How do you take action?

[Mounds]

I know some people on here are good at getting things done. How do you get that ball rolling?

Right now, I've got different projects that I'm attempting to get a start on. This is where I usually have some trouble getting the motor running. Here are some of the things that I'm doing to get going:

1. I chart the course. I see where I want to go and I work backwards from there to make a plan. The plan is flexible and I can change it as I go. Gives me a bit of a boost to get started.

2. Lately I've been using something called the pretend frame. If I have zero motivation to do something or I don't believe I can do it, I imagine if I was a person who enjoyed this kind of thing or was a professional at it. Ex. A couple days ago my wife asked me to clean the bathroom while she was at work. Normally, I'd do a half-ass job with all the wrong cleaning supplies. I did an experiment and imagined myself as a professional cleaner. I found out what the proper supplies were, did a thorough job and actually enjoyed it. My wife actually complimented me on the job I did.

3. I journal like mad. I spend at least 30 minutes a day journalling. Usually when I journal, I talk about how achieving a certain goal will change my life. This keeps it fresh in my mind. I also review my journal every week or so, which refreshes my memory in case a goal does fall by the wayside.

4. I imagine a time several moments after the goal is complete. When I do this, I feel really good and it gives me a lot of drive to get it done. Simply by imagining myself completing the given task, it moves from something that might be difficult, if not impossible to achieve to completely attainable. On top of that, I really want that sense of accomplishment.

So tell us, what's your system? If you really had to describe it, how would you? Do you visualize something? Do you listen to certain music that gets you pumped? Do you meditate on it?

-Tim

[Lakshyayidhi Lakshmihi]

I can't! It's completely intuitive. I'm a feather in the wind. I will marinate on something for a period of time and suddenly circumstances align to allow the possibility to become a reality.

Usually if I try to force it the results are much less stellar. It's a completely nonlinear nonlogical nonthought process. I do have to cultivate the ability to tune into the right frequency. Things do tend to just sort of intersect with my path. Those are the projects I am supposed to concentrate on, I guess.

[Guru1984]

One thing that has worked pretty well for me is that I just DO things and what I mean by that...

To be able to pass a test in college you generally have to study, to learn to play guitar you need to practice scales (among other things), to finish a project you have to work on it. Now those are things that can be boring and you can lack motivation for them. The thing is that you can lose a lot of time trying to change your current feelings about those things and brain can sometimes be persistent and find 1000 things why you don't want to do something, but one thing he can't do is STOP you from doing anything. No matter how down you feel, bored, not motivated you can still pick a book and start reading it, take guitar and start playing, start to write a project. I know that everyone deep inside know their priorities. You know that your priorities are i.e. to finish those projects, so if the brain is telling you that it's boring/guess what, the brain is not doing you any favors, so why would you listen to it. I just start doing things no matter how bored I feel and in the end of the day, I almost always feel glad that I did them, so it motivates me to just do things and pay less attention to how I fell at that moment because feelings can change easily.

[Archmode]

i ask friends or family to tell me. im not sure why, but i need people to tell me what i need to do to actually do it.

[36burrows]

I'm a person who usually acts on inspiration and goes all out. I can feel when something's right or not. If it feels right I generally have a huge burst of motivation and excitement that fills me with energy.

I know this initial burst of energy tends to wane after a little while, so I make sure to go all out during that time. I don't sit around and wait on it, I don't meditate or do anything to put it off. I get started immediately. The longer I wait, the more motivation I lose.

When the burst of energy wears off, I at least started what I wanted to do and put a really good dent into it. And from there I can continue with a slower, yet consistent pace so I don't wear myself out.

This gave me an idea for a new blog post. Thanks!

[ssandra]

Pretending works for me! Right now, I'm pretending I'm a person who has will power and can stick to her diet

What else works is to anchor the feeling of being busy, accomplishing something, being motivated. And reactivate that feeling when you are not motivated.

Other things that didn't work for me but might for you:

15 minutes. You make yourself do this thing for just 15 minutes. Set a time if you want to. Usually that is enough to get you in the flow.

One step at the time:

Only do the first step. Once you've done the first step, only do the next step. Etc. Instead of "oh my god, I have to do my taxes" it becomes:
Ok, I just have to get that 1 paper. Now I just have to get that other paper. Now I just need to get the calculator. Now I just need to put that number there... etc.
And at the end "he, my taxes are done! Wow. I'm good!"

[rei]

I'm a fan of just doing it.

Sometimes I'm in a more passive state at the time I would like to get something done, so I do something to get myself pumped. Sometimes that's listening to music with a driving or high-energy beat. Sometimes it's thinking for a very brief moment on what it will feel like to have it done. Sometimes it's calling up an anchor I made when I was previously feeling super-motivated and powerful.

I don't make a plan unless the project has a ton of steps or I'm worried I'll miss one. I usually just get a basic notion inside about where I'm headed, and let my artsy side pick the steps.

And oddly enough, even the artsy approach seems to be pretty darn efficient most of the time. Probably doesn't look that way though!

[rei]

I'll also add that I sometimes make things into a game. How many x can I complete in y amount of time. How much of this thing can I get done before I frustrate myself.

I bet Angela's help in rewiring the strategy or whatever you call it has also helped with this. I feel entirely neutral about the sort of action that I used to resist very strongly.

And I have a personality that finds the joy in things. I can find joy in cleaning the toilet and I can find joy in stuffing envelopes. Chop wood, carry water.

It is only painful or annoying if I judge it as such, so I make it easier on myself by not doing that when I feel like I can help it!

[Rose of Cairo]

I take action completely intuitively. I don't make plans, plans come from the mind and are very limiting. Instead, I get very clear on what my intention is, what result I want to manifest, and then I follow my intuition and act on inspiration. What I do might not make much sense logically, and it often is not what productivity experts say, but it leads me where I want to go.

I also love to take energetically strategic action. Which means, I look at what energy is behind my goal and then I take small actions that align me with that energy, even if seen rationally they don't help me reach my goal. This makes it so much easier!

[Fred Tracy]

I tend to operate both intuitively and intellectually.

I'll have a list of things I want to do daily, and I'll finish them. These keep my day productive and keep things going. I could just do this daily list and probably be fine.

After that, though, I like to do things intuitively. This is where big leaps in growth and productivity come in. Rather than using the same system, I'll re-evaluate my daily list. Or I'll go do something completely different.

I like to spend a minimal amount of time doing the "bare bones" of productivity via the list, then I'll go do whatever for the rest of the day.

Promoting my site and spending time building backlinks would be an intellectual task.

Writing articles, reading books, trying new challenges, and just having fun in general are all far more intuitive.

[MyEyeIsOpen]

I think my methods could work for you, because from what I gather on the forums you and I think in similar ways.

First, bravo on making a plan by working backward. That's what I do first.

Then, I make a schedule -- I DO have a schedule of "when to do stuff" but actually what I mean is that I make a schedule of when stuff is due. Like I post articles on Monday and Friday come hell or high water, just for example. If you don't have a due date, you can trick yourself into doing it "later."

Once I have a plan and deadlines, I have to stick to it:

First, I eat properly exercise. This is fundamentally important. Here's more details about that: Akrasia, or How to Stop Checking E-mail Brain Bugs Getting Your Mind Right Essays Pete Michaud

Then, I arrange my day so that I "fall into" working. For example, on days when it's important that I get lots of work done, I wake up, I eat, I do some light exercise, then I go straight to work. No forums, no e-mail, no nothing, just work. I decide ahead of time what my milestone is for when I'll allow myself to check my messages. It's normally at the halfway point through the day.

Also recommend the Pomodoro technique. I don't use it because I invented a modified version of it that works better for me (I'll blog about it at some point), but you should look into Pomodoros if you haven't because they REALLY work. 4 hours doing pomodoros is like the most productive 8 hours day you've ever had.

If all that doesn't work, then find a project that inspires you or give up your worldly possessions and go for a walk down the Appalachian trail because I've got nothing for you 8)

[Lifeisamazing]

Making a list of tasks, prioritizing them and then adding them in my calendar for specific times seems to work really well for me. What gets in the calendar is a must do.

Doing most stuff according to my big life purpose. If I'm thinking about procrastinating, I'll look at my life mission and I'll get the energy to start doing against. It's something that is much bigger than myself, I can't just avoid using my time effectively.

Thinking about what I want helps to motivate me into doing. Journaling about what I want in my life eventually brings me ideas, which I'll try to implement right away.

Reading about stories from some of my idols on how they study and work creates an abundance of energy and will power. Yesterday I read how Tom Venuto tries to read 3 books per week and today I finished one book (usually I would finish one chapter).