3328: Not Doing All the Things We Want to Do by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits on Productivity & GTD

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Before we start, please check out our new podcast, Good Sleep.

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[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Living Daily, Not Doing All the Things We Want to Do by Leo Babauta of ZenHabits.net,

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'm Justin Malik, here to help you find a little bit of extra inspiration, motivation, or happiness in your day.

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: So with that, let's get right to it and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Not Doing All the Things We Want to Do by Leo Babauta of ZenHabits.net

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I think we've all been there.

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_00]: We've signed up for the gym, signed up for a class, bought an e-book, and then not used it.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_00]: We've had hopes of learning to draw, to program, to play a musical instrument,

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_00]: and then promptly failed to do so.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: We've had the best intentions for a project, maybe starting a blog or writing a book.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: We've had the best intentions for our day, to be productive and kick some butt.

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And then, our plans fall apart.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: We fail to live up to our hopes.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Why is this? What's wrong with us?

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_00]: In my experience, there are a few key obstacles.

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Number one, we are overly optimistic.

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_00]: We think we're going to be able to do about two to five times what we can actually do.

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: We only have so much capacity, only so much energy, only so much time in the day.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: But we're not very good at estimating any of those, and we also think the things we want to do

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: are going to take way less time than they'll actually take.

[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Optimism beats us every time.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Number two, we don't account for the little things.

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: This goes hand in hand with the optimism, but when we're thinking about our plans,

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: we don't think about all the tiny things like maintenance tasks

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_00]: that need to be done in order to accomplish our plans, or even just to live.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't think about showering, brushing our teeth, getting dressed, cooking, eating,

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: cleaning up, doing laundry, driving, getting gas,

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: answering a thousand and two emails, taking phone calls, using the bathroom, and so on and so on.

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_00]: We just aren't wired to be able to calculate all of that.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Number three, we fail in the face of resistance.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: When we have the choice to focus on what we hope to focus on, or do some busy work,

[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_00]: or go to one of our comfortable distractions, resistance comes up.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And our habitual conditioned response is to shy away from the resistance.

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes we have the motivation to overcome it, but most times we put things off

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_00]: because beating the resistance isn't easy.

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And number four, we don't have the right environment.

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: A big part of whether we succeed at overcoming the resistance

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_00]: is whether we have an environment that's conducive to keeping us on task or holding us accountable.

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, if we're part of a team and they're counting on us to get a project done by the end of the day,

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: we'll be more motivated to overcome resistance because we don't want to let them down.

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But let's say no one will know if we procrastinate for an entire day,

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_00]: and there are lots of tempting distractions staring at us from the browser,

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00]: we're less likely to get things done.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And if people in our lives are actively against us taking a class or learning an instrument,

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_00]: we're less likely to do it.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Accountability, supportive people, the presence of distractions,

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: these are some key parts of whatever environment we're in.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: These are things we all do.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: There isn't a person among us who is immune to these problems,

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: certainly not me nor anyone I know.

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_00]: So what can we do?

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, it turns out there are a few key habits we can form to help with these problems,

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: and some of them are going to seem obvious now that we've identified the causes.

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to actually put that class or gym pass to use,

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: if you want to get that personal project done or read that e-book you bought,

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: here are some suggestions that I found to be powerful in actually doing what I hope to do.

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Number one, know that you probably only have three to four hours a day of productive time

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_00]: to get projects done, get important work done, read books and learn stuff.

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_00]: The rest of the time is spent on sleeping, eating, personal maintenance, transportation, meetings,

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: calls, email, distractions, shopping, cooking, errands, taking care of kids or hanging with friends and so on.

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Number two, block out what you can do in that time.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Exercise writing, reading, learning, a few important tasks.

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Number three, now cut out half of those.

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_00]: The things you want to do are going to take twice as long as you hope.

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_00]: If you have some time left over, bonus, use that time not on distractions but on the tasks you cut out.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Number four, if you want more productive time, cut out some distractions, TV or online reading.

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00]: But you'll probably only be able to add another hour a day.

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Number five, set up a good environment for each project you want to complete.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to learn guitar, have some accountability and someone who will be supportive,

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: even if that means finding someone online.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Set deadlines that have people who count on you to get your project done.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Go somewhere for 30 minutes where you won't have any distractions.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: And number six, when you're ready to focus on the thing you hoped to get done,

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00]: face the resistance instead of running from it.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Stare it in the face. See that it's not that bad.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Know your deeper reason for wanting to get this done.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And remember that this reason is worth facing the resistance and pushing on despite that discomfort.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you find these useful. I've used them to learn things, to get projects done,

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: to stick to exercise programs, to do things with my kids.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm far from perfect. I forget these things all the time.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: But when I do remember to do them, I'm much better at living up to my hopes and dreams.

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled,

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Not Doing All The Things We Want To Do by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you to Leo. I can definitely relate to this. I'd be surprised if you didn't.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It's so easy to have these grand plans when we're feeling motivated,

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_00]: but when it comes time to actually do the work, well that's when things get tough.

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And more often than not, we cave.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_00]: We go for the easy distraction instead of pushing through.

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I know I've been there more times than I'd like to admit.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_00]: For me, after reading so many articles about building habits and getting things to stick,

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_00]: it's been about doing even just a tiny bit,

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_00]: but also making sure that I truly enjoy it so I look forward to it.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_00]: But I thought there was another good point in the article,

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_00]: being realistic about how much productive time we actually have in a day.

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_00]: It is not 12 hours. It's more like 3 or 4.

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And even then, we need to be smart about how we use it.

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: So cutting out half of what we think we can do,

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's a great way to sort of under-promise and over-deliver to ourselves.

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00]: It's better to get a few things done well than to try to do everything and end up accomplishing nothing.

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_00]: So good stuff to consider this weekend, have a great weekend,

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.