How You Do One Thing is How You Do Everything
Becoming aware of that simple fact is the key to supercharging your productivity.
Sometimes my alarm will ring in the morning and I’ll leap right out of bed, make breakfast, head into to my office and have my entire to-do list polished off in a couple of hours.
And on other days, I’ll snooze my alarm, vegetate amongst my bedsheets and scroll through social media for hours — and then spend the rest of the day doing nothing.
Of course, it’s okay to do nothing. I’ve never believed in this cult of extreme productivity, of working yourself to the brink of burnout. We all need rest, and it’s fine to be lazy sometimes. But only in moderation.
Back to the point — I firmly believe that the way you start your day sets the tone of the rest of it. Getting up early puts you in the kind of mindset that says, I know I need to do this thing today, so I’m going to do it. Staying in and stagnating, on the other hand, puts you in the I know I need to do this thing today, and I should probably get up and do it, but I’m going to stay in bed anyway frame of mind.
If you’re snoozing your alarms for hours on a regular basis, you’re probably also going to be pushing back your deadlines, skipping workouts and putting a hold on the rest of your long-term goals.
Why? Because, in the words of Tobi Atkins,
“The way a person does one thing is the way they do everything”
Begin to notice how you approach these seemingly menial daily tasks. If you rush through everything, notice that. If you give each task only half of your efforts, become aware of that, too. Then, notice patterns in your behaviour. And, as you do, work to correct unhealthy patterns where necessary.
After all, how you do one thing is how you do everything - so start doing things a little better.