Even master productivity ninjas get off track.
Sometimes, the effort to get moving seems herculean. It becomes so much easier to spend time staring at the television, reorganizing the junk drawer, or alphabetizing the spice rack. Hey, you’re doing something, right?
Other times, the lure of procrastination keeps you from moving forward with your priorities.
If you’ve been off track on doing the right things, here are 5 things you can do right now to break yourself out of the rut and get back to getting things done.
- Clean off your workspace. Clearing physical clutter can clear mental clutter. If your desk is buried in stacks of unread magazines, your first grader’s finger paintings and your fortune cookie fortune collection, it’s hard to keep the daily detritus from distracting you. Just don’t let a quick clutter-bust turn into a full-day reorganization.
- Get away from it all. Sometimes, the longer you stare, the less you get done. Go for a walk, cook a meal, read a book or otherwise mentally disengage for a while. Set a timer, and come back to work after an hour or so.
- Pick any one thing, and do it right now. It can be as minor as answering an email you’ve been putting off, or making a doctor’s appointment. The key here is that it be something you’ve been avoiding doing. By getting over the hurdle with one task, it’s easier to keep going, tackling more of the tasks you’ve been “meaning to do.”
- Make a decision on your priorities. You don’t even have to do anything. You just have to break out of the state of indecision. If you can’t figure out what to do first, ask yourself what will mean the most for you? What will have the largest impact on your success? Simply identifying what will most move you forward can help you get clarity and get moving.
- Go for the emotional payoff. What’s going to be most gratifying to complete? Is it the most checkboxes on the list? Or the oldest task? The one that’s due soonest? Or is there an item that’s keeping you up at night? If picturing it done is like picturing green grasses and fresh breezes, do that first. The emotional high will keep you moving through the other tasks on your list.
It doesn’t really matter how you get moving, just start somewhere, and let the momentum carry you through!
Related posts:
- My new favorite productivity tool: Toodledo
- Make the decision: Managing your attention
- 15 minutes a day to more productive work
- Getting into alignment: Putting passion into your everyday
- 5 ways to bring focus into your day
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I find that making a to-do list always helps me. I put it on the sticky notes program on my computer, so I see it every time I go to use the internet as a distraction. There’s just something really gratifying about being able to mark things off the list!
Jenn: Absolutely! A to-do list is a must. And a short to-do list is usually manageable. The problem becomes when you have a to-do list like mine that stretches into pages. Keep it focused, and it will help!
Absolutely! I also have a sticky note for each day of the week, so I can assign tasks to a specific day – which helps to keep the lists shorter and more focused, just like you said.