Friday, November 21, 2008

Your Success and ToDo Lists


I have blogged a lot about ToDo lists and that is because I spend a lot of time talking to accountants about them.
Here is one more ...

Do you believe that success perpetuates success? So if you have a "good day", does that inspire more "good days"? You might be saying Huh?

Here is where I bring the ToDo example to (try to) illustrate my point.

Many ToDo lists I see are ridiculously long. So maybe there is a reason for that. Maybe you are trying to be conscientious and capture everything you have "to do". That sounds commendable, but please do not get that mixed up with a way to gauge your daily success. A ToDo list is many times an action list and a "wish list" all combined into one. So you have your ToDo list but you never complete it, you never "succeed" in completing it.

Try creating a "WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE TO ME TODAY" list, where you grab the most important "today" items off of your ToDo list, and most importantly, under promise to yourself! Now you might get the same amount of items finished as you would have by using your ToDo list (although this act may help you to prioritize better) but now you can look back at the end of the day and measure your success based on a REASONABLE PLAN YOU CREATED! Now how might you feel? Now how might that feeling help you going home that night, or starting off tomorrow? Could there me a multiplier effect ... you made daily plans and promises and you held them, that probably feels good and will perpetuate!

No comments: