Reading Feel Good Productivity. Glad to have one more chapter under my belt. And excited to implement. Last I wrote about Finding Courage to overcome the fear that accompanies starting any new habit, venture or activity. Apart from fear, another impediment to boosting your productivity is Inertia.
Getting Started
As Newton's law says, 'An object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest, unless an external force is applied on it.'
The point is that it's hard to start something new. As they say, it takes significant effort to get over the initial hump. What are the practical ways to beat the inertia? Because we all know that it sounds simple - Just do it - but it feels impossible in the moment.
Let's take a few examples of tasks one might want to accomplish
- Reading a book
- Exercising
- Applying for jobs
Here how we can (possibly) get started.
1. REDUCE FRICTION
Reduce the small, mundane mini-tasks before the task. For e.g. for reading a book, finding the book is the pre-task before the task.
Prime Your Environment
This is another tip that has been borrowed from 'Atomic Habits'. Redesign your environment in such a way that all pre-tasks before the main task are done, and the main task is the only one to accomplish. There are no more excuses.
Ensure that the book is placed on your bedside table.
Your yoga mat is already laid out.
Your laptop is already on your desk and open.
I have personally found this tip to be extremely effective. For e.g. on days that I don't really feel like cooking but I have to, I lay out the veggies, chopping board, knife, pot and spices on the counter before I go to get dressed. Take a minute. When I come back, it's all already there. Then the effort to chop and saute the veggies doesn't seem as huge a task.
2 Min Rule
This is everywhere. Mentioned in Atomic Habits too. Do a task for 2 min, and 2 min only. Be true to yourself. If you really don't feel like continuing, leave it. But 80% of the time, it's not so difficult, it doesn't feel so bad to continue. You'll do it.
Like this blog. I literally decided just to open the page. It's 9PM and I wasn't feeling like writing it at all. But I decided to write the intro..... I'm still writing.
2. TAKE ACTION
Take the first step
Any task in entirety seems daunting. But taking the first step is simple. Opening the book, changing into exercise clothes and opening LinkedIn is not daunting. Don't stress over the whole 5 hour ordeal. Take it easy. Take small steps.
Track progress
Who doesn't like to see progress? Tracking your small wins is easy and gives a sense of accomplishment. And it gives you something to aim towards without putting too much pressure on yourselves. Read 10 pages, exercise for 5 min or apply for 1 job. All measurable and independent of result. It's only on you.
3. DON'T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELVES
Get a buddy
Social pressure is truly a thing. You are so much more likely to do something if someone else depends on you. Or you are answerable to someone.
In my team we implemented an 'End of Day Email' rule. Every person must send an email at the end of the day with the progress in the day. 99% of the time no one will ask you about it. But it's impossible not to feel the pressure of writing that email. It's embarrassing to have nothing to write about, even if you feel like doing nothing all day.
Getting a buddy is similar. There's someone you have to answer to. It's embarrassing to admit for the 7th day in a row that you didn't manage to read 5 mere pages again.
Forgive Yourselves
I've read all the other tips before. It's good to recall them again. But this one was new and genuinely enlightening. We need to forgive ourselves for what we didn't do. Most of the time, we're not able to re-start a task because of the shame and guilt of not finishing it in the times before. We beat ourselves up over it. That consumes us much more than the task itself.
Let it go. Start again. Maybe it's helpful to remember again that no one is paying as much attention to your mistakes as you are.
