Set Yourself Up for Success

Chiseling a mortise under the overhead light.

My partner and I have been learning timber framing from a master eco-builder the past four days. When we arrived the cold and rainy morning of the second workshop day, we found him setting up a ladder, preparing to hang temporary lights inside the partially built structure we were using as our wood shop. We had  a lot of work to get to and we were already a little behind schedule but instead of doing our daily morning check-in or beginning to saw the timber, he had decided to hang the lights he had purchased just before arriving. He said it was so cloudy and rainy that he knew the lighting in the building would be poor and so by taking the time now to set up the overhead lights, he was setting us up for success.

It’s small gestures like these that can make a huge impact on the rest of a day, a month, or even a lifetime. Taking the time to make adjustments that will better allow you to be productive, confident, efficient, balanced, healthy and present means that even when circumstances aren’t lining up quite as you’d like you are remaining solution-oriented.

In preparing for the long days of the workshop, knowing we would have to respond to phone calls and emails in the evenings, my partner and I decided to make a big tray of shepherd’s pie so that several  dinners would be waiting for us in the fridge. We also prepared greens for salad and made polenta for a snack or breakfast option. This allowed us to be present for the workshop as much as possible, correspond with our clients in the evening and still keep ourselves well nourished. Looking back I see that we were setting ourselves up for success, even before we had heard our mentor’s words of wisdom.

It got me thinking about other steps that could be taken to set the stage for success?  Join the new exercise class I’ve been considering? Go to bed earlier? Setup automatic deposits to a savings account? What are you working to be successful in? Whatever it is that you’re dreaming of achieving, watch how much better things align for your benefit when you take small measures that prepare you to thrive.