Do Something!

I came across this article on LinkedIn, and as I read, I started thinking about my daily routine as I navigate this pandemic era.

The short article says that, as opposed to multitasking, one should pick something to get done, decide what “done” looks like, and if it can be done in a short period of time–as in immediately–then get it over with. This generates a raised awareness of accomplishment and momentum as the tasks are completed.

I like to add to that by saying that it’s just as important to physically check that item off a list. Performing the action and notating that the action has been successfully performed, to me, adds more to that sense of momentum and accomplishment.

I pat myself on the back for having the smarts and the gumption to “make” myself do something every day…or at least try to. I accompany this urgency to do something with a journal, written using the Bear app (totally random–I could have just used Notes, or a pad and paper), complete with dates and times, occurrences, and to-do lists, so I can follow along, review, and have something to look back on when all this is over.

There are some days where I just don’t feel like doing anything, and I think it’s equally as important to allow myself a “do-nothing” day…but I make note of that as well!

I think it’s clearly difficult to decide what “right” things need to be done and at what time, especially when, like the article says, everyone is prone to multitasking. My go-to method has always been brainstorming, writing down the ideas so they’re not stuck in my head and very easy to forget about later, picking what I think are the easiest, shortest-time tasks that must be done–even if just one task, and making sure I physically check off those tasks. That has given me the most energy in past projects.