How to Win the Day

My husband, the great Ted Egly, has written another inspiring article for leaders and team members at Target and I thought I would share with you. Ted, take it away…

Let’s be honest, the world is overwhelming right now, and many questions are orbiting the caverns of our minds:

How will I continue to cope?
How concerned should I be?
How can I help?

Leave those questions alone for a moment. Instead, focus on having the best day you can right in front of you. 

Win the day. Not the next few weeks or next few months, but today.

Here are some practical ways you can win the day:

• Start your day with something that provides positive momentum. A gratitude practice, listening to music or a podcast, or reading. Once you get positive momentum, you will be hard to stop.
• A leader I know started what he calls the “three-minute daily difference maker.” He sends three texts a day to friends, family members or colleagues. The difference it’s made, especially during quarantine, is exponential.
• Keep a healthy balance between expending energy and renewing energy. You can refill your energy tank by setting boundaries between home and work, praying/meditating, prioritizing sleep, taking a daily walk or sharing a meal with family/friends. 
• Take note of the volume of information that you’re taking in. An abundance of information leads to a deficit of attention.
• Another leader asked me the other day, “How do I get things back to the way they used to be?” Maybe some of you are asking that same question. But perhaps that’s the wrong question. Maybe the question we should be asking is, “What does this new situation make possible?”
• Schedule your values. Good time management doesn’t mean you do more; it means you do more of what really matters most. Identify your non-negotiables – those go on the calendar first.

Imagine for a moment that there is a gatekeeper at the doorway of today, and that gatekeeper is courage. Courage invites you in to win the moment right in front of you. To win the day.

To read more of Ted’s writing, click here to purchase his book on Amazon!

What can you do, right now, to “win the day?” Leave a comment!