The single most important habit I developed as an IBM intern

A successful tomorrow starts with tonight.

Two years ago this exact month, I started my first day as an intern at IBM- and it's been both one of the most rewarding and challenging things I've ever done. This was my first "real" position, I worked at McDonald's and a gas station previously, but nothing related to my field like this. May 2nd 2016, was the first day of my now 2+ year journey, here's the most important thing I took away:

Their money.
Just kidding, but that was nice too.
I have a little book I always carry around- Habit: my day is planned before I go to bed.

At IBM, they've turned the internship position into a full-time role, internships aren't 4 months, but rather 16, with the option of extension based on performance. The first ~2 months act as a "training period", and then you are left to do your thing. For many of us interns, this role was completely different to school - new systems, new files, new processes, and new teams. It was challenging- over time I found myself carrying post it notes with me to meetings, sheets of paper to write on- which eventually turned into my university agenda that I used to keep track of things. 3 books later I have a neat format in my daily growth journal which tracks my daily goals and everyday tasks.

Planning out my goals for the day keeps me productive.

1. When you check things off a list, or cross them out, or bubble them in, or whatever you do- it feels good. You get a little dopamine rush every time you do so, and for me, whether it's a big task or a small one (like cutting my nails) productivity pumps my dopamine. When the day seems too overwhelming, having everything written out, and grinding through them one by one grounds my emotions (usually stress)- and helps me stay focused.

2. Writing down my list clears my brain space. It almost feels like I'm clearing the clutter out of my head- there's no need to constantly try to remember all the things to do, it's written there for me. I don't spend anytime thinking about what comes next, or if I have everything done. I focus on what my list says is next. This helps me de-stress, kind of helpful for me since my emotions are usually written all over my face.

3. I reduce my TTA - I call it my "time to action", some days, it takes me 30 minutes before I'm out of bed and starting on my first task. One of my goals is to reduce my average TTA to 10 minutes- to stop hitting the snooze, or rolling around in bed. My book is the go-to first thing I open in order to kick start my day productively.

Many students, myself included are told again and again to write down your goals and prioritize- and I ignored it for 23 years, but I guess 24th year is the charm- and it's working so far... so there's that. Thanks for reading.

Here's me in my IBM halloween costume (That open book on my desk was my 2nd daily goals book)

Cheers,

Victor.