MAKE DISCIPLINE A HABIT

How good does it feel to get everything done on a to-do list?

It feels like you have accomplished something good whether you're at work or at home. You're getting stuff done and you're making progress. The question is, how important are the things on the to-do list.

Siimon Reynolds, one Australia's top Entrepreneurs believes in keeping things simple. He starts his day focusing on an area of importance and writes down a top 10 list of things that need to be done. Focusing on the top three, Siimon will delegate the rest. For me personally, I will start my day with a top five and focus on three, starting with the most important and only moving onto the next one when the first task has been completed. This helps you to stay focused and gets you into the habit of finishing things that you start.

Delegating minor tasks is another way to get things done. A client of mine has a successful internet business and is a sole parent of two children 9 & 11 years old. Every Thursday afternoon is their washing day. They do the washing together, chat about their day, what homework they might have and whether they will need any help. It's a good way to get the necessities done & why not two at once!
      
Another way of maintaining your discipline so you can focus on the things you do want and not what you don't want is to make sure you complete the small tasks. The half finished little things can all add up and can become overwhelming. Complete tasks in order of priority for work and home as they come your way or get your children to help you. This creates postive habits that just become a way of life after a while.

Look at it this way, when you leave things incomplete, it doesn't matter how small, every time you see them they will irritate you. Even just a little bit at a time, but not enough for you to consciously express it.  Irritated just below the surface and it all adds up. Like the half read book, the email you read and haven't replied to, the dishes in the sink, the phone call you haven't returned and the unmade bed. Before you know it, you're in a bad mood and you don't even know why. These are habits that needs to be broken! Agreed???

Stephen Covey the author of Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, found that it only takes 21 days to form a habit so complete stuff that you start and begin with the small things and work from there.

This will eliminate all the excuses why you can't do the things that you really enjoy doing and you won't feel guilty when you're doing them either.

So give it a go - what have you got to lose??