I was driving for several hours back from a client site this morning when my mind began to explore a few ideas.
BTW, before I get into the ideas, the idea-enhancing music wafting through my TDI today was TROMBONE SHORTY, and this album, Backatown, is so amazing (track #8 is addictive). Things you never thought a trombone could do! Here is a tantalizing description from TS's website:
Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews' new album, Backatown, is the work of a rare artist who can draw
both the unqualified respect of jazz legends and deliver a high-energy
rock show capable of mesmerizing international rock stars and audiences
alike. With such an unprecedented mix of rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop and
soul, he had to create his own name to describe his signature sound:
Supafunkrock! Andrews is the kind of player who comes along maybe once
in a generation, and Backatown is the latest, clearest proof that his
artistry is as singular as his raw talent.
As the slippery guttural tones danced in my head like entwined endorphin ribbons (my reptile brain driving with confidence, no worries), I got to thinking about beginnings. And sub-beginnings. And faux-beginnings. And the power of designing our daily work experiences.
Here's the idea. Many of us do a pretty good job of beginnings when we take the time to think about them. So let's design the best work day ever tomorrow.
- How does it start off for you? Start that way.
- What kinds of things might you do? Do at least some of these things.
- How would you feel, act, speak, and relate to others on your best day? Be that way.
And because many of us are better at beginnings than follow through and endings, restart the day at lunchtime. Refresh your thinking and ask the questions again. In fact, take as many mulligans as you need, to the point of restarting at 4:30pm if that makes sense.
And what about the best ever week? What might that look like? Let's design that to happen next week and then improve upon our plan for the following week and then the next one and so on. Write your plan down, carry it with you, and review it every two hours. Restart any time. And on and on.
As I hit the replay button on TS track #8 for the 10th time, I thought, how could we make the weekly plan - and recreating it anytime and reinventing it each week - more positive and fun and energizing? How about a group who do it together? People from anywhere in the world getting together on the web to share their Best Week Ever plans and provide ideas, support and motivation. Interested? Willing to spend 30 minutes this weekend creating your weekly plan for next week? Willing to post it to a shared project site (wiki or Basecamp, etc..)?
Drop me an email if you want to give it a whirl. I will create a sample Best Week Ever template planning tool inspired by my Two Weeks to a Breakthrough work, but you can use anything you want.
And even if you do not want to do it with a group, give it a whirl on your own! Make tomorrow the best day ever and this week the best week ever. And this moment? Make it the best ever. What would that look like?
Let's use the energy we have for beginnings to continually relaunch the day. The past only gets in the way of the present and future when we fail to begin again.
One more idea: Maybe the specific items on your plan are not as important as how you would generate progress, forward movement, and build stronger and more effective partnerships.
One more thought: Be open to the idea that you can have both a challenging and great day at the same time. That you can experience adversity and peace at the same time. That you can be fraught with a tense situation and at ease at the same time.
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