How Pros Start Getting Things Done in Extremely Easy Way | Fast Lane From Lazy to Achiever
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
― Steven Pressfield
Self-talk & Resistance.
Self.-talk rapidly destroys our attempts to get things done. Self-task starts to speak to you all the possible reasons, excuses or vague excuses why you shouldn’t or can’t do the task now. You are familiar with “this task is huge”,” now it is not the right time”,” I don’t have skills/resources etc”,” I don’t have time”, and” Within 15min task will not be completed”, blah blah.
Physical sensations in your body as an obstacle?
Have you noticed that when you need to start a difficult task; there is usually also physical aversion in your state of the body? For example, tight chest, shallow breathing, knot in stomach, tight muscles, not feeling well etc. Let me clarify and deep dive into this issue in further detail.
Note. Exercise, a cold shower, and hydration (drink water) change your physiology, thus getting started will get easier.
Different Productivity Methods using the same underlying rule
As a productivity geek, you may already have heard Pomodoro-technique, or Mel Robbin’s ‘5 seconds rule? How about the next action (GTD-style) or time boxing/sprint?
What do they have in common?
Time-limit. All those previous methods have clear & solid ending times.
Why do they work?
Here are a few reasons why I think ‘time-boxing’ works so well:
- A clear ending makes it easier to start since you know that after a certain time period you are free to stop
- Getting started is, in fact, the most difficult part. Once you have started the effort diminishes. Rest vs motion friction.
- A sense of urgency puts pressure and your brain doesn’t have time to talk you away
Can you figure out other reasons? Feel free to comment.
How do I use these methods?
When having a mentally difficult task,
- I just put the timer and do it (or at least start) within 15min. Note. you are free to use 15min as you want, the only rule is that work needs to relate to the task, e.g. thinking, drafting, mind mapping, and figuring out the next actions.
I propose that during those 10–15min time-boxes, you at least try to think about a concrete next tasks, e.g. should I call someone? send e-mail? draft doc? If you don’t figure anything, the rule is that for 15min, you are now allowed to do anything, in case you have no idea. Just sit, wait and think about the task for 15min without other distractions.
Currently, I’m writing a free e-book about best practices in 2022 to implement a practical no non-sense system based on my 15+ years of research related to this topic.
Want more to learn this stuff? Read the next paragraph.
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Have a nice productive day! Be compassionate to yourself. Don’t try too hard, you are still, a valuable and unique person.
