I've created a daily schedule and habit tracker that fully aligns my daily habits and tasks with my longer term goals. I'm able to start with my annual goals and break them down quarterly, then into monthly and weekly tasks, then down to daily habits and tasks. I've been using this for years to some extent, but this version is and will be multitudes better at helping me achieve my goals. Every time slot during the day has a purpose... even if that is just free time, social time, family time etc. A few of the principles I've learned over the years that have contributed to this set up:
1. Time blocking - The calendar is set up in 15 minute periods, but most of my day is blocked off into large chunks of these periods.
2. The One Thing (book by Gary Keller). - What's the ONE most important task you can accomplish during your day that has the largest impact? I assign my daily tasks (1 business and 1 personal) to account for 50% of my task points for the day. I'm a busy entrepreneur so I always have many things on my plate, hence the multiple tasks, but I can feel good about my day if I check off those 2 things.
3. Psycho Cybernetics (book by Dr. Maxwell Maltz) - One underlying theme in this book is that our subconscious mind is a powerful force. But, it also doesn't distinguish between positive and negative statements. So, if I want to get rid of habits, it's more effective to create good habits to replace the bad ones. If I want to eat healthier, I assign more points to the positive habit I want to focus on, but also reward myself for NOT doing that bad habit. Or, if I want to STOP using Facebook wastefully, I make it a goal to maximize my social media use to grow/build my business and give myself points for that intentional use. Another principle is
that you can train your brain to work for you while you sleep. Reading right before bed can not only be relaxing, but also lets your brain go to work for you while you sleep. I also write down positive phrases I want to repeat throughout the week, as well as a bible verse I want to reflect on.
4. Goal setting: Lots of different sources - using the well-known S.M.A.R.T. goal system for setting goals. And, most recently adding a method Brandon Turner introduced to many people for organizing thoughts and brainstorming goals(Outcome goals), then breaking those down into habits and actions(process/action goals) to accomplish those outcome goals. It also incorporates all the major life areas, so you can build your life to achieve your goals in all areas of life. I took what I learned from Brandon's goal setting seminars and applied them directly to this daily calendar and habit tracker.
5. The 12 Week Year (book by Brian Moran)- I just recently listened to this as an audiobook, but realized that this calendar already very much aligns with the system they talk about in the book. This calendar is gamified(points) and has a system of tracking those points. The one modification I made to this schedule while listening to the book was to write down my quarterly goals on the daily tab instead of my annual goals. I still have my annual goals and everything is focused on achieving those, but they are broken down further into quarterly goals and once the quarter is done we reset and start on Q2 goals.
I'd love to share this with anyone who is interested. I've already begun emailing it out to people in my circles that were interested, and I'd love to find 1,000 people or more this year that could really benefit from it. It's totally free, and you'll receive instructions on how to set it up the first time, as well as reset and plan your day each day in less than 15 minutes. I also plan on creating a phone app this year that further simplifies the sytem. If you'd like the download shoot me a message with your email address and I'll send it with the instructions. I'll also start creating some videos on how to best use it in the coming weeks.
