Cup of Inspiration

Today’s post reflects on a quote from my Franklin Planner today, October 12^th:

• “If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.” – Thomas J. Watson, Sr.

“I’ll finish that task tomorrow.” “I’ll start on that project next week.” “I’ll start exercising after the new year.” Sound familiar? There are times we do need to schedule work in the future, especially if we don’t have the resources available now, or if we have determined a proper start time after organizing our day and week. However, there are times we put things off just because we don’t want to face it right now. We keep putting it off until we are either rushed to meet a deadline, or we end up never starting in the first place.

Procrastination is a very easy path to follow. It can be too tempting to keep moving that to-do item off to a later hour, off to another day, or even another week. We want to improve ourselves. We want to learn new skills or improve our current skill set. We want to be an exemplary employee, or a successful business owner. Perhaps, though, you are just feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. You’re just in survival mode to get through the day.

Too often we look at everything we want or need to do in a huge block. For example, the person wishing to lose weight may look at their goal of losing fifty pounds. That’s a hurdle that can seem insurmountable, which can deflate the person’s desire to reach a healthier weight. However, if that person breaks that goal down to just five pounds for a start, the hurdle just got a lot smaller. Then, if that person makes themselves do something small that day to work toward that goal, the hurdle just got smaller. Going ahead and taking the stairs instead of the elevator, going for a brief walk during the lunch hour, and skipping that leftover cake in the breakroom in the office can help that person feel a small sense of accomplishment which can carryover the next day, then the next.

You have just been assigned a new project, and you’re feeling overwhelmed. You know there will be a lot of work to do. Today, begin scheduling some time with the stakeholders. Begin working out a preliminary timeline. You don’t have to make any major progress today, but do get started, even if it’s small.

Are you looking for a promotion at work? Think of what you can do to get noticed. Then, think of what you can do today as a step toward that goal. Is there a project you can work on that will show your leadership skills? Today, is there someone you can talk to about becoming part of the project team? Would a display in leadership ability put you at the top of the list when promotions are being looked at later this year? What can you do today to begin showing your leadership abilities?

You have an idea for a business in your mind, but you don’t know where to start. Today, perhaps you can make a list of things you need to research to answer any questions you have about what it would take to set up that business. Today, pull up some articles you can start reading, or schedule an appointment with a financial advisor to walk you through your options for financing.

You don’t have to achieve excellence in one huge step. It can be achieved in a series of small steps, starting today.