Best Advice For "one Thing At A Time" Mindset

[Fredrik Andersson]

I get so fucking carried away all the time. The feeling of there being to much I "want to do", or "need to do". I soak in all this information, and it just leave me feeling like I'm doing nothing. That I could do more, that I need to do more if I want to get somewhere. 

That ironically leaves me tired, so I don't have the energy i need to keep going. So.. What did you do to stop this negative spiral?  

1. How do you know what to prioritize? 

2. How do you do one thing at the time? 

Damn I love this forum, so smart people in here  

[SLICKHAWK]

Prioritize.. 

Tomorrow is not given to you only now.

This is your heart/ intuition that leads your path.

Only you wrere given choice to choose how your path leads what road.if that roadis wide and full of choice or narrow which leads in one direction of true.

[Joseph Maynor]

These are in no particular order:  (baby-step these in though or you will get overwhelmed and quit.)

• Purpose in mind/end in mind:

You need a clear purpose in mind before work makes any sense.  You should know every moment of your day what routine/task lives in that time-space.  Once you know that, you can easily assess whether you're off track or not. If you don't know that, well, you see the problem?  You can't go after something effectively unless you (1) define very clearly what it is you're going after and (2) know what it is that you should be working on at all times.

• Don't multi-task:

When you start a task, which is usually a little project in itself, spend 15-20 minutes strategizing about it.  The best way to do this is open a Word doc and try to break the project down into sub-tasks.  Then order these tasks from first to-do to last to-do.

• Focus only on the task-at-hand:

Now print out that list. Now, do each task in that list without multitasking. Cross-off each item after you do it.

• Block-time/ Pomodoro Method:

Work in Pomodoros or block-time.  This is critical.  My effectiveness boomed when I started using the Pomodoro Method.  It paces out your day right so you don't procrastinate or feel under the gun with your work.  Google it.  That's how I learned about it.  The rules are simple.

• Daily-routines:

Every ongoing task in your life needs to be implemented into a daily-routine. And each routine has a time when it is done. So this is what gives you that knowing of what it is that you should be doing at a particular time.  Then you can know very clearly whether you are doing right or wrong conduct in a moment.  Holding yourself accountable requires knowing what you should be doing in the moment.  So critical.

• Momentum:

Your day has different momentum feels to it. Make sure when you are doing a task that you are not shocking yourself.  Pace yourself.  Try to harmonize your work with your energy levels and time of day.  Work with your body and energy levels not against them. 

• Flow:

Try to lose yourself in each task.  Become one with the task and get into flow. You'll get a lot done effortlessly when you get into the zone and ride that wave.  When you're in flow try to avoid interruptions.  Interruptions are the enemy of flow.  Close your door so you can work without interruptions.  Turn your phone off and unplug the internet cable if you must.  I do this. 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[Christian]

@Fredrik Andersson

How do you know what to prioritize? 

Get a good understanding of your values as a human being. Before you can prioritize, you want to be sure that the things you are making time for is connected to fulfilling some of your higher values. 

How do I focus on one thing at a time? 

You sit with 1 task, don't have any distractions nearby, just focus on that one thing until you build momentum and enter a flow-state. Usually it takes 30-45 minutes for me to enter the flow state, but once I've achieved it, working becomes easy and fun and at that point, I don't want to distract myself because I've built up that positive momentum.