I needed to appreciate my work and not just cross things off my list. So, I pulled out my journal and wrote down why I was grateful for each important task: I’m grateful for my ability to write clearly and effectively to help my client grow his business. This exercise helped me bring gratitude to each task I wanted to do. I would have a meeting, then go back to my client work. Don’t get me wrong, I love my work, but most days I felt like I was doing too many things. I needed to step back and enjoy what could come out of each project. You’ll see whether or not you are able to bring some energy to the project. I’ve noticed that most of the time I can bring energy to a project by focusing on what I appreciate about it. It’s this pause that has helped me appreciate the work that I do each day. Just write what you are grateful for, and why, every day for 30 days.
I sat there staring at my list of tasks and projects.
A stress-flash shot down into my chest. I’d never felt this before. Was I having an anxiety attack?
Why was I worrying about my “to-do” list?
Then I realized an important fact about being an entrepreneur: The more you do each day, the more you add to your list the next morning.
I was overwhelming myself. I wasn’t enjoying my work. I was working to cross things off, but also procrastinating more and more.
I knew my mindset was trending in the wrong direction. I was hurting my ability to enjoy my work and get things done.
How do you become more productive with ease?
Last year, I did some research on productivity that I had forgotten about.
Researcher Edward Deci noticed a trend in positive interactions vs. negative and how they influenced productivity.
In his book, Why We Do What We Do, Deci explains that when someone has six positive interactions to one negative, they are 31% more productive.
I needed to appreciate my work and not just cross things off my list. I’m lucky to do the work that I do.
So, I pulled out my journal and wrote down why I was grateful for each important task:
- I’m grateful for my ability to write clearly and effectively to help my client grow his business.
- I’m grateful for reaching out to a few potential clients because I know I can help them improve their conversions.
- I’m grateful for adding expenses and income into my accounting software because it helps show me how healthy my business is today.
This exercise helped me bring gratitude to each task I wanted to do. I just needed to appreciate that these were tasks I wanted to do, not things I had to do.
Evaluate your mindset
The hardest part of my day was the stop-and-go that occurred again and again.
Someone would email or text me and I would answer, then I would go back to my other work. I would have a meeting, then go…
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