If you’re like me, these kinds of article titles have captured my attention, and they’ve either been met with interest or an eye roll.
?“Top 10 ways to break through procrastination”
?“5 best-kept secrets from today’s millionaires”
?“The #1 thing you’re doing wrong in your health”
?“Your biggest downfall that you can stop doing TODAY”
?“Here’s what they don’t want you to know about doing your skincare on a budget”
…but sometimes I think we get so caught up in the fantasy of what we want that we’re not currently experiencing (or we want to be distracted from what we’re currently experiencing), that we don’t make the changes necessary to step into that new reality.
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So, in a very un-market-y way, I’d like to present to you “a few simple things I implement in my day to day to keep an unclogged mind, my sanity, and not forget things” #tada
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I take a lot of notes throughout the day, to get those swirling thoughts OUT of my head. I’d rather keep that space clear for problem solving, creative thinking, and focusing on what’s important and present in the moment, rather than being distracted by the “I have to remember to not forget that!”
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Here’s what that looks like in a really practical way…I capture ideas when they come to me, and it happens in a variety of ways:
?send myself an email with details, because everything in my inbox gets my attention (granted, this only works because I don’t subscribe to any email lists, and I’m happy to delete things that don’t need to be read)
?add the idea to the proper google doc/folder (i.e. “blog/social media post ideas” folder, or my “message ideas” doc, or my “grocery list” google sheet checklist)
?put the task into my Asana project management with the details I currently have for it (including assigning the due date)
?send myself a voice memo if it’s too detailed to write it all out and I want to capture everything at a rate faster than I can type
?start a draft text message to someone so I remember to send them that thing I mentioned that I have to find first, or to trigger a reminder for myself to look at my calendar and get them some dates and times when we could meet up
?setting alarms for everything (“leave by 7:20” or “go switch laundry out” or “remember to give back the jacket you borrowed” etc.)
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Now, admittedly, this next one definitely works for me because (1) I’ve trained myself to know what this technique means, and (2) I live alone so there’s no one else interrupting my system LOL!
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For those who’ve been to my home, you know I don’t have anything out on my counters. I like things really neat and tidy, so if there’s something on my counter, it means it needs attention (i.e. this morning, I ran out of dry shampoo (!!) and didn’t have time to open my grocery list and add it in, so I left it out on my desk so when I came home I’d be prompted to put it on my list).
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Some of you may be reading this thinking that it’s a lot of hoopla for simple things, but what I’ve found is that if I don’t do this, then my mind is clogged with things that are basically stealing its energy and focus.
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Moral of the story = find a method (or methods) that works for you and stick with it! They may be comically simple (I get made fun of often for all my alarms), but they work!
How I keep my sanity
