Have you ever had one of those days?
You know, where the to-do list keeps growing and growing with no end in sight.
It might be a list full of the more mundane things in life such as just changing over the laundry or unloading the dishwasher to keep the dishes cycle going. Or it could be bigger more time-sensitive things.
Regardless, if you are having one of those days and you can't figure out where to begin I've got a simple system that helps my brain get motivated and unstuck.
First I prioritize my list into separate sublists:
Regardless, if you are having one of those days and you can't figure out where to begin I've got a simple system that helps my brain get motivated and unstuck.
First I prioritize my list into separate sublists:
- Things that MUST get done today
- Things that need to get done but are not time sensitive
- Things that have been hanging over my head that I'd like to get done but are not urgent at all
I like to start with 2-3 small things that I KNOW can be accomplished relatively quickly so I can make some checks off of my list and feel like I really can get some stuff accomplished.
Set the timer for 15 minutes for each small thing you want to get done. Most of the time it is something that gets completed way before the timer will ever go off so go ahead and see how many of those small tasks you can get done in those first 15 minutes. It will challenge yourself to get moving.
After checking a couple small tasks off of my list I look at my #1 list of things that MUST get done but may take a bit of heel digging and time.
Turn off all notifications on phones and computers and put aside anything else that might distract you.
Then set a timer for 15 minutes and just dive in. You will be surprised at how quickly you can get in the zone when you get rid of all other distractions and you work as hard as you can until the timer goes off. Most likely you will be ready to keep going once that initial 15 minutes is up.
Just getting started is the hardest part, but EVERYONE can give it just 15 minutes of undistracted focus to get going.
Set the timer for 15 minutes for each small thing you want to get done. Most of the time it is something that gets completed way before the timer will ever go off so go ahead and see how many of those small tasks you can get done in those first 15 minutes. It will challenge yourself to get moving.
After checking a couple small tasks off of my list I look at my #1 list of things that MUST get done but may take a bit of heel digging and time.
Turn off all notifications on phones and computers and put aside anything else that might distract you.
Then set a timer for 15 minutes and just dive in. You will be surprised at how quickly you can get in the zone when you get rid of all other distractions and you work as hard as you can until the timer goes off. Most likely you will be ready to keep going once that initial 15 minutes is up.
Just getting started is the hardest part, but EVERYONE can give it just 15 minutes of undistracted focus to get going.
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