Do you avoid doing important items on your list that will take a lot of time? Do you feel frustrated because you never complete your ‘to do’ list? Does this drain your energy, and impact your relationships or self-esteem?
Something you may not know about me is that I have Inattentive ADHD. I consider this both a gift and my kryptonite. A gift because I’m creative, innovative, and achieve many things. My kryptonite because I can overdo it and bite off more than I can chew. I find more things on my schedule than time permits. When this happened in the past, I would live in a stressed state, feeling anxious, trying to power through THE LIST. At the end of the day, although I managed to complete many things, I never completed everything on the list, and this left me feeling down. I found myself rushing through items, so I could get to the next item on the list. I was pushing, trying to try harder. I didn’t find joy in doing the item on the list, because I was focused on checking something off the list. But the list was never got done, and that killed my joy.
Now, I have a whole different way to approach my list and it involves 2 components: mindset and employing best practices. By changing my mindset and using the following strategies, I can do more and have low to no anxiety. I have moved from stressing out about finishing each item as fast as possible, to enjoying each item I am doing. This has made a HUGE change in my energy. My day has shifted from working harder and hemorrhaging energy, to gliding through my day and getting more done.
First Step: I step back and add something to my list. Yes, you heard that correctly. I add in small, self-care moments 4 times throughout the day. I place these things at the top of my list and are non-negotiable. Why? Shirzad Chamine (2012), shows that when we add in, 2-minute mental fitness exercises 4 times a day, productivity increases as much as 32%, overall well-being increases, and your relationships improve (Chamine S., Positive Intelligence, 2012).
Second Step: I look at my list and prioritize all the items and do the most important ones first. The important items that will take hours, I break into several small items and place them at the top of list. Why? I tend to avoid doing the things that involve a lot of my time. Why? Because I want the dopamine hit when I can cross something off my list. In the past, I would start with the small things on the list, regardless of their level of importance, just to get the dopamine hit by crossing something off the list. By breaking the big, important items into smaller things, I no longer avoid doing them, and I still get to enjoy the dopamine hit, by crossing these smaller items from the big item off the list. I feel like I am in control because I am in control!
The biggest paradigm shift that I’ve experienced has been the belief that I get to do the items on my list instead of having to do them. This involves mindset, or inner work. When I place items on my list, I attach that item to how it will help me achieve my ultimate desired outcome. When a certain item on my list, that some might consider, less than what I am are passionate about, if this task is not connected to why this item is a vital step in achieving my desired outcome, I tend to feel put out that I must do it. However, if I see that this small, insignificant item will help me achieve my goal, I shift my mindset to wanting to do my absolute best, and take my time doing it well, instead of doing it fast, to move on to the next item on the list. When I do this, and I commit to being all in, I enjoy the task more, because I want this small item to be my best work, because it’s laying the foundation for my desired outcome.
Understanding what you want and why you want it. Finding your why beneath the why, will allow you to understand your desired outcome. This allows you to connect small tasks to what you really want. This allows you to do your best work for even the small, insignificant tasks. Doing my best work, I work faster, increase my energy, and have higher productivity, better well-being. This gives me more energy to enjoy my relationships.
Tackling your daily challenges with a systematic approach, building support, and having an accountability coach can increase your chances of success by up to 400%. I’d like to help you get to your desired outcome. If you would like to move from feeling overwhelmed to overjoyed, call me for a 30-minute, free session to learn how to shift your mindset and change employ new strategies.
About the Author: Johnny Lascha is a certified life coach, certified health coach and a mental fitness coach. He has coached over 650 hours and published Overcoming Overwhelm: A Nurse’s Guide to Joy & Balance. He writes empowerment articles for 2 magazines and has a 5-star Google rating. For a complimentary 30-minute discovery session, use this link to choose a date and time. https://calendly.com/johnny-health-and-life-coach/pq-overview
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