Struggling to Stay on Track? Try my Tactic to Figure Out Why.
To start, we ALL feel overwhelmed... if you try to tell me otherwise I will gladly pull out my bullshit card and place it on your forehead. If you are anything like me, your headspace is a constant playground filled with kids (kids being the shit we want/need to get done) that are all going in different directions, nagging at you for attention. I have tried numerous different tactics to tame this beast and ended up creating one that was unique to my needs. Check out my steps below... I hope it can help you, too!
1. Get a piece of paper
That's it...get a piece of real paper and your favorite pen (I know you nerds out there that have that one specific pen that melts your heart).
2. Write a reminder to yourself on top
This simple reminder serves one purpose; to bring you back to the clarity/motivation you had when starting this piece of paper. For me, it has consistently been this quote, "Remember when you wanted what you currently have". When the whirlwind of life comes at you full force it's too easy to fall into the chaotic brain that causes us to shut down and take the easy way out (scrolling social media looking at the glamor of people getting shit done that, in reality, is just a highlight reel of their lives that causes us to feel even shittier about how we're living our own lives).
3. Write down the things from yesterday you didn't complete
This may seem a bit...condescending? You're probably thinking, "Why would I want to reflect on the things I didn't do?". The strategy behind this is in step 4!
4. Put the spotlight on those to-do‘s
All too often my day becomes clouded with small, mundane tasks that do NOT carry any strength to progress what is most important to me. By putting the spotlight on my self created tasks (I like to call them my dust bunnies...going back to the Big Comfy Couch I used to watch as a kid), it literally made me say, "Wow!". I would often have things listed like do the dishes, fold my laundry, take the trash out, etc. These all seem like legit things, right? That’s because they are! But, those things might not necessarily be the things causing your feeling of unease. Are these small tasks the things that light you up? I sure hope not! Taking a walk with your partner to reconnect, writing this weeks blog post, making that piece of jewelry someone ordered off your Etsy account, following up with a new potential personal training client, etc., are the things that you can focus on. Those things are your dreams! The real question here is, are these things making the top of your to-do list?
5. Put the spotlight on Why
What do I mean by why? What I focused on was why I didn't get those things done. I constantly get in a cycle of resetting and creating fresh new goals instead of really evaluating why I am resetting. The real answer is that I am the reason things aren‘t getting done. I am the why. I often end up getting home from work thinking it’s time to relax... EVERY night. I come home and say to myself "I've worked hard, I deserve to sit on my phone for 10 minutes". Let's be real... 10 minutes is never the reality of that situation. That 10 minutes ignites my stomach, then I want food, which makes more dirty dishes, resulting in skipping my workout, creating more trash to take out and leaving me with less motivation to do the things I didn’t do yesterday. In the few split seconds it takes me to decide to relax, the rest of my night goes exponentially downhill. I realized I have to set myself up for success before I get home. I have to prepare by visualizing myself doing the tasks most important to me, then connect to the feeling I get after I finish them. You know... that feeling of a squeaky clean apartment, the content mindset after you smashed your workout, wrote your blog post, or landed a new client... yeah, that feeling.
6. Go back to your reminder
That reminder only means as much as you allow it to. "Remember when you wanted what you currently have" doesn't serve me any purpose unless I allow it to. Take 60 seconds... yes, 60 seconds to apply your reminder to your day ahead. How will you use that reminder to kickstart your day? When you get pulled around by those kids on the playground how will you stay in control? When you feel yourself caving into the couch, how do you remind yourself how bad you want your dreams? When you can attach your why to your reminder is when step number 7 makes the magic happen.
7. Take your reminder and write your #1 task of tomorrow
Now let me be clear... your #1 task is not going to be the same as taking the trash out, doing the dishes, or working out. Your #1 task is going to be attached to NOT doing something. This is going to be unique to you... "Don't open my phone for the first 30 minutes when I get home from my day" is what worked the best for me at the start. Your #1 task is going to be to avoid the thing that caused you to not finish all the other tasks.
8. Repeat when Necessary
I know it isn't realistic to have this be a daily practice. That is not my intention in sharing this with you. This only needs to be repeated when you feel yourself slip back into old habits, those habits that feel easy and require no brain strength because you are conditioned to them. Use this technique to help you get back on track and stay on track longer!
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The more I have pushed to question myself the more I have realized it's usually pretty f@*!^ simple to discover why I am not getting high-value things done. I am a master at putting myself down when I don’t tick all the boxes. Bottom line, it's all about prioritizing yourself. If you really want the life you dream of, start with you. Start with the things that give you the motivation to do the small mundane tasks.