Category: Productivity
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Stop delaying gratification, for the most part
In the past, when I was diligent in keeping up with my habits, I didn’t miss a day. More recently, I found that I have been missing a lot of days. I couldn’t quite figure out why I was so much more “lazy” now. It was especially frustrating because I knew I had done better…
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If you can never seem to find the time to do the things you want
I readied myself for bed, exhausted. There was still a pile of laundry unfolded, a stretch of floor unmopped, and a general set of tasks undone. “I don’t understand. Why can’t I ever find the time to get this done.” I continued on, defeated. If you were to rewind a few hours before, you would…
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Finally admitting the real reason I don’t write to-do lists
I laid on the floor stretching and at ease, which left me vulnerable to the attack from that thought: What am I afraid of? I’ve been holding off on building towards the life that I want. Truthfully, that inaction is most evident in the ways I hold back from building the single days that I…
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Start small, like a puppy
Puppies. That is the first thing that came to my mind. I am just following today’s writing prompt. Now what to do with that. Puppies are baby dogs. Wow this is an amazing post. But they are also little rascals. They bite everything. Fall asleep everywhere. Tear holes in brand new shorts. But they grow…
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You don’t have to believe in yourself
This idea, that you don’t have to believe in yourself, is not my original idea. I just listened to a podcast by Rob Dial, his Mindset Mentor. The episode was entitled, “How to Believe in Yourself,” in response to a listener question. His answer was essentially that you don’t have to. We often think that…
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Moving from to-do lists to focus items
Yesterday, I wrote on my dry erase board, “Take out the recycling.” At that moment, I was going to take out the recycling. That was it. No, don’t stop and pick up the sock on the floor. That wasn’t on the list. I went back inside and wrote the next thing, “Make the bed.” Don’t…
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Because you made it optional
I went to bed racking my brain trying to figure out why it was that I was so unproductive during the day. Why couldn’t I fill all the tasks on my habit tracker? I was so good last year? Why is this year such a struggle. And then the words popped into my head: “Because…
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Procrastinating, or running from discomfort?
“Procrastination is not a time management problem. It’s an emotional management problem.” Dr. Tim Pychyl Years ago, I decided to start listening to a podcast, instead of doing the work I should have started. It was called iProcrastinate, a podcast with researcher Dr. Tim Pychyl. I distinctly remember he discussed procrastination as not an issue…
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How eating gummies is going to make me more successful
One summer while I was in grad school, I needed to complete a research paper. I wasn’t able to focus on home, so I would walk to campus only to discover I couldn’t focus there either. With the deadline looming, I needed to find a way to get the thing done. So, upon discovering just…
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You don’t need discipline. You need hope.
As I laid on the couch, getting on my own case about all the things I have left undone, all the items of my to-do list still not checked, and the disarray of my home, I lamented my laziness. Getting up and walking outside, trying to get myself to do something, it hit me. “You…
A Wren Says 