The 10 “commandments,” or disciplines, for designing a successful day.
What should you consider in your daily plan in order to win?
There’s been a lot said on the topic of designing our days to include strategic disciplines. The key is to make these daily disciplines a habit. If you committed to practicing just one of the disciplines, you would see compounded benefits for not only for yourself but also for your family and others you interact with.
Although none of us is perfectly consistent with practicing all our daily disciplines, we can hold ourselves accountable to them as much as possible. Here is a summary of some of the daily disciplines to consider as you design your day to win.
Daily Discipline #1: Define What Winning Looks Like
Once you know what winning looks like for you, choose daily actions that will move you closer to that picture. Fill your days with more goal-achieving behaviors than the process work you can delegate (as soon as possible!).
Daily Discipline #2: Plan Your Day Before It Begins
Ideally, you should know what you want to achieve for the day, week, month, and year so it is easier to say “yes” to the activities that lead you to your goals and “no” to things that lead you away from your goals.
Daily Discipline #3: Get Up Early
Yes, people get energized at different times of the day, but there is something to be said about starting the day when the world is quiet and resting. You will get more finished before most people wake up. This discipline alone can provide outsized results.
Daily Discipline #4: Make Time to Be Still
Enjoy silence, whether in nature or wherever else you may be. During these times of solitude, inspiration or intuition will talk to you and solutions you did not see before will come to you to solve your problems. Do not underestimate the power this time provides. Prioritize it as a daily discipline. Keep a journal or notebook to write in during this time.
Daily Discipline #5: Read Every Day
When you prioritize reading, you expose your mind to new ideas. Many of us do not make time to read, yet the discipline of reading quickly creates compound results as we apply what we learn or different ways of thinking to our challenges. It’s a good idea to keep a journal or notebook to record your thoughts or capture quotes as you read.
Daily Discipline #6: Write Every Day
Some people like to journal; others like to take notes. There are many reasons to write daily. Keep in mind the writing does not need to be good. It’s more about the discipline of writing daily. Writing captures our ideas, helps us plan our goals and activities, and allows us to review our progress.
Daily Discipline #7: Exercise
As you discipline your body with exercise, let that time be for de-stressing and inspiration. One of the best daily habits you can do for yourself is getting some physical activity at whatever time of day works best for you.
Daily Discipline #8: Prioritize Goal-achieving Activities
More than anything else, you should be practicing the behaviors and doing the activities that will get you closer to your goals. Disciplined daily activity, even when you don’t feel motivated to do it, will make your dreams become reality. It also helps you say “no” to the behaviors that divert you from your dreams or slow your progress.
Daily Discipline #9: Track Your Key Activities
At the end of each week, make sure you have completed the activities necessary to get to where you want to be by the end of the month. If you are where you want to be each month, you will hit your yearly targets. And, if your annual targets are aligned with your five- and 10-year targets, you know you will win long term.
Daily Discipline #10: Put Your Phone Away.
Putting your phone away and turning off email, text, and chat notifications will help you focus and reduce multitasking, which we know is terrible for our concentration. The ability to focus on one thing at a time for an extended period is the secret sauce to success.
Most of do not accomplish each of these disciplines every day. But, having this list handy and returning to it will keep you on track to achieving your dreams and goals. Strive to add one discipline to your day over time.
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