“The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This was the quote that inspired me to wake up at 4 in the morning, when the whole world around me was asleep and the temperature outside was -20C / -4F, to study and finish my undergraduate degree in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Now that I am doing well as an engineer, I still follow this advice to climb the corporate ladder and reach by goals.
I have 5 short tips that I hope will also help you reach your goals very quickly.
Review Your Goals
When you wake up, make yourself a strong cup of coffee and start the day by reflecting on your long-term objectives.
What can you do today to move you closer to them? Plan one task to work on your long term goal.
Most of us ignore this very important task. We are always rushing to try and finish the tasks for the job we’re in. We forget to work on the tasks that will help us in our long term goals. And then one year, or two years will pass and we wonder why we are still stuck in the same place. This is why! We don’t prioritise our own goals and dreams. When we don’t prioritise our own goals and dreams, we are working on other people’s goals and dreams.
Prioritize Tasks
Eat the Frog. Brian Tracy floated this idea many years ago about starting your day by eating the frog on your to-do list – work on the hardest and toughest item on your list.
But for you, do it differently.
When you’re up in the morning, list all the tasks you have for the day, with the hardest to the easiest. But at the top of the list is the task for your own goal. Then comes the tasks for your job.
Time-Block Your Day
To-Do lists tend to fail because we dont assign specific time slots to our tasks. Assigning time slots creates a sense of urgency and helps you stay focused.
So block the morning for your own goal.
And then when you reach your office, work on the tasks that you have to do for your work – the first being the frog.
Build in Breaks
The Pomodoro technique teaches us that our bodies work best in short breaks. So focus on your work for 30 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. And when you do take this 5 minute break, get up from your seat and walk around and come back.
You may think this is the stupidest idea. I know, I thought the same too as I didn’t want to break my momentum but I found this to really help me improve my task because when I was away from my desk, my mind worked in the background to evaluate what I was doing, and then I would come back to my task with fresh ideas to improve what I was doing.
And if you really need a cool way of keeping track of time, use one of these cool Pomodoro timers.
Reflect and Adjust
At the end of each day, review what worked and what didn’t.
Did you not have enough time? Too many distractions?
Use these insights to refine your approach for tomorrow.
These techniques really did help me improve my productivity over time. Changes are hard to make but make them slowly, persevere and watch how your productivity and focus improves.
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