First published 20 May 2019 on Your Best Year Starts Here with Nigel Risner.
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Ben Harris sent this one in from the States. I introduced him as being from Florida, which got Nigel excited about meeting him on his annual Florida trip. Then I remembered Ben had moved to Kansas City or somewhere like that, so that was the end of that. His question was what we use or do to stay organised through the business day.
Nigel's answer gave us the title. He starts his day the night before. Just before bed he writes down three things he wants to get done first thing, so he doesn't slip back into the old routine of tea, a few pages of depressing newspaper, deleting emails and then scrolling social media to see who'd liked or followed him. If he wants something lighter, Channel 4 has Friends and Frasier on in the morning and he starts the day smiling.
For me it starts with a morning routine I do every day, with reading and some meditation, to get my head clear before anything else. After that I block out my week. Client sessions and speaking gigs go in first because they can't move, and then I treat the important jobs like appointments too. I'm honest that I don't always stick to it (there are probably three-year-olds with a bigger attention span than me).
Then I said I use software. Big mistake. 'All the rest of us have a diary, but Neil has software.' It's Trello, and really it's a bunch of lists. Because it lives in the cloud I also got ribbed about the tinternet. I keep a to-do list of one. Do the most important thing, then work out what the next one is.
Nigel's newer idea is putting 'busy' in his diary. He picked a few times next week to catch me out and every one was already taken, which spoiled his demo a bit. His point is that an empty slot looks like it needs filling, so he blocks out a Monday once a month from 9 till 2, plus Friday afternoons. My version is blocking out time to be spontaneous. He also promised to tell us his acronym for PADDLE in a minute. It never came.
The bits worth keeping
- Write down tomorrow's first three jobs before bed, so the morning doesn't start with the news and your notifications.
- Put the fixed stuff in your week first, then book the important jobs in like appointments.
- A to-do list of one. Do the top thing, then pick the next.
- Put 'busy' in your diary so empty slots don't get given away by default.
- 2 to 3pm is a slog for most people. Save easier jobs or a walk for then.
I don't want to be drifting, seeing where the currents take me, and that's what tends to happen if you allow outside forces to direct your day.
Nigel Risner
So there's the one thing that's the most important, and when that's done, what's the one thing that's the most important?
Neil Martin
