Just do it!
Man, how often is this used? And overused?
But let me tell you, it is the secret to life success. And I need that forehead smack reminder every single frickin' day.
And that's the point of this post. Hopefully it helps you, but mainly, it is to remind me to just take action. Taking action just solves so many problems:
1. Fighting fear? Take action. The act of starting breaks down any reservations you have.
2. Overweight? Take action. Just start walking.
3. Behind on your work? Take action. Just do the first thing on the TO DO list.
4. In debt? Take action. Pay it down by $5. Just start.
5. Want to write a book? Take action. Just write 500 words. Get started.
Ok, the list above - or something similar to it - has appeared in roughly 42,000 blog posts and lifestyle articles. You didn't really need me to give you these same suggestions. You know all this already.
But yet, too many of us remain stuck. And the main reason why? We just don't do. We don't take action. Because we are afraid...
1. Afraid of being rejected.
2. Afraid the customer won't like what we do.
3. Afraid of success (which potentially leads to more work and responsibility).
4. Afraid that you lack creativity.
5. Afraid you don't have what it takes.
And yet again...
...you didn't need the list above to explain why so many of us get stuck. You already know this too. It has been written and spoken about one gabillion times...
But yet, that's the essence of procrastination.
I will be honest. I love lists. Especially TO DO lists. And a majority of the action items on my TO DO list fall into two main categories:
a. Small stuff that seems to be annoying and a pain in the ass.
b. Hard creative stuff where I fear my output won't be accepted, liked, or appreciated.
And, thus, I drag my feet on getting through these items on my TO DO list...
But sometimes, I get into a work flow, "in the zone" as others have defined it, and I dive in and tackle that TO DO list with reckless abandon. You know the feeling I am talking about. We've all been there.
And every damn time I get into this flow, two realizations occur:
a. The small stuff that seemed overwhelming was way-to-easy to knock off the list. It wasn't as difficult as I imagined. And once I got started, the momentum to keep going was powerful. I plowed through more than I planned when I started.
and...
b. 19 out of 20 times, my clients LOVE what I produce.
So why? Why? Why?
Why the heck do we all still get stuck? Why do we fear what people think of our work? Why do we continue to procrastinate?
I just saw this post by Leo Babauta, where he writes:
Deal with something once. Do it now. Then it's off your mind, and you can fully focus on the next matter.
Forehead smack.
Inspired by this list, I knocked off two items on my TO DO list that have been there for weeks. Honestly, I thought about them every day. They bothered me. They nagged at me. They did, in fact, weigh me down.
But I just did them. And it was all over in less then 30 minutes.
Why in hell did I let these two things drag on for so long? I don't know. But let me promise this, I am going to take Leo's advice, and I am going to tackle this stuff head on. I am just going to DO.
In fact, when I assign myself a task, I am going to tackle it right then and there, if I can. I am not even going to wait to put it on a damn TO DO list. This crap is never as hard as you think and it never takes as long as you think.
So...what stuff on your list needs action?