Getting things done can be al elusive goal. The more you think about them the harder you make it for yourself. If you find yourself struggling to get things done it can be reassuring to know that the struggle can be avoided. It can also be extremely annoying to have people like me saying things like that, I know, but hang on a moment.
We’ve all been there; putting something off for no good reason. If we are honest with ourselves there is ONE good reason, we don’t want to do it at that particular moment (I have become pretty adept at stretching those moments to weeks or months). If you want to get something done there are clear steps you can take that will get you past the inertia. One of the first hurdles is our own attitude.
By-pass thinking and act
Adopting a proactive approach to tasks and chores will help to make you more productive for one simple reason; you’ll waste less energy complaining to yourself and wishing things were different.
It’s rewarding, getting things done, and energising too. Often the dividing line between ‘doing’ and ‘not doing’ is a fine one, but it might as well be a solid wall, it is so effective. But it’s a line which we create by thinking about it. Don’t think, do, and the line disappears.
There’s a huge difference between just getting something done, and struggling to get it done while you are weighed down by unhelpful emotional responses like resentment, unwillingness, a sense of unfairness, isolation or guilt.
These are just examples of the feelings that can tire you out until you are totally knackered. They are tricky devils, emotions. You may not be able to control them, but you can control the thinking which helps keep emotions alive.
In a word, the secret ingredient needed to getting things done is attitude, an attitude of not-thinking-about-the-things-that-will-stop-you. When you have something to do which you’d rather not but know you must, adopt a purposeful attitude of focus. When you give your attention single-mindedly – or mindfully or purposefully – to the task in hand, resistance and resentment evaporate.
