Everyone has big dreams. They’re a dime a dozen these days. Some people accomplish stuff and others don’t. Some just talk, and others do. Talkers seem content letting their dreams slowly float away into the ether. Their words never amount to action, only slow regret. But doers always seem to be pulling another dream down to earth. They simply continue to produce. They are working hard but are driven by purpose and meaning.
Here are the five traits doers possess…
They are proactive, not reactive. Doers play offense, not defense. They are devising plans and carrying them out. They are intentional to determine their direction instead of letting the winds of life take them out to sea. They are destiny makers.
They plan their time; they don’t let it plan them. They make a plan and work the plan. Whether it’s breaking their workday schedule into blocks, living with intentional rhythms, planning their vacations in advance or staying on a regimented exercise routine they have noticeable rhythms to their lives. I started doing this years ago with a tool I created called the Weekly Planning Grid, and it’s been a game changer for me.
They are keenly aware of the difference between important and urgent. In the age of devices every buzz of our phone or ding of our inbox seems urgent, but most of those can wait. The important things are priorities. Doers avoid the apparently urgent as they invest in important priorities. Stephen Covey calls this “Quadrant Two”. This quadrant of life is where they thrive amidst the demands of everyday life.
They find freedom amidst their limitations. Paradoxically, they realize they have some limitations in life (every human does), but they don’t let those stand in their way of freedom. They understand their job requires a certain number of hours, but they rig their schedule to find time for things they love. They don’t let kids, tight budgets, lacking resources or tight schedules hold them back from what matters to them.
They work hard. There’s no sugarcoating this one. Doers understand dreams take work, sweat, dedication and teams to become a reality. They aren’t burned out and incessantly exhausted, but they leverage the first four traits into carefully planned purposeful work. Lazy leaders watch their influence slip away, while hard working doers rise to spaces of influence as they keep chipping away at actualizing their plans.
Want to transition from a talker to a doer? Take an hour today to reflect on these questions…
What is my purposeful mechanism for planning my week?
What things are deeply important to me but never feel urgent? When will I schedule these?
What is one thing I’ve been waiting on that I can pursue now?
What limitations have I turned into excuses?
What hard, but crucial, work have I been avoiding?