When you sit at the desk and look at the pc screen or monitor with doing anything, you probably start to come up with all sorts of excuses like “I’m not feeling inspired today”, “maybe I’m just too tired”, “it’s not the right time to do this”, “tomorrow, I can still get it done”. We decide to look for another activity that won’t take any effort most of the time. As entrepreneurs or creators, most of us face this situation. It happens because of resistance. And I want to share some pieces of information to beat it. It works for me, and probably it works for you too. But before starting, we need to get to know the enemy closely.
But what is resistance?
As Steven Pressfield says in his book “The war of art”; “Resistance is a universal force that has one sole mission: to keep things as they are. It is the force that will stop an individual’s creative activity through any means necessary, whether it be rationalising, inspiring fear and anxiety, emphasising other distractions that require attention, raising the voice of an inner critic, and much more.”
The solution is self-discipline. Steven Pressfield also explains it like that: “Self-discipline is about leaning into resistance and taking action despite how you feel. Living a life by design, not by default. But most importantly, it’s action in accordance with your thoughts — not your feelings.”
And today, I want to share four things to help you overcome procrastination, build self-discipline and actually get things done.
The first is focusing on only one thing with your headphone for a long periods of time. Our attention has become the new currency in this modern world, and now there are more distractions than ever before screaming for our attention. In general, most people suggest closing notifications on your phone or putting it away from your desk. But for me, it’s not working like that. My solution is to use my headphone and play single music in an endless loop all of the working period. (Thank Spotify for the great playlist: Pop goes classic — https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWUPafHP1BJw1?si=7e3addf6b3974a86). I’m choosing one task and giving an estimated time to finish it. If I don’t finish it in this period, I’m giving it up and checking my email, Whatsapp messages, and so on. It’s crucial to give up when your time is over.
Second is getting started. “Amateurs wait for inspiration to strike while the pros get up and get to work.” — by Harvey Mackay. It’s so true. Not feeling inspired is one of the most common excuses. But action should not be the result of inspiration or motivation because inspiration often comes from taking action. It’s a loop of those three things; inspiration, motivation, and action. Just focus on getting that loop started instead of waiting for inspiration to strike.
Third is when you make your to-do list, you should try to break down your tasks into concrete and achievable steps that lead to a bigger goal. So, for example, instead of saying “finish the payment system”, you should say “ finish the card registration system”. Just try to create very concrete to-do’s that can actually achieve and take off. And also, try to keep them realistic because taking off these different to-do’s will get you more sparks of motivation to keep you going, and it will just boost your motivation instead of draining it if you don’t finish that task.
The last is focusing on what you are in control of. There are two types of people; one of them is believing that the events of your life are a result of external forces. The other one considers that the events of your life are a result of your actions. If you are in the second type, you realize that it’s entirely up to you, not external factors. If something is holding you back from doing a specific task, ask yourself, “Can I change something about it?”. If the answer is yes, find a solution to the problem. If the answer is no, stop draining all of your attention and energy on this one thing, and get along with it because there is nothing you can change about it.
It’s not easy to adapte this things but you need to try. Don’t forget the 21 days rule to crate a new habit.
