10 tips to stay on track.
While the 19th of January is often referred to as “Quitter’s Day,” marking a peak time when people tend to stop pursuing their New Year’s resolutions mainly due to four major reasons, which are quite basic goal-setting skills, mid-February is statistically the time when even in highly skilled goal-setting, the urgency of daily microtasks overtakes the place of important tasks and goals we defined for this year.
We still remember vividly what and why we promised to achieve this year, but reluctantly acknowledge that "life is starting to happen" and make its own amendments to our calendars and goal plans. What should we do in order to keep our real first things relentlessly first as we know from the bottom of our hearts that the motivation and will to achieve the set goals are real and genuine?
The answer with the most impact on this issue lies in understanding the fundamental difference between what's urgent and what's important, the ability to give nurturing rest, to plan properly, and to repeatedly remind yourself where and WHY you started to set your steps. We have to acknowledge that the bigger the goal, and the longer time we need to achieve it, the more our motivation may and will have its ups and downs. It is the time of the downs when we consciously need to remind ourselves of the importance, keep our calendar orderly, and know by heart the important steps that will soon lighten our motivation up again. Here are some tips for you on this journey together with the recommendations of some brilliant authors and their work.
Start Your Day Right
Hal Elrod's “Miracle Morning” provides a powerful framework for setting up your day for success through the SAVERS routine: Silence (meditation), Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing (journaling). By dedicating the first hour of your day to these activities, you create a foundation of clarity and energy that helps you maintain focus on your priorities throughout the day. This morning routine also helps regulate your cortisol rhythm, reducing stress and improving decision-making capacity.
Should you think that there is no way you can incorporate one hour of extra activities into your morning, rest assured that it is nevertheless possible and my own experience shows that somehow … miraculously, as the title of the book promises … this extra hour somehow gives you many more hours back during the same day. Give it a chance!
Regularly Reconnect with Your "True North"
Take time each week to revisit your mission statement (if you have one, and if you do not have one yet, I strongly advise you to find your true calling and put it on paper) and core values. When we lose sight of our fundamental purpose, it becomes easy to get swept away by the tide of urgent matters. Your mission statement serves as an internal compass, helping you distinguish between activities that truly matter and those that merely demand immediate attention. Though “mission statement” may sound very posh and altiloquent, it is merely your own constitution. It can be only one sentence if you feel that this one sentence is your true guideline for every decision you have to make. It may also be a short passage including your core values, and your main reason for walking on Earth. But be aware that you won’t end up with a to-do list – a mission statement is definitely not that.
Master the Art of Saying "No"
Every "yes" to an urgent but unimportant task is a "no" to something that truly matters. But if you have no idea of the importance in your life then making a difference between these two is near impossible. Urgency tends to wear the mask of importance. Besides the importances we have in our own personal and professional life, we should consider important also the importances of our loved ones. Staying true to this and mastering the skill of politely and unapologisingly saying “no” does not mean we have to be egoistic and self-centered. It’s purely the love we have for our own life and goals.
Implement Weekly Planning
Rather than planning day by day, adopt a weekly planning horizon. This broader perspective allows you to schedule your most important activities first – like time with family, personal development, or strategic work projects. Michael Hyatt's "Ideal Week" template is particularly useful here. Design your week with themed days and specific time blocks for different types of activities, ensuring that your highest-leverage activities get prime time slots.
Practice Strategic Rest
Great Britain's star GP Dr. Chatterjee's research shows that strategic rest is crucial for maintaining focus and productivity. If we take a moment to think about that, it makes perfect sense. Incorporate his "3D Living" approach: Distance (taking breaks from technology), Diet (eating to support brain function), and Drive (understanding your purpose). Schedule regular "micro-breaks" throughout your day – even 2-3 minutes of conscious breathing or stretching can help reset your nervous system and maintain clarity about your priorities.
Create Systems for Recurring Urgencies
Many urgent matters are predictable and cyclical. Instead of repeatedly dealing with them as emergencies, create systems and processes to handle them effectively. Michael Hyatt, author of a bestseller ”Free To Focus” calls this "creating Freedom Systems" – automated or delegated processes that free up your cognitive bandwidth for more important work. This might mean delegating, automating, or establishing regular maintenance schedules for various aspects of your work and life.
Schedule Regular Renewal
Consciously and deliberately take time to renew yourself physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially/emotionally. Incorporate activities from each pillar into your weekly schedule to maintain optimal performance and clarity. Make sure you get a sufficient amount of exercise, take really good care of your nutrition, create quality time for your important relationships, make sure you learn something and nurture your spirit and soul.
Use the Eisenhower Matrix Daily
Make it a habit to categorize your tasks using the urgent-important matrix. Be honest about which quadrant each activity belongs in, and strive to spend more time in Quadrant II (important but not urgent) activities. This might include relationship building, long-term planning, preventive maintenance, and skill development. More insight about this matrix is available in Stephen R. Covey’s books “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and ”First Things First”.
Build Buffer Time and Practice Rituals
Don't fall into the trap of scheduling every minute of your day. Leave buffer time for unexpected issues and, more importantly, for reflection and adjustment. It is also useful but difficult in the beginning to deliberately plan a 1-hour slot for emergencies and really urgent and important intruders. By doing this you won’t have to postpone anything to the upcoming days. Whereas if you pack your day tightly and something unexpected happens, there will definitely be one or two tasks you’ll have to postpone.
Hal Elrod suggests creating both morning and evening rituals also to end your day with purpose. These rituals serve as transitions that help you maintain perspective and make conscious choices rather than merely reacting to circumstances. For example, plan a 30-minute workday start routine that includes reviewing e-mail inbox, calendar, current day, week, and year goals.
Drawing from both Michael Hyatt and Dr. Chatterjee's work, recognize that maintaining focus on priorities requires managing your energy levels. This means:
- Identifying your peak performance times and scheduling your most important work during these periods
- Using the "productivity zone" concept to batch similar tasks
- Incorporating regular movement and stress-reduction practices throughout your day
- Maintaining proper sleep hygiene to ensure cognitive clarity
Remember, keeping first things first isn't a one-time decision – it's a continuous practice of conscious choice-making. It means constantly scheduling your priorities!
When the mid-February slump has hit and urgent matters seem to multiply, these strategies will help you stay true to your most important commitments and goals.
The challenge isn't just about managing time – it's about managing ourselves and managing our relationships. By implementing these principles, we can maintain our focus on what truly matters, even as the demands of daily life intensify.
The result?
Not just better productivity, but better general effectiveness – a life that reflects our deepest values and highest aspirations!
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