Just Do It!

Getting more done usually comes down to clearing two obstacles. The first is not having what you need within reach to start the task. The second is wanting everything to turn out perfect.

I'm good at finding reasons to put something off. My favorite excuse is that I don't have the right stuff in front of me. There are two cures for that. Write down whatever the task requires, carry the list with you, and buy those items next time you're out. Or, if you already own what you need, walk over to wherever it's stashed, bring it to where you'll work, and begin. Either way, the main alibi evaporates.

Dawdling is the other thing that keeps me from starting. If I'm fussing over doing it exactly right, I can stall indefinitely. The people in my life who like to be in charge don't make it easier, since they're happy to pick apart whatever I decide. Judging a thing after it exists is a lot simpler than inventing how to do it from scratch.

So why did it take you so long? Often, once a thing is finally done, you find yourself puzzled about how you went without it for that long. All those hours of delay could have been hours of enjoying the result. I just hung a new photo of my granddaughter where I can see it while I write. Any more foot-dragging and she might have been grown before I managed it.

Keeping a record of what you've finished helps too. Put down the small stuff; none of it is too minor. We skip this because we tell ourselves it was nothing special. But somebody had to do it, it ate up time, and somebody gets to benefit. Loading and unloading the dishwasher counts. You weren't sitting idle during that. You were doing something.