Business and life move at the speed of thought. Are you harnessing your brilliance to make the advances you desire? Get on T.O.P.
T – Track your activity, learning, and progress. History and experience are great teachers and motivators, if you pay attention. Be sure to have a tool (planner, organizer, diary) that you can capture what you accomplish and do each day.
Items might include:
- Prospecting and business development activities
- People you meet with and notes on what you discussed
- Your overall mood and health
- What you are reading/studying
- Wins, setbacks, obstacles you overcame
Look over what you capture at the end of each day. Review it at the end of the week, month, and quarter. Use the goals you listed in your planning going forward.
O – Organize your current day for success. Successful people manage themselves more effectively in relation to time than those who continually struggle. It’s about prioritizing.
Peter Drucker suggests, “First things first and second things not at all. One thing at a time.” What are the 3-6 most important things you must do to advance your success today? Make that your six-pack for the day. Do the most important one first and then the next one to its completion, and then the next.
Lists are great if you know how to use them the correctly. Most people don’t. Get the most important things on your list into your calendar when you can actually do something about each particular item.
Organize and de-clutter your working environment so it supports you in getting things done. Remove the kryptonite (distractions & interruptions) that weakens your efficiency and effectiveness. Have the tools you need at the ready to complete the projects you are committed to.
P – Plan your ideal compelling future. Where are you headed over the next 3-5 years and what do you want it to look like? Does that vision inspire you or expire you?
Rework it so you want to work it.
What’s your purpose for meeting up with your vision? What must get done this year? What will you focus on and achieve this quarter, month, and week? Write it down and view it each day. Doing so will elevate your awareness and impulses to direct you toward getting the mission-critical tasks and projects completed.
By working and reviewing the TOP items above, and having them in your planner/organizer, you will surely meet with greater success sooner rather than later.
Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to luck as the tenacity of purpose (another “TOP“).
Tracking, Organizing, & Planning will fuel your tenacity and bring you good fortune.