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Can you maintain your momentum, or even build steam, during your downtime?

You are most likely working long hours at the job only to return home to fulfill your responsibilities as a parent. After the stress of the day job, the non-stop commitments of the kids, and dabbling in your side business, a break can be a wonderful thing.

If you are headed into a break, such as a holiday or simply spending a few hours away from the daily grind, there are few things you can do to position yourself for success when you pick back up.

3 Ways to Position Yourself for Forward Progress

Here are 3 methods you should try the next time you find yourself smack dab in the middle of the ever elusive “downtime”.

By following these methods you should easily re-emerge from your break fully motivated and ready to rock and roll.

1. Spend Time Reflecting

Lost in your daily chaos are the little victories.

You may have a to-do list consisting of 235 items but the fact you knocked even one of those items off the list is something to be celebrated.

Too often we neglect to recognize our accomplishments. Too often we worry ourselves about the undone without embracing the done.

Take time during your next break to truly reflect on all things that you’ve done, big or small, and realize each movement to the right is one additional step in the direction of where you want to go.

Proceeding toward success is much harder when holding onto the negative thoughts of what remains yet to be realized. Reflect on the positive in order to position yourself for what’s next.

2. Spend Time Planning

Progressing to the next step can only be done with some level of planning.

While downtime should not be spent digging into the details of every operational area of your business, major conceptual goals should at least be considered.

Spend a few moments thinking about what is next. Determine what should have the highest priority. Figure out, at a high level, what should be rewarded with your focus and your limited bandwidth.

Then, most importantly, think about what will provide maximum value to your audience. That is what should move to the top of your ridiculously long to-do list.

3. Spend Time Listening and Absorbing

Just as tasks get lost in the daily shuffle, so does inspiration.

During your next period of downtime, look for opportunities to gain fresh perspective. Seek out others that can bring new ways of thinking and unique experiences.

If friends and family are around, feast on their viewpoints. Allow them to freely engage with you on any topic imaginable.

Take a moment to step out of your niche. Spend an amount of time away from your comfort zone. Remove the blinders from your typical daily interaction with others in the same industry.

You will be surprised at the amount of material that may present itself to you when taking a moment and listening to others.

5TIL

In this week’s 5 Things I Learned (5TIL) you’ll hear about…

1. The Doorman app that allows flexibility in home deliveries.
2. A new Google security feature which allows you to see information related to account access (who, where, and what device).
3. Google’s enhanced search features for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
4. Tumblr’s rise to the top of the fastest growing social platforms.
5. Social capabilities added to Canva

As usual, if you have something you would like to share on the 5TIL, head over to twitter and drop me a tweet!