Oops! I’m behind…
Ugh. That feeling–you’ve let things pile up. Maybe you’ve been going through a bit of a slump. Low energy, little or no motivation, and the pressure of looming deadlines have caused a bit of a paralysis.
Guess what? I’m there. Right now. I have let schoolwork take the back burner, and now I’ve got a mountain of work to do this weekend. So, I thought I would share my process in hopes that it might help someone else.
Set the stage
made clear agreements with those I live with that I needed to get work done today. I was lucky, in that my two daughters had sleepovers outside the house. This made for a slightly more peaceful environment. I get most of my work done in the morning and early afternoon hours, when I’m freshest–so I got down to it right away. Here is what my to-do list looked like:
Write blog
Write and hand-in school assignment
Do five interviews for school project
Prep for meeting with my academic advisor on Monday–where I have to discuss progress on my school project (that really isn’t where it should be)
Send off an email to a business connection that could lead to work opportunities (I’ve been putting it off for two weeks)
What I did (and why)
Woke up (8:00)
Did five minutes of breathwork–long, nasal inhales and exhales of eight seconds each (Tones vagus nerve to calm the mind and body)
Meditated for five minutes on connecting to my higher self in all that I do today (So that I come from a good place while trying to get things done)
Drank Athletic Greens with Creatine (Great nutrient-packed start to the day, and both can increase mental focus)
Black coffee (Increases brain focus)
Started writing this blog
Went for a 6K run (Gets the feel-good chemicals pumping)
Cold water immersion (Super charges the brain with feel-good chemicals and improves focus)
More black coffee
First microworkout of the day (Today I’m doing a focus day of good reps of strict handstand push-ups–it’s easy to take a computer break and do them right next to me against the wall–instant bain and body refresher)
Did “The Parking Exercise.” I’ve been doing this as a suggested part of my work at school, and it works great. You just write down all the thoughts and worries that you have whirling around your head–and you just decide to park them for the day. Write them down.
Start on school assignment (Handed in! That’s one thing done by 11:00 am)
Repeat steps 10, 11, and 12
In general, I go for 20-30 minutes of work, then take a break for a microworkout, park more thoughts if necessary (it usually is), then dive back into work. This will keep me humming along until about 3:00pm, when I usually hit a productivity wall. If I still want to (or have to) be productive, another cold shower or cold dip will get me going for a few more hours.
So, here I am getting things done today–and now the blog is done! I hope you find some inspiration here, if you’ve been putting things off in your own lives.
Until next time,
Scott (and Lennart, whom I bounced all these ideas off of)