Our days become an endless cycle of getting stuff done and getting through to the next day (especially during this pandemic!). 

What would it be like if today were special? 

I’m going to share a few simple practices that will elevate every day, into something to celebrate. 

Practice 1: Win the Day

Instead of starting the day with a list of tasks to get done … what if we identified 1-3 things that would make this day an absolute victory, if we were to do them? 

So the practice is to start the day with a simple entry in your notebook or on a simple text document: what could I do to make this day a victory? I like to title it, “Win the Day: Saturday Feb. 6” (or whatever date it is, obviously), then I list 2-3 potential victories. (For today , writing this blog post is one of mine!) 

I have other tasks and meetings on my list, obviously, but these are the 2-3 I focus on. Sometimes it’s just one. If I can get that single task done, or those 2-3 tasks, done, it will be a big victory for my goals for this month or year, or for my mission. Or it would just feel fantastic! 

I keep this list front and center, and refer back to it multiple times a day. It helps bring me back to what I want to accomplish. And then I look back on it at the end of the day (more on this in the next section), and celebrate what I can. Sometimes I don’t get them all done, which is not a cause for disappointment but for learning. But most days I do at least 1-2 of them, and any progress is a huge cause for celebration. 

Practice 2: A Brief Review

At the end of each day, it can be powerful to take a brief pause and review how the day went. And celebrate anything you can! 

Here’s what I like to review: 

1. How did I do with my Win the Day list? Celebrate any progress at all. 
2. How did I do with my practices for the day? Again, any practice at all is a cause for celebration. 
3. Where did I see the divine today ? (You can word it as “God” or “the Sacred” or “Magic” or whatever feels powerful for you.) For me, I often find divinity in nature, in people all around me, even in a quiet moment like the one I’m experiencing as I write this post. I find this a powerful question that helps me celebrate life. 

This only has to take a few minutes. Set a reminder. I often will take a few more minutes to set my intentions/Win the Day items for tomorrow. 

Practice 3: Ending Ritual for Tasks

We don’t have to wait for the end of the day to celebrate. We can do it after anything we do. 

The practice is a simple ritual: pause when you’re done with something, before you move on to the next thing. And reflect. And celebrate. 

For example, when I’m done writing this, I will have the urge to open up a browser tab and start tackling other tasks. Instead, I will try to remember to pause, and reflect how the writing went. What did I find sacred in the writing process? What can I celebrate and be grateful for? Then I’ll ask what my next intention is. 

It takes seconds, but it means that throughout the day, we are finding moments of deep appreciation for life.

Can you relate to this? The rest of our life fills up all the space — how can we find enough time to focus on what’s really important?

This is a common problem for anyone who wants to launch a new venture, volunteer, create art, write a book, build an audience or a brand … how do we create the time when we’re already busy and overloaded?

I’m going to share some ideas in this article:

1. Create structure for all the stuff in your life
2. Create even more space
3. Really pour yourself into it
4. Bring some Zen to disruptions & frustrations
5. Replenish yourself
6. Bring freedom, joy & lit-upness to any activity

These are all meant to address various problems that we face when we’re making time for our meaningful work. You can decide which ones might apply to your life.

Let’s take a look!

Create Structure in Your Life

Our lives can feel overwhelming, with too many things to do! We have chores and small tasks and messages to answer, bills to pay, dishes to wash, people to contact, and much more. So how do we handle all of this?

First, it can feel overwhelming when it’s a huge pile of stuff and seemingly not enough time.

Second, the small stuff will overwhelm all the available space, because it always feels urgent when we’re feeling behind and overwhelmed.

So one good answer is to create structure. Create spaces to deal with all the things in your life:

• Bill Pay Mondays
• Inbox Zero Tuesdays
• Admin Fridays
• House Chore Party Saturdays
• Email and messages Sacred Hour – daily at 4pm
• Morning planning & intentions
• Monthly taxes day
• Meaningful Work Play Time at 10am daily
• And so on

Not these specific spaces — your structure will be different than these. But if you have a space for all the stuff, you can relax and know that it will be taken care of.

What structure can you create to take care of everything important, while creating structured and intentional space for your meaningful work?

Create Even More Space

Let’s say you’re so busy that you can only find 30 minutes a week for your meaningful work — it’s a great start! But take it as a starting point.

Maybe you can create more time by bundling your emails and messages into a certain hour each day. Maybe you can free up some time by hiring a babysitter, a house cleaner, someone on Craigslist to haul away your junk for you. Someone to answer your customer service emails, or an admin asssitant to take care of routine tasks.

Or maybe you can eliminate or simplify some things to create more space. Get out of commitments. Tell people No. Ask for postponements.

Sometimes we can cut out distractions, like social media or video watching or news/website reading. If we’re honest, there’s a lot of wasted time in our days that can be streamlined for the sake of what’s truly important.

Get creative! Sometimes it takes a little time investment to simplify, but then it pays off in space in a week or two.

Really Pour Yourself Into It

Once you have the space, it can be hard to focus. All the other stuff is calling to you! Maybe you spend the first 20 minutes of the 40 minutes you’ve carved out just getting ready. Maybe the whole focus block gets pushed back until later because you feel something else is more urgent.

Create the structure to make the meaningful work happen. Sometimes it means doing it on a video call with someone else — each of you do your meaningful work on mute for an hour.

But when you’re in the focus block — pour yourself into it. Give it your full being. Be all in.

Don’t half ass it. Whole ass it.

Bring Some Zen to Disruptions

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we get disrupted. Our kid interrupts wanting a snack. Our spouse interrupts with their latest frustration. A message comes in that sidetracks us.

And then we can get frustrated or angry. That’s normal! Give yourself a breath or two, and some compassion.

Then let it go. Relax, breathe, and accept the interruption as just a natural part of the chaos of life. It doesn’t have to derail you completely. See the gift in the interruption. Find the gratitude for having this person in your life.

Then simply return to the meaningful task, with your whole self.

Replenish Yourself

It can be hard to find focus when we’re drained, anxious, exhausted, feeling resigned & resentful. We just don’t have the focus or capacity to face anything.

So it can be a great act of leadership to recognize this, and take care of it. A great act of generosity to yourself and your meaningful work.

Recharge your batteries, give yourself nurturing and nourishment, replenish yourself so that you can return with full life force.

Some ideas:

• Get more sleep — shut down earlier and let yourself relax into deep, nourishing sleep.
• Get outdoors daily. Go for a walk or run, enjoy the quiet beauty of nature.
• Take a hot bath. Drink some tea while doing nothing else. Take some space.
• Any kind of self-care is helpful: a nap, yoga, a workout, therapy, talk with a friend, get a massage, meditate.

More space, more relaxing, more nourishing.

Bring Freedom, Joy & Lit-upness to Every Activity

We can feel trapped because we’re craving freedom, but our day job isn’t allowing for it. We can feel drained and discouraged because our day job feels draining, stressful, dull.

But it doesn’t have to be that way! We can bring joy and freedom to any activity, including our routine work.

What would it be like to do the activity you normally experience as suffocating … with a sense of freedom and joy?

What if you could do the dull routine activities with vitality? What if you could be lit up in any moment you liked?

This is a possibility few people allow themselves. I encourage you to explore it.

What could your life be like, bringing freedom and joy to anything you liked?