Achieve, Heal and Discover Issue #19

A biweekly newsletter for dreamers, builders and creators to achieve (get things done), heal (fix what’s broken) and discover (learn something new).

Today does not have to repeat the ongoing chaos you dealt with yesterday. ‍I advise that you accommodate chaos while allowing control over the flow of your moments. If you are going to strive, you have to dig into how you can best utilize the moments within your days. Here I give you an action plan on how to plan for a day you can win.

There are 3 steps I use to plan for chaotic moments and create resistant days.

Step 1: Separate your day into the moments. (You have no control over time)

Step 2: Identify the objectives for each moment. (Resiliency > Productivity)

Step 3: Write out the instructions for your objective (Follow your mood)

Here is a free template to follow along and complete your own plan (Which also includes a copy of my personal plan on sheet #2).

Below I give you a summary of each step, but if you want to really dig in, check out the full blog post here: https://www.edvardoarcher.com/post/win-the-day-welcome-the-chaos

Step 1. Separate your day into moments

Identify the blocks of hours/minutes that naturally segment your day. (Hint: there are often transitional events that begin and end these moments)

Our plans are always at risk of being foiled by an unexpected emergency. Things can always change. The amount of hours in a day, however, is an absolute variable that will keep moving forward with or without your effort. In order to create a sense of control, it is important that you discard your notion of an hourly agenda for now. Resist the pressure of conquering each moment in your day. The point of this step is not maximum productivity, it is the acceptance of the natural flow of an average day.

Step 2. Identify the objectives for each moment.

What version of you in each moment is the most authentic version of you?

Remember this: Resiliency > Productivity

Productivity is an outcome that we sometimes mistake as a method of work. Resilience, however, is a forethought. It takes into account how one proactively applies effort to strive and not succumb to chaos. In Maya Angelou’s book, A Letter to My Daughter, she best captures this sentiment of resilience in her statement, “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”

In a cursory review of Resilience Studies, three factors show up over and over again

Hope- grounding yourself in a sense of permanency. (I am ok, I will be ok)
People- impacting and being impacted by interpersonal relationships
Story- owning, feeling, reflecting on and move forward within the unexpected moments

As you design your objectives try to ensure they intersect with at least one of these concepts in some way.

Step 3. Write out the instructions for your objective

Remember: Follow indicators from your mood

In planning for our day, a good starting place is understanding how your energy flows throughout the day. Circadian rhythms are a good place to start. Circadian Rhythms basically notes that humans have a well-defined internal clock that shapes our energy levels throughout the day. For example, on average, we get a kick of energy when we wake up, it mellows out around 3pm then we get a second peak around 6pm. This varies depending on the person and their natural sleep cycle but there are patterns.

As you write your instructions, expect that you will have high points and dips in your energy throughout the day. Keeping a diary that notes when you feel the most energized or sluggish can be helpful for learning your rhythm. Ensure your instructions match your patterns; be bold during your high energy moments and more compassionate with yourself during energy dips .

Planning the day then planning the year.

This practice of preparing for chaos resistant days is a part of my annual process for preparing for the year ahead. In my process, I consider the following in order:

Feelings Review -> Prep my day -> Prep my week -> Annual Review

Feelings Review -> Here I review the data I've collected over the year on the changes in my mindset throughout the year. I've been able to compile this information using: https://edvardoarcher.typeform.com/s/moodfirst
Prep my day -> I review the flow of my days and draw out a game plan on how I will approach my days in the new year (covered here)
Prep my week -> I look at how I approach my month and intentionally write out a daily plan on how I will approach my weeks to maximize my time
Annual Review -> I dream big about the 2 or 3 things I want to see this year and revisit my bucket list of items to do before I die

I can also share more thoughts on how I do each of these steps. If you are interested, reply to this email and let me know. 😁

I’m grateful for you!

Edvardo Archer

P.S

Whenever you are ready, I created a course for you: Mood First Productivity: A System to Flow With Your Mood Into Productivity. It will help you build a system so your tasks and objectives can serve your mood and mental state. It's only 20 minutes. You can watch it along with any other course for free with your 30 day trial.

Check it out here: https://skl.sh/3QU9aNf

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