Control Your Daily Destiny by Owning the First 20 Minutes of Each Day

I’ve always encouraged clients, readers and audiences to control their daily destiny by owning the first 15 to 20 minutes of each day before they “officially” start – you know, answering e-mails; text messages and responding to missed calls. These first 15 to 20 minutes are really designed to help you get the right mindset in place for the day. I believe that your mindset will determine the type of day you will have. Hence whatever you can do to put in place the right one, you should do. Right?

So here are 7 very simple steps you can take. As you will note, they represent positive and specific “self-talk.”

No matter what happens today that was not planned or is a “surprise” I will be able to handle it.

I will be the master of the day’s events and will not allow them to victimize me.

The 3 most important tasks (goals) that I will accomplish today are: (list them preferably in a journal that you will keep in a visible place on your desk).

I will say “No” to any and all distractions (i.e., people or activities not related to my top 3 tasks/goals) that could cause me to lose focus, waste my time and prevent me from achieving my top 3 tasks/goals.

My time is “My Time” and I alone “own it.” Only I can share it with others if I determine to do so.

Clarity and focus are two of the keys to my success. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, stressed and confused I will take a 10-minute break, change the scenery and ask myself the following:
Am I working on the right thing now and will it get me closer to my goals?
Or
Can someone else do it or does it have to be done at all either now or later?
And
What’s one thing I can do right now to get back on track? Then do it!

The other keys to my success are self-discipline. Do what needs to be done:
Persistence —never quit or give up;
Resilience —bounce back from setbacks or obstacles; and
Concentration —the ability to focus time and energy on what really matters and should be done first.