This year I’ve decided to set myself up for success. More importantly, I’m defining success before I start to go after it. I’m using something called the daily 5.
These are the 5 things that I need to do every day to ensure that my day is successful.
You see I’m the type of person who never rests. Some may call it a busybody, workaholic, or just an entrepreneur. No matter which way you slice it, the end effect is the same.
I never take time to celebrate my wins.
Which means I’m never really feeling like I’ve accomplished anything.
It’s a weird thing. The more I get done, the longer the “To-Do” list gets and the harder it is for me to feel like I’m making progress.
Does this make any sense to you?
So to give myself the succesful edge. I’ve decided to create a daily 5 so I could find success (and peace of mind) every day.
What is the Daily 5?
I’m not sure if I’m inventing this, or if my swiss cheese brain is using this from somewhere else. But here is what the daily 5 looks like.
It’s 5 tasks you do on a daily basis to feel like you have accomplished something in your day and moved your life forward.
A lot of days can pass and you feel like you haven’t really done anything of value.
This way you know you have accomplished important tasks in your life.
The areas of your Daily 5
These are areas you can choose to focus on and find your success. For me they are:
- Wealth
- Mind
- Body
- Soul
- Family
Here’s an example of the Daily 5 in Action
What you put in your daily 5 will be entirely up to you, but what’s important is that you view these items as key things you must do every day.
Wealth
For me this means, checking in with my numbers on Tiller and then classifying anything that needs to be dealt with. That or I get the daily email update and look it over. I also look at our bank and investment accounts to see what, if anything, needs to happen.
If there is money that needs to be moved around, or spending that needs to be reviewed, then it’s done then and there. It takes me less than 2 minutes a day.
A different one that I have added is making sure I do something in my businesses every day. This is a challenge some days as things get busy. But it’s worth it.
Check out Tiller’s Free Trial here.
Mind
I’ve flirted with meditation over the years. My biggest issue with meditation is that I have no clue if I’m doing it right. That’s unti l discovered the Muse Headband and App. Since then I’ve been able to keep a regular meditiation practice and I’ve seen great improvements in my mental state in doing this
The MUSE headband keeps track of my sessions and I love it. It provides me instant feedback while I meditate and let’s me know when I achieve a calm state by cuing in gentle bird noises with the ambient background white noises I select.
More importantly it keeps track of my brainwaves, lengths of meditation, and moments of peace and tranquility. All of these things make for a better brain.
If you aren’t into mediation, you can always just take 5 minutes to yourself to check out and think about you and what you need right now. I’m always checking in and asking myself what do I need to improve my life at the moment (often it’s coffee)
Check out the Muse Headband here.
Body
My goal here is to be active for 30 minutes every day. No matter what we should all be getting 30 minutes of exercise a day. But it’s hard to book that off in the middle of the day, or the evening when you are shuttling kids around. So I make a point to do it first thing in the morning, or in smaller chunks through out the day.
Whether it’s sports, running or just going outside for a walk.
Personally, I let this one slip more than I care to admit. So I’m making this a priority for myself this year.
Taking care of your body is just a good practice. This can be exercise, clean eating. drinking enough water, getting enough sleep every night. The list goes on and on.
Pick one that you would like to see happen in your life on a consistent basis and watch your life get transformed by the consistency.
I’m starting with walking and water, and once that habit is entrenched (meaning I no longer think about doing it) I’ll add something new to the mix.
Soul
This is anything that nurtures who you are.
Personally I love to read and write. This helps my creativity and gives me a feeling of peace.
It’s hard to explain.
Lately I’ve gotten away from this.
A new one I plan to add is playing guitar and singing every day. Singing and playing guitar was my passion growing up and I’ve been wanting to add it back in my life on a more permanent basis.
Bottom line; pick something that nurtures you and who you are at heart. This is probably the most personal one you will have but it’s important to take care of you and who you are at your core
Family
This one is last, but definitely not least.
I love spending time as a family. One way or another I like to make sure we have taken some time together to talk and connect.
Usually I do this in the morning over breakfast, and again at dinner, when we are all there.
But I make a point of connecting a litle bit with every member of the house to check in and see how their lives are going that day.
Is it simple? Yes. Is it easy? Not as much as you would think but it’s worth it.
What A Daily 5 Looks Like In Practice
If you are looking at this and think “That’s great but I don’t have time to do this” you are exactly the person who needs it.
Look I’ll be honest wtih you.
Your life is passing you by. Grabbing a hold of these 5 things doesn’t have to be hard.
In fact, once you start to give yourself permission to fit these things into your life on a daily basis, you will see that your life improves and gives your days more purpose.
Here’s how I put my Daily 5 into practice.
Every day I wake up early. I have my own “me” time to drink coffee, read some of my book and mediate with my Muse headband (nurturing both my mind and soul).
Then I go for a walk before the rest of the house is up. Doing this I think about the things I need to do with my day. When I have a plan set, I listen to a podcast, or some music to get me pumped about the day ahead. (This takes care of body).
When I get home I make my family breakfast and check in to see how everyone is doing. I’ll do this again when everyone is home at night. Mornings are usually ok, but it’s after school and work, where the weight of the world starts to show a little bit and that’s when they need a pair of ears to listen to them (This takes care of my family).
Finally I’ll check my email, or open up Tiller and see how we are doing with our budget and spending for the month. If anything is getting near the limits. I’ll talk about it with my wife and make sure that we are on track and see if we need to cut back on anything.
An Alternate, Faster, Way to Your Daily 5
If I’m short on time, I can take my coffee with me and listen to an audiobook while I walk. This can take care of 4 of the 5 daily things all at once. Then when work is over, I’ll take out my Muse headband and use that 3-20 minutes to transition out of work mode, to family mode. This leaves checking in with my family and looking over any transactions in Tiller, until later on in the day.
That’s the Daily 5
This might feel like you are checking off boxes at first. In a way you are, but more importantly you are getting to take care of the things that matter most in your life.
Share this so others can achieve personal success!
