Yesterday, I talked about creating habits to make a better life for yourself. You can read about that here.

Today, I want to share with you a habit I've developed over the many decades I've been alive. It's simple, as are ALL habits. (If they're complex, you won't do them. Habits must be simple.)

Write down the THREE THINGS you want to FINIISH.

Not start. Not ten things.

Three things you want to finish.

That's it.

Here's the background. Back in my earlies days of working in the real world, I was a manager at a sporting goods company. I learned pretty quickly that writing a “to-do” list a mile long–while certainly aspirational–was a recipe for poor mental health.

When you write out a list of 25 things you need to get done for the day, you set yourself up for failure because–odds are–you just wont get 'em all done. In fact, you'll be lucky if you get half of them done.

And half, kids, is an F.

Get an A.

On your to-do list (if you must call it that), write down the three things you want to get DONE. As you complete each one, cross it off your to-do list. When you cross that third thing off, you will feel as if you ACCOMPLISHED something.

It's a great feeling. And then you can go DO YOUR REAL JOB, which is to sell (in my case) like you've never sold before!

Contrast that feeling with how you feel when you only finish half the things on your list and have them to stare at the next day. Sooner or later, the “to-do's” pile up and some of them will have been on your list for weeks.

(The key learning here is if something is on your list for weeks and doesn't get done, it's not that important to you.)

BONUS TIP #1

Do this exercise the night before, as opposed to first thing in the morning. Most people sit down at work and write down their to-do items as they are starting their day. It's already too late. You've already failed (probably).

When you do your to-do list the night before, several amazing things happen. First off, it's out of the way. The “issue of the day” hasn't sprung up yet, so you start with a fresh slate. Look at what you did do today, feel good about getting them all done, pat yourself on the back, and move on.

What do I want to finish tomorrow? Write it down!

THEN, go to sleep, knowing today was a great day. I'm telling you, your subconscious mind will go to work on figuring out the best ways to get tomorrow's to-do list done!

When you wake up tomorrow, you won't even have to think about the how. You will just have to DO.

BONUS TIP #2

A concept I want to introduce you to today is “habit stacking.” It's when you take a great habit you either have already incorporated into your life or that you want to build into your life and COMBINE it with another habit.

In the above case, we've “habit stacked” writing your brief to-do list every day with using your subconscious brain to do the heavy lifting of thinking through your life challenges.

It basically became (habit #1) Write down the three things you want to finish with (habit #2) Work on thinking it through the night before using the awesome power of your subconscious.

Make sense? Let me know in the comments what you think.

BONUS TIP #3

Get yourself one of these. I use one every day. I swear by them.