3312: Activity Is Not Accomplishment by Carl Pullein on Productivity & Habit Creation

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[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Living Daily.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Activity Is Not Accomplishment by Carl Pullein of carlpullein.com.

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Justin Malik, your very own personal narrator today and every day.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Me narrating means there are no interviews, just a short podcast

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: where we can both improve our lives one day at a time.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_00]: So with that, let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Activity Is Not Accomplishment by Carl Pullein of carlpullein.com.

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I've spent many years using some kind of to-do list to manage my tasks, projects, and time.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Being able to see what I have to do on a list is both satisfying and helpful

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: as it has always given me a view of what needs to be done on any given day.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_00]: However, I have discovered there are to-do lists and then there are great to-do lists.

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Normal to-do lists help you to get things done and contribute towards your feeling of busyness and stress.

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Great to-do lists help you to move your life forward in achieving your life goals,

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_00]: help you feel in complete control of what is important in your life,

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_00]: and give you an overall sense of real accomplishment.

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Normal to-do lists are simply lists of all the things you have identified that need to be done.

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_00]: These could be things like reply to email, prepare the monthly purchase list,

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_00]: or buy dog food on the way home.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Great to-do lists are different.

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Of course, they still contain the things you have to do for that day,

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: but they also focus on an additional component that normal to-do lists ignore

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: and that is the things you want to achieve in your life, both professionally and personally.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: This is why simply having a single list of tasks that you add to when a new task comes in

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_00]: and cross off once a task has been completed is only half the story.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Turning your to-do list into a list that helps you accomplish great things is easy to do.

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: All you need to do is identify three things you could do that day

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_00]: that would have a significant impact on your overall life goals.

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_00]: They do not have to be huge things either.

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_00]: They could be simple tasks that move you forward towards something bigger than just

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER_00]: maintaining your life where it is right now.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, if one of your life goals is to write a book,

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: then sitting down at some point in the day and writing out a character sketch

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_00]: of one of the characters you would like in your book would move you closer to writing a book.

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00]: This type of task might only take 20 minutes,

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: but it does take you closer towards the goal of writing the book you have always wanted to write.

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: You might have a task to go for a 30-minute walk at lunchtime

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00]: and this would take you a little bit closer to losing the 5 kilograms you have planned to lose this year.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_00]: It is these little tasks that soon build up into something significant in your life.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Of course, to do this you need to have identified what is important to you in your life

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: and what you really want to accomplish.

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Not knowing what you want out of life is like embarking on a journey not knowing where you want to go.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_00]: While the adventure might be exciting,

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: there's always a 50-50 chance you'll be disappointed with the destination.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: It's far better to have a clear idea of where you want to go

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_00]: and to have a reasonably good idea of how you are going to get there.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: The journey is just as exciting.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_00]: To identify what is important, you need to take some time to find out.

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I also know as time passes our dreams and goals change

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_00]: and something we identified as a goal last year may no longer be that important to us today.

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_00]: This is fine. Indeed, this is perfectly normal.

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Our goals, aspirations, and dreams will change as we gain more experience in life.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: They change when we get married, they change when we have children,

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00]: and they often change when we change jobs.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Change is an inevitability of life.

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Once you have identified what is really important to you,

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_00]: then you should spend a few minutes at the end of the day to flag the three things you can do tomorrow

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: that will take you a little closer to achieving that goal or dream.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Something as simple as putting $10 in your savings account

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: would take you a little closer to buying the Jaguar F-Type you dream of owning.

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Or setting aside one hour at the end of the day to spend with your daughter

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_00]: would give you some of that quality time you keep promising you would have with your daughter.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Too often, we confuse ticking off a lot of tasks on a to-do list with accomplishment.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But the truth is, if those tasks do not move you closer to your goals and dreams,

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: then you're not accomplishing very much at all.

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: These tasks might help you keep your life where it is right now,

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_00]: but I'm sure you want far more from your life than to stay where you are right now.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: To change that, make sure each day you have at least two or three things on your list that are flagged

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00]: and drive you towards your goals and dreams.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Doing this means you're accomplishing significant things every single day,

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: and before long you have what you want out of life.

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Writing 500 words every day for your book

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: means you will have written a 60,000-word novel in a little over four months.

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Not bad at all, I'm sure you'll agree.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_00]: You can test this out this week.

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_00]: What is on your mind that you want to change about you?

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Now add a task each day to your task list that takes you closer to that change.

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Doing a simple task each day for a whole week

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: would take you significantly closer to the outcome you desire.

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: This could be something like repairing a damaged friendship.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: You could start with texting an apology and asking if you could talk.

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Making that first contact could change everything.

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_00]: If it does not, you could try something else.

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Or it could be doing some online research into a master's degree course you would like to take,

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: finding out which universities do the course

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_00]: and whether or not they offer a correspondence course.

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_00]: All these little things take you closer to your desired outcome.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: I believe anything is possible.

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_00]: If we put our mind to it and do something that takes us towards that outcome every day.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_00]: You just need to identify what that something is

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: and make sure it is on your daily to-do list and is flagged.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Set aside some time this week to have a think about your long-term goals

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: and see what you can do each day that will bring these goals closer to achievement.

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_00]: This is a far better way of using a to-do list than the regular way most people use their to-do lists.

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Lists of stuff they have to do just to stay where they are today.

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Start turning your activity into accomplishment.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Activity is not Accomplishment by Karl Pauline of KarlPauline.com

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you to Karl.

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_00]: He's narrated more often over on Optimal Work Daily

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: so you can check out that show for more from him.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure we've both had that feeling where we crossed off a bunch of tasks and felt productive

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_00]: only to realize at the end of the day that we haven't really moved forward in any significant way.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_00]: We feel like we're in the same spot really.

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think I'm the only one.

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_00]: It could feel great in the moment though to cross something off

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_00]: but then longer term it can feel a bit empty.

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Like he said, I think we have to first know what's actually important for us.

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of like minimalism.

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_00]: It's all about figuring out what truly matters and then letting go of the rest.

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And then if you have that down, I think the tip to write three things each day

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: that move you closer to your goals is a great place to start.

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_00]: If it's too much just write down one.

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_00]: It's better than nothing.

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_00]: For me, it's usually some type of exercise whether physical or mental like meditation

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_00]: and putting it on the calendar makes it so much more likely to happen.

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I highly recommend trying that if you're not already.

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Let me know what works for you.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for being here every day.

[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Have a great weekend and I'll catch you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.