Lots of people say to me, "I don't know how you 'do it'." The 'do it' is: being a single Mom, CEO of a successful company, raise a great kid, produce good photography, etc. The answer is, I just do it. I may not do it well some days, and on other days I do it very well. The point is, I just do it.
I try to learn what I do well and do more of it. When I don't do so well, I try to do less of that. I read how other's do it, and I try new things.
I suffer from the "Imposter Syndrome." That terrible feeling that someday soon someone will say, "you don't know what you are doing, do you?" Interestingly enough, I know many a successful person who feels the same way.
There are a few things I do every day to be ready for the day. If I just get up and take things as they come, I get stressed out. There is practice in rolling with the punches, but one reaches a tipping point where you go from rolling to being beaten up.
hese are a few things I do every morning and evening to be ready for the day, and then the next.
1. Before I get that first cup of coffee, I sit and write down a few things:
- 3 Things I'm grateful for that morning.
- 3 Big goals I've set in my mind as the priority.
- 3 Tasks I need to do today to further the priority goals.
2. I write an open section in my journal for the day called, "Wins Today." This is where I record what I accomplished and did well.
3. I also keep an open section on "Lessons Learned Today." This is where I note mistakes made in hopes not to repeat them.
4. Then I go to my calendar app (being an Apple person, this is iCal) and I note previously made appointments. I ensure I have blocked time to do the 3 Big Tasks from above. In 30 minute increments, I schedule the time to do tasks I feel are important. Usually, it looks like I have taken up every second of time on my schedule. And I have. I may not get to that task as we can't control what happens in the middle of our days, flexibility is important. Blocking the time increases the likelihood that I will do the task.
5. During the day I look at what I should be doing on my calendar, noting the wins and lessons learned.
6. Right before I go to bed, I look over all that I did and didn't do, focusing on the wins. Then I write out 3 Things I'm Grateful for that evening.
This does several things to my brain. First, it allows me to unclutter my mind and focus. Second, gratitude cultivates a great feeling of positivity. Lastly, reviewing the wins boosts confidence. I may not get everything done on my list, but I can control how I feel in the stock taken about the day.
What I do know, it will never be enough, and that is just fine. More will have been done than if I had just wandered through what seemed important at that moment. Like a fireman going from fire to fire, never knowing what the day will hold.