If youre like me, yourealways lookingfor the perfect productivity system.
Unfortunately, it doesnt exist.
This post originally appeared onZen Habits.
Two fairly straightforward tasks.
No matter how good the productivity system is,it falls apart when I start procrastinating.
When a task is uncomfortable, I procrastinate, just like most people.
When Im facing a lot of uncertainty with a task, I procrastinate.
Like most of us.
Not a fair fight, huh?
So how do we deal with this?
A few important methods:
Take a step back.
You have to get away from the distractions and little tasks.
Thats all it takes.
Remember who youre doing this for.
As you step back, think about the person who will benefit from you doing this important task.
Is it a co-worker, client, customer, loved one?
How will it make their life better?
Let yourself dive into the discomfort.
Yes, it sucks, but its actually not that bad once you get started.
Its like diving into cold waterjust dive in, dont think about it.
Once youre in, relax into the discomfort, and see that its not as bad as you feared.
A lot of time its a fear of uncertainty that holds us back.
We dont want to work on something like that, or even think about it.
We avoid and procrastinate and rationalize.
Like discomfort, dive in and relax into it.
Do it in little bits.
Yes, uncertainty and discomfort can be difficult.
So dont kill yourself trying to master them, just do it in small doses.
Work on the task for just a few minutes, then walk around and take a break.
Then sit down and focus again, relaxing into the discomfort and uncertainty.
With this kind of mindful practice, youre training yourself to get good at discomfort and uncertainty.
This is a wonderful skill to get good at!
Its about clearing the clutter so we can focus on whats important, create something amazing, find happiness.
My name is Leo Babauta.
Image byAudrey_Kuzmin(Shutterstock).
