24 hours is a long time—isn’t it?
You’re probably giving me the side eyes and thinking up a million and one reasons why 24 hours is the shortest time ever.
I understand. I’ve been there myself. I’ve had those times when I asked who the heck made 1 day, 24 hours, and wondered why they could not add more hours. I once wondered why we had to follow some human rule of how many hours there should be in a day.
But, sadly there’s nothing we can do about it. We either learn to make good use of the 24 hours we are given or we end up doing nothing for the whole day.
But you may wonder, is it possible?
Is it possible to achieve all you planned to achieve in 24 hours?
But my answer will be “Wrong question!”
The question or goal should not be about achieving it all in 24 hours—this is why you are constantly overwhelmed and distraught about your goals and tasks!
The goal and question should be about doing the most important task/tasks and doing it well in 24 hours.
If you keep pressuring yourself to achieve it all in 24 hours, you will find out it might be impossible or overwhelming.
So, when thinking of a 24 hours achievement, think of what you have to do that day that must be done—or else your day will feel empty or redundant (think of it like that).
When you can adopt this mindset, then you are ready for the next steps.
If you will like to get work done and complete your most essential tasks in 24 hours, then do this:
Steps to achieving the most in 24 hours
I am giving you these steps because they are doable and workable steps.
They are steps I have also used to maximize and productively handle all my work in 24 hours.
I will not be sharing steps I got off some random place but steps that I can assure you will work if you take action. They are:
Prioritize your daily goals
If you are an avid reader (pun intended) of my blog, you will know that I reiterate prioritizing your goals, plans, and tasks a lot.
Yes, it is that important.
As a planner and journal designer, one thing that must not go missing in your planner design structure is the priority box (which cannot be done without an activity dump).
I lost you there, right?
Let me explain.
An activity dump is the first part of setting goals and planning tasks. This is where you dump all your thoughts, plans, goals, etc.
On this page, you don’t have to care about smart goals or whether you can achieve all these goals, all you just do is write them down.
After writing them down, you then move to the next stage of writing out your goals (out of the goals and plans in the activity dump).
After writing out your SMART goals, you will then rewrite them in order of priority, which is what we will be discussing in this step.
Prioritizing your daily goal is choosing (I will recommend) three to four non-negotiable goals you plan to achieve in 24 hours and ensuring you get them done no matter what.
These are not all the goals you want to achieve. You probably have seven goals (or more) you want to achieve, but out of those seven goals for the day, there must be three to four important ones you must achieve that day and you must fish them out.
Think about how important they are.
Think about how you will feel later that night or the next day if you don’t do those three or four tasks.
When you have made up your mind, write them down in the priority section. That is the goal you should focus on for the day. After completing this goal, you can then move to the other tasks on your list.
Also read: How to Plan a Productive Month
Focus on your goals
Except you want these 24 hours to be like the other 24 hours you have had in the past, you have to focus.
Focus, because in 24 hours, there will be a thousand and one things vying for your time and attention, but if you don’t focus on those things you have to achieve, you will end up doing a bunch of (plenty) unimportant things.
So, focus.
How do you focus?
- Even if there’s an opportunity to do the unimportant things on your list, don’t fall for it, stick to doing the important things because you might feel like there’s still time but time is counting and it’s almost gone.
- Remove everything that may distract you in the course of doing all that you need to do. It could be incoming mails, your phone, social media, etc. Even if it’s your friends or family, communicate the importance of what you have to do to them (If you can) and excuse yourself to get it done.
- Set a timer for a particular task. Ensure you set a realistic time and challenge yourself to finish the task at that time. Even if you don’t finish at that time, you would have completed the task to a large extent.
Reward yourself
Whenever I need to write a blog post and I get overwhelmed or tired in the process of writing, I promise myself that if I finish writing the blog post, I will either give myself a treat, watch my favorite show, or take a nap.
I usually promise myself something I know I am longing for and I make a resolution with myself to not stop doing what I am doing until I’m done.
So, practice this too. Make a resolution and a promise to yourself.
Hold yourself accountable and don’t stop working until you are done.
And don’t forget to reward yourself.
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There are several tips and steps I could have given you about achieving the most in 24 hours but none of them would be as simple, achievable, and actionable as these three I have given you.
- Prioritize your daily goals
- Focus on your goals
- And reward yourself.
I don’t know what you plan to achieve in the next 24 hours but I encourage you to try these actionable steps and see how they will work for you.
Do you have any habits or tips that have helped you achieve more in 24 hours? Share it with me in the comment!
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Do you struggle with achieving your goals or completing your daily tasks!
As a productivity coach, I help my clients achieve their goals, hold them accountable to get things done and help them live a more flexible and productive life.
Reach out to me today to take my coaching sessions. The first session is free! Schedule a call now!
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