It’s been awhile since I’ve had a guest around these parts, but I’m happy to welcome back my friend Claire Diaz-Ortiz sharing about her new book today that releases today! Wise words to make the most of our lives. We all want to look back and have led a life that is full and hopeful, and Claire has some pretty neat practices that are simple enough to help us pinpoint just how we make sure we’re living the life that we want!
Thanks Claire for popping by!
The concept of evaluating your days is not new. Many productivity gurus tout its wisdom, and emphasize its place in our lives. It works because it makes sense. It’s a small thing you can do that makes a big difference.
If we don’t have a goal, we’ll never get where we want to go. And if we don’t stop and evaluate where we are, we’ll never know if we’re there.
In the spirit of small life hacks that make a big difference, I can’t stress enough the importance of looking back and asking:
What was the best thing I did today?
You might be intrigued, and surprised, by some of the answers. Yes, it might be the obvious: “When I ate chocolate ice cream,” or “When I watched the game.”
But it might also be something more unexpected. “When I read for five minutes in the waiting room,” or “When I was running and it started raining,” or “When I played with my daughter when she woke up at three a.m..” Whatever it is, this question aims to help you figure out if you can do more of that thing in order to make every day better.
Now, I don’t stop there, and I typically go further to ask another question:
What was the best thing I did last week?
And,
What was the best thing I did last month?
If you ask yourself these simple questions, you’re bound to find out some unexpected, and illuminating things about yourself and the ways you spend your time. Most important, you’ll see some guideposts to how you should be better spending your time in the future. I’m a fan for doing this with great regularity, and what I find most amazing about this practice is that it isn’t hard or scientific, but it is immediately rewarding.
By simply looking at a week’s worth of days tracked, I can see what it is that I like doing most, and what I should be doing more of. By expanding that – and looking at a whole month’s worth – I learn even more. How am I really spending my days and how to I want to be spending them better?
Simple tracking can lead to simple changes.
About Claire
Claire Diaz-Ortiz is an author, speaker and Silicon Valley innovator who was an early employee at Twitter. Named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company, she holds an MBA and other degrees from Stanford and Oxford and has been featured widely in print and broadcast media. She writes a popular blog at ClaireDiazOrtiz.com and is the author of several books. The above is an adapted excerpt from her latest book, The Better Life: Small Things You Can Do Right Where You Are.
Leave a Reply