The Best 4 Ways to Structure Your Day and Accomplish Your Goals

I went from feeling overwhelmed to living with structure and clarity after putting specific routines into place. I’ll share with you how to do this.

Since the start of Coronavirus the world has been striving to understand, cope and adapt to the subsequent necessary changes. I find these words from Bruce Lee helpful…‘To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities’. 

Are you feeling overwhelmed living in our current climate? Are you trying to successfully juggle:

• Working from home
• Homeschooling your children
• Focusing on your mental well-being
• Keeping yourself physically fit

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Based on conversations I’ve had with friends and work associates, many people are busier now than they were during our previous ‘normal’ living environment. One might think that with the economy slowing, peoples’ jobs have slowed down too. Not necessarily so. A great deal of focus and energy is being put into new ways of working.  This is what we need to do, not only to survive, but to evolve.

Changes we’ve been making:

• Pondering what we can move online
• Learning to use Zoom/ WebEx / BlueJeans confidently
• Searching for opportunities
• Upskilling ourselves with Udemy / Coursera / edX

Do you have a daily structure? Do you know what you need to do and when? How do you reward yourself? This will set you on the right path:

Self-care

In airline safety videos we’re told to put on our own oxygen mask before helping others, this analogy holds true in other aspects of life. What do you need to start, stop or continue doing to facilitate looking after yourself?

1. SLEEP – You will have read this many times before, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to get your appropriate quota of sleep: 7 to 9 hours is the recommended amount for adults. Get to bed, and get up, at the same time each day, or as close to it as you can.

2. EXERCISE – We all know that exercise is beneficial. What’s key is finding what type of exercise works for you and your routine. If it doesn’t interest you it’ll be much harder to exercise consistently. Even a daily 20-minute walk is beneficial.

3. EAT A BALANCED DIET – Trying to make significant changes all in one go can be challenging. Choose some bite-size modifications: have one cafe latte rather than two in a day; switch to skimmed milk; have smaller meal portions; add extra vegetables, have a smaller bar of chocolate, eat earlier in the evening. Just choose one to start working on…what option would work for you?

Routine

Your body and mind love routine – it optimises performance.

1. MEDITATE – Even 10 minutes a day can make a positive difference to your well-being. Some people prefer to meditate in the morning, others in the evening. Choose the option which suits you best. There are myriad meditation audios and videos to select from.
2. JOURNAL – Each day, take 5-10 minutes to reflect, and write down, how you feel, what you learnt that day, what you did well, what you would have done differently and what you’re grateful for.
3. READ – On paper. Neuroscience has revealed that we use different parts of the brain when we read on paper as opposed to screens. Reading on paper triggers ‘deep reading’, which fully immerses us and allows for greater discovery, insight and openness to transformation.

News and Social Media

There is enough news about Coronavirus to fill your day 24/7. Be selective.

1. NOTIFICATIONS – Be in control of how you consume news. Switch off those which are not serving you well. It can be a huge distraction, taking you away from what you really need to be doing.
2. FAKE NEWS – There is plenty of it circulating, so be aware. Choose two or three reputable news sites to go to for your daily updates.
3. TIME ALLOWANCE – Set how long you are prepared to spend watching the news and reading articles. Stick to your timeframe otherwise it is easy to be drawn into the online vacuum.

Re-framing

‘Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right’. Henry Ford

Try changing your perspective. What if you take the ‘glass half full’ approach?

1. FEAR – sometimes being afraid is what keeps you stuck in a story which doesn’t serve you. What could be the root cause of your fear? Try stepping out of your comfort zone. Just one small step. Be courageous!
2. PAUSE – Take a long, deep, breath. Pausing is powerful. Especially in the busy and fast world in which we live. Use the slow, flow, grow approach. Slow down your body and mind to create space for balancing the challenge and skills needed for the task. This will lead you to being in flow, a state of effortlessness and ease, which will allow your growth into a different mindset…a positive perspective.
3. CONNECTION – The production of endorphins makes you feel cheerful and better able to deal with challenges and to stay positive and optimistic. Connecting with nature and engaging with friends and family elevates your happy hormones. As does caring, showing kindness and giving to others.

‘If you want something, give it’. Deepak Chopra

Go ahead and make a plan for yourself. Use what I’ve shared above and develop your own personalised routine which isn’t a chore, but something you get excited about following. Pick and choose a combination of what you’d like to add. There’s something quite powerful about feeling in control of your life. I hope you enjoy the process!

In this article Dr Hannah Sugarman explains how to manage your wellbeing during uncertain times.

Linda Sim is an Executive Coach, Trainer and Facilitator at Strive Consulting Hong Kong. She has 24 years’ experience in Sales & Marketing, eCommerce and Loyalty, across Aviation, Hospitality and Charities over 4 Continents.  Linda is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF), an Accredited Coach with the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership (IECL) and a member of the Hong Kong International Coaching Community (HKICC). You can connect with Linda on LinkedIn here.

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