It’s an I Did It Day!
We all have things that we procrastinate over. The prospecting calls we don't want to make…putting off cleaning out the attic or the garage…our office desk areas, which just seem to grow files all by itself…the back seat of our cars…picking up the phone to call an old friend or family member we haven’t spoken to in years…need I go on?
By not doing or completing these tasks, you feel like you haven't achieved anything for the day and seem like they take up far too much guilt space in your head. They can even keep you from doing the things you really want to do. Have you ever said you couldn't do something with friends because you had 'xyz' to do in the weekend and then when Monday arrived you hadn't even touched the project, even though you spent the whole of Saturday and Sunday dreading it?
This is where an “I.D.I. Day” comes in.
Here’s how it works: You find 2 other people to join in the challenge and do a 3-way call. On the first call, you each state what tasks you’re going to complete that day. You also state which tasks you’re going to complete within the first hour. At the top of each hour, the 3 of you share your results of that past hour and what you plan to achieve in the following hour. Then you all hang up and attempt to get as much done as possible. The next hour, you’ll check in by sharing what you've completed and then what you plan to do next hour. You'll continue this until the last hour listed in the schedule is over.
The first time you do this challenge, I wouldn’t go for eight hours. I’d do it for 3 hours, say from 9:00am – 12:00 noon or from 1:00pm – 4:00pm.
You can use this day to work on anything you need to get done, from business to household chores, planning budgets to making up with people we need to make peace with. It's a great way to get some things done and a lot more fun when you know other people are doing the same. And, as everyone knows who has participated in an I.D.I.Day, the time goes by very quickly!
Don’t overcomplicate the tasks you want to achieve! Whatever you’ve been putting off for weeks or months, whether business or personal stuff, write down the items you really want to complete that will help you reduce your tolerations list and/or improve your business. What things do you think about on a daily or weekly basis that if you just did them, would make you feel better? You may end up doing several things during an hour or have one big thing to complete.
Remember, it’s not a competition among each other as much as it is with yourself to do more in less time. Don’t take on something that would take more than an hour to complete. Break it down into smaller bites that you can finish in less than an hour.
If you would like to raise the level of intensity to the challenge, you can even add a fine of say $10 or $20 that you pay the other 2 people, for each hour that you don’t complete your assigned task.
At the end of the I.D.I. Day, you’ll feel like you really accomplished something and feel good about yourself. You may even want to play the challenge more than once.
