This past Monday, I published a post entitled: How To Set Yourself Up For A Successful 2012. It was a rather lengthy post, capping out at 2194 words. With the deluge of information that we receive on a daily basis, I am afraid that it was not in a “bite-size” format for proper digestion.
So here is my solution. I am so passionate about sharing the things I included in the original post, that I want to re-visit each item. But — I am going to allocate each item a specific post. These posts will be short, bite-size, small enough for proper digestion, one day at a time. If you want to read the whole post through in one sitting, click here to read it. I am excited to share how you can develop a disciplined approach to your life, starting today.
Cultivate a disciplined approach to your life style, today. I have written extensively about how we can boost our productivity. I just want to come at it for a moment from a different angle.
Many of us spend way too much time doing things that are absolutely unproductive. We all have a particular vice that extracts precious time from us. You can point to it right now in your mind. I will share quickly how I was able to become better disciplined at various projects:
- If I am writing a blog post, I will set up a count down timer. I know I have a certain amount of time to finish it. The clock is right in front of me. I pace myself to be done before the buzzer goes off. The timer keeps me on track. I wont be browsing for that perfect post picture for three hours. I could. But it would be superfluous.
- I create for myself on paper time blocks in which I allocate specific time for things that I am doing. I even allocate a time frame at which I will check my email. I have a bad habit of hitting the refresh button every couple of seconds. I then trained myself to stay focused on the task at hand. When I glance at the clock, I know I can check my email in 30 minutes.
Rick Warren recently tweeted and said this:
Crafting solid sermons takes 50% studying the Word, 30% understanding people, & 20% not being distracted by the Internet.
This is so true. We are bombarded by a deluge of information every second we are awake. Here is the principle that I attempt to follow in relation to all things technological. Technology should be our servant and not our master. When these two items are flipped, discipline is on the periphery at best or absent all together at worst.
This point is all about being so intentional that discipline becomes not a haphazard occurrence but an everyday reality, starting today.
Question: What type of best practice can you share with the rest of the community? What helps you keep focused to stay on task?
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