go offline Friday through Monday.
I use an auto-responder that lets
people know I’ll get back to them on
Tuesday.
Sometimes I do “work” on
Mondays, but there’s no obligation.
I’ve just come to understand that
when I feel obligated on a Monday, I
become resentful toward myself and
the person I think is making me feel
obligated. Because I travel so much
on weekends, I need Monday for
myself and my family.
I’m learning most people can
meet with me Tuesday, Wednesday,
or Thursday between nine and four.
If they can’t, I have to determine
whether it’s important enough to
interrupt my schedule. Most of the
time it’s not.
Being available for only three days
a week keeps me focused on my
values. When I was available every
day of the week, whenever someone
wanted something, I said yes
because I thought to myself, I should
be able to fit it in somewhere! Now
that I’m down to three days, I think,
No way that’s going to fit this week.
This is the most concrete way I live
out pre-deciding and my Personal
Manifesto.
I would encourage you to define
your days of the week. What day will
be put aside for day of rest. (Not if
there will be a day, but which day.)
Which day will be dedicated to
making the rest of your life run. (If you
have little kids at home, this may be
more than one day.)
This gives you the ability to
purposefully put off things. When
we have no plan, we can end up
dashing to the store every time we
run out of something. But with the
well-defined week, I know I’m going
to the store on Monday and shop
for an entire week at a time. (Some
of you will need to shop a couple
of times a week; but still, know what
days you go.)
I also know I go to the post office,
dry cleaners, Office Depot, and Target
on Monday. I don’t spend a lot of
time during the week running around.
I have a plan, and I work my plan.
What could you purposefully put
off today and do on your errand
day instead? Yes, until you get your
rhythm down you may run out of milk
a day early, but it’s a small price to
pay for feeling less overwhelmed and
more intentional.
The Value of a Well-Defined Work Day
You need a beginning and an end
to each work day. And you need to
know what you do best during each
time of day.
My first couple of hours of every
work day have to be for writing and
other “thoughtful” pursuits, because
that’s when I’m most creative,
focused, and on top of it. (Which is
amazing, because I’ve been a night
owl all my life. I finally had to train
Solutions 67