It may feel a bit uncomfortable, knowing you might be late paying those you owe. Being disciplined means ignoring the unease, forgoing that new Brony swag you've been eyeing and having the courage to pay yourself first and settle other debts later. I'm trying to retrain my "pay right away" instincts and I can tell you, it's not easy. My urge to pay a bill as soon as it comes in and get rid of my debt worries can be overwhelming. I don't like knowing I owe. I've bought into the belief that responsible citizens pay their bills right away. What I'm realizing now is responsible people DO pay their bills, but not always right away. Successful people pay themselves first. The cable company can wait a week, if that's what it takes. They have plenty of money. Pay yourself first.
At the core of this financial concept lies a fundamental truth — success at any venture means first taking care of yourself. It may sound selfish and not at all the behaviour of a mature and accountable colleague, but in my experience, those who produce great work week after week ARE SELFISH. Selectively selfish. They know when to look after themselves and carve out time each day to do so. And once they've moved their personal goals forward, they're free to give fully of themselves and help others, secure in knowing what they want to achieve is done.
Do your own work first.
Too often, I've started my morning allowing my valuable time to be hijacked by an "urgent" Email or the fear of a missed deadline. I've let myself believe, like paying my bills on time, that a "good" team player will sacrifice their time in order to help others achieve their goals. That's what a stand up team member does. But, the experienced team leader understands they can only be of real help if they first look after themselves. Listen to your stewardess at the start of your next flight. "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, secure your oxygen mask first before helping children and those around you." The message is clear — You're no good to anyone if you're turning blue at 25,000 feet.
If you're like me, you create a small list of things you want to accomplish each day in order to push things forward. If I allow myself to be overrun by Email requests, early design meetings or a compelling debate over the body count on last night's episode of Game Of Thrones, guess what? What I want to accomplish gets pushed to later in the day, when the emotional clutter is piling up and I'm far less inclined to make things happen.
Do not make checking your phone messages and updating your Facebook status the first order of business. Take the first morning time slot, close your door and do what you need to do to keep your important projects moving forward. Consider it an investment in yourself. Fight the feeling that you're being selfish. If you NEVER give to your team and are never available for them, then, yes, you're being selfish and it's time for a reality check. But, taking the first hour of the day to get what you need done, with the intention of opening your door and being available afterwards, is not selfish. It's disciplined. It's seeing the big picture and knowing that you will be a far more helpful/productive/creative team member if you know your shit is done.
There will be days when it's not always possible — a fire will be raging the moment you step into work and you'll be manning the hose all day long. Unavoidable. Maybe you'll feel guilty, keeping your door closed when others are clamouring for help. Get used to it. Being selectively selfish is key to your success. Your organization will love you for it when they see: a) how much quality work you ship and b) how you still manage to be a great team member, able to dive in and help out when it's crunch time.
