At the end of the day, you will be saying either “Glad I did” or “Wish I had”. This is your daily message from Chad number 616 and this message is dedicated to the 5th anniversary celebration of Reflection Renewed. Payton Smith started her business 5 years ago today. You can check it out at reflectionrenewed.com.

I got this from Dr. Gilbert. I am suspicious this is autobiographical, about how to have a productive day. He said, “Once upon a time, there was a college professor who wanted to write a biography—not of a productive person—but of a productive day. Yesterday we talked about your definition of success. After you have a definition, you have to have a plan. What is your success plan?

Dr. Gilbert said the professor began his research by interviewing hundreds of highly productive people. After listening to how these people spent their days, he compiled this information and came up with the following list:

#1. First thing in the morning, successful people plan their work for the day. They know exactly which projects they want to begin, which ones they need to make progress on, and which ones they have to complete on that day.
#2. They commit firmly to stick to their plan for that day—no matter what.
#3. They get down to work. They’ve already planned their work. Now they’re working their plan.
#4. As they work on their projects and make progress—they feel energized. It feels good to be productive. (Do you remember the Success Cycle from yesterday? The harder you work, the better you’ll get, the better you get the better you’ll feel, the better you feel the more you will like it and yourself… and the harder you will work. Never forget how you feel when you are working your success plan).
#5. They continue working. However, these good feelings do not last forever. These highly productive people are confronted by frustration, upset, and even lack of motivation. Sometimes they want to quit, BUT they keep working on their projects because they are committed to staying committed to their commitments. (Remember, when your commitment is greater than your feelings, you’ll get the results you want).
#6. As the rest of the day passes, the good feelings come back . . . but so do the bad. Nevertheless, these people press on. They know the secret is to rise above their feeling and to keep their commitments. They know that professionals do their best when they feel like it least.
#7. They complete some projects and make progress on others. Maybe not perfectly. These highly productive people believe in progress not perfection. Maybe not without unforeseen snags. But they were productive. They got the job done.
#8. When the day is done and they’re just about to put their heads on their pillows, they get their real reward. They can say to themselves, “I’m glad I did.” while less productive people can only say, “I wish I had.”
#9. They wake up the next morning and go back to step #1.
#10. They keep doing Steps #1-#9 until they’ve become a habit. They’ve learned that habits start out as thin threads and end up as strong cables.

Again, what is your definition of success?

Second, what is your success plan?

Third, work your plan daily.

In this way you are scheduling success. You will be able to tell your own future.