incompletion drains your energy, while completion replenish it
Yesterday you said, “you’ll do it tomorrow”!
- I’ll start going to the gym tomorrow
- I’m going to work on my relationship tomorrow
- I start eating healthier tomorrow
- I’ll make that phone call tomorrow
- I’ll talk to my boss about that raise tomorrow
- I’ll reply to that email tomorrow
Instead, you scrolled up and down your FB page for an hour; checked your friend’s story on Instagram and did a couple of hours of online shopping.
Sounds familiar?
Guess what today is?
Today is yesterday’s tomorrow
If you approach life with a mindset of “tomorrow,” your goals will always be a dream in the future. To get things done, you need to shift your mindset to ACT NOW.
Life always gets in the way, there is no perfect time to take on a new task or finish up an old one. We get tangled in our everyday routines and keep pushing back our dreams to tomorrows.
STOP! Seriously, stop reading this post and go take care of business…
Are you still here?
Ok, then continue reading and promise to go take care of one task that you kept pushing off after reading this post all the way to the end!
You see, tomorrow is only an illusion…What you have is right now, this moment, nothing less, nothing more.
If you want to be efficient in life, remember the Nike slogan: Just Do It! And add a “NOW” at the end of it! JUST DO IT NOW!
Action builds momentum.
The law of momentum is not only in physics; it applies to life as well. applies to life as well.
How so may you ask?
Incompletion drains your energy, while completions replenish it. See, incompletion and postponing task just don’t disappear in thin air! Your subconscious mind knows that the task is not complete and it actually consumes energy to remind you that it’s not complete; while completing the task gives the subconscious mind the sign to take a sigh of relief and say AHHH…Great, what’s next on the list!
So how do we train the mind to be proactive?
1- Break down the task– Most often, when we put things off, it’s because the task is too daunting and overwhelming. We don’t know where & how to start; so we keep pushing it off. The best remedy for this kind of procrastination is to break the task into smaller, doable steps. Remember the famous saying: “There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”
2- The two-minute rule– (From David Allen’s bestselling book, Getting Things Done.) If it takes less than two minutes to complete, do it NOW! The 2–Minute Rule works for big tasks as well as small ones because of the law of momentum, which we discussed above. Once you start doing something, it’s easier to continue doing more.
3- Prioritize your work- Your energy tank shrinks as the day goes on, which is why it’s so important to get to the hardest work done first thing in the morning or at your peak energy time. You can be sure to do a lot more focused and deep work if you follow this simple rule.
4- Take breaks- The human body works in cycles. We’re designed to pulse between spending and renewing energy. Our brain can only focus for 90 to 120 minutes at a time. Set your clock to take 15-20 min breaks after 90-120 minutes of productive work.
The most important part of any new habit is getting started —How we train the mind is by consistently taking action, one step at a time. Don’t get consumed by the end result, instead, put your attention on doing one task at a time.
Take action, get in the flow, rest, repeat!
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