Life moves fast. You can end up way off-course if you don’t stop along the way to make sure that you are headed where you want to be.
Years ago, I developed a weekend habit that I now refer to as The Weekend Power Hour. The key component of this habit is to block out one hour each weekend (early on Saturday mornings or Sunday mornings are ideal) to reflect on six questions.
Ask yourself these questions each weekend, and you are guaranteed to bring more energy, focus, and purpose to each day, week, month, and year:
1. What were your biggest wins over the last week, and how can you build on your momentum?
Identify your biggest wins (personally and professionally) over the last week. Maybe you exercised four times. Maybe you landed a new client at work. Maybe you had an amazing experience with a family member. Take a moment to celebrate your achievements, to analyze how you made them happen, and to determine how you can build on your momentum.
2. Where did you come up short over the last week, and how can you do better in the future?
Maybe you exercised less than you planned. Maybe you dropped the ball on a project at work. Maybe you were impatient with a friend, family member, or co-worker. View these mistakes as learning lessons, not as failures. After you identify any areas where you came up short, identify if/how you can make them right. Then, determine what you can do next week and beyond, so that they are less likely to happen again.
3. What are the top 3 goals that you want to achieve over the next week?
Imagine if you identified and achieved your top three goals each week. You would identify and strive for more than 150 meaningful, weekly goals each year. Think of what that would do for your confidence and for your overall results at work and at home.
4. When, how, and for how long will you exercise over the next week?
Exercise is one of the greatest investments of time for your body and brain over the long-term. You are significantly more likely to follow-through on your workouts when you schedule them into your calendar in advance.
5. What are you excited about over the next week?
You do not need to script every minute of the next week. However, if you don’t have at least one activity (personally or professionally) that you are looking forward to every day, take that as a sign that you need to be much more proactive in designing your ideal life.
6. What will you do over the next week to contribute to society?
Maybe you have expertise or a skill that you can teach or share with others. Maybe you can make time to call or visit with a friend or family member who is going through a rough time. Maybe you can volunteer at a community service event to help people who are less fortunate. Even investing as little as 1-2 hours a week into service can make a big difference for someone else, while also making you feel much better about yourself.
SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS
An amazing life does not happen randomly or by accident. An amazing life is carefully crafted and engineered. Imagine if you asked yourself these questions each weekend and took action on them. Think of the cumulative impact over the next year:
- You would celebrate your wins more than 50 times.
- You would identify some areas for improvement more than 50 times.
- You would strive to achieve over 150 weekly goals that were important to you.
- You would design your workout schedule in advance more than 50 times.
- You would design an exciting week more than 50 times.
- You would add value to society each week more than 50 times.
There are sixty-four hours between 5:00 p.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m. on Monday. Designate at least one of those hours to reflect on these six questions. I promise you that it will be worth the minor investment of time.
P.S. Have you taken my free habits assessment at StrongerHabits.com?
You can click here for a free assessment that measures your habits in 4 key areas linked to greater health, well-being, and performance. The assessment takes less than 3 minutes, and you get your results immediately.
About the author: Pete Leibman is the creator of StrongerHabits.com and the author of Work Stronger; Habits for More Energy, Less Stress, and Higher Performance at Work. His work has been featured on Fox News, CBS Radio, and CNNMoney.com.
