This post is about illustrating the benefit of action, not planning, not planning to plan, but the productive power of identifying and taking an opportunity to act right now.
Most productivity posts talk about prioritizing, blocking time, avoiding distractions, and cleaning up your workspace. I’ll tell you right now I’m not going to suggest you turn off your phone or go for a walk to find clarity.
You’re going to need a pen and your list, your “to do” list for today if you have one. If you don’t, a blank sheet of lined paper or a notebook, please.
Let’s begin.
Do you struggle to complete tasks regularly, have a long list of unfinished projects, and as a result feel completely overwhelmed throughout most of your day?
Do feel like you’ve tried everything to improve focus, increase output, and manage your time more efficiently but nothing you did seemed to make a difference.
If you’d desperately love to break the cycle of feeling like you’re working so hard and getting next to nothing done, this post is for you.
Where are you right now? Stand up and go shut the door.
If you’re not in a place where you can procure some isolation by way of closing a door, find another way to shut the world out for a few minutes; move to a quieter spot, put on noise-canceling headphones, move to a room that has a door and shut it!
Next- consult your list, or if you have none, quickly make a list of all the things you need to do today.
Looking at that list- what task can you do right now?
Pick something, anything.
Call your Mother, respond to that angry customer, send that pitch to the client, finish that report you promised your boss.
Start small, pick a task you started and didn’t finish yesterday, something that will take 10 minutes or less than an hour, something mundane but easy, or better yet something you don’t really want to do but know it won’t take long to accomplish.
Go.
I sent a pitch I’ve been sitting on for 3 days.
My point is for some people like myself planning isn’t the issue when it comes to poor productivity. Acting is.
For those of us who are perfectionists or people who doubt their abilities, you can plan, organize, and prioritize until the cows come home. But you won’t get any further ahead on your to-do list if you don’t come to grips with this one thing,
done is better than perfect.
Look for these kinds of opportunities throughout your day, become an opportunist! It is such a liberating feeling to accomplish tasks on your list, even if they’re small, it is the best way to spark motivation, to overcome overwhelm.
-Let bygones be bygones- after completing your opportunistic tasks, let them go, let them be done, don’t revisit them later, don’t check them twice (or three or four times), click send, shut the program, check the box and move on. Learn that done is better than perfect.
Cut down your to-do list- delegate- outsource and see how much your motivation increases.
The science of accomplishment, my struggle with the “things in my way”
Start every day like outlined in this post; At the beginning shut out distractions, critically look at everything you need to accomplish, pick one thing you know you can accomplish, and do it right away. Leave it behind and prepare to move on to the next thing. Train your brain to recognize these opportunities.
Give time the respect it deserves and watch the magic happen.