I used to think of myself as a master procrastinator.
Now I get things done.
teaching live classes at top schools in Paris to help fellow creatives and entrepreneurs build and optimize their websites even though I only created my first website 2 years ago!
In this post, I'm going to share the systems I use to trick myself into action and get things done.
This is an EPIC 18 minute read but I still want you to take action so….
You can download a summary cheat sheet here, read the full post or skip around using the handy little index table below.
Let me know in the comments if you have some of your own.
The idea here is NOT to beat yourself up if you don't do something. The goal is to help you NOTICE when you're off track and provide you with a system to correct course as often as possible so that you don't deviate too much from the general direction you want to go in.
Every evening, I sit down, review my day and plan for the next.
Every week, I sit down, review my week and plan for the next.
Same every month. Same every quarter.
I do this with pen and paper, in a notebook that I carry around with me most of the time.
Why does this practice help me?
What made me happy today? How can I do more of the same tomorrow?
What made me feel like crap? How can I avoid that tomorrow?
What did I enjoy doing? Who did I enjoy spending time with?
Why did I feel bad about myself? What could I have done differently?
Every day, I learn a little bit more about myself and what makes me tick.
The more I know myself, the better I perform.
Every Monday, I speak with Angelo who is based in Cleveland and once a month, I speak with Matthew who is based in Hong Kong.
Every week and every month, we talk and discuss what's been working for us and what hasn't been so great.
We also list our goals for the week or month ahead.
This is what I get from Angelo and Matthew: empathy, new ideas, outside points of view, support, encouragement, kindness.
They also challenge me when I feel sorry for myself….
Every month, I decide what habits / activities I need to focus on to be happy and make progress in my personal and professional life.
For example, instead of focusing on goals like "learn 5 jazz standards on the piano", I commit to playing the piano 13 times during the month ahead.
I'll also make a commitment to spend time outside or share a moment with someone.
Then I write down my targets on an index card. What do I want to do this month? How many times?
Throughout the day, as I take action and do what's important to me, I black out a box.
This is what March 2019 looks like so far.
Having this index card and updating it every day is really helpful because, if I deviate from the general direction I want to go in, I notice immediately and I can course correct.
1- It helps me focus on what I can control, my actions. Systems over goals.
2- Each month I tweak it a little depending on what's been working or not working and what's important to me RIGHT NOW. This ensures I keep things fresh and interesting.
3- It's easy, visual and non-electronic which helps me think clearly.
This is the practice of putting myself in situations where someone else is counting on me to do something.
There are lots of different ways to bring people in so that they help me get things done.
For example, I'll tell my friends I'm working on a new album because I know next time I see them they'll ask me about it and I'll feel bad if I've got nothing new to tell them.
A couple of weeks ago, when I was struggling for inspiration and on a deadline, I asked people on Facebook and Twitter what they'd like me to write about.
Well…. we all know that procrastination comes fairly easily whereas action can be hard BUT….
By bringing people in and telling them about what I'm working on, asking for their help along the way, I make it harder for myself to do nothing!
Because I will NOT want to disappoint the people who support me.
I will feel COMPELLED to do the best I can and give them good news if they ask about my projects down the line.
When I asked for people's input online, I knew if I got some answers it would help me find motivation to write and I'd feel obligated to keep them posted on my progress.
Look at that! Not only did it get me out of my slump two weeks ago, asking for help gave me inspiration for today's post too!
They were so kind in trying to help that I just HAD to publish something, anything.
It's easy to get stuck in your head when you do creative work, especially when you work on your own. The goal here is to get out of your head and into the real world to spur yourself into action.
When I'm feeling a little sad and uninspired, not sure what to do next, I like to go out for a walk and listen to a potentially inspirational podcast or audiobook.
Sometimes I have a place to go. Sometimes I just walk around the neighborhood until I've had enough.
It gets me outside of my own little unproductive bubble and exposes me to other people's ideas.
Their creativity and insights usually helps me see something I hadn't thought of before and fires me up to explore it when I get back home.
When I'm feeling overwhelmed and have no clue where to start or how to make progress on a project, I like to go out for a walk WITHOUT listening to anything.
A short walk to the bakery will often do the trick.
As I walk purposefully to the bakery, without any audio crutches to fall back on and determined to purchase a fresh baguette, my brain starts ordering stuff around in my head.
It usually only takes a few minutes for what's important to pop out and make the rest completely irrelevant.
Then it's important I can either get home and get work done quickly OR write stuff down immediately.
I pick up a pen and paper and write down everything I need to do.
I don't prioritize, don't categorize, don't do anything except listing everything that comes to mind.
When I've had enough. I stop.
It frees up space in my brain.
Instead of having anxieties bouncing around in my head, I see them on paper in front of me.
If I still feel overwhelmed, I've got practice 9 and practice 11 to find my laser focus.
It's pretty simple really. If I feel lost or unproductive, I move.
If I've been working from home for a while and it hasn't quite been happening for a couple of days, I'll go work from a café.
If I've been in the studio for a while and nothing's happening, I'll go home, use the commute to switch modes, maybe relax or work on some other stuff.
Changing locations means changing scenery, not having all your usual stuff with you, having to find solutions, talking to different people.
All of this usually helps me snap out of it and get back to work.
Having said that, if it's a real big rut and a change of scenery doesn't do it for me, maybe it's time to give myself a break…. But more on that later….
If you can focus on what's important and get rid of the rest, you'll be just fine and get things done. Once in a while, you might need a little 7-day challenge push to meet a big deadline but you'll be fine.
Every now and then, usually when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I sit down and list aaaaall the things I have to do (see practice 7).
That practice alone helps but sometimes, I need an extra step to refocus my brain and remember what matters.
Does this really matter? If it does matter that much, why haven't I done it already?
I've found that when I keep putting off something it's either too scary or unimportant (or both!).
If it's too scary but essential, I'll break it down and make it less scary.
But if I realize it's non-essential, I'll simply discard the idea of doing it completely.
Will I be happy when it's done or will I have to scramble and do it again in a week's time?
Whenever possible, I favor evergreen activities to what I call "hamster-wheel activities".
For me: writing high-quality timeless content; building strong relationships with people I care about; practicing the piano; spending time in the studio to make my music sound better.
Hamster-wheel = may help but loses value quickly and requires constant attention to keep the momentum.
For me: social media posts; publishing articles on trendy topics; networking events; buying new recording equipment to make my music sound better.
Here are some of the questions I ask myself to determine if something is important or not.
If it really matters or if I'm just getting myself worked up.
Will I get in trouble if I don't do it? Will it be painful or very unpleasant if I don't do it? Will there be consequences I'm not willing to face?
This practice helps me remember to spend time with my family and friends and have fun.
It cuts through the crap and helps me focus on what really matters at home and at work.
No news or social media apps on my phone.
All notifications off except calls, text messages and a handful of What's App groups.
Phone in silent mode 90% of the time.
Do I miss some calls and emails and tweets. Yep.
Does it ever matter? Nope.
I cannot understate just how much this practice keeps me sane!
A couple of months ago, I bought a new phone with lots of storage space. So I went ahead and downloaded Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Messenger.
I ended up checking my phone wayyyy too much, even with the notifications turned off.
After a couple of days, I felt miserable and deleted everything.
Ok so I have a long list of stuff (I think) I need to do from practice 7 and I've cut out the crap to focus only what matters in practice 9.
Now I regularly ask myself 2 questions to make sure I do things in the right order.
When you're working on your own projects, figuring out where to start can be a little difficult. I find these 2 questions help me find the answer.
They help me focus on what I can do NOW to make progress.
In my experience, daily habits work for some things but not for others.
Every now and then, I'll want to make headway on a project that requires a big burst of energy on my part.
For example, I'll commit to spending one hour sending out submissions to music libraries every day for 7 days straight.
Or I'll commit to recording a new song every day for the next 7 days.
And short enough that I don't have to worry about putting everything else on the back-burner while I focus on the challenge at hand.
But long enough that I can make a lot of progress on a single project.
You can't always be at the top of your game. If you're too hard on yourself and don't get enough rest and recovery time, you'll RARELY be at the top of your game.
When I'm low-energy and don't feel like doing anything, I'll go through my long to-do list from practice 7 and look at what I might be able to start on.
I'll pick one, set the timer to 5 minutes and get started.
When the timer goes off, I either stop or keep going.
If I stop before the task is finished, I cross out the item and add it back at the bottom of my to-do list.
First off, the 5 minute timer helps me get started.
Second, crossing off the item even if it's not finished reminds me that I did something which is not nothing.
Third, this practice actually helps me get things done. Sometimes I'll stop when the timer goes off but very often I'll keep going.
The key is in allowing myself to stop, guilt-free.
Because it's human to grossly underestimate how much time and energy it'll take us to get things done, we have a tendency to beat ourself up when we don't deliver on our impossibly high ambitions.
This is my system to try to counter-balance that tendency.
I commit to doing something every day for a little while.
The key here is that the commitment should be small enough that you can't make excuses and get out of it.
Whenever you commit and fall short, make the next commitment smaller until you find the right fit for you.
So if you're working full-time and have kids, committing to spending 2 hours in the music studio every day is probably NOT a good idea….
It's a sure-fire way to fail and feel bad about yourself.
Block out 2 hours to work at the computer every day.
It builds confidence slowly but surely.
Made me realize I wasn't a procrastinator. I just had really unrealistic goals sometimes!
It's a great exercise to build more realistic habits and slowly gain confidence in your ability to follow-through.
I try to keep a fairly "normal" 9 to 5 schedule so that I can live a "normal" life with my friends and family.
In theory, I'm not allowed to work after 8pm and I'm not allowed to work during the weekends.
In practice, I still work during the evening or weekends fairly regularly BUT, if I didn't have those arbitrary rules, my life would be a complete mess with no order whatsoever.
It gives me structure. Prevents me from getting completely out of sync with the outside world and my friends.
It's really not easy to stay on a regular schedule when no one's really asking you to but I feel like it's absolutely essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid burnout.
Whenever I start going to bed late and sleeping in, the difference in mood and productivity is stark. So if I can avoid it, I do.
When I'm low-energy and none of the above spur me into action, I quit.
I just give myself a day-off or two or more and move on.
No second-guessing myself and worrying about the future.
I just make sure that I decide on the date I'll be back so that I can actually switch off in the meantime and enjoy the time off.
Calling it a day and taking time off helps me take a step back and come up with new ideas, new insights.
The rest allows me to turn-off my brain a little bit and let it do it's thing in the background.
Some of my best ideas come up during my time off. When that happens, I just write them down and go back to resting….
When I get back, I'd love to read your comments on your own productivity tips.
What helps YOU get things done??