moving forward in bite-sized chunks.

If your calendar or to-do list is getting stale, try this out. How you break out your mini days is up to you. You may want to have a writing mini day, drawing mini day, learning mini day, and an exercise mini day. I enjoy the variety of tasks in each mini day because I don’t get bored, and I also get a lot of little things done. These little things pile up to big things, which I’ve learned since retirement.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Have a great Monday!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spread Your Wings Sunday – Weekly Challenge Week of July 19, 2020.

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Action Steps, Efficiency, Planning, Spread Your Wings, Sunday, Weekly Challenge

Weekly Challenge: This week, take the time to plan something. It doesn’t matter what project it is. It could be complex or simple. Take the time to really think through the action steps and map out how you will finish this task. (Hint: I think you’ll find that you will achieve what you are looking to do much more quickly by taking the time up front to think through what you are going to do to achieve your ends).

In the comments, tell me what project you tackled and how this process helped.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Take Time to Plan

Tags

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 – Workout Diary

Tags

Chores, Doing good, Efficiency, Exercise, Improvising, Productivity

Cardio was the focus of the day today.

Instead of doing my 7-minute workout, I decided to improvise. I shoveled snow off of our front driveway, our front porch, and our back deck walk area so my Mother can access her greenhouse. After about 30 minutes I had a good heart rate going and felt pretty accomplished because I helped out the family with a chore. Since my parents are both in their late 70s, this is one of those things I have to do, to help out around the house.

So, I knocked out two birds with one stone. I got my cardio, helped the family, and got a nice dose of Dopamine for doing something nice. Don’t be afraid to assess your day and utilize a little improvisation to achieve what you need to get done for the day. Now that we are in the New Year, exercise will be a daily priority. Doesn’t hurt when that exercise can be a job that needs to be done anyway.

I hope you are having a great New Year so far!

See you again, tomorrow.

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Acts with ZERO ROI, Efficiency, Maximal Returns, Peter Drucker, Productivity, Wasting Time

Today’s Quote:

“Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.” – Peter Drucker

Wow!

Have you ever thought that you could squeeze more into your day by just being more focused and efficient? It is a nice thought, right?

Have you ever created a to do list system that is more complicated than the US tax code? I think this is what Mr. Drucker is talking about.

We all have 24 hours in a day. Some people use their time wisely, while others waste it. I think the real key to productivity is putting your efforts into tasks or projects that will maximize your return on investment (ROI). I can think of a few important things we could do each day that would provide maximal returns.

1. Physical Exercise
2. Reading
3. Writing and Learning
4. Meditating/Contemplating
5. Spending uninterrupted time with loved ones.
6. Attending Church, Temple, Mosque, or some other religious pursuit.

Can you think of any more? All of these provide significant returns for any time you invest. Can you guess what items may not bring the best long-term results?

1. Uncontrolled television viewing.
2. Uncontrolled video game playing.
3. Uncontrolled web surfing/social networking.

Notice I placed uncontrolled in front of each of these. Uncontrolled means that you will do these things in place of other more important tasks, simply because you have ZERO control over your schedule. Television, video games, and social networking rule you.

I hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave