Category: Being Productive

A tip from a friend on what to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed:

“The best advice I ever got from my 5th grade teacher stuck with me until this day. If you have a list of 10 things to do, don’t look at them all at once. Pick one and go from there. We’re only one person and if we train our minds to slow down when we have a meticulous or time consuming project, I find it relaxes the anxiety of feeling like I’ll never get it done. Hope this helps.”

I particularly like this idea of not looking at them all at once.

…Sure, make your list and get yourself organized on what all needs to get done. And sure, prioritize so you can distinguish between what needs to get done, what you want to get done, what doesn’t really need to get done, what can be delegated, and what can be deleted. And sure, take a quick look at it all.

But after that… stop.

Enough looking at the list.

The longer you look at the list, the more likely the list will paralyze you to inaction (and lead you to a modern day distraction).

Just pick something.

Go from there.

Train your mind to slow down.

Having a lot to get done is the modern day dilemma.

Getting one thing done at a time with a calm, clear intention is the modern day solution.

I’m getting better at controlling my downtime.

I know its value and know it’s what my mind needs after intense days/weeks of work, but I don’t want it to zap away an entire half day’s worth of time anymore.

Which, when I would browse all the different social media channels, is exactly what would happen. Not only would it zap away huge chunks of my day, but it would add zero to minimal value to my life and would more often than not put me into a bad mood / state of mind.

So, slowly, I’ve logged out and stopped using most social media apps altogether.

And slowly, what I’ve been intentionally turning to is more long-form content on YouTube.

This gives me control because I can be so much more deliberate in how I invest my attention whereas when I’m scrolling through short-form feeds, I get fire-hosed with dopamine smacks that I seem to only want to get more and more and more of—endlessly.

Long form, however, allows me to be more deliberate, to keep a better grasp in how much time I’m spending, and to focus on content that allows me to relax while simultaneously adding some actual value to my life.

…Worth considering as social media, in my opinion, only continues to trend from bad to worse.

I’m feeling very overwhelmed right now.

…Not necessarily in a bad way, though.

As those of you who have gone to business conferences, inspirational seminars, and/or events featuring some of the best in the world know… it can just leave you feeling like there’s so much to do and not enough time.

…Not to mention the everyday life problems that get tacked on top of the laundry list of ideas you want to act on… like how both of my websites are down right now and there’s nothing I can do about it which is stressing me the heck out.

…And also not to mention the exhaustion that usually accompanies these long weekends of training, learning, and conversations mixed with travel, jet lag, and messed up routines.

It formulates this weird inspiration haze that makes you excited to do things, but anxious about not having the energy or time to do what you want.

What’s carrying me through, though, is the calm reminder to simply do what I can now, with what energy and time I have, while staying organized on my future to-do items, and to let go and breathe out all that is outside of my control.

…I’ve done everything I can do to get my websites back up.

…I’ve acted on the items I’ve been able to act on so far.

…I’m slowly getting back to a routine that leaves me feeling fully energized and optimized for time.

And the rest… I’ll get to when I do.

…Which is, I keep reminding myself, the perfect pace to go.

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P.s. This is my post from Wednesday, July 10th.

One trick that’s been helping me get things done more smoothly… is doing them more slowly.

…Which might sound counter culture (busy and fast is the modern day way) and might feel like it goes against your inclinations—and that’s because it probably does… and it is.

Hear me out…

When it’s time to get up out of bed… rather than try to jump up and quickly get on to the first task of the day… I rise calmly.

When it’s time to get my workout sets in… rather than try and finish each rep as quickly as possible… I try to bring in the fire more slowly.

When I have to get three things done all at once… rather than try and get all three done at the same time… I’ll focus more carefully on the most important one of the three only.

I’ve been surprised at how effective this mindset shift has been for me and I think you might be, too.

It works because it gets you started. It works because it prevents you from making rash mistakes (and having to fix or redo). It works because it keeps you more focused… more joyful and in an overall better state to perform… more absorbed in the now.

…Which is where all the magic for getting things done ever resided anyway.

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P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

It’ll never be all done all at once—there will always be something that needs to be worked on.

I’m reflecting on this as I take this weekend to catch up on all of my indoor and outdoor chores. There are so many things that need to be completed that by the time I’m done with the last item, the first item would need to be done again—and so the circle goes.

This is why it’s healthy to adopt a mindset of, “Won—not done.”

“Done” is a forever fleeting finish line that’ll only frustrate and upset you whenever you try to attain it.

But, “won” is always do-able.

Start by asking yourself: What are the most important tasks to complete that’ll give me a “win” for the day? And then repeat tomorrow.

Collecting “Ws” works a lot better for productivity and mental health than feeling like all you ever do is fall short.

Before intense exercise, we stretch (or at least we should).

We do this to prepare the body for what’s to come. We extend our muscles to their maximum range and hold them there so as to tell them, “I might need to take you to this point at some point—don’t freak out; don’t get pulled; don’t rip. I need you to perform at peak capacity and I want to conclude without any injuries from the process. What’d you say, muscles? Are you ready to do this?!”

What a brilliant practice.

One that I think more of us need to adopt for more than our bodies—but, for our minds, too.

How often do we have mentally intense days? I’d bet all of the time.

…And how often do we mentally stretch for those mentally intense days? I’d bet rarely, if ever.

What if, instead of rushing out of bed late and jumping into the mentally intense challenges of the day cold, groggy, and stiff… What if we spent a few minutes each morning doing some mental stretching? What if we reviewed and renewed our principles and values? Or recited the mantras or prayers that guide us? Or visualized our day unfolding and preemptively planned for curveballs or possible contingencies?

…I’d say, what stretching does for our intense workouts physically, so, too, will it do for our intense days mentally.

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P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s completely OK to not be productive.

…And to just lay down or sit quietly or go for a casual walk or long car ride or dance to some bomb music.

…And just remember what it feels like—to be.

And since we’re on the topic, never forget: doing things that make you feel happy or free or help you calm down are always productive things.

…Things that you can even add to and check off your lists for the day.

Because if you’re not doing those things every day… I wonder… what are you doing?