I had an aunt with green fingers – and she always had the most beautiful flowers and shrubs in her beloved south-west facing garden – a garden that gave her, her family and her visitors great pleasure.

    But, later in life, she planted something else on her land.

    An oak – an oak that she knew she’d probably never live to see fully mature.

    But that didn’t bother her – she was doing something good and it’s never too late to do that.

    Just like my aunt, we all get a chance every day to shape the future – our own and that of others.

    Recently I challenged my email subscribers to do the following for five working days:

  • Track if you’re starting the day with a clear view of what your most important task is.  It’s a simple yes/no.  Give yourself 1 mark for each day you answer “yes”.
  • Track if you complete that most important task.  Give yourself 1 mark for each day you do.

    After three of those five days I checked in with them – to see what their score (out of a maximum of six) was.

    But I also encouraged them to start, even if they’d missed the first three days.

    Because, like the oak we should have planted 30 years ago, it’s never too late to do the right thing. If you haven’t yet defined what your most important task for today is, why not take a minute or two right now to do so?  And then, if you’ve no fire to put out, work on that most important task – because implementation is key.

    PS:  If you want to become one of those email subscribers, and receive content like this blog twice-weekly, sign up here . You’ll also get my ebook – “Get Off The Hamster Wheel: The Smart Small Business Owner’s Productivity Bible“ – a book you’ll have read in less than 15 minutes.