Time to Lace Up My Boots
For several decades, I didn't bother making my bed. It was part of this lingering "you're not the boss of me" glitch that I've had since childhood. That same glitch manifested itself in several unhelpful ways, such as, "Hey, no one knows I'm hiding in this college library," not realizing that no one cared: it was MY job to get educated.
Lately, I've made the bed every day. It serves two purposes. 1.) It invites me to NOT get back in it until bedtime. 2.) It looks better in my one room loft especially on Zoom calls.
Lace Up Your Boots
In the military (I never attended - just have lots of friends), a very common bit of advice is like something we hear in business as well, "How you do one thing is how you do everything." (Or similar.) Going through boot camp and even well into the first year of any branch of the US military, a seemingly inordinate amount of time is spent on socks and boots. Why? Because if you can't walk/march, you can't be effective.
The expression "lace up your boots" thus means, "Be ready, be effective, have all your messes buttoned up and ready to go."
I've really worked to reset myself when it comes to that "you're not the boss of me" problem. I used to want my bed to be on the floor, and growing up, my folks said no. So I put my mattress and box spring right on the floor for like 20 years. Why? Because I'm Batman!
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Preparation is Good, M'kay?
I notice now that when I take steps to prepare, everything else goes better. When I have a scheduled meeting, I prepare first so that I don't wander in and ask, "Hey, what's even going on here?" I am ready to take on my day because I've built a reasonably solid morning ritual (the details of which are pretty much like all the articles you've ever read about such things), and that gets me set up to work and thrive. The more I prep, the better I get.
The more I prep, the better I get.
That's a bit of a mantra I say when I make my bed, when I refill my stupid pill dispenser thingy (I hate that I take 6 pills a day), when I review the past day's work journal, and when I do food prep.
For work, there are several ways to apply it, but I don't do what you do, so you might consider what in your daily work can be augmented by a little prep time. Anything come to mind?
Oh, and the first person who tells me they're too busy to prepare will earn a special level of scorn. ;)
Chris...
Customer Success at Lately. The only social media management platform that creates content FOR you with the power of A.I.
2 年Thank you for sharing. I love the way you think.
Marketing Consultant, Publishing, Research Communications, Associations, Education, EdTech
2 年Out of bed-make the bed. Even if I get back in it on Sat or Sun after a early, long dog walk, I'm on top of the covers and just have to straighten. One-thing-done. Not as rigorous with showering daily, but that's my husband's thing. Habits - quotes about habits here....
Co-Founder
2 年The 6 P's - Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
Nonfiction Business Book Strategist, Developmental Editor, and Co-Writer
2 年Today I am very much "Preparation and Planning Girl," but I wasn't always this way. It's a discipline I acquired over time and now its at the foundation of both my business and personal life. I used to think freedom was doing whatever the heck I wanted without interference from others. But that wasn't working out so well. The lightbulb went on when I read this quote from Paramahansa Yogananda: "Freedom is the power to do what I ought to do when I ought to do it." Huh, right?
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2 年This post reminds me of "I'm Batman, but you can call me Bob." https://youtu.be/FRIMz7ar1LU