In this Episode…
On my second day of the revitalised podcast and things are already starting to feel comfortable. I have the process defined and it appears to be working with few if any stumbling blocks.
So in today’s episode I share another example of eating the frog and explore the causes of procrastination.
Limiting beliefs pop up in this episode and I share an approach I have been taking to clear out some old mental skeletons that have not been serving me well at all.
I’ve got a few productivity ideas that came to mind during the day and wax lyrical about the convenience and power of having a system you can trust.
Episode Show Notes….
Working In My Prime Time
- Yesterday I mulled over needing to channel my energies at the time when my energies were at their peak. Well today the first thing I did after my morning routine was spend two hours solely focusing on my current Frog task. And I got it done.
Why We Procrastinate
- Why do we procrastinate? That’s a great question I am often asked as well as the follow up one which is usually “so how do I stop procrastinating?” Well there are a number of reasons whey we procrastinate
- We are hard wired for it – the brain likes to keep us safe and conserve energy so it can keep us safe. So if there is something disagreeable to it (and that might mean unpleasant emotions surrounding the task) then it will resist doing it. It isn’t the task, it’s the emotions associated with the task. Sometimes those emotions are irrational.
- The timing is often an issue – if it doesn’t need to be done NOW then our brain has little urgency.
- If we don’t think we can do it, or it is going to have little value then we will resist doing it.
- Our natural impulsiveness means we are quickly drawn to bright shiny objects that by comparison seem much more interesting – by default that makes the task we want to do less appealing.
- Having a fixed mindset doesn’t help either
- We are hard wired for it – the brain likes to keep us safe and conserve energy so it can keep us safe. So if there is something disagreeable to it (and that might mean unpleasant emotions surrounding the task) then it will resist doing it. It isn’t the task, it’s the emotions associated with the task. Sometimes those emotions are irrational.
- I’d been putting off today’s frog for two reasons. The first was thinking it was going to be difficult and time-consuming. And the second was because of some negative emotions around it. It was a relief to get it done.
Clearing Limiting Beliefs
- The exploration of those negative emotions means diving into my beliefs. I recently had a session with the brilliant Kim Masters and explored EFT to deal with a long held limiting belief. I was very surprised at how well it worked. That is going to be an ongoing commitment to inner work.
Planning How I’ll Focus On My One Thing
- Having decided on making this podcast my main thing, I spent some time organising my thoughts and putting together a plan to work on it. The first thing I did was get a clear vision of where I want to go with the podcast site for it’s first iteration.
- The second thing I did was gather all of the tasks from my backlog (I use a personal Kanban approach to planning my work), and place them around the plan I’d drawn up
The Beauty Of A Working System
- Having a system works really well. I have a template I use whenever I am inspired by a story I can use in my speaking and training sessions. Today whilst out walking I captured a story into my Evernote Template. It is a friction free system.
Some Productivity Ideas That Came To Me Today
- I think our aim should be to win the day, every day. Now that definition of winning will vary depending on your circumstances and of course what you hope to achieve in the day. It doesn’t have to be about work ether. Winning the day on a personal level is usually more important than on a work level.
- There are many ways we can set up a victory. For me my morning routine is one way. Another is deciding what I am going to do the night before. If I don’t do that, I have lost the following day before I even go to sleep the night before. Today I had decided what my frog was going to be when I went to bed last night. And this morning, that frog got eaten.
It’s Not Quite A Productivity Quote
I am listening to a lot of Tom Bilyeu’s motivational quote speeches at the moment. I can highly recommend them. I don’t recall the exact words that resonated with me this morning, but they were along the lines of “decide what you want to be, decide who you need to become and then work on creating that new you by developing the beliefs required of that person”.
This idea of reengineering the self struck me.
