Don't Think about Everything You Need to Do
It seems unavoidable....That constant buzz in your head about all the things you need to do not just today ...but this month....this year.
That list never seems to end. Just when you think you are catching a break to be able to relax, your internal alarm clock goes off about the text you need to reply, the email you need to send, the errand you need to run, or the business plan you need to complete.
This can be a good thing.... you know, this buzz. But it can also be a very very bad thing. There are many reasons for that. Here are a couple (and then I'll tell you what to do instead of just thinking about everything you need to do in general)
1) You can't think deeply while buzzed.
Of course the literal meaning holds true (buzzed from alcohol) but so does this figurative parallel.When you are buzzing with so many things on your mind...when you are constantly being interrupted in thought, it is VERY hard to think deeply...and without deep thought, we really can't move our lives forward.
2)The buzz in your head creates a false sense of productivity.
Being buzzed...or busy makes us feel good about ourselves. However, the truth is that we can be very busy but unproductive. We can even be productive and yet not make progress because we are not productive in the things that will actually move us forward.
3) Constantly thinking of EVERYTHING we need to do will not allow us to concentrate on what we ARE doing.
You might already be on the right path. You might already be doing what is most important. If you allow the overwhelm of "EVERYTHING" else that you need to do to creep in too deep, you wont be able to concentrate on what's in front of you.Now...if you shouldn't think about everything you need to do, what should you think about? How do you navigate that? Well, here are some simple yet powerful ways to think about what you need to do:
A) Don't just think about everything you need to do, think of what you need to doNEXT.
This sounds like a small adjustment but it is such a powerful one.Narrowing down your thought process to what you need to do NEXT instantly focuses your attention and dials down the mental noise.This helps to prioritize.Most people don't accomplish the things they need to accomplish not because they don't know all the things to do. They miss the mark because they don't know how to prioritize.
I am realizing that:
A critical ability in life is not just knowing what to do in general...but knowing what to do NEXT.
Tobi Atte
B) Don't just think about everything you need to do, think of what will give youREAL PROGRESS.
Not everything on your plate or your to-do list will actually be instrumental in moving you forward and giving you real progress
C) Don't just think about everything you need to do, think about yourENVIRONMENT.
No matter what your goals or dreams are, your environment will have an impact.
Ask: Does my environment (Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual etc) enable me or does it disable me?
That may mean you need to make a seismic in your environment to be able to do what you need to do next, but that may not necessarily be so. The changes to your environment may be small. You may need to change the time you do certain things or maybe the place you do certain things. It may even be as small as changing the arrangement of the space in which you are trying to do whatever it is.
D) Don't just think about everything you need to do, think about theOPPORTUNITY COST.
You only have 24 hrs in a day and every hour you spend doing thing A is an hour you cannot spend on thing B. So when you are trying to figure out what to do, thinking of the opportunity cost helps make better decisions.
This is actually two pronged. You can think about it like " what are things I will be giving up if I DON'T do this thing" OR "What are the things I will be giving up if I DO this next thing"So that's it.What do I need to do NEXT, that will give me real PROGRESS? What environment will support that? and Is it really worth it to do based on what I am giving up or what I stand to gain?
Alright then...what are you waiting for?Stop the buzz, get your mind right, and start DOING!