When You Realize You Need To Do Something 'Now!'

When You Realize You Need To Do Something ‘Now!’

May 19, 2019 · by · in Uncategorized

I feel productive when I ‘jump in’ to work on something I remember I need to do.

 

“Oh! That thing is important!” – And I begin. (Have you had a similar moment?)

 

But, the problem is that even though the ‘stimulus’ is yourself, you are reacting instead of thinking and then acting.

 

The problems with this are…

 

  1. Your actions may not fit the big picture. You may begin painting the ugly wall you intend to tear down.

  2. This may not be the time to act. Do you have the resources and time with you? Possibly not!

  3. You were probably working on something else at the time, and it was probably also important, or you wouldn’t be doing it.

  4. Perhaps you were planning (do you ever realize anything while you’re planning, perhaps?) and jumping into action now would only cut the planning short.

  5. You may be solving a short-term problem instead of the long-term cause. Perhaps, jumping into a late-night work out, without thinking that your inability to get home before 9PM is the reason you almost forgot.

  6. If acting now is the right decision… is there someone you need to inform before disappearing for a few hours?

  7. Realizing you need to do something and knowing the 1st step, doesn’t mean you’ve planned the best way to fully complete the task.

 

It’s easy to justify, because you’re certainly being productive, decisive, and you’re clearly not lazy, but I’ve actually needed to train myself to not jump into work too quickly.

 

Like a dog, I see a stick and instinctively start running after it and I’ve wasted a lot of time chasing sticks.

 

For the reasons listed above, you may need to un-train yourself as well.

 

Fortunately, there is a relatively simple solution.

 

Rather than acting on your ‘flash’ realization… just write it down.

 

Write it on your ‘to do list’ or ‘weekly planning’ document. You won’t forget it, and you can see how it fits with your other plans, and you can choose when to do it.

 

Rather than reacting, you can now think and then act. Importantly, you can return to the work at hand, the plan you are currently writing, or perhaps the enjoyable time you’re spending with family.