Every night one of my clients sends me an email detailing how he used each hour of his day, and laying out how he expects to spend his next day.
It’s an extreme approach (even for my clients who tend to be extreme), but, in his case, it’s the way that he maintains his discipline.
He’s a busy guy with big goals, and that demands he shift as much of his time to productive actions, but there’s also something else going on here…
He’s facing the resistance, or avoidance, that many of us face, when it comes to doing hard things.
Here’s a simple three step process for busting it:
1. Commit: Stop questioning. No matter how you are feeling, commit to the task. In my client’s case, he works to a schedule, and reinforces his commitment by emailing me.
How might you reinforce your commitment?
2. Get moving: You’re lazing around in bed, hitting snooze. What do you do? Stop. Put your feet on the floor. Watch them magically walk you across the room, and get your day going.
Whether it be jumping out of bed, diving into a tough project, or anything else, once you get moving, it’s easier to keep the momentum.
3. Get absorbed: Even if you love running, the first 10 minutes can feel hard, but once you find your rhythm, you just keep stepping. All tasks are the same. The trick is to become absorbed in the task for long enough until you get there. For hard projects, a way to “force” discipline is to set a timer, and keep going until your time is up.
Often, once you’re in the groove, you’ll naturally want to keep going anyways.