More than a year ago, I was talking with Jenny Blake about all things solopreneurial: leaving your company to work for yourself, how much money you have to make to feel secure, and figuring out how to structure your day when no one forces structure upon you.
She said something that has stuck with me, something that’s helped me succeed at building my business and making a living doing something I enjoy.
Yoga’s a great way to OWN your day.
Jenny said that when she’s struggling to be productive or is having one of those days that just gets away from her, she asks herself how she can OWN the day. What ONE thing can she do to make the day worth it? What can she accomplish that will allow her to say the day was worthwhile?
That one thing could be work-related, like finishing a blog post or helping a client. Or it could be life-related, maybe giving it her all in a yoga class. But whatever that thing is for her on that particular day, accomplishing it makes the day worth it.
I was thinking about that this week as I typed away at a Starbucks in D.C. My to-do list was a mile long, and while many of those items were wants, not must-haves, it still felt overwhelming. Even when I checked off a bunch of my to-do items, it still felt like I’d accomplished nothing — perhaps because I’d focused too much on the little details and not enough on my big-picture priorities. And when the clock neared 5 p.m., I actually wondered, what the heck did I do today?
So I asked myself: what can I do by the end of this day that will let me feel like I OWNED it? What can I do to make this day worthwhile?
Making that ONE thing a priority can shift the seas in your favor.
Which is why I’m now asking you…
How can you OWN today?
Hi Alexis,
I love this post. I sit down sometimes at my computer and work non-stop and the sun comes down and I wonder what in the world I’ve done all day.
I find that when I do one thing that feels fulfilling, I’ve won.
It’s usually something like answering a readers’ question, doing something that makes a difference in the quality of my life, something that contributes to the future goals that I envision, or doing something that makes a client ecstatic.
That’s what makes me feel fulfilled, so that’s what makes me feel like I owned the day.
This is a very motivational post. I’ve been struggling with balancing two full-time jobs and my health has taken a back seat. How I will own today is by being in control of the food that I eat and by going out for a long jog tonight once I’m done blogging activities.
I read this post exactly when I needed it, in the middle of one of those periods of wondering, “How will I ever make any progress in this career?” It’s so hard to recognize progress or success when you work for yourself and feel like you can never quite do ENOUGH. This is the perfect way of thinking about it, of taking back control each day.
I love Jenny Blake, too; thanks for sharing this!
Besides the fact that I’ve landed here looking for something else (don’t you love the internet?!), I’m glad I did.
I think we networkers end up either flogging ourselves by pumping through our todo list and wondering what we’ve done or else we’re distracted by the shiny bits and lose track of priorities.
This was a great and timely reminder to grab SOMETHING from the day to make yourself feel good. I’m off to do just that right now – thanks for the kick!