Finish something everyday

[00:00:00] **Aurooba Ahmed:** Well, hello! This is The Daily Five with Aurooba, that's me, where we reflect on creating our best lives a little bit every day. Here we go.

[00:00:15] I found myself thinking today was a day of ease. I did interesting and weird things today. I solved problems I didn't immediately have a solution for. I supported people. And I was supported by people. And yet, there was ease in my day. A feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment at the end of my day. I got some stuff done today.

[00:00:45] I still have a mountain of things left to do, difficult situations to handle, and a never ending list of house chores, because those never really do end. So what makes today different from a day that felt difficult, draining, and exhausting? What about this day that was under my control and something I could take with me into other days that don't feel like today was there? As I think about it, you know, there are a number of things that made today better, but as far as things I can control and things I can take with me to a different day, it was probably one core thing. One thing sort of stands out to me. I chose something small that was important to me and I set aside a bit of time early in my day to take care of it and bring it to completion.

[00:01:41] You know, in Grey's Anatomy, which is a show, as I have mentioned, I've watched many, many times, when one of the characters, Derek, takes over as chief of surgery, he feels frazzled, hassled, and unaccomplished in his new role.

[00:01:56] And he misses feeling accomplished in his old role. So, one day, the former chief of surgery, noticing this, gives him a bit of advice. He suggests that Derek schedule one surgery a day, very early in the day, that he can do before the hustle and bustle of the hospital begins. That way, even if nothing else happens, he'll have started his day completing something that made him feel accomplished, and his day will go better.

[00:02:25] In the land of productivity, there is this advice to choose the most important task of your day, and everyone says, you know, do it first thing, and don't do other things until that is complete. That always makes me laugh, because, well, in my own work life, for a very long time, not just now, but, I don't know, for the last ten years, that's entirely unrealistic.

[00:02:49] I often have a lot of meetings at the start of my day, and the other thing is, I am not necessarily at my best right at the morning. As a night owl by nature, I really hit my mental stride for coding around 11am or so. Now, instead, maybe it's not always about the most important thing every day. Maybe it's more about being able to finish something meaningful to you every day, even if it's not something super big or critical.

[00:03:19] A day where you complete one thing is almost always a better feeling day than the day when you start many things but complete none. For me, perhaps, being able to do that brought me some level of Internal ease that I was able to carry into the rest of my day, something that grounded me. Right now, this is a theory.

[00:03:42] A strong theory, yes, but a theory nevertheless. So, we'll see how I feel in about a week. I'll report back. Thanks for listening. Same time tomorrow?