If you're anything like me, you walk around living your day-to-day life with a perpetual to-do list in the back of your head that just never seems to get any smaller no matter how productive you've been that day, that month or that week. For me, my list was very long and it bothered me that I seemingly couldn't find enough time in the day to crack away at that list.

Everyone's list is different. For me, some reoccurring ones were to go to the gym more consistently, get back to reading books like I used to and find a way to write that didn't involve a thesis statement and MLA format. What made things so much worse is the even longer list of failed attempts at these endeavors. I couldn't tell you how many times I'd go to the gym for two weeks before taking three weeks off or how many books sat on my shelf half-read from months ago only to be restarted when I decided to pick them back up again.

I had even tried goal setting in the past. On New Year's Eve in 2016, I told myself that I would read 12 books in 2017. That's a book a month which I thought was more than accomplishable. I even made it through the first two months having read "And Then There Were None" and "A Hologram for the King." However, I eventually fell behind and ended up abandoning the endeavor entirely. At some point afterwards, I realized my issue wasn't the goals I was setting for myself, it was how I was setting them. Then a friend of mine introduced me to the Power 5.

He introduced me to an episode of the "The MFCEO Podcast by Andy Frisella" podcast called "Win The Day, with Andy Frisella" that outlined the basic principles of the Power 5. You start by writing down some long-term goals that you have for yourself or things that you want to accomplish. The Power 5 is meant to help you accomplish your goals by translating them into daily actions. For instance, one of my goals was to read at least six books by the end of the year and so I chose to read for 30 minutes a day. By reading for 30 minutes a day, I made steady progress through books and read much more than in years prior.

You can always change up your Power 5 to meet your daily needs. I believe in having some tasks consistent over a long period of time, but it's also helpful to have some openings for tasks that might be high-priority for that day. For instance, you might need to send in a job application or study for a test alongside your other tasks. You don't even necessarily have to choose five tasks. The Power 5 could become the Power 4 or even Power 3. It's important to find an amount that you feel is sustainable over a long period of time. Change doesn't happen instantaneously, it's built over time with consistent action.

There's also an aspect of accountability with the Power 5. If you complete all the tasks in a given day you give yourself a "W" but if you fail to do so you give yourself an "L." It may seem like a peculiar system at first but it's also a measure of progress. If you win the majority of the days you in the week. If you win the majority of the weeks you win the month and if you win the majority of the months you win the year. It's a very simple way to look back and see the progress you've made. Here's an example of one of my weeks when I was first using the Power 5:

A lot of really cool things started happening after I had been using the Power 5 for a long time. I've read five books so far which has put me on pace to pass my initial goal by a long shot. I developed a workout routine that I found has both challenged me and helped me remain sustainably active. I also started writing a lot more outside of school which is actually how I ended up here at Odyssey. I feel more at peace with my productivity and I don't feel pressured to be working on something 24/7 because I know I'm making progress on myself at my own pace. I encourage everyone to at least try the Power 5 even if you don't stick with it long term. I got a lot out of it and I'm certain you will too.