Last Sunday as I wrote my plans for the week ahead I wondered how many people do this.
 
I don’t do it every Sunday and when I don’t, my week is not productive at all, I feel as though I am wondering about aimlessly productivity-wise.
 
Conversely, when I plan I’m so much more focused that I can just let emails pile up as I try to meet personal deadlines before close of business on Friday. I used to plan work during the weekend but I don’t tend to anymore.
 
So, I sat down and thought about why I like planning on Sundays.
 
Mental Preparation
 
As with most people, my productive/working week starts on Monday. If I make plans on Sunday it means that I am ready to go by the time Monday starts.
 
For me, it doesn’t work to do this planning on any other day because it makes Mondays feel like they’ve started on the wrong path.
 
Reviewing The Week
 
The planning process doesn’t take much time, perhaps 20 minutes, but it also allows me to review what didn’t work or happen the week before.
 
Most people don’t finish everything they tasked themselves to do because, by nature, we all think things take less time than they actually do.
 
It’s Saturday morning as I write this and when I woke up at 4 a.m. I planned to write, post and schedule emails for three blogs. I’m only on my second blog and the third will not happen. This is what happens, it’s life.
 
It’s okay though, because it’s Saturday, and I don’t work on Saturdays but my body clock forgot that so here we are, essentially in “bonus time”, doing some extra work.
 
Creating Focus & Clarity
 
Unlike New Years’ Resolutions weekly reviews tend to be more specific and generally much more achievable.
 
Having a focus for the week gives each day a sense of direction it doesn’t have when you just wake up and start making things up as you go along.
 
Taking Time To Think
 
Normally, when the week starts we go into autopilot and don’t pause to think even when we know we need to. Sundays are a good time to have this very necessary pause so that we don’t go into overdrive doing things week-in week-out that are not working.
 
Sundays are an opportunity to change tack, to refocus, to energize.
 
My big question to you is: do you sit down and plan your week? How do you plan? How could you plan better?

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A sense of urgency is something I didn’t think of as a skill or even anything worth highlighting as fundamental to growing a booming business until very recently.

My whole family has a great sense of urgency: mum, dad and my two little sisters. This blog was inspired during a moment of annoyance when, on one day, my dad and my little sister wanted things done for them and their emails all came through with a “do it now, please” kind of tone – being pregnant had a lot to do with my irritability.  

Anyhow, I paused and thought that this is why these guys, like me, get a lot more done in a day than the average person.

What Is A Sense Of Urgency?

A sense of urgency is that in-built impulse you get when something needs to be done and you feel it needs to be done now. This impulse makes you get up and take the action necessary to see the thing through to completion.

Not everything is urgent but two people will see the same task as having different urgencies. So, for example, I tend to hire graphic designers based in Asia and Eastern Europe even if they cost exactly the same as a designer in the west because they their sense of urgency matches my own.

If I order graphic design work on a Friday evening a contractor in Asia / Eastern Europe will generally start right away. I’ll see a draft or completed job before the weekend is over. A designer in the West will generally only start the work on Monday because they feel entitled to a weekend. Say what?

Me, I feel obliged to satisfy my fans and clients. I take time off to rest but if something needs to be done on a Saturday or Sunday those days are not excluded – I can and I will work on these days. Importantly, I generally enjoy the work regardless. 

Now, if you want to start and run your own business you’re likely going to either be running the show on your own in the initial days or have to drive and excite your small team into action. 

If you take constant action: wake up early, sleep late, produce content and are basically actively trying to get something completed it will eventually come together.

If you allow yourself too much rest and struggle to complete tasks or even to struggle start doing them, you’re not going anywhere fast. A sense of urgency is a must to enjoy business and life success.

Some people naturally have a greater sense of urgency than others. If you feel you’re lacking in get up and go, here are a few tips: 

• Set realistic goals with specific associated tasks to achieve those goals
• Set deadlines for your tasks and stick to them
• Offer yourself rewards if you meet deadlines
• Offer yourself punishments (other than not getting the reward) if you don’t meet the deadlines
• Find an accountability buddy that will hold you accountable to deadlines
• Hire a coach that will hold you accountable to deadlines
  

The Success Section of The Money Spot Program covers the above topics in great depth to ensure there are no obstacles in your way to success

I hope this helps you make your dreams come true. If you have any “sense of urgency stories”, please share them.