I have days sometimes (and particularly recently heading towards the end of year break) where my brain legit turns to goo, and I find myself spending hours just flicking between Google Chrome tabs, staring at my emails, looking out the window day dreaming, cuddling Eric (my greyhound), rolling around on the floor, annoying Max (my boyfriend), feeding my plant babies, cracking the wine earlier than usual (😜). Just basically doing everything except the things I should be doing, and I end up getting angry at myself for it.
Then comes the guilt ... I'm lying in the middle of the floor stretching my legs because that's apparently more important than working on that spreadsheet that was due yesterday, and I get the pangs of anxiety that I should be being more productive. But I literally CAN'T - I'm too distracted, and I can't break out of that mindset because I'm enjoying myself on the floor too much.
THAT, my friends, is where this reward trick ALWAYS works for me.
You see ... I love to reward myself. I'm motivated by rewards. I get up early and go to the markets every Saturday morning to do my groceries ONLY because I get to buy myself a croissant on the way home. I don't get one for Max, only for ME because it's MY reward for doing the annoying grocery shopping. I work hardest on Fridays ONLY because I know Friday drinks kick off at 4pm as my reward. If I've had a stressful day/week/month, you will suddenly see me in new clothes because I've most likely treated myself to a massive shopping spree to say thank you to myself for surviving that stressful thing.
So, I decided to do this with my daily tasks and actions too. If I wake up in the morning with the annoying CBF vibes, here's the process I follow:
I sit down at my desk with my coffee, open my list up (I use Evernote for lists) and make sure everything I need to get done that day is on there. Even the annoying "Reply to Barry's email" and "Call the bank" and "check in with Susan and see how she's going". Everything little damn thing.
If there is a big task on there, break it down into smaller individual tasks. "Work on project" isn't a task, dude. Don't let me SEE you putting that on your list, it doesn't belong there. This list is for tangible action items only.
Make sure the list is in chronological priority order - most important to least important. You can drag and drop bullet points on Evernote (and I'm sure you can on other apps too). I usually rearrange my 'to do' list throughout the day as my priorities change.
I then add in some rewards as tasks. If task number 1 on the list is a biggie, then task number 2 is "have a cup of a tea and a biccie in the kitchen" or "find outfit for weekend on The Iconic". I even tick it off when I've done it.
I continue to add in reward tasks in my list - after every second or third task usually.
I highlight the reward tasks in pink or yellow or green - something pretty.
I then sit back, assess my NEW list and get excited about smashing it out.
I'm sure there are a million other "productivity hacks" out there, but this one works for me 💁♀️
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