Wondering what they will do

"Some people wonder what they will do when they grow up. I'm wondering more about what I'll do when my children grow up." - Martha Carleton

5 Months of "Most Important Tasks" (MITs)

It's been 5 months now since my 50th birthday, and 5 months that I've been practicing writing down my Most Important Things (MITs) to do each morning. Here's what I've found out so far:

(1) It's not too hard to get into this habit provided you do it early each morning before staring to work on various tasks for the day, and rate yourself at the end of each day (example - finished 2 out of 3)

(2) It helps if you keep a running score for the week. For example, completing 15 out of 21 at the end of the week. This gives you additional incentive to write them down and complete them. If you fail to write down any for the day, then give yourself a score of 0 out of 3.

(3) Writing down the MITs for a day only provides minimal help if you don't actually schedule any time to do them. You also need to plan when you are going to do them. This usually means doing them before other routine tasks. Remember, they are the most important tasks for you to accomplish that day. Plan them with that attitude in mind.

(4) Choosing your MITs is a learned skill. You need to balance being realistic, pushing yourself, and being flexible. Ideally most MITs should have something to do with your long term plans, but not always. Sometimes the priority for a day has a more immediate focus. For example, for Dec 25th the single MIT for that day could be "connecting with and appreciating family members".

Thought for the Day - Life as a mission

Thought for the day:

"Life is a mission, not a career" - Stephen R. Covey,

from The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

Books to Read

I was listening to Marc Freedman on the radio the other day being interviewed about his book Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life It sounded pretty interesting, so I went and ordered it from Amazon.com. One of the wonderful little features of that web site is that it recommends similar books to the on you're ordering that you might also be interested based on what other people bought. Here are some of the interesting sounding recommendations.

Portfolio Life: The New Path to Work, Purpose, and Passion After 50 by David D. Corbett

Civic Engagement And the Baby Boomer Generation by Laura B. Wilson

After 50 It's Up To Us: Developing The Skills And Agility We'll Need by George Schofield

Don't Retire, REWIRE! by Jeri Sedlar

I have no specific recommendations on any of them, but considering that the baby boomers are now passing their 50th birthdays (like me), it's no surprise that there are a growing number of books on the market addressing this audience.

I'll report back later when I get a chance to read Encore