Unschedule
I'm reading The Now Habit by Neil Fiore. It's a long-time bestseller on the topic of procrastination and strategies to become more effective.
The one concept I'm working on now is the unschedule and I'm finding it very powerful!
The Unschedule is a way to reverse schedule your work time. Instead of cramming work into your already busy schedule, you schedule work around your already busy schedule.
After a few weeks of tracking your time, you'll find that you have are much busier than you think, you have a lot of time-wasting habits, things always take longer than you plan, and finding blocks of uninterrupted time requires establishing fences for focus.
You don't find time for what's important, you make time!
"Instead of scheduling time for the very thing you’re procrastinating on (work), you first schedule fixed commitments (e.g., sleep, meals, commute, showering), self-care activities (e.g., exercise, meditation, yoga) and guilt-free play (hobbies, meeting friends, socializing, reading) – and lots of it, including at least one hour of play a day and one full day off per week." Read More.
Ben Franklin
Even Ben Franklin created his version of the unschedule!
Beyond the concept of the unschedule, there's more worth noting:
Grit (aka Hardiness)
The ability to easily commit oneself to the task at hand.
Make the commitment, Maintain Control, and accept that challenges are part of the process. What comes with challenges? Setbacks. Failures. You will find far more that doesn't work before you find what does.
I love this definition: "An ability to turn stressful events into opportunities."
Related to Momentum:
Set a goal to walk 45 minutes. After that, you decide to walk an additional 1/4 mile. You take it slow, but you go beyond the original goal of 45 minutes. Because you don't have to, it all the sudden becomes much easier.
Why does a hobby all the sudden lose it's enjoyment when it becomes a job.
When does something become harder to do? When we set a goal to do it. We immediately set up parameters for self-criticism. We pile on something that doesn't need to be added to the equation.
Set small goals - the best goals are the ones that help you get started. Once you get started, let inertia will carry you through!
Bibliography (Further Recommended Reading)