The 5 Daily Practices That Changed My Life

I use a system that I call the Five Daily Practices to create a coherence of consistency and prioritization in my life. The effect it's had on my life over the long term has been monumental.

Here is the high-level overview of it below. If you would like the full template (it's free) DM me and I'm happy to send it your way.

The 5 Daily Practices

1. Know your WHAT... Take inventory of what you want for the day. And do it every day! Factor in your core values: Personal, Experiential, Giving, and Receiving.

Personal: Think about your own character, love, integrity, and the things that you are as a person. Do they align with the plans you have for today?

What about your plans for the future?

Experiential: What do you want to experience today in order to make the most out of the 24-hours? What do you want to learn?

Giving: What would you like to give to others today?

Receiving: What would you like to receive today?

Once you’ve done some self-reflection on these values, it is then time to

prioritize, organize, and complete things in order of their importance and

urgency.

2. Know your WHO... Figure out who can help you and who can you help.

Once you’ve identified WHAT you want to prioritize in your life or business, consider who you can learn from who has already achieved that “what”. The easiest way to get where you want to go is to ask directions from someone who is there now or who has already been there. Seek out mentors and people who you can learn from as you pursue your potential.

3. Know your HOW... Become what I call a Student of Your Calendar.

What this means is that you’re a person who studies three areas of your life in order to maximize them: what you have planned, the time you have unplanned (the “white space” in your calendar), as well as your sleep. Use the Eisenhower Matrix - As mentioned previously, practice organizing your tasks by focusing on the important and urgent first, then the important tasks, and then finally working on the unimportant and urgent tasks.

Have a Routine - Consistency is an important part of your “HOW” and having a routine that you follow on a day-to-day basis is an essential component of productivity.

Have an Adaptable Routine - Have a plan to adapt during the times where your regular routine is disrupted. Determine what your “non-negotiables” are, the things that are key components to your routine, and structure your day around those non-negotiables.

Have an Unwinding Routine – Put yourself in a position to recover each evening, because you spend almost a third of your life sleeping.

You can try the Ivy Lee method, which is a 100-year-old strategy for helping people become more productive at work. Under the Ivy Lee method, at the end of each night you write down your six most important tasks to accomplish the following day in order of importance. The next day, you begin working on the tasks one at a time

4. Know Your NOW... 100% of the things you do now get done, which is why you should practice a Do It Now strategy.

a) Create a repository – Have a place where you can organize and plan tasks that you are unable to do right now.

b) Focus and refocus – Treat focusing and re-focusing like two separate muscles that need to be exercised.

c) Try not to use deadlines – Telling yourself “X needs to be done by X time” creates resistance for you in accomplishing the task.

5. Apply your WHY!... Remember that your thoughts about your purpose

are your purpose.

a) Practice Ending Fear - Lean on your core values in order to take action as you progress toward your goals, rather than staying inactive and afraid.

b) Drop, and Roll - When your ego causes you to feel separate, inferior, superior, anxious, offended, etc., stop and take a moment to breathe. Drop down to your center and find a calmer state, then roll towards where you want to be.

c) Manage Expectations - Be honest with others about your capabilities, rather than overburdening yourself with too many obligations.

d) Ignorant Humility v. Ignorant Arrogance - Be honest with yourself that there are things you do not know. We are all ignorant, the question is whether you are humble about it or not.

e) Spend Minutes and Moments outside of the 5 Daily Practices. - There will be times that you aren’t acting in line with your true prioritize, but make sure that you are getting back on track as quickly as possible.