Each night I go to bed with a list of things that need to be done on the morrow. Then, each day I get up and start off full of energy and optimism, ready to tackle the list.
By lunch, I’ve pretty much run out of both energy, and optimism. What I haven’t run out of is shit to do.
There are different strategies for getting stuff done.
The one thing.
I learned this from Troy Broussard; “Do the one thing that makes everything else easier or irrelevant.”
The essentials.
I forget where I heard this one, but make a list of 10 things and put them in priority order. Then get rid of the bottom 8. Basically “the one thing” but for two.
The first hour.
I first heard this from Ben Settle. Use the first hour of every day, when you are at your most creative and energetic, on your stuff, your Mission, as he puts it. The rest of the day is for everything else.
There are others, but they boil down to prioritizing your to do list. Get the important shit done first.
As a victim of serious mental health problems, I often have terrible difficulties with energy and motivation. Even essential things are often hard to do. Last year I filed my taxes two months late, because I just couldn’t be bothered. I had them prepared on time, but lacked the tiny motivation necessary do file.
Do Something, Anything
So my strategy is much simpler. Pick something, any damned thing, off your list.
And. Do. It.
Get something done. Anything.
Once you’ve done so, maybe get another thing done, and when you go to bed, be pleased not about what you’ve accomplished, but that you’ve accomplished.
