Summary – Cats Meow & Dogs Bark
The Problem
Have you ever had that day where you just don’t know what to do, despite the mountains of things you can do? It worsen when you actually know what you are supposed to do but you just don’t want to do it. Am I making any sense here?
For example, you know you have a blog entry to write, the ideas are pouring but when you switch on your laptop, you just end up spending your day browsing through millions of other blogs or socializing via twitter instead. At the end of the day, no entries were written. And there goes another day of your life.
This is NOT another case of procrastination. It’s more like doing everything else except for the one thing you need to do. It happens to me all the time and I’m sure it happens to you too. Can I ask? How do you overcome it?
Ths Solution
This is how I overcome the problem everytime I encounter it.
I am often overwhelmed with a thousand things to do, like researching, visitting others’ blogs, stumbling interesting articles etc, when all I really should do is write an article here in Lesson In Life. What I will then do is to rediscover what my immediate role at the time.
There is only one rule to this technique – There should only be one role to play at any time.
If I am a blogger, I should be blogging.. Period. Something is definitely wrong if I declare myself a blogger when I’m not even blogging. Realizing this immediately gives me more focus and clarity to write. Try it, you will be amazed that something so simple can do wonders.
The same goes to your career. Something is definitely wrong if you are a fireman but you like to show off how brave you are by creating fire.
Or if you are an assistant manager but the manager has more work on his table than you.
Conclusion – if you are a blogger, you blog. Everything else should take second place. Apply this to everything in your life, and your life will be so much simpler.
– I wonder –
If you can pick any one role to accomplish something today, what will you be? A blogger? A kitchen slave? A student? or others?
——— Personal Note ———–
What I usually do when I am supposed to be writing
- Stumble new interesting entries (Befriend me)
- Check out what’s top stories on Digg (Befriend me)
- Explore Facebook (Befriend me)
- Reading Twitter (Follow me)
- Replying emails (Shoot me an email)
- Read forums
- Visit others’ blogs
- Analyzing the blog’s statistic
- Reading my RSS Feed
- Tweaking the blog
Photo Credit – Striatic
Related Post
Same goes here… currently,I am in the visiting other bloggers mode. Reason being, I don’t have anything interesting to write in lieu of Raya and besides, my head (n tummy) is totally dense with overdosed lemang and rendang. Need to shake it off with puasa 6, hopefully, brain will work better.
@k@kPOKPEK – I lol at the sentence “Totally dense with overdosed lemang and rendang”. That is so true…
Happy puasa 6 then 🙂 Looking forward to reading your pokpek
salam abg banji…apa kbr? masih igt pd ct ? hmpir setahun ct x ber”blogging”…dh lain kan page abg banji nih..hehehe
Pawana Malam – Mesti lah ingat.. dari ari tu lagi asyik tengok post bukit tabur, tak turun2 lagi ke hamba Allah ni 🙂 Selamat kembali!
banji, it’s very hard to focus on one thing when we have other interesting things in front of us..so my way is to stop any kind of access to other things. for instance, when i have an assignment to finish, i disconnect my pc from the internet so that i won’t be bloghopping while doing my work. when i have a test i have to study, i’ll make sure my pc is turned off and i’m far from my bed or tv.
HOWEVER..it’s easier said than done. never succeeded. i always end up updating my blog or changing my blog’s layout when i should be doing my assignment.
in the end, it’s all about how strong ur will to do ur work. (atau betapa terdesaknya kita perlu siapkn kerja tu. contoh : lg stgh jam nk test. memang komfem intenet laju mana pun x pandang dh. hehehe)
Wilda – Shutting off everything completely will be the ultimate way to eliminate distraction. In a way, the act of shutting of everything is a tool to make a slightly more focus.
That is what I meant by reiterating what’s our role. We need to say it out loud that we are a blogger, and a blogger is nothing if we didn’t do any blogging. This is just another complementary tool 🙂
However, exactly like you said, when our willpower no longer a problem, all these tools can be put aside. We are definitely going to finish any jobs assigned
Thanks wilda for highlighting this 🙂
Banji, this used to be my struggle everyday. Now I don’t allow myself to do other things before finishing current task. It’s very difficult. Especially while coming up with posts (could totally relate to the example). So now … it’s basically no post, no surfing/other blogging related activities.
Good tip. With daily meditation, it becomes easier to control your chattering mind and stick to one task at a time.
Avani – I’m sure you have had a lot of up and down before you are able to master this. It’s really hard tuning down from multitasking to single taskin
Jax – Meditation.. that’s a good idea. It really helps as you put it, control your chattering mind. Thanks for sharing
My procrastination is part of my creative style….I hate it. It is that everything I accomplish, if it is to be seen or used by others, must be enriched with a lot of energy. The kind of energy that for me in the past has produced lucid thinking and extra special insight. This kind of procrastination has often been rewarded with great results although it is emotionally draining…to work in a blast of creativity at the last minute.
I have to commited myself to set aside one time each day, first thing after dropping my son at school, to devote time to my studies and make them a priority so my final products do not have to be “FLASHES OF IMAGINATION” but rather “thoughtful insights from quiet study”. I’ll let you know on that one. There is a lifetime of bad habits to get in my way 🙂
Gale – That is a new for me. Procrastination that brings out the best in you. In a way, some people do work more efficient and produce better result under pressure. It comes with a hefty price though. The energy drained as you’ve mentioned.
I wish you all the best. Remember, everything in life is a work in progress. Do not give up 🙂
A gemini.. cannot focus on one thing..
ALways have everything in mind..hence want to do everything at the same time..
but in the end nothing is actually done completely.
🙂
I am totally agree with gale..sometimes people do work best under pressure..
but the emotional drained are just unbearable.That was what happened to me a few days before eid holiday. geesshh
Anonymous – I don’t think the problem with not able to focus on one thing is a gemini specific thing. 🙂 Everyone is suffering from the same problem. In the end, what ever works for us. I too believe that some of my best work do comes when it is done under pressure. Over time, I just have to find a better way of doing things while maintaining the same pressure but with better results.
Banji, it is interesting spent time with reading all your articles in this blog.
At start, I am visiting this blog just to do some research for designing my blog (i’m a beginner)…without realized, i spent almost 2 hrs just to read your articles…
Keep it up!
My-Azah – Thank you Azah for reading. It has always been the high of my day when someone actually enjoy the articles I wrote.
Shoot me an email if you need any help with your blog kay