Written while listening to this
As the day rises, I am ready for work, and I have the shortest commute! I am at my desk in a jiffy! Our dining table, a darling hangout location for our famously long brunches, is now my desk. I can still smell last night’s dinner, but here I am on a Wednesday morning, setting my intentions for my day because today, there is no place like home.
Actually, I enjoy this silent moment. It is almost spring, and I can breathe a rather crisp morning from the open window. It is essential, you know, to let some fresh air, and hear how the world sounds before the day runs. Today, I hear Dante, the Portie of our neighborhood, going out for a short stroll in the park.
I have a string of to-dos in my mind. I jot them down every morning, sometimes even before I have my first cup of coffee. I developed this habit some time ago, and it serves me well: I write whatever comes to my mind in a stream of consciousness. I do not care how long it takes or what I write. Yet, I end up making a bullet list most of the time.
I happen to like lists - they help me organize my mind, so this little routine is kind of my favorite part of a day. It is the thing about making a list, though, I’ve got to keep it short, enough to accomplish all in a day. Otherwise, I end up projecting my annual plans to a single day, and we all know that it is not going to end well.
I aim to keep my lists as short as post-its. This helps me with one vital thing I need: Priorities. Because you see, I allowed myself to have a little downtime last night, and I’ve laid out my intentions with my morning brew. So, I am good to go. Yet, having intentions does not necessarily bring you a straight forward to-do list when you have deadlines, delays, and as we have these days, a series of unexpected events.
On any given day, I fill my post-it with a maximum of 4 things and choose as wisely as I can. My perfect list would have the most important to-do on top - the project I most invest in. Whether it is a financial or creative one, it is the big picture I should never lose sight of. And, as most invested projects are, mine is, too, like a marathon, and I have to pay my dues daily to run it.
The following bullet on the list usually is an urgent one - the things I am on a deadline with. These are more like errands I need to run, short sprints like emails, notifications, meetings.
My third to-do is the body of work I need to concentrate without distractions - mostly, weekly goals. A deep focus time usually runs across in the afternoons for me.
My fourth bullet would a dreaded one; for instance, taxes are due, and somebody’s gotta do the job, and I have to be careful - if I stall these, they end up in massive piles.
Mornings are important blocks of time that give momentum to your day, and I must say, after years of home-officing, I notice that mornings are full of opportunities, and ever so tempting distractions. However, sustaining a productive routine depends on priorities that enable us to not lose sight of our plans and dreams.
Nowadays, I also choose a guilty pleasure. We can all make use of some relaxation when we are dealing with things out of our immediate control. So I allow myself to devour in period pieces - preferably turn of the past century.
So head on to comments and tell us what your guilty pleasure is!
Stay tuned for tomorrow as we talk more about working from home and stay healthy.
Take care!
PS: Oh, night owls can execute the list in reverse order, and they may operate just fine :)
