How to feel more accomplished at the
end of the day
Chances are good that you are getting
more done than you think. Here are five steps you can take to end each day with
a feeling of accomplishment.
At the end of the workday, do you get in your car or sit on the
train and mentally run through the list of things you got done? Feeling a sense
of accomplishment is an important part of our sense of self-worth. Beating up
on yourself because you think you could have accomplished more can dent your
confidence and self-esteem and leave you feeling depleted at the end of the
day.
Maybe you could have used the hours in your day more effectively
and accomplished more on your to-do list, but you probably accomplished more
than you think.
Try these five tips to help end your day feeling more
accomplished.
1. BREAK DOWN
YOUR GOALS
If your goals are too big to accomplish in one day, you are more
likely to suffer from feeling unaccomplished because there’s simply no way to
get that item crossed off your list quickly enough. Jamie Gruman, psychologist
and author of Boost: The
Science of Recharging Yourself in an Age of Unrelenting Demands, says
breaking down goals into sub-goals can demonstrate that you’ve made progress.
“Establishing sub-goals will make you feel more confident and on track because
you’re genuinely making progress, and you can track that progress,” says
Gruman.
If you’re starting the day with the goal of creating a PowerPoint
presentation, for example, that might be too large of a goal to get done in one
day. Instead, start by identifying all the steps you’ll need to take to reach
that goal. The first step might be to establish content. You might break that
step down into brainstorming thoughts on the topic, researching the topic, and
asking other people for their thoughts and input. You might not have written
out all the content you need for the presentation by the end of the day, but
you can probably check off researching and brainstorming, allowing you to show
yourself that you have in fact accomplished something.
2. JOURNAL
YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
One of the reasons we tend to feel unaccomplished at the end of
the day is because we simply forget all that we’ve done. Make note of the tasks
you’ve completed during the day, and those you’ve made progress on. Gruman
advises not to focus solely on performance goals (those tasks that you can
check off the list), but to consider learning goals as well. This is especially
important if you’re working on something new to you. “If you’re learning how to
put a PowerPoint presentation together, your goal shouldn’t be to put together
the presentation, it should be learning how to use PowerPoint,” he says.
When focusing on learning goals, instead of writing down all the
tasks you accomplished, write down the things you know at the end of the day
that you didn’t know that morning.
3. SAVE AN
EASY TASK FOR TOMORROW
When nearing the end of the day, Gruman likes to pick an item
still on his to-do list that will take no longer than 15 minutes and move it to
the top of the next day’s to-do list. “When I start the next day, I can easily
zoom into that task and have an accomplishment,” he says.
Starting the day intentionally with an easy task also helps to get
your momentum going for the day and means you don’t have to waste time in the
morning thinking about what you’re going to tackle first. You already have a
task waiting for you that you know will be easy to check off.
4. ASK FOR
FEEDBACK
Feedback is the best way to get clarification on whether you’re
making progress toward a goal. Seek feedback from your boss, coworkers, or
clients. Often, we think we aren’t making enough progress, but the people around
us believe that we’re killing it. Asking others how they think you’re doing is
a great way to get clarity on your progress.
5. BE KIND TO
YOURSELF AND RE-GOAL IF NECESSARY
If you find yourself often overwhelmed by the number of tasks
still left to do on your to-do list at the end of the day, it’s possible that
you need to spread those tasks out over a longer period of time, or spend some
time re-examining your goals. If you had to take a day off to care for a sick
child, for example, reorganize your goals for the week and move things to the
next week. “We often plan things in the abstract, the perfect world, but we
don’t execute them in the perfect world,” says Gruman. Practice self-compassion
and realize that you can modify your goals.
BY LISA
EVANS
https://www.fastcompany.com/90288901/5-ways-to-feel-more-accomplished-at-the-end-of-each-day?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Fast%20Company%20Daily&position=6&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=01142019
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