How to be in full control

We can all be in full control over our days and when we are it feels great as we get the most important things done without stress!

We have all had days where we wonder were all the time went and why we got so few things done. Unfortunately this is very common and in particular if you don’t make sure you have your priorities right and a daily focus! You never want to be running around all day just being responsive. If you are always taking orders and doing things based on other people’s requests, you will never be in control.

How to make sure you are the boss over your day!

As with most things we discuss, set a good habit by being disciplined and make sure you follow through.

When you have these great habits in place working for you, never look back, just add more great habits! Every successful person have a structured day, great habits and most of them start with a meditation session to get them off to a great start. If you have not yet read my post on the habits of the successful, I suggest you to do so and if you want to know why they meditate, just click here.

You want to go bed and be relaxed so that you can fall asleep easily. A good night’s sleep is essential as your brain needs to rest as well. A smart thing to do just before going to bed is to make sure you have written down anything important that is on your mind. For two reasons: you want to get it written down so you don’t think about it all night and you want to be reminded in the morning. Journaling can be a great way of getting these things down.

You then have to make sure you take control over your mornings and have your daily morning routines in place so that you know they will happen, every day! If you have not set them yet, I recommend you do that immediately and then make sure to incorporate the structure below. If you do, you will make more progress than you ever have and you will be less stressed during the day!

A clear mind at night and a clear mind in the morning ready to be filled with your priorities will make your success a guarantee and at the speed of lightning!

The easy steps to make daily focus your reality

Do NOT check social media nor emails in the morning! If you du, you will be in responsive mode all day because of the things that have happened. You will also clog your mind with the information you have seen. This is not the way to start a great day. A great day starts with what is truly most important to you! No phone!
Must do – write down the 5-10 things that must get done today. Ideally you take these from your goal sheet where you have written down what it is that you need to get done in order to advance on your most prioritized goals (if not start by creating your own goals and dreams). Then you combine them with what you wrote down in the evening in your journal. If you have not yet started journaling I recommend you do because of the significant benefits. I would then recommend that you incorporate writing down your musts to your daily morning routine. Make sure it becomes a habit by doing this at the same time every morning regardless of how you feel or where you are! By focusing on your priorities you will feel great about the day! This should just take a few minutes once it’s a habit and you are clear about your goal and have a burning desire to reach it!
Top projects – write down bigger projects that you must make progress on. It can be anything from one to a handful of them, but don’t pick too many as you will then not be focused, rather distracted.
Who can help you get there faster? Write down who can help you advance on your projects faster.
Who are you waiting for to get back to you? Are there any people you are waiting for to get back to you so that you can move forward? Write those names down on your list.
In the office, glance through your emails (yes, it’s the first time today!) to see if you have received anything from the people whose names are on your list from point 5. Do NOT look at any other email, you want to stay in control! If some of them have gotten back to you that is great, make sure to answer those emails first (short replies first).
Reach out to the other people on your list. Do this in a smart and efficient way so that you increase your chances of a swift response. This should be tailored based on what you are asking for and always make sure you write something personal! I would suggest you also ask something personal about them, anything that you are aware of. Like how the kid’s baseball game went over the weekend, how is the new car etc…We all love intention and want to feel significant so show them you pay attention to what they say and appreciate your relationship. You want to do this first thing in the morning so that the ball is in their court and you can move on with your day.
Cross out the names you have reached out to or gotten back to (feels good right:)). Now put those names you are waiting to hear from on your sheet for tomorrow so that their names are already there!
Focus on your priorities from point 2. They are the most important to you and should get all of your attention until they are done. Then and only then, do you check your emails again! If you do this, depending on what your musts are, I guess that they will be done before 10am! How is that for a great start of the day?!!
Checking your emails is now ok. As you have already accomplished the most important tasks of the day (and it is not even lunch time!), go through your email and make new priorities and just go for it! I would still suggest you only go back to your emails two more times during the day not to get distracted from what is truly important to you (if you are working in customer service and per email it will be harder to follow this principle but for most of us that is not the case). Should it be really super important, someone will call you or notify you in another way so don’t worry, trust the process.

To make it as easy as possible, I recommend you start a gratitude journal and use one page for the gratitude part and the other for the above structure. You then always have your gratitude journal with you, which is great. If you feel down, just read from it :). Use the other page to write down point 2-5 above (as headings) and then continue writing down what you are going to get done that day!

This is what my journal looks like today (sorry about the bad handwriting ;P):

These are the simple yet so powerful steps to make you the boss! Once you follow these you will start feeling in control of your days. You set the agenda, you make things happen and you make massive and significant progress!

When the day is over, check you goal setting sheet again, revise it using the SMARTER technique. Update your steps and make sure you pay attention to all the stuff you got done today! When the time is due, you know what to do, celebrate your progress!!

I really find this so cool, simple and yet powerful. I have personally changed my way of using social media and email to make sure I focus on what I must get done. Most of the days I feel great early on because I have checked so many boxes! By doing this, I get my dose of dopamine kicks from progress and success instead of social media.

This is a great way of creating momentum and make sure we are moving forward towards our goals and ultimately living life on our terms!

Action to take:

Goal setting – Make sure you have yours written down and follow the process in our Visions & Goals Section
Read this post on how to get a great night’s sleep
Morning routines – make sure you have yours in place
Track your progress and don’t forget to celebrate!

Take control, stay in control, be the boss of your own day!

– Jakob