21 Days to Discipline
Monday, July 23rd, 2007
I have recently come to the conclusion that I am a very lazy person. Yes, I said it, I AM LAZY. I can blame it on the parents, I can blame it on my past, or I can just face the music and admit I am what I am because of my previous decisions. I have honestly noticed a drop in my business production as well as my personal development because of this LAZY bug I have now found in myself. I have always had this but just recently have I noticed it taking its toil on my life. So here is what I have for you. I have devised a twenty-one day detox plan for getting rid of your laziness. Below I have three steps that I am going to use starting TODAY that I believe will make me a more productive person. Let’s face it, if we have everything done that needs to get done throughout the day we feel a lot better about ourselves. We feel as if we have accomplished something and our self esteem begins to rise. Believe it or not discipline leads to good health. So follow me in these three steps that I have started practicing to see what we come up with. By the way, if you are wondering why I have chosen twenty -one days it is because it takes twenty-one days to form a habit. If you can stick with it for that long, odds are you will create a very useful tool. So let’s get started.
Step 1 – Grab the Supplies
After thinking for a bit I realized that I need a few things to get this experiment under way. I went to my nearest retailer and bought a few supplies. Here is what I got. I first bought a planner so that I could write down everything I needed to do for the day. This helped me in two ways. First I have a place that keeps my “Things to Do” organized. Second, I have visual confirmation that I have completed something. What I mean by this is that every time I COMPLETE something on the list I get to cross it off. This gives your subconscious a bit of motivation to move on to the next step. The reason I have capitalized “complete” is for this reason; if you just start something it does not count. You have to actually FINISH what ever it is you started without putting it off. Let me give you an example. Today I had to call and cancel an insurance policy I had on one of my vehicles. Under my list of things to do I had it written as, “Cancel insurance policy.” So when I called to have it canceled they must have been in a meeting and I went straight to voicemail. I left a message for them to call me back and as of right now I am still waiting. Did I cancel it? Not yet. I will not cross it off until they have called me back and it is actually canceled. I know this is a weird scenario but it gets my point across. The second thing is I bought was a two small baskets to put both important and unimportant mail. This way I know what needs to be taken care of and what can wait.
Step 2 – Figure out the Tasks
What I have decided to do was complete ten different tasks every day for twenty-one days. I have also chosen to complete three business tasks totally different from my personal day to day activities. This way Adam and I have a head start with the business as well as our personal lives. In case you were wondering, Adam is partaking in this experiment also, so feel free to read up on how he did when ever the twenty-one days are up. Just because I have chosen to pick ten different personal tasks and three business tasks does not mean that you have to do the same. Start out with what you are comfortable with. If you want to do three total tasks then go for it. This is an experiment not a homework assignment. Start small and work your way up if you have to.
Step 3 – Keep it Simple
Keep in mind that your ten tasks do not have to be huge daunting chores. You don’t have to paint the house, build a deck, change your oil, re-finish the basement and all of that in one day. Keep it small because the small things are what add up. Here is a list of the ten things I decided to do today to start this out.
1.) Dentist Appointment 9:00 am
2.) Write this article
3.) Write my uncle Steve
4.) Call and cancel the insurance
5.) Take a letter to grandma (She lives across the street)
6.) Read two chapters from the book I am reading
7.) Print ONE bill for a customer of mine
8.) Organize my new mail
9.) Start payment sheet for my tenant
10.) Clean my desk off.
Now see, this is not too bad. I finished eight out of ten of these chores within a half hour. I knew this article would take me a bit and I knew that the two chapters in the book I am reading would run me a little time. All I am saying folks is to keep it simple and easy. As you start to run out of things to do, which you will, look around, you will find stuff that you have been putting off for a while. Stick with this for the twenty-one days and you are sure to find yourself a disciplined individual.
Check out what happened:
21 Days to Discipline - Part II
21 Days to Discipline - The Results
