Every now and again inertia is something we all struggle with from time to time. Some people experience inertia less than others. How do you combat lethargy, laziness, and procrastination that come with inertia? Read on and see how I like to do it.
If you’re reading this and you say, well I never put anything off till the last minute or When there’s something that I could do today I don’t do it tomorrow instead then you’ve probably already figured out how to combat inertia.
But for those of us who need to find the momentum to overcome inertia and thereby enter flow state, then maybe you’d benefit from getting my two cents:
Don’t overthink, just do
Nike’s “just do it” ring a bell? Yeah, well same concept here. It’s super easy to overthink things you don’t really want to do. It’s easy to psych yourself out of doing something either because it’s boring or because it’ll put you way out of your comfort zone. Well, you just gotta do it, my friend.
Give yourself a fake deadline of today
Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Benjamin Franklin.
One way you can check off items on your to-do list is to make it more manageable.
Instead of having dozens of tasks, dial down your expectations dramatically.
My advice?
Make a to-do list of only 3 items.
Once you have your 3 tasks, eh-hem your true priorities for the day, keep in mind these two pro-tips:
- Do the thing you most dread the first
- Don’t create mini tasks that distract from the major task
Meaning, don’t do other stuff when you’re supposed to be doing the thing you really need to do. Sometimes we tend to trick ourselves into thinking we’re too busy to do the main task.Some of us are so good at this that we end up checking off lots of to-do list boxes for tasks that did not need our immediate attention.
Impose some intentional “suffering” on yourself
When you give yourself some intentional discomfort, the fear of unknown discomfort will not scare you as much. Examples of intentional "suffering" include: taking cold showers, fasting, and doing rigorous workouts a few times a week. By doing so, you tell yourself, “well, if I can get through this insane workout (imposed suffering) I can most certainly clean out my desk” (the thing I need to do but don’t want to). After you train for and complete in a triathlon, sitting down to write a 10 page report probably won't perturb you any longer...
It is important to define for yourself what intentional "suffering" is and make it a point of doing this a few times a week. It can help get your out of a funk and shut down inertia. After a few kettle bell swings you might even find yourself in flow state.
Clear your headspace and heartspace.
Meditation or meditative activities like yoga, painting, cooking can be beneficial in getting your momentum going. The point is, partaking in such activities instead of vegging on the next Netflix series on queue can often catapult you into gaining momentum with the task that you actually need to do. Streaming your favorite show rarely turns into a 1-hour deal. Now with virtually every show at our fingertips, it’s hard not to binge-watch these days. It’s harder to binge on yoga or meditation, which is another reason why such activities can actually help you getting back on task instead of further distracting you.
Turn off your phone!
And other electronic devices that send you notifications every 30 minutes. Yeah, we get it, you’re popular. You don’t need to check your notifications 100 times a day. I mean, what did we do in the age before cell phones and social media! People don’t need you 24/7, including family. Really, it can wait. If it can’t then you have a different situation on your hands and that my friend, does require your immediate attention. But honestly, most things don’t.So, put your phone away.
We are surrounded by notifications all.day.long. and you know what? It’s not making us any happier. Some personal development gurus actually recommend turning off your phone. Tim Ferriss touts the myriad benefits of avoiding phone-related distractions. He's proudly shared with his followers that he purposefully leaves his phone on airplane mode for most of the day.
If you don’t want to be as drastic as he, then just keep your phone on but at least set it to silent mode and put your phone away. For example, if you’re working from home, then keep your phone in the kitchen so that you can only check your messages when you go and make tea.
When you initiate a bit of self-restraint it goes a long way. Suddenly you notice how productive you’ve become!
Momentum is a beautiful thing.
Let's build it one step at a time.
Thank you for reading!!
