All ambitious souls of 21st century want to achieve a lot in less time. That is why we tend to pack too much in our lives and hence in our days.
If you think about it – only doing does not get desired results. Putting some thought into what you are doing is also important. Ok, doing is related to growth and success. But doing more will always not lead to achieving more. As Stephen Covey says, “take time to sharpen the saw”.
Our brain and body are tools that help us take action and realize our dreams. Importance of attention, focus and a clear brain has increased many folds in knowledge economy. So it is important to find time to relax, recuperate, and reflect (3Rs). For these 3Rs — you need time; now the question is – where to find time in a day packed with work, travel, meeting and social engagements. The solution is simple — unpack your day.
I am sharing initial steps for unpacking your day below.
Accept: That you need time to relax, recuperate and reflect.
Delegate: Divide your work for the day and delegate 50% of it. If you work in an office with people – which most of us do — delegation provides other benefits also. By delegating work;
- You show that you trust others working with you.
- You are able to scale up the output.
- You make sure that work will continue even when you are not present.
Collaborate: If you are working on a project that requires you to work on something that you do not know much about; find somebody who has the necessary skills. Partner with them. Partnership can be in different forms – client-vendor or a business partner for a particular project.
Curtail your to-do list: Growth oriented professionals people focus on productivity and love to work with to-do lists; as these lists provide them direction and a series of tasks to accomplish within a stipulated time. In our quest to unpack a day a long to-do list can come across as a big hindrance. If your to-do list is too long – strike items off the list that can wait till tomorrow. It should be easy to strike 40% items to do off your list.
Do less: If you can do 3 client meetings do 2, it helps you be more relaxed and focused during the meetings. Get in the habit of writing smaller emails. If you are writer and can write 1000 words in a day then write 500 for a day or two. You see I eat my own pill. The article you are reading is less than 500 words (497 words). If you work 5 days a week try working only 4 days a week. Read 24×7 to 4×4 to explore more.
You will be happier; more relaxed and be able to do more when you unpack you days regularly. It is worth giving a try. Go, unpack your day.
