Andy Lee
I have had a crazy few months. The next few months aren’t getting any less crazy either. In fact, 2018 has been and will be on a whole other level compared to previous years. My calendar is 95% booked up for months in advance. I’m working full time, building a coaching business and doing coaching at the same time, and serving in my Church. I also make time for exercise, social events and of course quality time with my wife Lisa.
I want to share some lessons that I’m learning along the way, and how to make sure that you stay on course to live a life of purpose. It doesn’t matter where you are in life right now, you can apply these lessons too. They’ll help you level up, move forward with intention, and be closer to your potential.
Wake up on the right side of bed
When I see a friend or colleague behave in a way that’s out of character, for example if they seem overly irritable, unusually grumpy, or weirdly impatient, I might say “Woah, you look like you got out the wrong side of bed this morning. I think you should go home, get back into bed and this time make sure you get out the right side!”.
The way you start the day is the way you win the day. Get a morning routine. Emphasis on the word routine. Make it a habit. It’s taken me years to establish this, mainly because of procrastination, but now it’s different. My routine includes consciously being grateful, reading my daily devotional, time in prayer, time of meditation, a stretching routine, and personal development (either reading or listening to an audiobook).
If you’re already doing one, you’ll know the benefits and you know the impact it is having on you every day. If you don’t have one in place, the best way to get started is by incremental gains. Take the next smallest step you could possibly take that is easy and reasonable. Stretch yourself slightly, but not too much because you’ll mentally not commit to the change. Start waking up 5 minutes earlier, and use that time to give thanks for all the wonderful things in your life. When you’ve got that figured out, get up another 5 minutes earlier, and add something else into your routine. If you make one change once a week to get up 5 minutes earlier, in 3 months you’ll have an extra hour in your day. And you’ll have that for the rest of your life.
Plan tomorrow today
Firstly, on Sunday evenings I spend time figuring out the top 3 tasks I want to complete in the coming week. I’m talking about the 3 most important tasks that, when you complete them, you know you’re moving forward in the direction you want. It’s not a wish list, and it’s not too granular. Don’t put down something like ‘call Sarah’, or ‘meet my dream partner’. The first one is too low-level and the second is too vague. Instead you could replace those with ‘grow relationship with Sarah’ and ‘meet 5 new people’.
With your top 3 tasks for the week written down, you can now spend 10 minutes at the end of each day, planning your to do list for the next day. I’d recommend a list of somewhere between 4-7 tasks. The key here again is that they move you forward in your goals. And make sure your mindset is that these are tasks you will do, and not something you could do if you have time leftover. It’s a do to list, not an intend to do list!
Step back and take the bigger view
Once a month, remove yourself from the daily routine of your life, retreat to a place of solitude and quiet and take the bigger view. Ask yourself questions like ‘am I heading in the direction that I want?’, ‘at this rate, where will I be by the end of the year?’, ‘looking over what I’ve been doing in the past month, who am I becoming?’. Listen to the answers that crop up. Take your time, and notice what you’re finding out about yourself.
Then, as you re-enter and step back into your daily life, take those bigger view thoughts with you and make the necessary adjustments to your routine and your task planning.
As you do these things, you’ll become more confident in becoming the person you were created to be. You’ll do things with more meaning, which brings fulfilment, joy and peace.