How to Get the Most Out of Your Day

How to Get the Most Out of Your Day

In order to get the most out of your day and out of your life, you need to see life as a journey.

Imagine that you are embarking on endless travels for the next 10 to 30 years. You are set to go and your bags are already packed.

Now stop for a minute and ask yourself the following rhetorical questions:

1.       Where do you want to go?

2.       How quickly do you want to go on your journey?

3.       How many shortcuts are you willing to take before you get to your destination?

4.       Finally, how do you intend to manage the little or no resources that you have?

In my opinion, life is a journey and you need to know your destination, for your life to have meaning or for you to celebrate success.

So imagine that you were embarking on a trip and you don’t have a map, you don’t have a tour guide or interestingly you are travelling to an Island that doesn’t exist.

What do you think would happen to your expedition?

It would probably not start or you would be going round in circles.

This description typically fits over 90% of the world population who live day to day without a daily goal or a plan of action of how to live their day to day life.

If you find yourself in this category of people who don’t plan their day or have goals that they accomplish on a regular basis, then you need to do the following:

1.       Know what you want.

As a child, I started reading newspapers at the age of six.

I knew that I wanted to be a well-rounded universal scholar, especially after studying about Alexander Van Humboldt and Carl Ritter (the first chair in geography at the University of Berlin who achieved the status of professor extraordinarious in 1825.)

Reading helped me to become universal and studying geography taught me to learn a lot about countries that I have never traveled to in my life time.

In order to get the most of life, you must know your destination and plan how you to intend to enjoy the ride. 

So, you must know what you want out of life and you must work towards your plan every day until you get to your destination.

2.       Pray Everyday

I believe that in life we must Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH)

Prayer is omnipotent and little wonder that some people pray 6 times in a day, some people pray all day and some people’s life is an embodiment of prayers at all time.

I liken prayer to be a compass that guides you on your daily journey.

So endeavor to pray every day before you move out on a daily basis.

3.       Meditate

I usually call this process “my period of internal dialogue” or “The man in the mirror moment”

For 15 years running, without fail, I wake up every morning between 4 am to 7 am to pray (30 minutes) and meditate (30 minutes)

These periods are man’s finest hours because that time is the best time to read and write my articles. At that time, the human brain is also free and uncluttered from the stress of yesterday.

So wake up every day to pray, meditate and plan.

4.       Write your To-Do-List

There is always a sticky note in my laptop bag. I installed sticky notes on my laptop.

During meditations, I write down thoughts and right after, I write my daily to do list.

I schedule my training engagements and travels on Google calendar and it helps me with the task of remembering these dates one week before and even 30 minutes to the event.

Even when I don’t have access to the internet, Google Calendar on my phone reminds me of the event.

It is very important that you write a daily list of things to do, even when you don’t accomplish them, it helps you stay focused and even enables you to say no to interruptions and distractions.

5.       Read Your Daily Affirmations

I have had to keep a book of affirmations, because I have realized that in life, we are surrounded by too many pessimists. The world is surrounded by too many people who believe that it can’t be done.

I can’t imagine what the world would have been like if the Wright brothers, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Mary Slessor and Aliko Dangote had listened to those who said it can’t be done.

I believe these great people had daily affirmations with themselves.

So I have chosen to believe that I can do it and that is why every day I read my affirmations which include:

I am the Captain of my Soul. 

I will fulfill my dreams.

Everything I do or touch turns to Gold.

I will always be happy, no matter the situation or the challenge that I am going through.

I am always at the right place at the right time.

These affirmations have kept me going for two decades and will continue till I pass.

6.       Get to Work

Finally, after all said and done, I get to work and ensure that I put in all the best of my abilities to deliver on the target set for the day.

7.       Evaluate

As I wind down for the day, I evaluate myself before going to bed, and I ask myself if my action today has helped to empower people and make them better.

After which, I close my day with Mary Anne Radmacher’s quote which says that:

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’ ”