13
Put the Pressure on Yourself

A very small portion of the population can work without supervision, and those people are leaders. This is the kind of person you are meant to be—and can be—if you decide to be. Get in the habit of putting pressure on yourself; see yourself as a role model and raise your own bar.

NOTES

1. Congratulations! You have just received a phone call letting you know that you’ve won an all-expense-paid vacation to the tropical destination of your choice. But there’s one catch: you have to leave tomorrow. In this scenario, what would you need to finish today to be able to take the vacation? Set a timer for 60 seconds and write down what ever it is you need to get done, stat!

1. _____________________________________
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2. _____________________________________
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3. _____________________________________
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4. _____________________________________
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5. _____________________________________
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6. _____________________________________
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2. The tropical vacation scenario (or one like it) works great for short-term projects. For longer-term ones, set deadlines and subdeadlines for every task and activity on your to-do list. Use the chart to organize your time for some longer-term goals.

3. Even better: make a game out of it! Take one major project on your horizon and write out every step before you begin. Figure out how long each step should take you, then try to beat those time estimates. Imagine someone else is racing you, and resolve to win!