How “wins” help me to feel focused every day

Let’s face it, there is no shortage of info out there that will tell you how you can learn to focus, to manage your brain, to “WIN THE DAY”! And I’ll admit that when I see a video about focusing techniques, I will watch it and usually the end result is that I see the same techniques I’ve tried before. I might feel a bit rejuvenated and return to a previous tested technique, but I don’t find anything life-changing. 

Having said that, if you have recommendations, please let me know!

For me, the best tools have been bullet journalling, the Pomodoro technique, and writing “wins”.

Writing wins is a habit that was thrust upon me by following the Slimpod programme, but it’s not about weightloss. Wins are entirely about rewarding yourself for becoming who you want to be, Here’s how it works:

1. Be clear in your mind of what your goals or priorities are. (Brian Mayne’s Goal Mapping can help with this, or try the Windfall activity)
2. Think about what kind of behaviours you do in a day lead towards these goals
3. Do these behaviours at least three times each day and write it down. 

This is much more flexible than the goals you may have thought about before. Have you ever set yourself rigid goals such as “I’m going to go to the gym every day”, or “I’m never drinking coffee again”? These are absolutes and hard to achieve. Theses are goals that can be lost in an instant, and they don’t hold true meaning. Why do you want to do these things? What are you actually trying to achieve? 

The beauty of wins is that it is about the journey, and not the destination. And if you enjoy the journey and it becomes a habit, achieving the goal is less of a slog. It’s actually fun and rewarding!

Setting your goal and your behaviours

Let’s say your goal is to save £1000. You could set a habit of saving £5 per week. But that’s boring, it’s hard to work on it every day, and if you miss a week it’s easy to feel like you’ve failed. It’s just not a goal that makes you feel good. 

But what if the habit you wanted to build was to spend your money mindfully? This is something that you can engage with every day, so even if you miss a day you haven’t “failed” the week. It’s also not a punishment – it’s a behaviour that can make you feel good! Instead of thinking “Ugh, I really want to buy a juice, but I’m trying to save money”, you’ll be thinking “I really want to buy a juice… wait, do I? I’m just thirsty and I’ll be back at work soon, I’ll have some water then.” You will feel more in control and feel more positive about it because it’s your choice to move in the direction you want to move. 

This is where the wins come in. This is an extra way to reward you for the positive choices you made in the day. In the example above, you could write down that you “Chose water instead of buying juice”, or “Stopped to reflect before making a purchase”. The win is about the behaviour that you want to see in yourself. The more that you reward yourself for this type of behaviour, the more you are likely to do that behaviour, and that is how you build a habit. 

Ultimately, you’re still going to reach your end goal of saving £1000, but instead of feeling deprived during the journey, you’ll feel empowered!

Getting joy out of repetition

Another great thing about the wins is because it’s about building a habit, and a habit is something that is repeated, you can repeat your goals. Every time you stop to reflect before spending, you can write that down as a win. It doesn’t matter if it happens twice a day for a week; if you found yourself doing the behaviour that you want to encourage, write it down. Eventually it will become a habit, and you won’t write it down because it’s become an automatic behaviour. But until then, you can write it again and again and keep feeling proud of yourself!

Creating a “win” any time you want

One of the best things about wins based on behaviours is how easy it is to create one out of thin air. Let’s say you get to the end of the day and you only have two wins” Perhaps you reflected before buying a snack, and decided to walk instead of getting an Uber. Now you’re home and you need another win. Make one. How else can you be mindful about spending? Perhaps you could go on a comparison website and see if you can get a cheaper deal on your insurance? Perhaps you can look at some budget recipes to test that will reduce your grocery expenses? There will always be an action you can take that fits the behaviour you want to encourage in yourself. So you can always create a win!

Reviewing your wins to boost your habits and confidence

As if building a habit in an enjoyable wasn’t enough, your wins can give you an extra boost when you’re feeling low. Wherever you are writing your wins, make sure they are somewhere that you can store them and look back on them in the future. When you take the time to reflect on earlier wins, you can remind yourself of how far you’ve come. That can give you a boost towards your next goal!

Where to store your wins

There are lots of options for you, so find the one that works for you. I use a bullet journal and brickwork tracker which keeps me engaged and allows me to practice a little mindfulness too. But there are plenty of ways to store your wins:

• A regular notebook
• A bullet journal (with or without a tracker
• An online document, like a Google Doc or Apple Notes
• Mobile phone apps for journalling, such as Journal for iPhone
• Mobile phone apps for gratitude, such as 3 Good Things, Happyfeed, or Presently

If you have any other recommendations, let me know!