Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

AdvisorBlast – Quick Tips to Accelerate Your Practice 
In this issue: How to get stuff done when you just don’t feel like it.

The busyness and excitement of the holidays are over, and the cold, gloomy days of February can make the pull of procrastination, distractions, and deferring even more powerful than usual – especially when it comes to activities that we find uncomfortable, unpleasant, or just plain boring.

That data input you need to do for that financial plan, updating your client notes after a meeting, phoning that client who always seems to have a sharp comment and wants to bend your ear about the latest recommendations she’s heard on CNBC, or attacking that pile of filing you were going to organize in the New Year: there are tasks that you actively avoid because they don’t sound very fun or interesting.

You can even justify putting them off by saying you need to allocate your energy and most productive time to your main priorities, reasoning there is still plenty of time to get those less intriguing things done, or giving undue attention to urgent (but not particularly important) activities.

So how do you deal with getting stuff done when you just don’t feel like it?

1. Master Your Emotions – We often think we need to be in the mood to do something to do it well, and so when we simply don’t feel like doing it, we turn toward something more enticing. However, the truth is, you don’t have to feel like it to do it. Make a decision to not let your emotions rule your behavior. Make a choice to take action regardless of what you feel like doing.

2. Picture the End – This works whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist! If you are a glass-half-full kind of person, picture the sense of accomplishment, calm, and control you’ll feel when those less pleasant, but necessary tasks are done. If seeing that glass as half empty is more your style, picture the problems that will come if you don’t do these important things and the headache and heartache you’ll feel – then use that to motivate you to action so you avoid those even more unpleasant feelings.

3. Make Time – Completing the things that you don’t like doing won’t just happen. You need to make time to get those things done. Set a time block (or three) to tackle that filing. Set an appointment on your calendar to call that client. In that time you set aside for that client meeting, include five minutes to update your notes immediately. Set a schedule and stick to it.

4. Do One Thing – Considering a whole job might seem overwhelming or just too unpleasant. So, break it down into smaller tasks that are easier to achieve and just focus on taking one next step. When I was swimming there were plenty of winter mornings I didn’t want to go jump into a cold pool at 5:00 am. The more I thought about it, the easier it was to tell myself I’d go to morning practice tomorrow, then just to roll over in the dark and go back to sleep. But that wasn’t going to get me the end objective I wanted. So, the night before I’d decide I was going to get up as soon as the alarm went off. I wasn’t go to think about the next ten minutes or speculate about the approaching workout; I was only going to respond to that alarm going off by getting out of bed. Then, once I was up, I chose to get dressed. Then I determined I would walk the three blocks from my dorm room to the pool, even if it was raining, frosty or hailing. Then I’d will myself to get undressed. Then I’d make myself jump in that water and start stroking. Just committing to take one tiny step at a time eventually meant the hard task was successfully done.

Like Nike says, “Just do it.”

Keep going,
Paul

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