How to get things done and why we self-sabotage
Over 1.3 million of us annually ask Google ‘how to get things done’. Productivity, personal effectiveness and time management are concerns which hang over modern humans like a mild, but persistent headache. Commentators blame the increasing pressure on information overload; the always-on, hyper-connected nature of modern communications. Others point the finger at the requirements of the 24/7, 365 business world.
Unfortunately I think the answer is far simpler, but the implications create a far more difficult problem to solve.
We are emotional creatures that have developed a consciousness through evolution. This means that our emotional filtering and weighting of all stimuli tends to lead our response before we apply rational thinking. Our conscious brains appear to work on an automatic pattern basis, endeavouring to recognise a stimulus eg. a red stop light, and respond according to the pattern programme i.e. we stop without really thinking about it.
We procrastinate and end up with ever-growing to do lists containing the important stuff because of how we have emotionally weighted the items on the list; and probably even because of the existence of the list itself.
In simple terms I think we don’t get things done that we feel resistant to. Obviously we feel resistant to either hard or unpleasant things – like a tax return. But also to things that we do not have a pattern for; the things that are new or strange like writing a report or starting a new project at work. We take on, or are given, tasks without knowing how to do them. Equally, we just take on too much and feel resistant to the sheer volume.
This emotional resistance only becomes counter-balanced when we hit a deadline where we have to do the task. Invariably we then do it – and marvel at how easy it was. Read more…
