How to Ace Your Daily Goals Like a Pro: 7 Tips That Work

How to Ace Your Daily Goals Like a Pro: 7 Tips That Work

How to Ace Your Daily Goals Like a Pro: 7 Tips That Work

28

JANUARY, 2019

Samuel Osho

It’s the last week of the first month of the year and you may be lost in mixed feelings. Do you deserve a sharp reprimand for missing your goals or a pat on the back for a job well done? In this self-reflection class, you have to own up and be true to yourself. As 2019 strolls by, are you making every day count? A fabulous year can end in an ordinary way if you lack the energy and enthusiasm to ace your daily goals. 

To be honest, I know how it feels when you have a list of daily goals with unchecked boxes staring at you. If you pride yourself as one, who is a pro in getting things done, missing your goals could be worrisome. To make matters worse, the pace at which your days disappear, you silently wish that you can have more than 24 hours in a day. 

Time is one of the equally distributed resources – everyone has access to the same 24 hours in a day. Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and you all have the same 24 hours but how come they seem to be getting more out of their day. Perhaps there is something they do, but you ignore. 

If 2019 will be different for you regarding results, then you have to be intentional about how to excel at your daily goals. Here are some tips that work:

 

7 Tips That Work

1. Create a list of your daily goals

The rule is if anything is important to you, then you have to write it down. Writing your goals gives you an opportunity to think things through and put these tasks in the front burner of your brain.

A list of daily goals serves as a reminder when you are lost in the pool of daily activities. In fact, research has shown that people who write down their goals on a regular basis are more likely to achieve them when compared to those who just have it in their heads.

I have a friend who has a daily ritual of writing his life goals in a journal every day. He described this habit as a powerful motivator and a superb drive for amplifying his productivity. 

What do you want to accomplish today? Do you have it on a list?

2. Do one thing at a time

The power of focus cannot be underestimated when it comes to productivity and execution. I have found doing one thing at a time extremely powerful and magical.

When you don’t narrow down on a single task at a time, you spread yourself too thin and become less effective. You can’t boil an ocean but can boil a jug of water – focus on one thing at a time, finish it and move to the next task. The Focusbooster app can be of great assistance in this regard. 

In the next thirty minutes, which task are you going to give undivided attention? Just focus and get it done. 

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein

3. Start with the big tasks

It usually happens that when you have a long list of daily goals, you unconsciously start with the easy ones first and end up not doing the hard ones. Often, you are unable to finish the difficult tasks when you follow this sequence because you are usually exhausted even before you start them.

Start your day with the execution of significant and challenging tasks. Expend your fresh energy on the tough assignments and finish them before moving to the easy and simple ones. Interestingly, when you muster the strength to complete an arduous task, you get the motivation to keep moving.

On your list of goals for today, which one is the hardest? Let it be the first task you have to face. Go for it! 

4. Reward yourself

When you get the job done, learn to celebrate your small victories and reward yourself. You deserve some accolades for a job well done.

The Pomodoro technique developed by Francesco Cirillo works based on the principle of rewarding yourself with a five minutes break after twenty-five minutes of uninterrupted work.

Surprisingly, this system works like magic. For example, you can say that you are only qualified to watch your favorite TV show if you score well above 90% in the execution of your daily goals. Watching the TV show is a reward for acing your goals.

The anticipation of relishing a pleasure you derive from your leisure time can be a driving force to complete your daily tasks on time.

After an hour of steady focus on completing a task, don’t you think you deserve a 10-minute break? 

5. Learn to say No

We are naturally wired to say yes to almost every offer. But to stay productive and effective, you must learn to say No. You just can’t accept every invitation to be of help to others.

If it clashes with your schedule, learn to say No or reschedule to what suits your priorities. If you say Yes to people and you don’t have the time to attend to their needs, they will eventually feel terrible when you let them down.

So, why don’t you just say No if it does not work for you rather than trying to please everyone?

Take a critical look at your commitments this week, maybe you need to say No to some of them to increase your productivity. 

6. Starve your distractions

In these days, you have more enemies of progress than you thought. In fact, your most prized gadget – your sleek smartphone can be an obstacle between you and achieving your goals.

Staying on your phone all day can rob you of the precious time that could have been invested in pursuing your goals. When you are set to get a lot of productive work done, you can put your phone in a “do not disturb” mode.

Another way of curbing distractions from social media is to have specific times of the day that you visit these apps on your phone.

Be sincere, do you really need to visit Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn every 20 minutes? Install these apps to block your access to social media accounts for a specific period of time – Freedom and Cold Turkey.

7. Get an accountability partner

If you know someone that believes in you and is passionately interested in your success. You can ask if they are willing to be your accountability partner.

Having someone to share the list of your daily goals with is priceless. At the end of the day, a five-minute chat can be used to evaluate how you fared and right there you will see the room for continuous improvement.

Draft a mail and send to two friends asking if they will be willing to be your accountability partners. You can stick to a daily or weekly review, whichever works for you is fine. 

Conclusion

Success does not come suddenly, but it builds up one day at a time when we imbibe the art of investing heavily in every passing moment. See each day as an avenue to bake a brick needed for building a monument of greatness.
I have listed only seven tips here and this is far from being exhaustive, please feel free to add more tips that can increase daily productivity in the comment box below. Thanks.

7 Fascinating Life Lessons From the Eagle

7 Fascinating Life Lessons From the Eagle

7 Fascinating Life Lessons from the Eagle
07

MAY, 2018

Samuel Osho
In centuries of human existence, a bird of significant strength has inspired a lot of people. It is one of the largest birds in the world, the Eagle – a symbol of bravery, courage, power, strength, and superiority.
Little wonder, it has found its way to the national symbols of 27 nations, the popular ones are the coat of arms of Germany, the Great Seal of the United States, the coat of arms of Nigeria, the coat of arms of Mexico, and the coat of arms of Ghana.
A trip to an eyrie will open your eyes to the mystery behind the embodiment of strength and uniqueness that an Eagle possesses. Eagles are powerfully-built birds of prey with a heavy head and beak.
There are however lessons to learn from Eagles. If you imbibe these lessons, you will soar above life’s challenges like an Eagle.
The Seven Fascinating Life Lessons

1. Keen Eyesight

Eagles have extremely powerful eyes which are up to 3.6 times human acuity. This is primarily because of their large pupils which ensure minimal diffraction (scattering) of the incoming light. They use their eyes for long-distance focus and clarity.
They are always alert as they keep watch on their territories. They are not caught unawares by predators and they spot their enemies from afar. They are not myopic, they are a step ahead of their prey and a hundred miles ahead of their competitors.

Lesson:

Anyone who will go far in life must have a vision with absolute clarity void of ambiguities. Make plans and don’t live for the moment. Don’t ever underestimate a man with focus and great vision, he will not only make a great leader but he will also live a meaningful life as he leads his life towards the gates of destiny.

2. High Flyers

Often, you must have heard this expression; “Soar high like an Eagle” and not “Soar high like a hawk”. This is because only Eagles have the intrinsic ability to soar. Soaring means to fly aloft with little effort, to rise or mount upward on wings in a rapidly or unusually high manner.

Eagles soar and this separates them from mingling with other birds. They are in a class of their own – a superior class up there that other birds long to be. Eagles can fly up to an altitude of 10,000 feet and they are able to land quickly to catch a prey.

Lesson:

High flyers stand out of the crowds; they live an outstanding life. When you soar high above obstacles, you create an extraordinary class of your own. You have got impeccable standards and your meaning of success does not necessarily need to be the same with the definition of others.

The journey in the outstanding lane comes at a price – it can be very lonely but be rest assured that you have got enough space to spread your wings for dominance and unrivaled influence.

3. High Builders

Eagles are not just high flyers, they are not temporary lovers of high flights, but they build nests in high places. When they fly up there, they scream loud; “We are here to stay, we are not going back down there.” Class is permanent but form is temporary. They craft nests in tall trees and high cliffs as a place of fortress and abode. They have an insignia which denotes greatness and an unrepentant urge to stay at the top always.

Lesson:

In life, when you think about greatness, don’t look at it as a destination but as a journey. Going to the land of greatness means you have decided to build a nest amidst the mountains of excellence and you are not returning to the valleys of mediocrity.

The strong proclivity for the top is just embedded deep underneath your skin and it drives you with unique spontaneity. You can’t hide it, it will always show anywhere you go because that’s what is in you – excellence!

4. Fearless

Eagles never give up and they are relentlessly focused on achieving their goal. They will never surrender to the overwhelming size or weight of their prey. They are fearless in their hunting strategies and some even prey on goats.

Lesson:

In life, we must learn to be fearless in the pursuit of success as we face the challenges on our way squarely knowing that the only option is a victory.

Victory will always come if only you are willing to dare the impossible, challenge the status quo and scare your fears till they shudder. On the other side of your fear, you will find triumph and success. Fear can make an Eagle live like a chicken.

5. Tenacious

When torrents of wind cruise in the high heavens, other birds scamper for cover but only the Eagle stays up there. In the stormy gale, an Eagle spreads its large wings, takes advantage of the raging currents and soars to greater heights. This is amazing!

Lesson:

The storms of life will come in its season, what will you do? Will you run for cover? Or you take advantage of the storm to mount on greater heights? Will you be a chicken or be an Eagle?

The tougher the storm, the greater its possibility of taking you higher. It is as simple as writing examinations in school before going to the next level. The exams in your final year are tougher than the ones in your first year.

“The eyesight for an eagle is what thought is to a man” – Dejan Stojanovic

6. Retreat for energy

Despite the wowing strength of an Eagle, the condition of its physical body begins to deteriorate when it reaches the age of 30 years. This makes its survival very difficult.
To regain its strength and vitality, it goes to a mountaintop or a cliff for a retreat which usually lasts for four to five months. It plucks off its feathers and knocks off its beak by hitting it hard against the rock.
During the retreat, the physical body undergoes a metamorphosis and new stages of the body emanate. This renewed life can last the Eagle for another thirty to forty years.

Lesson:

When the demands of life weigh into your schedule and you are almost drained, a retreat is strongly recommended to keep in constant touch with relevance. To keep the steam, a retreat is required, it helps to keep you in check and on point.

In your career or chosen field, there is a need to constantly keep up with what is going on; the latest trends, the new discoveries to remain evergreen with a dew of knowledge. The secret to public manifestation is a loaded bank account of private investments.

7. Nurture the younger generation

Eagles are known for strength and power which are handy tools for aggression. Research has shown that Eagles are very gentle and attentive to their younger ones.

They nurture and take good care of them till they reach maturity. The mother Eagle starts with a flying lesson for the eaglet when it discovers that the eaglet is up to the task. It flies in the air with the eaglet on the back of the mother Eagle; midway into the air, the Big Eagle removes itself from under the eaglet, the flying begins and the Mother Eagle catches it again. This process is repeated.

If the eaglet is a slow or coward learner, the Mother Eagle returns with the eaglet to the nest and destroys the nest right in front of the Eaglet and nudges the eaglet off the cliff to compulsory learn flying.

Lesson:

Great people invest in the younger generation by teaching them the lessons of life with love. They give their mentees daring challenges but never forget to empower and direct them in the proper way.

True success invests in others till they become successful in life. Whatever you have learnt in life, pass it on to worthy trustees and history will be kind to you.

Eagles are inspiring in unimaginable ways. Be that symbolic Eagle wherever you find yourself today.

Pin It on Pinterest