If you’re like me, it’s hard to stay focused on your goals with everything going on these days. And as days and weeks begin to blur together, it’s also hard to believe that it’s already the middle of May! But even with the additional challenges that many of us are facing during these difficult times, there are still things we can do to keep our dark horse at bay and keep us moving forward.
You may recall that I’ve previously discussed the advantages of using a technique called mental contrasting. To recap, mental contrasting is visualizing your goal and anticipating potential barriers. Today I want to expand upon this and share a practical tool to make mental contrasting even more powerful. It’s called implementation intentions.
An implementation intention is coming up with an “if x, then y” proposition to overcome an anticipated barrier. For instance, say you have to write a report on how COVID-19 is affecting your business, and you anticipate that you will be interrupted by phone calls, Zoom meetings, and emails during the day and distracted by Netflix in the evening. Devise a “if, then” clause to address these barriers. For example, “If I finish the first part of my report by the end of the day, then I’ll be able to watch two episodes of my favorite show this evening.” Or, “If I can’t finish the first part of my report by noon today, then I will not answer emails in the afternoon until I finish.”
Often, we face distractions and barriers without a plan on how to deal with them. “If, then” is a power script in which you press play and it executes a pre-defined, thought-out function.
Happy achieving!
Oh, before I go... nothing better to focus your Dark Horse than some good 'ol Trance. Follow my playlist on Spotify: Name: Dark Horse Tamed; Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7q3LC6VsoYPXr36zkwKmke?si=Ap9-31VZRpSpzbED7hHo6A
#productivitytips #productivity #goalachievement #timemanagement #seflcontrol #selfregulation #GTD #gettingthingsdone #productivityhack #focus #trance #amateurwriter #writer #productivitycoach #timemanagementcoach #darkhorsetamed.com #procrastination #goalsetting #success #achievement #writerscommunity #focus #worksuccess #stoic #stoicism #studentsuccess #facebookaddiction #facebook #instagramaddiction #instagram #socialmediaaddiction #socialmedia