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Here in the states our bi-annual time change gave us an extra hour over the weekend. What did you do with that extra hour? Are you feeling rested and roaring to go for the week?
I saw a recommendation to use the extra hour to adjust to better habits. We all aspire to better habits and more consistency in certain areas of our life. I encourage creating checklists and I get a lot of moans and groans until a client gives it a try.
I used to spend my 45-minute commute to list the tasks I wanted to accomplish first. Especially on those days that I didn’t have a 7 am meeting. On the elevator I would be approached with a reminder from Supply Chain and I made a promise, then grabbing a coffee I would be asked for a Finance meeting and I agreed to look at my calendar, and then back at my desk I find my boss looking for information on a special project. In less than 10 minutes, the thoughtfully planned-out day I planned on the morning drive was lost. What’s worse, before I could even turn my computer on I was distracted from the basic tasks. Mornings like this can set the tone for a scattered day and later…a crabby you.
But what if you sat down and grabbed your daily checklist to re-focus back to your priorities? What if you had multiple checklists handy…is there an App for that? Of course…a buffet of App choices come up when you search “Daily Checklists.”
I tend to get the moans and groans when I suggest starting with the basics. I have a morning checklist that actually says, “go to the bathroom” … I’m not joking. Clearly, I don’t have to use my checklist to remind me to go to the bathroom but what the ‘very basics’ written down or in your app to mark completed does is slow your brain down and keep you focused. It also ensures you do not forget items like your lunch that you made the night before.
When we look back to the work scenario…the checklist might say. 1. Turn on computer. 2. Check daily calendar. 3. Check Voicemails. 4. Set a 15-minute timer to respond to new emails. 5. Re-adjust daily plan due to new information. You might even consider re-visiting your checklist after lunch.
I’m a big proponent of the daily checklists because I have found that 1 to 3 months of following a checklist will usually make it no longer necessary. It will become so automatic for you that those items are now part of your good habits. I also love that when life goes off the rails and it always will…the best way to get yourself and habits back on task is to go back to your checklists for a while to reboot those good habits.
Now let’s hear from you. Sharing tips helps us all develop better habits. Do you use checklists? How do you create good habits? How do you get back to good habits after crazy points in work and life?
