Dec
12
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Today, I’m going to share a new productivity tool I’m trying to use in my life. It’s pretty easy really. It requires no resources like planners or index cards or special notebooks. You don’t have to read a book about how to do it. It’s only 4 simple words:Just Do It Already!!
Ok, here’s the premise: stop planning what you’re going to do. Stop mapping out the steps involved with your project. Stop getting organized and JUST DO IT ALREADY!
Collectively - as a society - we waste so much time gathering our strength. We buy books that tell us how to do things that, if we only started doing ourselves, we could probably figure out along the way - and it’s likely that we’d find our own, unique way of doing them that’s far more effective anyway.
I’m guessing that, if you’re reading this site, you’re a lot like me. And let’s face it - most of really enjoy organizing. We’re good at it! We know how to do it and it come naturally. Or we want organization so badly, it becomes an obsession we try to learn everything about. So, whenever there’s a big project looming, we delve right in to the organization of it. We get out our pads of paper and our index cards. We start doing research and making notes. We do everything we can to put off JUST DOING IT.
A perfect example - I’m trying to write a novel. I’ve been trying to do this for roughly my entire life (give or take a few of those early years when I wasn’t actually aware of language). Most of my life, I can remember writing stories and wanting to be the girl in the photo on the back of bestselling novels. I’ve always been convinced that my life and career would somehow revolve around writing. So, throughout my life, I’ve created outlines of my perfect novel. I’ve collected books on how to write and I’ve poured over them for weeks. I’ve bought hundreds, yes hundreds, of beautiful journals and notebooks. I’ve participated in workshops and classes. But I’m still woefully without a novel to show for my efforts.
The reason for this sad lack of productivity? I’ve failed to implement the final - and hardest - step. The last step, the “do it” step, it often thrown aside in the excitement of organization. While organizing may feel productive, it’s not. It’s only the preparation of productivity. You have to actually DO IT to be productive. You have to produce something.
So I encourage everyone to join me in making this New Year’s Resolution: JUST DO IT ALREADY!!
Let’s make this the “year of the novel” or the “year of the 20-pound-weight-loss” or even the “year of starting-my-own-business”. Whatever your big project is, stop thinking about it, planning it, and organizing it. In 2008, starting doing it!
For a little added motivation, leave a comment below and let us all know what your big 2008 project is. I’ll start: I’m going to write that damn novel already!!
If you liked that post, then try these...
4 Tips for Using the Learn-As-You-Go Method of Productivity by Chrissy on February 19th, 2008
GTD (with a side of ADD) by Chrissy on January 8th, 2008
End-of-Year PERSONAL Review by Chrissy on December 4th, 2007
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12 Responses to “New Productivity Tool: JUST DO IT ALREADY!!”
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Chrissy, this is just what I needed to hear tonight!
I saw your comment on Penelope Trunk’s blog about deciding which tasks to ignore and almost didn’t click on the link to your site because I’m not an EA. But I do work in an office and tend to procrastinate instead of Just Doing It Already - actually, I blogged about this very topic today.
Have you read Penelope’s October 18, 2004 post about two types procrastination: doing nothing and doing a lot? Here’s the title: “Be honest with yourself and you’ll get more done.”
[…] I don’t have a good answer to this question. But that doesn’t matter right now. Enough is enough. I’m going to take Chrissy’s advice and implement a great new productivity tool: Just Do It Already!! […]
[…] New Productivity Tool: JUST DO IT ALREADY!!The Executive Assistant reminds us that when allthe organizing, planning, mindmapping, idea capturing, and task listing is done, we still have to roll up our sleeves and JUST DO IT ALREADY!Tags: productivity motivation tasks digg_url = ‘http://www.lifehack.org/articles/resource/lifehack-digest-for-december-29.html’; ( function() { var ds=typeof digg_skin==’string’?digg_skin:”; var h=80; var w=52; if(ds==’compact’) { h=18; w=120; } var u=typeof digg_url==’string’?digg_url:(typeof DIGG_URL==’string’?DIGG_URL:window.location.href); document.write(”"); } )() Author: Lifehack Editors Posted: Sunday, December 30th, 2007 at 3:59 am Tags: links Bookmark or Share this with a friend! […]
I agree 100%. I’ve wasted so much time on my various systems (GTD, Franklin Covey) that I just recently finally just stopped doing it. I found that I did procrastinate with starting because I didn’t have everything mapped out perfectly in my system. But if I just started, I would build up enough momentum to work my task for an extended period of time. So, in 2008, I want to form the habit of just diving into the next task on my list and working until logical stopping point or I am done. To support that, I will try to go with one simple system for tracking my work and not change it for the entire year.
Hi Lee - Awesome resolution! That’s one I have for myself as well. I am always trying to “perfect” an organizational system and it’s such a waste of time. I’m so glad you’re joining me in the “Just Do It Already” movement! Happy ‘08 to you!
Loved the post and the reference to writing a novel. I had the same ambition and after reading No Plot? No Problem, I signed up for the National Novel Writing Month challenge (and I wrote a 50,000 word, very bad, novel when my son did this spring). One deadline and a little commitment and I have a very, very rough draft done, ready for major editing. So try the NaNoWriMo event — you will love it!
Sabrina
Thank you!
This made me realize that whenever I want to do something I go to one of two places, either planning/organizing for it or trying to figure out why I’m not doing it.
So now I’ll Just Do It Already!
And my project for 2008 is having a solo gallery show.
“Screw It, Just Do It” by Richard Branson at Virgin.
JUST DO IT!
Yes ! Don’t waste your time, JUST DO IT
[…] I love it. Organizing, researching – these things are my lifeblood. But, as I mentioned in a recent article, planning can be the comfortable phase of productivity so it’s easy to get wrapped up in it. The […]
[…] I love it. Organizing, researching – these things are my lifeblood. But, as I mentioned in a recent article, planning can be the comfortable phase of productivity so it’s easy to get wrapped up in it. The […]
[…] I love it. Organizing, researching – these things are my lifeblood. But, as I mentioned in a recent article, planning can be the comfortable phase of productivity so it’s easy to get wrapped up in it. The […]