So, you wanna get shit done, right? You have a to-do list as long as the Mississippi river, you have so many things you want to do, you have no time to do any of it because you’re extremely busy. I hear ya, I know it well – my toodle-do list is about 15 pages long. So much to do, so little time. Who can spare time to doodle or write or start a business or create a project?
Well, people do, so there must be “A Way”, right? Well, that’s part of the problem with this …we’re always looking for “A Way” to get ourselves to get shit done…but the only way really is to find your own way!
So here’s my 10-step guide to help you Get Shit Done:
1. Trust yourself
Look, I know that you’ve spent a lifetime with you, and you know that you can procrastinate for your country, that you can be very busy and still get bugger all done, that you haven’t done it and haven’t done it and haven’t done it for years. So you’ve lost trust in yourself, you don’t keep your word to yourself. You’re untrustworthy…you might even be an idle git…but get over that. Trust yourself to know what’s right for you.
You’ve probably tried productivity systems in the past that didn’t work. Or worked for a bit, and then stopped working (possibly because you stopped doing them, but we’ll get into that later!) Trust that if a system didn’t work, it’s not you that’s broken…the system just didn’t work for you. Trust yourself that maybe there’s a better way. Trust your own inner wisdom over every “productivity expert” out there.
They don’t know you, but you do…if you’d be bored to death making a to do list and working through it, don’t do it, no matter how many other people it works for. Trust yourself – trust that you can find a system that works for you that suits your unique nature. It doesn’t help you to get shit done if you’re spending your whole time kicking your own ass for not doing what you were told. Trust yourself.
2. Experiment with some systems
The only way you’re going to find out what works for you is to do it. So try some systems, give them a go and see what happens. Not in an “if I don’t/can’t do this I’m clearly defective, lazy and stupid” way, but in a “ooh, let’s see, curious, open, experimental” way. The great thing about an experiment is you get to evaluate it, you get to see what worked and what didn’t…and it’s not just black or white.
Most people try a system and decide either it works, or it doesn’t…no grey areas. But that’s not reality – in reality some things work and some don’t. Here are a few of the systems I tried, and the results of the experiments:
Riding Wild Donkeys (working on your project to the exclusion of all else): What worked: I loved having the freedom to work on something for a long time; I couldn’t just wander off and distract myself when I hit a fear or obstacle, I had to deal with it. What didn’t work: the un-done tasks nagged at me, making it hard to concentrate; after 3-4 hours, my brain started to melt – all that creative output fried my brain.
Find more about Riding Wild Donkeys to Get Shit Done here.
I use this one when I want to get something started, finished or make big progress.
Pomodoro technique (set a timer for 25 minutes, then have a 5 minute break): What worked: I got focused; for boring tasks, I knew that I only had 25 minutes, so I could stay on it and not wander off and do something else because I was bored. What didn’t work: when I’m flowing, I do not want a timer telling me to stop. (I don’t like being told what to do by anyone!)
I use this one when I’m doing something boring and need to focus.
3 Most Important Tasks first: What worked: nothing for me! For my friend – she got the 3 most important things done first! What didn’t work: On top of not doing my 3 MIT’s done, I didn’t get much of anything else done either!
Unsurprisingly, I didn’t use this one for a long time. But recently, I decided to try it again, only without the “most important” description – for some reason this always made me think of the tasks I least wanted to do! See below for the results of the new wording.
3 things I want to do list: What worked: I usually get those three things done. Once they’re done, I can pick 3 more if I want to. Doing things this way enables me to create some space in my day – so if during one of my tasks I come across something else that needs to be done, I can do it without getting stressed out about how much more I have to do. I am more relaxed in my working day, and more is getting done (most of the time!) What didn’t work: Sometimes I still go off on tangeants and procrastinate doing the tasks…but that’s just a question of focus, and occasionally making sure the task is something I actually want to do and I know what to do!
This is my go-to, every day way of getting shit done.
Make a list and prioritise 1, 2 etc: What worked: I do love a list! I like ticking things off, and this means I (ironically after the 3 MIT’s experiment) get the most important things done first! What didn’t work: I got to be ruled by my toodle-do list – no space for inspiration, for creativity, for doing what I’m good at…following the thread of what I want to do.
I’m currently experimenting with not doing this one! But I do know I’ll come back to it, when I have a lot to do.
Follow your inspiration: What worked: I get a lot done; I enjoy it; at the end of the day, I’m still full of energy instead of tired and drained; inspired ideas tend to work better for me than structured plans for some reason (as in I do them more easily and the results seem to be better). What didn’t work: Nothing – even the tasks I thought I’d ignore have been getting done (when I remember to do this…).
I often forget to work this way, even though it works – I have to keep reminding myself that this is the best way I work.
Just keep swimming and do a little bit every day you can: What worked: Progress is always made this way. What didn’t work: It seems to take forever!
This is my main method of getting big projects like books done – I make sure I make the time on a daily (ish) basis and just keep swimming until the job is done.
For me, a combination of 3 things I want to do, following my inspiration and just keeping swimming works fairly well. I pick the three things on the day so I can work with my energy (and the time I have) and inspiration on that day.
3. Feel free to tweak the systems
There is not only one way to use a system. Going back to trusting yourself, notice if you feel there is a better way for you. When I ride Wild Donkeys, I do it for a few hours, not days. When my friend uses a timer, she sets it for an hour, then has a 15 minute break. For her, 25 minutes is just not enough. So tweak away, change something, add a colourful pen to your toodle-do list, change it up so it works for you.
No system is perfect for every person in every situation…we’re not robots, we’re human beings with complexities and weird reactions (like my knee-jerk reaction to 3 MIT’s telling me what to do), so remember that. Notice if you like structure or fluidity; notice what balance between structure and fluidity you like; notice if some days you love structure and some days you just want to sit outside with a sketchpad.
And tweak your system so it works perfectly for you. It’s your system, your life, you don’t have to live it by someone else’s rules!
4. Single task
You can’t get shit done if you are unfocused. What exactly do you want to do? What are you focusing on now? When you’re working on your stuff, do you have 100 (unrelated) windows open? This one tip is the one that has made the biggest difference to me getting shit done:
Work on one thing at a time.
Simple, isn’t it – but we’re so addicted to multi-tasking that we really have to pay attention to do this. Close all the other windows that are distracting you (I actually have 6 browser tabs open at the moment and 4 programs…but they’re not distracting me!); clear your desk; make what you’re working on the only thing you’re working on. Experiment. I wrote an article last week with Facebook open…and it took me twice as long as it is today, because instead of pausing to think when I got stuck, off I wandered to facebook.
Know your time sucks and get rid of them so you can focus on one thing at a time. I use Stayfocusd for Chrome to keep me out of Facebook for most of the day…it helps, a lot! UPDATE December 2015. Stayfocusd stopped working for me, so I know use Morphine extension for Chrome – it allows you to clock up time for distraction sites like facebook, and you have to choose a length of time to be in the site to get in (eg 5 minutes) – when your time is up, it kicks you out!
5. Know your next steps and take baby steps
Ok, so you’ve got all these things you want to do, all these projects you want to start and work on…but you need to give your brain a chance. When you say to your brain “I need to write a book” or “I need to start a business” or “I need to create a website” or “I need to start painting”, your brain will say “uh huh..that’s big, ok, we’ll leave that for ‘when we have time’”.
And 7 years will pass.
Give your brain a chance with something that it can latch onto and do. For example “set aside one hour to brainstorm book ideas” or “Talk to my mate about her bizniz” or “Choose a platform for my website” or “buy paintbrushes” – the brain can totally grasp those things, and arrange for you to do them. To make it super easy for yourself, break it down into baby steps (actions that take 10 minutes) – this makes it so easy that the brain says “we can do that now!”
Give yourself a chance to succeed with some specifics – when it’s too vague, it won’t get done!
6. Make the time
I know you are extremely busy and important and have no time…but nor does anyone else. We all get the same 24 hours a day, so let go of the idea that you’ll do it “when you have more time” – another 7 years will go by while you wait. You’ll only ‘have’ the time if you ‘make’ the time. So, if you have something you haven’t been doing, make time for it. Try this:
This week, when can you find some time (1 hour) to do that thing?
It may not be ‘enough’ time, but some time is better than no time at all – just put it in your diary and stick to it. Once you make time for things, you find that it gets easier to make even more time to work on them, because they move up your priority list, and you realise that the calling of your heart is much more satisfying than Big Brother or your ironing!
7. Set a deadline
Use with caution! The point of a deadline isn’t that you arrive at it dead. I have to say, I’m not a fan of a deadline, they’re stressful, inflexable and make you ignore your inner knowing and body’s signs…but there’s no doubt that they are effective for helping you get shit done! My friend was struggling to finish her book, and was give a deadline of ‘today’ by her coach…she finished the book!
Sometimes you just need that time pressure to focus your mind, knuckle down and stop making excuses. And a deadline will do all of that for you. I like a variation of this, which is “you’ve got 1/2 hours/days, see how much you can get done in that time” – it makes it like a game…rather than a deadline, which is a bit harsh and calls to mind images of soldiers with guns if you don’t meet the deadline.
Give yourself a reason to Get Shit Done and set yourself a challenge.
8. Have excellent self-care
Ok, so you’re busy, you don’t have time for self-care…know what happens when you’re not taking care of yourself? You wither. Your body gets tired and ill; your mind gets fuzzy and sluggish; your heart is sad and unhappy; your soul is quashed and constricted…none of which are conducive to productivity. I learned this the hard way, by ignoring my self-care in favour of being Extremely Busy and Important.
Until one day I realised that I was so exhausted that I’d been working on a blog post for 4 hours…and got 2 sentences. So I gave up, had a nap, did some self-carey stuff and came back the next day feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed…and the blog post took 20 minutes.
When I say that self-care is ineffiecient, I mean it. We have this perception that stress and busyness are synonymous with productivity, but it’s a fallacy. The most productive people I know are the ones who take excellent care of themselves and aren’t ‘busy’ at all. Busyness is not productivity. Measure by your output, not by how frazzled you are…and trust me when I tell you that the more cared for you are, the more you can do.
9. Take time off and make space to be inspired
On a related point, your brain (and you) need time off. Have you ever had the experience of going on holiday and coming back feeling good? Of course, because you’ve had rest time – you’ve had a chance to recharge and reinvigorate yourself. Most of us (me included) tend to keep going, like the energiser bunny, until we are forced to stop.
Then we realise that it feels good to rest and rejuvenate, our bodies feel good, our minds are clear, our heart is happy, our soul is communicating and we vow to make sure we stay in this wonderfully relaxed and productive state; we vow to take space to ponder and mull and allow inspiration to bubble up. And then the toodle-do list treadmill starts and picks up pace and we forget to stop.
Well, stop it. You need space. You need time off. You need rest time. Look at top athletes – they know that if they train every day, they will get injury and burnout. You are no different. Create space in your life. Have days off. Have lunch breaks. Have moments where you gaze out of the window and think of nothing much. Create space for inspiration to flow.
10. Be your own alchemist
I know we’d all love the magic bullet to sort us out; we’d all love to find the perfect system that just works for us…but because we’re human, unique, with magnificent quirks of personality, the chances of someone else’s system fitting us like a glove are slim. Because every day is different, and every task is different, the chances of finding a system that works for every task are slim. Because we change as we grow older, the chances of finding a system that works whether we’re 20 or 60…are slim.
But there IS a magic formula out there for your productivity. It’s yours and yours alone. It will probably bring in elements from every known productivity system out there…not much is brand new. But it will be yours. And if you’re lucky enough to find an ‘off the shelf’ solution that works for you, for every task, forever – awesome! Let me know about it and I’ll add it to this post.
But for the rest of us – trust yourself, experiment and create your own gold.
PS Did you expect me to talk about procrastination? I did that already…here.
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