Rarely do I have a day that goes perfectly. I doubt that the perfect day really exists. When I am having a really bad day, I sometimes examine my actions from the perspective of time to see if I can get back on track.
Here is what I mean, and three simple ways to look at your day.
Utilizing the Past – We achieve more by utilizing knowledge, experience, lessons learned, and from the performance of others. The question I ask myself is, “Am I taking the time to learn from the past, and applying those lessons effectively?” If we don’t take the time to learn from our history, the path for success will be very long.
Utilizing the Present – There are days when my focus of the moment is not as precise as I would like. Do you ever feel like your routine is just that, a routine with no purpose or effect? That can be a feeling I have if I am not paying enough attention on the actions I am performing. When we lack focus, we lose the effectiveness of the present moment. It is a moment that we can never get back. So the two questions I like to ask myself are, “Am I being intentional in my action? What is distracting me from being focused?”.
Utilizing the Future – I have always believed that it is difficult to achieve a future that you cannot visualize with a high level of detail. If your dream for the future is fuzzy, it helps to spend time bringing clarity to your goals. Only then can you be sure you have the right daily actions defined to to move you closer to achieving your longer term objectives. The question I like to ask myself is, “What specifically do I want to be different tomorrow compared with today?”
When I am struggling to meet my goals, normally I discover that I have ignored one of these three time perspectives in the plan for my day. Once I recognize where I am failing, I can adjust to make sure I have considered all three. It amazes me how quickly this exercise can get me back on track.
When you find yourself falling behind, what triggers you to adjust your day or week?
P.S. – If you want to read some interesting analysis on time perspectives, here is an article by John Boyd, An Overview of Time Perspective Types.