The Daily Execution
Welcome back to this mini-series, From Vision to Execution. We have arrived at Step 5: The Daily Execution. This brings the entire process full circle and connects the actions and activities you take every day with your vision.
For those of you just joining us, here’s a list of the prior steps. Click on each step to get all the details and catch up. The process starts with getting clear on your WHY and ends with daily actions that align with your goals and move you forward step-by-step.
The 5 steps are:
Step 1: The Vision Thing – also frequently referred to as Your WHY
Step 2: The Parts & Pieces – think of these are your big 3 goals and make those goals S.M.A.R.T.
Step 3: The Key Assumptions – how much time and what resources are required to achieve those goals
Step 4: The Tactical Plan – put each major task on the calendar using color coded post-it notes
Step 5: The Daily Execution (we are here!)
Are you ready to dive in? For this step in the process, I use my daily planner. I love Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner because it’s beautifully organized and keeps everything I need in one place. If you already have a planner, keep using it until the pages run out and then explore the Full Focus Planner for the next portion of the year.
“To accomplish our goals, we must distill our dreams into daily actions” – Michael Hyatt
That’s the quote at the beginning of Michael’s planner and I agree with him. Your planner keeps track of your goals, is a place where you can set deadlines, and is a key resource for you to plan out each day.
There are special sections for your annual goals and goal details. There are month-at-a-glance blank calendars so that you can set deadlines. There is even a section for your daily rituals. For more on daily rituals, go back and read my blog, The Benefits of Rituals.
Daily Pages
The best way to start is to jump right to the daily pages. The key here is to pick what Michael calls “your daily big 3”. These are your three most important tasks. Let’s take a minute and talk about why picking 3 works so well. Have you ever created a “to do” list that’s pages and pages long? And does your daily task list usually include a dozen or more things on it? The problem with that is, most of the time, you don’t get everything done. You check some things off the list but you’re left feeling dissatisfied because there are so many items that didn’t get done. How about instead, pick just 3 important tasks, using your goals as the key filter for your decision making, and list those 3.
It may take some practice to write down “tasks” instead of entire multi-step projects. Let’s use an example to bring this to life. Many of you have said that building your website is a key goal this year. That’s a multi-step project so don’t write: “work on my website” as one of your daily big 3. Instead, write down “register my domain name” or “sign up for squarespace.com” or “watch one training video on how to use templates in squarespace” as key tasks. The task needs to be finite, something you can check off at the end of the day.
Weekly Preview
One of the other things I like about Michael’s planner is the Weekly Preview section. It’s both a look back at what you accomplished in the prior week and a look forward to set yourself up for success in the next. The idea is to recognize your biggest wins and build on the momentum from week to week. I talk about the need to celebrate your accomplishments a lot. We need that pat on the back and the encouragement that we are moving forward. You are making progress. You are gaining momentum every day.
The Weekly Preview includes an additional section on self-care that gives you space to write down additional mini-goals that you might have around sleep, eating, exercise, connecting with others, and finding time to relax. You can decide how much of this entire section you want to complete each week.
As you know, I like to keep things really simple so I focus on what’s most important. Taking the time to plan out your week in advance goes a long way to setting you up for a successful week. For me, this process reminds me every week what my goals are and the specific things that I’m doing to accomplish them. One step at a time.
Now it’s your turn. Sit down in front of your wall calendar and review all the tasks that you placed on it last week. Take out your planner and start the process of identifying your “daily big 3” for the coming week. You don’t have to wait for Monday to get started. Do it now and let me know how it’s going.
I hope you enjoyed this mini-series, From Vision To Execution. I developed this 5-step process last year and it’s been working really well for me. I enjoy each step because I’m both a visual person and a planner. I love post-it notes and the flexibility they give us to move things around and the eye-popping clarity that color coding represents. And I need the daily satisfaction of crossing tasks off my list, especially when I’m confident that they are moving me closer and closer to my goals.
I’ll be LIVE on Wednesday, as always, at noon pacific time on my Facebook page, Anne LaFollette Art to talk about this and answer your questions. I can’t wait to see you there.
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
