My daily non-negotiables are the essential tasks and activities that I must complete each day in order to stay on top of everything in my business and life.

I do these tasks every single day, no matter whether I “feel” like doing them or not (most days I don’t feel like doing many of them!).

I do them when I’m busy with other work, when I’m away on holidays, when my days go sideways, on Sundays and when I’m sick.

I do them Every. Single. Day.

Here’s what my current list looks like (it changes fairly regularly as my priorities change).

Normally I get this list of tasks done in the morning.

It generally takes me about an hour to work through the list (sometimes a little more if I’ve got a lot of emails or student questions to deal with).

As you can see from my ‘ideal week’ calendar below I have an allocated time in my daily schedule for when they will be completed.

I allow myself a little more time on weekend days as I normally have additional tasks that I add to the list over weekends (things like Payroll, planning for the week ahead and things like that).

But if, for whatever reason, I haven’t got the list done by the end of a day (which is rare) I will make sure to get the full list completed before I go to bed each night.

It’s literally a non-negotiable in my day and it’s honestly one of my secrets to success.

Why are non-negotiables so important

For me, a list of daily non-negotiables is important because it’s a way of making sure I get all the important things done in my life and business every day.

It’s like exercise for me.

I have it planned in my schedule (as you can see above) and I don’t even have a conversation with myself about whether I might go to training or if I feel too sore or tired. Unless I’m extremely unwell (which is rare), I just get up and go. And that’s the same with my daily non-negotiables list of tasks as well.

Here’s why I think a list of daily non-negotiables is so important:

you will build confidence in yourself by taking action that actually drives growth in your business and life
you become someone who doesn't just do things when you feel like it
you don’t rely on feeling motivated to get things done (see this post for more on why I think motivation is a trap)
it will help to establish structure and routine in your day, which gives you a sense of accomplishment
a successful business is built on what you do consistently each day - not what you do sporadically
your community will build trust in you as they will see you showing up all the time with helpful content
it helps you focus on the most important tasks and activities, rather than getting bogged down by less important (or more fun!) stuff
it can reduce stress because you know that everything critical in your life/business is getting done each day (and cuts down on your decision fatigue as you just have to execute on the list, not think about it)

My daily non-negotiables list is built in Notion. If you want to get a copy of what’s included and set up your own dashboard, like the one you see above, then grab my productivity system Notion template here.

Thanks for reading and catch you in my next post :)

Clare x

Dr Clare Le Roy

PS: If you enjoyed this then don’t forget to follow me @thelittledesigncorner for my daily tips on growing a profitable design or architecture business.

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