You know those uber-efficient people who seem to be able to get everything done with time to spare and look calm and relaxed all the time? Neither do I. Because they don’t exist.
We’re all human and we all have limitations. To even the playing field, we’re all given the same 24 hours in a day. It’s up to us to choose how to spend our precious time in ways that serve us. Yes, I said “us” and not “everybody around us.” Sounds selfish? Not at all. The more you focus on keeping yourself healthy and happy, the more you can do for others.
How do you even begin to get everything done? Let’s find out…
- Accept that you’re a human being (not a machine)
Although the Industrial Revolution introduced the concept of people as machines, it’s a lie. You can’t drone on 24/7 being efficient and productive every minute of the day or night. Even machines need to go offline for maintenance now and then.
Machines were built for doing. You’re a human being who needs to weave the doing into your inherent state as a being.
- Focus on your top 3 values
Life gets a whole lot easier when you know what your top values are. Once you’re rock-solid in what your values are, it’s easy to base all of your decisions on them.
Your top values are the three most important things in the world to you. Without these things, you aren’t you.
I shouldn’t call them “things” because that’s exactly what they’re not. They’re concepts, ideas, ways of being in the world. If you think of a thing or person as being the most important, ask yourself what that thing or person brings you in terms of feelings.
Your top values won’t change much throughout your life because they’re part of who you are. Values are things like happiness, joy, freedom, integrity, service.
- Prioritize based on your values
Every day you have a million things that you think you’ll get done. And by the end of the day, you might have done a few of them (or not) but probably not the big, important ones (unless not doing those things comes with a price you’re not willing to pay).
Most of what you get done is likely to meet other people’s expectations. Your stuff comes later – or never.
When you prioritize your actions (not just your to-do list) based on your top values, the important stuff tends to get done and the minutia that you usually do for others (that builds resentment in you) tends to fall away.
When you act on things that are important to you, you feel a bigger sense of accomplishment. The work is more rewarding. And you’re happier.
- Do one thing at a time until it’s done
You start your day with an idea of what you want to accomplish. But pretty quickly, you’re bombarded – phone calls, emails, texts – with things that other people “need” from you. And, before you know it, your day is gone and those one or two things you started are right where you left them – not done.
Multi-tasking is a myth that will drive you insane if you try to live that way. Your brain wasn’t wired to go twenty directions at once. When you focus on one thing at a time until it’s done, things tend to get done.
- Accept distractions as part of the process
So what do you do with all those calls, emails, texts and other interruptions? First of all, accept that they’ll never stop. Other people will always want something from you. It’s up to you to decide what you’ll do with them.
Back to those core values – if the distraction supports your values, decide where it falls on your list of priorities and act on it. If it doesn’t support your values, delegate it or delete it (in a nice way).
Looking back at point #4, if you decide to act on a distraction, notice that you’re prioritizing the distraction over whatever you were working on. Is that what you intended? Or would you be better served finishing what you’re working on and taking care of that distraction a little later?
- Failure doesn’t exist
Do you feel like a failure if you can’t get everything done? Ask yourself who created that definition of failure. Are they getting everything done?
Failure is simply an experience that produced an outcome that didn’t match your expectation. How realistic are your expectations? Or are they someone else’s expectations that you’re trying to live by?
Think of each experience as an experiment. Life is a series of experiences and experiments that you use to learn and enjoy life.
If you’re not meeting your goal of getting it all done, instead of beating yourself up about it, learn from it. What can you change? What types of boundaries can you set? How can you inject more rest and fun into your days to give you the energy to keep going?
- Know that you’re doing your best
Unlike machines, people have good days and bad days. Some days you’ll feel focused and powerful while other days you’ll barely have enough energy to get through the day. And that’s OK.
Each day, focus on doing your best. Each day, your best will be different. When you do your best, that’s the best you can do.
- Be flexible
In order to get the important stuff done (and be happy in the process), you need to be flexible. Life throws curve balls and you’ll need to flex in order to deal with them.
Not being flexible means that you expect the world to stop and bend to your whims while you don’t reciprocate. It doesn’t work that way. You can fight it and get mad about it but that’s just the way the world works.
Accept the curve balls, the resistance you’ll encounter and the interruptions because you can’t change them. They’re part of life. With your top values in the back of your mind, decide how you’ll work with whatever comes your way.
- Celebrate
When you finish something, celebrate! Whether it’s taking a moment to savor the feeling of a completed job well done, treating yourself to a small indulgence or getting out and doing something fun, give yourself some positive reinforcement. Do something that feels good. Because you’re not a machine. You’re an awesome, vibrant person who needs joy and happiness. Choose to give yourself that gift on a regular basis.
- Accept that you’ll never get it all done
“Your inbox will be full on the day you die.” I don’t remember where I heard that but I’ve used it for years on myself and the people around me.
You’ll never get everything done. There will always be more to do. What and how much you choose to take on is all up to you.
I’ll go out on a limb and assume that someone isn’t holding a gun to your head to get more done each day. You’re making that choice. You’re deciding what you’re going to do and how you’re going to think and feel about it. If something isn’t working for you, make a different choice and see what happens. Remember, everything in life is an experience to learn from.
Focus on your values, do your best and know that you can’t do everything because that would entail making everyone else happy. And we all know how impossible that is.
And here’s the post from me on video:
