10 Steps to Seize Your Day

Here are my 10 Steps to Seize Your Day. Do you seem to find yourself having problems almost every day? Things just don’t seem to work out the way you’d like them to. Your daily struggles now just seem to be a normal part of everyday life for you, constantly coming up against barriers that completely block your way in life.

There just appear to be so many things that can go wrong for you every day. You seem to be totally rushed off your feet, when the phone is ringing off the hook, Instant Messages are coming thick and fast and  won’t stop bothering us, your email inbox is flooded, and you have a torrent of mail to open. It’s all just overwhelming. Your stress levels are sky high. You feel powerless to stop what is happening.

So your life’s busy, busy, busy. So much needs to be done. Jobs, chores, responsibilities. Most often other peoples. Errands for the house. Stuff for the kids. Bills to pay, shopping to do. Ferrying the family around like a taxi cab.

You have a million things to do, and you’re always running around like a chicken with its head cut off, you can see no prospect of getting your days back under control.

You need to get your days under control. You will never be fully productive or achieve your dreams if you are always running around, fighting fires, letting your stress build up to massive levels.

Now it’s time for you to take responsibility for your life and seize it fully.

• Live every day as if it were your last and then some day you’ll be right.  H.H. “Breaker” Morant

Every day is a new day. It offers you fresh opportunities. You aren’t promised another one, so treat every day as if it’s your last. You need to seize the day.

Don’t wait for tomorrow. You can no longer put things off. Today is the day you are going to take charge of your life. Go for it. Seize your dream and run with it. Life doesn’t wait and neither should you.

“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is, with a new game every day, and that’s the way baseball is.” Bob Feller

What are you doing with your day? Are you making daily progress towards your goals? Every day can move you closer to your goals, bring you closer to your loved ones or teach you something new.

The days pass, no matter how you live them. You might as well give it your best.

Roman Poet Horace introduced us to the aphorism “Carpe Diem – Seize the day. To truly seize the day is to get it back and make it yours.

So here is a few steps for you to take to seize the day:

1. Make the Decision to Seize the Day

Almost everyone has dreams of what we could achieve, create or become in our lifetime, a vision for the kind of life we want and think we deserve. You must realize that the time to live fully is now. Not tomorrow when we are more rested, not next month when we are through our busy period, or next year so we can make this our new year resolution. We all make decisions of varying importance every day, so now is the time for you to seize your day by making this truly important decision to do so.

So few people actually translate their dreams into reality, they are beset by everyday frustrations and the pressures and distractions of modern living, dreams become obscured. As the years roll by, all those ambitions and aspirations get relegated to the realm of improbable fantasy. They cease to seem like achievable reality.

Take responsibility for your dreams and seize the day.

2. Take some Time Out

You have to make time for what is important to you. How often do you say “I don’t have the time for what I really want “? The moment when we have time for ourselves and what’s important never comes, unless we grab it. This is the moment, and the issue where you have to make yourself some time.

Set yourself a block of time to do some thinking. It’s best to do this early in the morning, when you can be safe from any interruptions. Maybe set your alarm clock to wake you an hour earlier than normal. Ask yourself “Are you in control of your days?”. Then “if not, why not?” Finally “How can you change things?” “”What is it I want to be doing each day?”. “What do I want to accomplish?”

3. Make a list, then prioritise

Start a to-do list now. Get all your tasks on a single to-do list broken down into areas.  List all the tasks you need to do on your list. You have to stop multi-tasking. This is probably the thing that makes your day the craziest. You can’t stay sane if you’re juggling a million things at a time. If you are doing this, you are not being productive either. Focus on the really important tasks.

Say “Yes” to what is important and “No” to what is not.Pick only 5 things. Look at your list and ask yourself, “If I could only get five of these things done today, which ones would I choose?” Pick only five. Force yourself to prioritize. This is your to-do list for today. Write it on a new sheet of paper, or a new index card. Just those five things.

4. Give yourself an hour for the Little Bits

Most of your day should be spent working only on your five priorities. But you’ll have a some of those small tasks on your list that need to be done. Try to schedule no more than an hour for these tasks: knock out the email, make some calls, process some paperwork, follow up on things.

5. Learn to say ‘No’

This may be a difficult step for many people, but it’s necessary. You can’t do everything in one day. Your time is important and you have to make the most of what you have. If you get new requests, make it a policy to say no. You just don’t have the time. Don’t change your plans unless you have absolutely no alternative.

6. Give 100%

Put everything you have behind what you do. Fully commit your energy, and your mind to the tasks at hand. Give 100 percent, give your all. By doing so, if you honestly can say you gave the best you can, you have seized the day.  Whatever you do, be there fully. So to be there fully, go into the zone.

7. Take Action

“Just do it!” Stop thinking, planning, and get on with taking action. Push yourself to do what you need to do. Action speaks louder than words. Action gets results – words don’t. If you fail to take continuous action towards your goals then your subconscious mind thinks the goal is not obtainable and will stop working to achieve it. You are the master of your destiny, so seize the day, every day.

8. Never stop dreaming.

You have your hopes, dreams and ambitions. No matter how deep you’ve hidden them from yourself. You must make sure you don’t stop dreaming your dreams. When you have a dream and are committed to achieving it, your life takes a new meaning. You have a purpose in life. Make sure these dreams feature in your actions each and every day. Take a step forward daily.

9.  Review your day.

Set aside a little time at the end of the day to review what you’ve done, check off your to-do lists, update the lists with new items, put stuff back where it belongs, clear off your desk, and plan for tomorrow. Leave feeling satisfied.

10. Turn your Attention to what else is important

You have got to ensure you turn your attention away from all the hustle and bustle of the day. Take time to relax. Spend time with family and friends. Your work will still be there tomorrow. No more burning the midnight oil. Take some time to recharge your batteries. Make sure you give your loved one’s some of your time.

So come on you owe it to yourself to seize each day. Live each day as if it’s your last and just do it! Each day offers a fresh start with choices just waiting to be explored, so what are you waiting for?

“Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” ~James Dean

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