This is the fourth entry in the ongoing 52-Week Prosperity Plan. Each week has its own different concept for readers to concentrate on, in an attempt to open one’s mind to new thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. For more information on the 52-Week Prosperity Project, including tips on how to stay focused, read the introduction to the plan. For past entries in the series, click here.
How much did you get done today? Quite a bit? None at all? Just what you wanted to?
What if this was your last day to get anything done?
No, no, I’m not talking about dying tomorrow or anything as drastic and morbid as that. In fact, I’m talking about something much more exciting and happy, namely taking a vacation.
Think about it, what do you do the day before vacation? You make last minute- preparations, make sure everything is in place, maybe confirm your reservations and, if you’re like me, start your packing at the last minute.
The point is, you get a lot done.
You get a lot done because you’re motivated to do so, because you’re running out of time. Imagine if you could live every single day of your life like this, knocking out one thing after another and using your time as efficiently as possible. How much more time would you have left to spend doing the things that matter in life, the things you want to do?
I chose this concept for this week because I myself am going on a vacation. Well, a business trip really, but I plan on doing lots of site-seeing while I’m there and I’m pretty excited about it really. That’s why I was able to knock out writing this post in record time, because I’m focused on knocking out one task after another, and I’ll have to be to get everything done that I need to get done before I leave Monday morning.
Heck, at this rate I might even have time to relax before my trip.
The point is, time is short. Would you rather leave the things you have to do in the back of your mind, thereby allowing them to nag and nag at you until you can’t really enjoy whatever it is your doing, or would you rather knock them out one by one, as quickly and efficiently as possible, and then fully enjoy the rest of your time?
Can you live every day this week as if it’s your last day before vacation?
Tips to stay focused on the week’s concept:
1. Write the week’s concept down on a post-it or a scrap piece of paper and post it somewhere you will see it on a daily basis, such as your fridge, the bathroom mirror, or even the dashboard of your car (people who ride with you think it’s weird, but it works!). The point is to be reminded of the theme often throughout the day.
2. Each night before bed, brainstorm two or three ways to apply the week’s theme, and jot them down in a notebook, in your planner, or E-Mail them to your office E-mail address. Then, actually apply them the next day.
3. In the morning before your day begins, take a moment to think about the weekly concept and how you will apply it throughout your day.
4. Every night, reflect on how you actually implemented the weekly concept and how it has positively changed your way of thinking or behavior.
5. During lunch or sometime half-way through your day, take a moment to sit in a quiet place and re-commit, reminding yourself to view the rest of the day through the lens of the concept of the week.
