Successful people have a clear future orientation. They think five, ten and twenty years out into the future. They analyze their choices and behaviors in the present to make sure that they are consistent with the long-term future that they desire.
Before starting on anything, you should always ask yourself, “What are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task?”
The time is going to pass anyway. The only question is how you use and where you are going to end up at the end of the weeks and months. And where you end up is largely a matter of the amount of consideration you give to the likely consequences of your actions in the short term.
Dennis Waitley, the motivational speaker, says, “Failures do what is tension relieving while winners do what is goal achieving.”
For example, coming in to work earlier, reading regularly in your field, taking courses to improve your skills, and focusing on high value tasks in your work will all combine to have an enormous positive impact on your future.
On the other hand, coming in to work at the last moment, reading the newspaper, drinking coffee and socializing with your coworkers may seem fun and enjoyable in the short-term but it inevitably leads to lack of promotion, under achievement and frustration in the long-term.
Another important rule is that your productivity begins to decline after eight or nine hours of work. For this reason, working long hours into the night, although it is sometimes necessary, means that you are usually producing less and less in more and more time. The more tired you get, the worse is your work and the more mistakes you make. At a certain point, like a battery that is run down, you can reach “the wall” and simply be unable to continue.
The fact is that you have specific times during the day when you are at your best. You need to identify these times and discipline yourself to use them on your most important and challenging tasks.
Most people are at their best in the mornings, after a good night’s sleep. Some people are better in the afternoons. A few people are most creative and productive in the evenings or late at night.
Review your list of tasks, activities and projects regularly. Continually ask yourself, “Which one project or activity, if I did it in an excellent and timely fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?”
Whatever it is that can help you the most, set it as a goal, make a plan to achieve it and go to work on your plan immediately. Remember the wonderful words of Goethe, “Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!”
