LEADS the day is a great way of creating specific, realistic expectations for your day. It is easy to do, takes a maximum of 15 minutes to do each day – even on the busiest of days to be, it often takes me less than 5 minutes to do it. Do LEADS the day, fresh each day – get real – get purposeful – get results. Savour the pleasure of your flexible, responsive, focussed efficiency.
- List the things [outcomes and/or tasks]
- Estimate
- Allow for the unexpected
- Decide on priorities
- Scan list at close of day
In my experience, through doing LEADS the day I am inspired to set realistic expectations. I am creating my day’s agenda Today. I am blending items from the world of demands. Add those things together, and I ‘get purposeful’, using my energy and time effectively, focus with clarity on intentions for the day. At the end of day Scan, I get useful insight on the ‘not done’ stuff whose time got hijacked by the unexpected, and get a buzz from noting my achievements. Each day starts fresh.
| List | Demands on your time and energy come from lots of places, some of which you can predict like your To Do lists, Projects, scheduled Appointments and such. |
| Estimate | Make an educated guess at quite how much effort and time this piece of work will take. |
| Allow | In real life, we all know that the unexpected happens [best laid plans of mice ‘n men, ‘n all that]. The unexpected is predictable in the sense that you just know such stuff always comes up – unpredictable in the sense that we do not know, specifically, quite what it will be. |
| Decide | REMEMBER – this is about Todays’s priorities rather than priorities in the overall scheme of life! |
| Scan | At the end of the day, scan your list – timely reminder if anything critical is still outstanding. Note the items ‘not done’ and learn from the experience of the unexpected taking priority. Note the items you have done, and take the greatest pleasure in declaring the DONE! |
