Do it Now!

Posted June 18, 2019

In Life Management, Managing Priorities, Time Management, Tips and Tools

How often during the course of your everyday life do you put off doing something important, rather than simply saying, “I’ll do it now!”?

Here are some things that often show up on the “I’ll do it when I get around to it” list:

Reaching out to someone who needs to hear from you
Apologizing for something you said or did
Taking the next step to implement a great idea you have
Self-care activities such as exercise, implementing a healthy diet or getting more rest

There’s one thing in common with all of these activities: they’re all important, but there is no deadline by which you must do them. That makes it easy to keep putting things off and repeating, “I’ll do it when I get around to it.”

“Lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.” —Tony Robbins

For those who operate from an “urgency” mindset, if something isn’t urgent — regardless of its importance — it doesn’t get done. When you put important things off until you find the time, they never happen! You must make the time.

Live Daily with No Regrets

Recently I spoke with a friend whose mother had just died. I asked how her father was doing, and she said that her dad was doing amazingly well under the circumstances. Although her mom had been ill for a long time, her father had faithfully stayed by her side every day. She added, “Dad lived each day with no regrets.”

If someone you loved were to die tomorrow, could you say the same thing?

You can’t turn back the clock. You can live your life so there’s no important unfinished business at the end of each day. Never put off until tomorrow something important that you can do today.

What will you do or begin today?

June is National Rebuild Your Life Month – a great time to identify what you can do or begin today that will enable you to live a life with no regrets. Write down your responses to these questions:

Who needs to hear from you (friends, relatives, colleagues, etc.)?

Have you said or done anything that you regret? Have you intentionally or unintentionally hurt or offended someone? Who deserves an apology from you?

What great ideas have you not taken action on? Take the next step now!
- Invention or business idea
- Career shift (renegotiate responsibilities at work, get a new job, etc.)
- Make plans to do an activity on your Bucket List
- Take a vacation
- Make a purchase or investment
- Delegate something (personal or professional)
- Volunteer activity
- Join something (MeetUp group, health club, etc.)
- Other _________

Who needs a note of appreciation, encouragement or congratulations from you?

Who needs some of your quality time?
- Friends
- Family
- Neighbors
- Colleagues
- Church or non-profit organization (volunteer time)

What can you do to take optimal care of yourself?
- Exercise
- Preparing healthy foods
- Taking regular meal breaks
- Stress reduction (exercise, meditation, visit with a friend, etc.)
- Rest (breaks from work, uninterrupted sleep)

What parts of your life would benefit from some planning?
- Big-picture life planning (quarterly, annual, 5-year, long-range planning)
- Daily and weekly planning to carve out time for your important but not urgent activities you’ve listed above
- Financial planning (budgeting, investing, etc.)
- Estate planning (will, trust, power of attorney, etc.)
- Disaster preparedness
- Creation of a Personal Operations Manual that details all parts of your life so others could step in and manage things if needed.

You Have Choices!

If you have the great fortune to live in the free world, you have more choices than you may think. You don’t have to stay “stuck” with what you have right now.

If you don’t like your present circumstances, what do you choose to take action on so you can enjoy something different in the future?

“If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.” –Stephen Covey

Take Action!

Many people don’t take the necessary action to achieve their dreams because they are afraid of failure. While it’s true that you may fail, it’s also true that you won’t ever achieve your dreams if you don’t take consistent action.

Identify some activities above that you choose to do. Then reserve an hour on your calendar (preferably the same time each week) to do some planning for the coming week. During this time, block out time in your calendar to take the specific action steps you’ve identified above that will move you from where you are to where you want to be.

If taking consistent action is hard for you, I highly recommend a book by George Campbell and Jim Packard, called Consistency is the New Currency It’s a quick and humorous read that offers a simple yet powerful life-changing idea. I just finished reading it and found some valuable ideas that I started implementing immediately.

Your important but not urgent activities will most likely not happen unless they are scheduled in your calendar! If you’d like to explore getting some support that will help you take action, let’s schedule a no-cost, no-pressure Discovery Call today.