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Keeping On Point

Previously I wrote about a question that I was asked: How do I stay so motivated?
http://dinocajic.blogspot.com/2015/06/how-do-i-stay-motivated.html

I listed that it wasn't anything specific, but instead a collection of thoughts, beliefs, etc.

Today, as I was watering my lawn, and hating myself for the amount of time I'm wasting because I haven't installed the sprinkler system yet, I made a mental note to add to my daily checklist app the following: I need to spend at minimum 10 minutes per day doing daily house chores. It's starting to pile up...

  • I need to install the sprinkler system
  • I need to finish installing the outdoor camera surveillance system
  • Wash and assemble my son's outdoor play swing-set
  • Install the Radiant Barrier inside the attic
  • Finish the thorough organization of paperwork
  • etc, etc, etc
When it hit me. The reason why I accomplish so many daily tasks is pretty simple: the Daily Success Checklist. If you're an Android user, you can download it: Daily Success Checklist.

The app is amazing and simple (I wish it didn't have the ads and that the interface looked somewhat nicer, but that doesn't bother me too much). What it does do is:
  • It allows me to enter daily tasks
  • Allows me to check-off tasks upon completion
  • Add new tasks
  • Review my Success History
If you complete the day successfully, you can review the calendar and it'll tell you how many days in a row you have completed successfully; there's also a very appealing green check-mark in place for that day. I haven't skipped a day so far but I'm sure it would be a red "x." At midnight, the checklist resets.

That app drives me to add more items to it; it also pushes me to complete them. I do cheat just a bit prior to adding a new task...I'll test out a task for a few days and make sure that I can handle it before it gets integrated: I don't want to disappoint the almighty check-list.

It started off with "Read 1 chapter of Web-Development," "Read 1 Chapter of another programming language (Currently it's Java), " and "Read 20 articles and post to Twitter." 

It evolved to:
  • Read 1 Chapter of Web-Development
  • Read 1 Chapter of another Programming Language
  • Read 20 articles per day
  • Review German words and learn new ones
  • Learn at least 3 new English words
  • Read at least 1 chapter of the current novel I'm working on
  • Watch at least 1 math tutorial
  • Drink Carrot Juice (lol)
  • Write 1 Blog Post
  • Exercise for any length of time
  • Spend at least 10 minutes doing some house chore
As you can see, the list has grown and will continue to grow as I learn to optimize my time and find loopholes within it that I can exploit.

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