Many people were happy to see 2020 in the rear view mirror as the clock struck midnight and turned the calendar to a new year. Have you thought about what makes 2021 a better year? So far, it doesn’t seem to feel much different that 2020 where every day turned into the movie “Ground Hog Day” and it felt like we were just going through motions waiting for the next bad thing to happen. What if you had the ability to change 2021, to succeed each day, to own each week, and to win the year? Would you do it?
There are many things that we can’t control. In fact, most things are out of our control every day. The good news is, there are things that you do have control over! You have control over your thoughts, your attitude, your words, and your actions. The actions you choose each day will determine who you will become. Have you thought about what you want to accomplish this year?
Setting Daily Critical Tasks
Every year, I take the time to reflect on goals for the New Year. I think about what are the goals I want to accomplish and what are the barriers that will keep me from achieving those goals. I have a plan of how I will achieve those goals this year and I am going to share that with you. I’ve broken my goals down into 5 daily critical tasks. These tasks are the same each day. I write them down every day and I check them off as I complete them each day. My critical tasks are not going to be the same as yours because our goals could be different. Why is this important? Because I’m instilling discipline into my daily life and soon these tasks will become habits.
By placing my focus on the tasks each day I’m not distracted by what could seem like an overwhelming goal. And by performing the tasks each day ultimately I will achieve my goals and then I’m winning! I’m winning for myself and proving that I can do what I set out to do and not get distracted by the obstacles that life throws at me.
I’ll give an example of one of my tasks. Task #1 is to drink a gallon of water every day. I will save the benefits of drinking water and the effects it has on your mental and physical performance for another time. In addition to those numerous benefits, drinking a gallon of water requires planning and work. You have to put some thought and effort into planning to consume 164 ounces of water in throughout the day. My goal is to get ½ gallon before lunch and the remainder before 7:00 p.m. Each drink throughout the day is a reminder that I’m accomplishing my task and I’m “winning the day”. That’s just one task, I have 5. If I complete all 5 tasks then I have won the day. If I complete them 7 days in a row then I won the week. There will be days that I don’t get all five tasks done, and then yes, I lost that day. But the goal is to win more days than not! And before I know it, I will have not only met my goals but exceeded them. Ultimately I will win the year…win the year for me. What about you? What will you do to win the year for you?
The critical task concept was taken from 75 HARD A Tactical Guide to Winning the War with Yourself written by Andy Frisella.
– Shea Hutchins, Chief Solutions Officer