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Now you may be asking, "What does my big toe have to do with my productivity?" It's really very simple. So often I feel like I have too many things to do. You may have found the same thing in your life. If that is the case keep reading...
Have you ever found when you start your day knowing exactly what you need to accomplish, that it always gets done? But most times we don't start knowing what we want to achieve each day. Instead we decide what needs to get done by what is thrown in our path first. Well, to change that we need to adjust what we do each morning. This is where your Big Toe comes in.
Recently, I realized how busy I was. So I started planning my day. I found by taking 15-20 minutes in the morning and focusing on what I need to accomplish, I get a lot more done each day. See, during the day I made most decisions as they were thrown my way as to what do to next. By planning the items I need to accomplish in advance, I don't need to make the decisions as they are thrown at me. Of course, there are always emergencies that overrule, but I found that when I plan the day starting out with my Big Toe, I always accomplish more.
So what does your Big Toe have to do with this you may ask?
Here is a process I want you to try.
Plan to wake up 20 minutes earlier tomorrow. When you get up and are awake find a quiet place where you can sit down and relax for 15 minutes. Sit upright in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and take 3-4 deep breaths. As you breath clear your mind of any thoughts and just focus on your breathing. Then start relaxing your body starting with... you guessed it... your Big Toe. Just repeat something like this. "My big toe is completely relaxed." Then use your mind to relax your big toe. Next repeat this statement for your feet, then your legs, knees, thighs, hips, and work your way up your body, mentally focusing on one part and relaxing that part of your body. You will find that this works incredibly well to relax your body. You may even want to play some soft music while you do this. I like to play some Rocky Mountain nature music that is a combination of nature sounds and music. Take about 15 minutes to do this.
After relaxing, pull out a piece of paper or your planner and quickly jot down all the things you need to do today. Next, go back and prioritize your list and put an "A", "B" or "C" next to each item. "A" means "must be done today". "B" means it is "important but not urgent". "C" means "if you have time." Then go back through the A list and order them by placing a 1, 2, 3.... next to each item so you have an order in which to do the tasks. This whole thing should only take 5 minutes to do. Finally, attack item A1 and complete it, then A2, etc. Once the "A" items are complete go after the "B" items and then the "C" items. Personally, I find I never get to the "C" items, but they are unimportant anyway.
You will find your productivity will go up dramatically. Try it out and let me know how it worked for you.
Until next time…
Ron Heims
Heartland Success, LLC
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No doubt that being an organised person pays and one should
try to be as organised as possible; yet, there is one catch,
and that is:
We have to acquire the habit right from childhood and gradually
adapt to the methods, including that given by you. If we start
doing it outrightly, without taking a large number of factors
into account, we would put extra pressure on ourselves, thus
causing a proportionate reduction in productivity. (Also, habit
of noting down and diarizing is essential to increase productivity.
That needs to be inculcated right from early days).
I think that inspirations from religious thoughts also help
prepare the check and control circuits in brain and help increase
productivity through a complex manipulation of Dos and Donts.
I hope these lines fit in the context you have elucidated.
Best Regards.
Sohail