Let’s be honest: you have seen enough of these:

Drink Water | Get up at 4am | Buy this notion template for £69

All of the above could help you, but I suspect you are looking for a little more than that.

If you have been feeling stuck, you definitely do not need a new colour-coded to-do list or more browser extensions of motivational quotes. You need clarity, some action and maybe just a push to start some momentum that can get you from frozen to mildly functional adult human.

the alternative to the below is another spiralling rabbit hole of Ted Talk’s snacking on Cadbury chocolate.

Why You’re Not Lazy – Just Blocked

Kill the shame and self loathing. Despite your frustration, I doubt that you are lazy. Instead, I strongly suspect that you are:

• Overwhelmed by competing priorities

• Lacking clarity on where your best starting point is

• Tired – this can often be physical, emotional or a combination

You are not alone – in fact Psychology backs you up. Research in Behaviour Activation Theory highlights that doing something – anything – triggers an upward emotional momentum. Waiting to “feel motivated”?! = Stuck in Gridlock!

Top Tip – Watching one more YouTube video on productivity is not going to move the needle and get you on your way to success.

Identify a Small Lever

Ok I hear you. Start Small is not the sexy advice you were hoping for, but as promised, this advice is because it actually works – which is why you are here right?

When you are stuck, your brain feels overloaded and everything seems too big as you blur the lines between thoughts. In order to overcome this, you can go to the extreme and make things laughably small. This is where progress begins.

Alternatives to current thoughts:

• “Clear my inbox” – try replying to one person that you have either been avoiding or have left unread for the longest.
• “I want to write my business plan” – have you tried writing the Title?
• “This week I am going to sort out my finances” – Open a bugeting App or download a free excel.

The above may sound stupidly easy and if you are doing this step right, it is. Micro-movements are powerful. Circle back to James Clear for habit forming here if you want third party verification.

Beware: False Starts

When we suffer from a lack of clarity, we can often do things that feel productive but are not. You do not need to create a perfect schedule, reorganise your highlighters or find the latest buzz app.

If you find yourself rearranging your desk again, reading another “10 More ways to be productive” (hi again) or making a new journal plan page instead of just doing the old one, recognise this behaviour. Cease and desist.

Instead of this, select one single task and allow yourself 15 minutes of focus based effort. Momentum starts here and when you stop strategy forming and actually start doing – even if your doing it badly, action now beats planning.

Make it Stupidly Repeatable

The goal here is to keep momentum and do not overcomplicate it

Questions to ask yourself:

• What was the easiest win of the day that I can repeat tomorrow?
• What didn’t completely drain me today that still counts as progress?

See, momentum thrives on predictability and the good news is that we are all creatures of habits. So we really are not reinventing the wheel here. You just need something sustainable and that is very personal to each and everyone of us, so it has to work for you. You shouldn’t be putting things in place that will make you want to fake your own death by Friday! Keep it light and fun.

In Search of Productivity: Think Systems, not Discipline

Back to James Clear again – understand the importance of your environment and how it is shaping your behaviour even more than your willpower. In order to keep your new found momentum:

• At the end of the day – keep your work in progress in plain sight (not hidden and filed away or in an endless tab graveyard)
• Try habit stacking – if you always have a coffee in the morning, add a journal note to it. Try writing your top three things to do tomorrow before closing my laptop.
• Set a timer, not a goal (do not focus on finishing this presentation/writing 500 words). You can definitely do “20 minutes of focus”.

3 Momentum-Building Ideas for Today

Implementation time. Just try one and see what shifts:

10 Min Triage – write down 3 things that are stressing you out. Pick 1. Spend 10 minutes with your phone on DND doing anything towards solving it. Simple.

The Momentum Loop – End the day with a written goal for the first 10 minutes of your next day. What is the main task to get stuck into. Momentum will build overnight when the direction you have set for yourself is clear.

The Anti-Procrastination Sprint – Set a timer. Do whatever you have been avoiding. No playlist in the background, no breaks; just action. When you have completed it, brag about it. Message your friend, tell your boss, post it on Instagram.

Final Thought

Life doesn’t need a complete overhaul and you are not alone, I hope this is clear to you now and you can be liberated in not feeling like your next change is too small to make a difference.

You have now had the nudge you were looking for – a polite one.

A push of the right kind.

Do One Thing. Then Another. That’s enough to start.

And it is.

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