Have you ever looked at your to do list (or your 5 to do lists, like me) and just felt overwhelmed and continued to procrastinate by hiding it under a pile of papers you need to sort through?
Yeesh. There are a few things I hold in my arsenal for times like these.
One: the idea of a GYST day (Get Your Sh** Together, courtesy of Kalyn Nicholson).
Two: A Nagging Tasks List and a Power Hour (courtesy of Gretchen Rubin).
Three: A Break it down Brainstorm (courtesy of Muchelle B).
A GYST Day is basically a full day where you decide to get all those things that are on that to do list done. Grab some coffee, put on some music, get to work.
A nagging tasks list is a list where all those little things that you continue to put off sit. …and sit and sit until you finally kick yourself in the butt and do them. A power hour is where you say, ok for the next 60 minutes, I’m going to get serious and bang out everything I can on this list. And you get to work.
And finally, the brainstorm is where you break it all down into bite-sized pieces where those nagging tasks don’t seem so hard.
I have about 4 or 5 scattered to do lists. And while I do get things done, it’s probably not the most efficient way to handle it. So, a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon Muchelle B’s video on “Getting My Life Sorted,” I dove in.
First, I got my coffee. Then I sat down and wrote out the questions she starts her video off with:
What am I procrastinating?
What appointments am I putting off?
What needs to be done around the house that I am avoiding?
What errands have I been putting off?
Once I wrote those out. I got to work. I compared all my to do lists and nagging tasks lists (yes, I have at least 2 of those as well). I condensed them onto one page. I bulleted each task and then outlined exactly what needs to be done to complete it. It may seem silly, but yes “go to website” is actually a step on one. The less complicated you make each step, the easier it will look to achieve it. And the easier it looks, the more likely you are to be motivated to handle it.
At the very least, these questions and strategies can get you started. They can put you in the right mindset that you need to be in order to begin sifting through and knocking things off your lists. The key is to take baby steps. Get your lists on one page. Outline them, break them down, make them manageable. And then get going! Time is passing whether you cross those items off or not. And wouldn’t it feel much better to cross them off?
What strategies help you to get things done?
Raising LeBar 