What is the first thing you do each morning? No, smart aleck, I mean AFTER you hit your computer’s on button.
I’ll bet you connect to the Internet and check your email. If you don’t, you have way too much self discipline and maybe you should consider therapy. For those of you who HAVE to have your morning fix — reading email while you sip your java, tea or mineral spring water — this little hint is going to make your day. Or, to be more exact, make your night.
Being an extremely busy person, I tend to organize tasks I hate into less disagreeable forms. And, one of the tasks I hate is making “to do” lists. Others might call them “goal” lists. Whatever words are used, they are a royal pain.
Why? Because by the mere act of writing them out, these “jobs” have taken on importance and must get done or I get the guilts. So I developed my “email your brain to tomorrow” concept.
This concept came to me one night before going to bed. My brain was filled with the day’s business and I knew, if I didn’t clear it, I would have trouble getting to sleep.
Since I was already in my email software program, I hit the compose button and started writing out what I needed to do the next day. The more I wrote, the more relaxed I became because I was clearing my mind. After I was finished, I sent the email to myself and shut down my computer.
The next morning (after a very peaceful night’s sleep), there was my email waiting for me to print out. Instead of my having to think about what to do first thing in the morning — which is an impossibility without at least three cups of coffee — my day was planned.
Surprisingly, this helped me dig right in on what needed to be done without wasting valuable time. I left the email on my computer and that night I hit the reply to button, took off what I had accomplished that day and added more for the next day thus clearing my mind again.
Pretty soon this became a regular thing and I found I no longer hated “to do/goal lists” because by “emailing my brain to tomorrow,” I could enjoy the rest of the evening without guilt.
So try my technique before you shut down your computer and see, if you too, don’t receive the same benefits. Sure you could use a program where you input this stuff or even a text editor, but your email program is so much more convenient. Usually it’s the first thing you look at every morning and the last thing before you shut down each night.
Just make sure your subject line is in CAPITALS and has a “catchy” title. My suggestion — “Email Your Brain To Tomorrow” — ought to get your attention 🙂
Judith Tramayne-Barth’s site is http://www.agoodread.com which has free books, articles and link pages you’ll love. She also writes excellent “how-to” books.
