Don’t start your day until it’s done!
Have you ever gone to bed right after thinking about everything you need to do the next day, the next week or even the next month only to find yourself lying there wide awake and frustrated for hours?
This is so common for most people, and it’s a leading cause of sleep deprivation (1 in 3 people) which leads to a whole host of physical and mental problems down the road.
We multitask and juggle a lot during the day, and after all that thinking right before bed, we carry on with our mental juggling into the night.
Wouldn’t it be nice to use Dumbledore’s Pensieve and simply siphon the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pour them into the basin, and examine them at one's leisure?
With some help, we can use the next best thing.
One of the greatest life coaches of all time Mr. Jim Rohn has an excellent solution for helping us all sleep like babies again. Mr. Rohn points out that it's important to take things out of your head and write them down. Learning to think on paper is the number one way to keep your life on track and to keep your sanity in check.
It’s always best to operate from documents and not from thoughts.
He suggests that you don’t start the day until it’s finished, meaning you plan out and write down all the details of tomorrow, today. And if you want to be even more ambitious, don’t start the week until you finish it first. And if you want to aspire to emulate other superstars making lots of money and enjoy great success, don’t start your month or even your year until they are finished.
HE GIVES US 4 GREAT WAYS TO HELP US START THINKING ON PAPER
First is writing in a journal which is a good gathering place for all your thoughts, information and experiences that come your way. Don’t let the good ideas of life escape you! Get into the habit of capturing good ideas so they are never lost or forgotten.
The second way to think on paper is with a project book, something with tabs so you can organize and distinguish all the different projects and people you are working with. Write down all the information you need to know about each person and keep track of projects, so you can always have the info available to you and you are ready for all interactions in the future.
The third way to think on paper is with a day timer which you can keep track of key information and your daily scheduled activities. It only takes a few minutes a day to keep it up to date which will save you lots of time later.
The fourth and most important way to think on paper is using a game plan which is vital for improving your productivity and launching you into a whole new level of success. A game plan is a visual representation of the activities you need to accomplish each day to achieve your goals.
It’s a spreadsheet that links your required tasks each day, week, month, or year. It’s like a to-do list of activities you need to follow and accomplish. Just a heads up, making a game plan can be frustrating and hard but it is well worth the effort when you get it figured out.
Now of course we all live in a VERY digital age and have become so used to typing all we write out on a keyboard or device so if you choose not to go old school with your writing things down on paper, you can use apps and programs instead.
Here are a few that you may find useful, some of which combine many of the above into one cool app.
1. Journal you can use https://dayoneapp.com
2. Project Book try https://friday.app
3. Day-Timer check out https://clickup.com
Here is a link to a great article that can help you create your game plan. https://www.jimrohn.com/master-plan-for-your-life
So regardless of the tech you choose to use, the critical point here is for you to write things down, document your thoughts and organize your day for the coming days.
This is a fantastic way to visualize the path you need to take and the steps involved for you to achieve happiness and success in life and equally as importantly calm your mind so you can finally get a good night’s sleep and recharge for your powerful productive days ahead.