Done

“This is what I have done this day.”

Write this as a title at the top of a document. 

Below, write today’s date.  Below that, list three things you have accomplished this day.  Repeat every workday.

This practice is a form of counting our blessings and bringing each day to a close.  As bright, imaginative people we could work every hour of the twenty-four without accomplishing everything we wished for the day.  Good health and good management require that we stop - give ourselves a rest.  Resting, however, can feel frustrating.  Thus, writing our list of what has been done can help us acknowledge completion and instill a sense of gratitude.  Our less frantic management style may inspire subordinates, to whom the secret of feeling successful can be given easily.

Accomplishments need not be momentous.

• Mentored a staff member who was practicing a new skill
• Began the first step in the project plan
• Finished the last task in a Gantt chart
• Negotiated a compromise between two colleagues
• Learned how to Tweet
• Drafted a difficult letter

And on a few days, a stellar completion will occupy your whole list.

For more ideas, read this blog, which came to my attention a few days after I wrote my draft.