I'm all for being organized and planning my days. It's essential, and most of the time things work out fine. But sometimes, as the song says, life is what happens while you're making other plans.
Sometimes there are days where, for one reason or another, my plate is over flowing and I absolutely must squeeze the most out of every minute. While I don’t like working like this all the time, I go into power day mode when necessary.
As a kid growing up on Long Island in the ‘70’s, I was naturally a big fan of the New York Islanders. During their “dynasty years” they raised themselves from the worst team in the league to four consecutive world championships. Several times during this incredible run, they found themselves facing elimination from the playoffs. The first time they went down 0-3 in a series, it came out that no team had overcome such a deficit since 1942. They had to win 4 straight games against the very team that had just beaten them three games in a row. The odds were against them.
Sure enough, they pulled it off and won the series. Then they went on to win two more seven game series and another championship.
During one of the post-game interviews the coach was asked how he rallied his team in the face of almost certain elimination. He explained, “I told them that from that (4th) game on, we were going to play the game one line shift at a time. Our goal is to win every single line shift (for those readers who are not hockey fans, the team puts five new players on the ice at a time – each group is called a line. Each line plays for about one and a half minutes before being replaced by the next line so they can rest and catch their breath).
In other words, he divided the 60 minute game into one and a half minute increments. He told his team we must win each one of these mini (minute and a half) games. By doing so, we’ll win the real game. And sure enough, they did.
How does that apply to you? You can divide your day into fifteen minute increments? Then, endeavor to accomplish as much as possible in each fifteen minute section of your day. Don’t take unnecessary phone calls, don’t allow any interruptions. During each fifteen minute section, stay focused and on track. You will accomplish a great deal.
Here's an example. Let's say you feel like the odometer is running, but your car is up on the block, so you're getting nowhere. That's when you need to call a power day. Choose a day and warn anyone around you that you aren't taking any calls or interruptions on that day. Set up a calendar that is divided into fifteen minute segments. Make a list of all the things you need to power through on that day and place them on the calendar. Don't stop until you reach the end. Have plenty of water and "power foods" around so you don't need a lot of breaks. Yes, this will be an intense day, so plan ahead to make it successful.
As I said, I like to limit the number of power days I engage in because they can be pretty intense. Doing them too often leads me to burnout and with my travel schedule I have enough to combat. So be discriminating in your use of Power Days and make the most out of them.