Back firefighting again?

Do you start the week with great intentions? Those ‘big rocks’ are in the jar first and you have time blocked out to work on your most important goals.

But by Wednesday you’re back in firefighting mode.

Why is this?

Several reasons.

Let’s look at two reasons and two solutions.

Reason 1

Your habits ‘encourage’ firefighting.

Diving into emails first thing is what you do. On autopilot.  So you’re on the back foot for the rest of the day. By Wednesday you’re behind on everything.

The solution? Replace your ‘first thing in the morning’ habit. Decide that at 8.30 each morning you will spend five minutes listing your priorities for the day.

Why does this work? It’s very specific. When you start a new habit, it should be as easy as possible to do. Five minutes is all you need. Put a post-it somewhere to remind you.

Reason 2

Your environment ‘encourages’ firefighting.

There’s physical clutter and there’s the ‘clutter’ of constant interruptions and ‘have you got a minute’ requests. So tiring for your brain.

The solution? Two to start. Turn off all those pinging notifications. Get used to saying, ‘I’m not available right now.’

Start there.  Keep it simple.

Here’s to your success.