Choose the right thing over the easy thing

You should behave with integrity towards yourself. Always replanning should not be a part of your routine. Otherwise, you will make it too easy to just change the plan and lose credibility with yourself. You need to trust that executing daily acitivities will in the end produce the result you want; but to make it happen, you need to commit to it.

One big mistake I made when I started my career was to not finish the activities or deliverables because I always wanted to improve them until the very end, also called "gold plating". The problems that I faced were:

• My customer never perceived the value of the added quality;
• I got overwhelmed trying to complete the work by the given deadline;
• By increasing the quality, I hindered the start of other planned activities.

The solution that I found was to stop any activity when the defined time or scope was achieved. With the daily plan, you are limited to one day. Nevertheless, one day is composed of 48 half-hour periods. Each half-hour period is valuable time to accomplish one single activity. Even if you discount 8 hours sleep, that still leaves on average 16 hour periods; in a single day, you still have 32 half-hour periods remaining, which allow you to perform 32 activities of half-hour effort.

Summary and practical tip:

Commit to a daily plan that respects both time and scope. Avoid the temptation to endlessly refine tasks, a practice known as "gold plating," which often leads to diminishing returns. Instead, recognize the value of each half-hour period in a day. When undertaking an activity, set clear time or scope boundaries, and adhere to them diligently. Embrace the discipline of completing tasks within the defined parameters. This approach not only prevents overwhelm and missed deadlines but also ensures a smoother flow of planned activities. By respecting the limitations of each day, you empower yourself to achieve meaningful progress consistently.

Practical tip:? In your outlook agenda, split your day in 3 caterogies: time for myself, time for my family&friends and time for business. For each half-hour period on each category, plan the right things to do.

I wish You a Fa-Bu-Lux Life?:)

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