How often do you experience days when you feel you got nothing done? Starting that Monday morning with every intention of having a great day but then as soon as you get started you are suddenly wading through treacle.
These ‘treacle moments’ happen when you suddenly lost that energy you imagined you would have when you ‘pre-thought’ everything you were going to do.
This is the difference between imagining what you are going to do and then actually doing it. Maybe someone called in sick, perhaps your desk wasn’t as tidy as you thought, maybe an email came in you couldn’t ignore. All of these things are ways of bringing you back to the usual daily non-productive performance.
Our mind has an eternal optimism when it comes to doing things later or doing them tomorrow, but when faced with the need to do something now, then a wave of negativity will occur and put us off doing that task which up until now was the most important thing we would achieve today. A million excuses pop up to ensure you don’t get started, telling you it’s not the right time, that something else needs doing first.
The easiest way to make something happen, to ensure you don’t get distracted, to prevent that treacle moment, is to make it the first thing you do, before email, before conversation, even before breakfast, make it THE priority for the day. Tell a colleague or friend or customer that you are going to do it, that you will send, email, call, as soon as it is done, setting a deadline for that action, so they can follow up 30 minutes after you said it would be done. Finally, get a treat ready, maybe a coffee, a promise to yourself you will sit for 10 minutes with a book or magazine, maybe a muffin, and promise yourself you will celebrate after the task is complete.