7 Unconventional Methods to Transform Your Daily Life

Dive into Matthew Dicks’ Revolutionary Approach to Living Fully — Every Minute, Every Day

Let me tell you about the latest book I’ve read: Matthew Dicks’ “Someday Is Today,” which was really a wake-up call. Dicks’ life reads like a novel — from nights in a car to staring down life’s toughest moments. His take on life and productivity is anything but ordinary. By telling us his story, he’s also showing us a new way to see our days. It’s about making ‘someday’ happen now. Dicks’ message is to live deliberately, every single day.

The Minute’s Mindset

In “Someday is Today,” one idea really hit home: the ‘Minute’s Mindset.’ Dicks says, forget hours; think minutes. Each sixty-second span is a chance to do something, think something, be something.

Stop thinking about the length of a day in terms of hours and start thinking in terms of minutes. Minutes matter.

— Matthew Dicks

This isn’t your usual time management spiel. It’s about seeing time as precious, every minute of it. Dicks’ point: those minutes, they add up. They’re what life’s made of. So, make them count.

Starting in the Middle

People who do great things don’t wait until the time is right. They make the time.

— Matthew Dicks

This book flips the script on goal-setting. Dicks suggests a radical idea: start in the middle. It sounds counterintuitive, but here’s the thing — beginning in the middle can spark creativity and reduce overwhelm. It’s like walking into a story halfway through, you’re compelled to fill in the gaps. This approach breaks the tyranny of the blank page, the paralyzing ‘where do I start?’ Instead, you’re in the thick of it from the get-go, improvising, and discovering as you go. It’s a liberating way to tackle projects, sidestepping the pressure of a linear start and allowing ideas to flow more naturally.

Horizon Habit

Dicks introduces the ‘Horizon Habit’ in his book. The concept is to set ‘soft goals’ — goals within your reach, under your control. It’s easy to get lost chasing lofty, ambitious goals. But what if we focused on what’s directly ahead, within our grasp?

Organization for organization’s sake is a fool’s errand, perpetrated by people who don’t value their time appropriately and forget how soon they will be dead. If color-coding papers in a folder costs you ten minutes in labor but saves only thirty seconds of effort, then don’t do it.

— Matthew Dicks

These goals might seem small, but they’re achievable and realistic. They’re about steering your ship in the right direction, not aiming for a distant, foggy shore. This approach keeps you grounded, centered on what you can influence and builds momentum from a series of attainable victories.

The Piano Precedent

Your job as a creator — a maker of things — is to make your thing, but then put that thing on a proverbial shelf in your brain. Not on some shelf in a dusty pantry at the back of your brain but on display in a place of prominence and importance.

— Matthew Dicks

Dicks uses the ‘Piano Precedent’ to illustrate the importance of flexibility. Rigid five-year plans can be traps, locking you into a path that might not fit the “future you”. Life’s like playing the piano — you need to adjust, and respond to the tune as it unfolds. A rigid plan leaves no room for improvisation, for the unexpected notes of life. Flexibility, on the other hand, allows you to dance with change, to pivot and adapt. It’s about having a direction but being open to the journey’s twists and turns.

The 100-Year-Old Plan

Imagine getting advice from your 100-year-old self. That’s the essence of the ‘100-Year-Old Plan.’ Dicks encourages us to look at life from the vantage point of our future selves. What decisions would you make if you were looking back over a century of life?

When we are facing the last seconds of our lives, minutes become precious. The key is to understand their preciousness today when there is still time to make those minutes matter.

— Matthew Dicks

This perspective shift can be enlightening. It helps prioritize, and focus on what truly matters. It’s about making choices that your future self won’t regret, living a life that’s true to you, and not just reacting to the present’s demands.

The Purposeful Approach

In “Someday is Today,” productivity gets a makeover. It doesn’t take away from having to work and create output, but it’s also about purpose, doing the things that bring real fulfillment. The focus is shifted from mere busyness to concrete action, as a result of this redefinition. It’s a matter of quality, not quantity. In other words, productivity is all about enhancing one’s life instead of filling it. It’s pursuing activities that resonate with your core, that align with your values and passions.

Living Life on Your Terms

To wrap it up, Dicks’ “Someday is Today” is a roadmap for living life on your terms. It’s challenging the conventional wisdom on productivity and setting goals. It teaches us to begin in the middle, establish attainable targets, embrace flexibility, seek wisdom from our future selves, and redefine productivity. These unconventional yet practical tips are strategies and invitations to a more fulfilling, intentional life. A life where every day counts, where ‘someday’ becomes ‘today.’ If these concepts struck a chord, don’t hesitate to pick up this book, it will definitely change your perspective on life.

Thank you for reading my story.

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