I want to help you not just survive, but THRIVE in these crazy times. I’m sending you this daily dose of inspiration, because if we set our compass right, we can sail through this!
Tip # 47 : Set a timer – Smash It Sessions
Set yourself some ‘Smash it’ sessions, for when you just need to get things done. This is a powerful antidote to feeling overwhelmed or distracted by the weight of what’s undone. It’s a way to focus your energy and make tangible progress.
Step 1 – get clear on the specific task you want to complete
Step 2 – decide the amount of time and set a timer
Step 3 – while the timer runs, you do ONLY the thing you planned
‘Smash It’ sessions are best for short burst tasks, rather than more complex tasks, which benefit from long periods of deep work. The idea here is that by setting a clearly defined outcome and a specific amount of time to do it, you create an urgency and focus that will increase productivity. With each task you complete, you will also tap into energy boosting dopamine hits in your brain.
Keep the tasks specific and the time limit short. The time limit helps to save you from procrastinating. Clarifying the specific task you are working on helps save your energy from darting back and forth between an assortment of tasks, scattering your focus and slowing your progress.
Sometimes a ‘Smash it’ session may tackle a whole list of small tasks – in this case you challenge yourself to see how many you can tick off the list in this set amount of time. If you’re working with a list, be sure to work on only one list item at a time, finishing it before moving to the next.
By working on tasks in this very focused way, we can transform anything on our ‘to do’ list into a mindfulness exercise. Remember the lesson of ‘wax on – wax off’ in the Karate Kid movies? Any task, done with total focus not only boosts productivity, but boosts our ability to be present and choose the focus of our attention.
Set a timer and, like a monk in a monastery, devote yourself wholeheartedly to the task at hand before the bell rings.
Recommended Reading
Mindfulness: finding peace in a frantic world, by Mark Williams
Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world has become a word-of-mouth bestseller and global phenomenon. It reveals a set of simple yet powerful practices that you can incorporate into daily life to break the cycle of anxiety, stress unhappiness and exhaustion. It promotes the kind of happiness that gets into your bones and allows you to meet the worst that life throws at you with new courage.
