6 Ways to Get Shit Done

There are three things involved in taking a brain dump...

1. Write the clutter in your head down

2. Set a time in the future to worry about it

3. Brainstorm solutions or causes

Writing shit down. 

Write down all the things you have to do... like a to-do list. 

And ya... you can put workout on that to do list.

But maybe 'things to do' isn't what is taking up space in your head. Maybe you need to have more of an emotional dump.

Things that are bugging you, stress over conversations you don't want to have, anything that is troubling you.

Set a worry date.

Sounds bonkers right? Thing is... it works. A specific time (ideally within a week) and block off up to 30 min. During that time, you can bring out your list and make some plans.

Brainstorm solutions or causes.

For either list, you might want to make an order of importance ranking.

Regardless of whether you rank them, come up with some solutions, plans, or in the case of emotions, simply identify the cause 

If you want more details and the pitfalls to avoid with Brain Dumps, grab the PDF at the bottom of this post.

A procrastination purge is going to put less friction between you and your intended tasks. In order to make getting shit done the path of least resistance, we need to remove some procrastination tools. These are the things that help you procrastinate. Things like:

• social media
• notification pings turned on
• netflix
• texting and emailing
• internet browsing

What gets in the way of you exercising? How can remove those temptations? We're not talking about about actual obstacles like toddlers running amok or lack of time, we're talking about the things that make it easier for you to default to procrastination even when you technically could workout. 

• setting time limits for certain apps or use alarms to let you know how long you've been on tiktok
• turning off notifications until you have time to look at things,
• leaving your phone in another room
• recruiting the help of apps or people who can hold you accountable...

The how is up to you and may take a bit of experimenting and practicing, but chances are stunningly high that removing one or two procrastination tools from your daily life will not make things worse.

This where you decide what you are going to tackle off the list because when you clear out your mental clutter, room opens up for other things... like a spark of interest in exercise. 

Picking things that will not take a lot of time is a great way to build momentum and give yourself quick dopamine hits.

Another method is called 'eat the frog'. This is where you do the most disagreeable thing first. Because let's face it... once you've eaten a frog, anything else will feel easy.

And having the thing you truly dread hanging over you will zap literal physical energy. Maybe that means you get your workout done first!

• your plan could break down what needs to be done into smaller, more manageable steps
• it could involve making a 'not to do' list...all the things you know don't work or will get in your way
• and most importantly, take a hard look at whether what needs to be done is something you have to do or if you can delegate it. 

Unfortunately you cannot delegate your workouts to someone else and have that turn out in your favour.

You can absolutely break your workout into smaller more manageable chunks - sometimes just thinking of it as four 5 min blocks of time works. Sometimes thinking, I'm going to do an arm exercise, a leg exercise, a chest and a back exercise can help.

You can make a not to do list - don't sit down to check emails before the workout, don't forget my headphones at home, don't plan a workout at a time of day I know I'll be tired. 

Delegating other things frees up your time, makes you less likely to burn out, improves your efficiency at the the tasks you do have to do yourself, and often allows others to feel more motivated or trusted when given more responsibility.

Yes, this means dealing with those pesky emotions we humans will insist on having. 

Procrastination is often an attempt to avoid emotions such as boredom, anxiety, frustration, self-doubt, guilt. If the thing we 'should' be doing brings up any of these things, our brain will naturally look for a way out. And in walk social media apps to save the day and entertain us with the feel goods. 

Learning to notice and name our emotions is invaluable. Learning to sit with uncomfortable emotions is vital. And we're not taught this stuff! 

• Fear of failure or change
• Lack of direction or clarity
• Overwhelmed or stressed

Do any of these things come up when you think about exercising??

These are examples are things can lead to procrastination when our brain says, "hey I know a nifty way to save you from the discomfort of this feeling.. just do this mindless thing over here instead... tada!!! You are saved"

And unfortunately it works. We DO experience temporary relief. Temporary being the operative word. 

In that PDF I keep talking about there are some examples of ways to manage each of the discomforts I just mentioned so use the offer below to grab your copy if you think this applies to you.

Each of things I'm about to suggest I have already done podcast episodes on so I'll rattle them off quickly.

• Name it to tame it. What is the emotion? Say it out loud. "I am feeling frustrated." Just that often defuses things a lot. I believe the Emotion Story episode talks about this

• Challenge negative thoughts - that one is covered in the ANT's episode (Automatic negative Thoughts)

• Set a timer - Listen to the Worry Better episode for more info on setting up a time to deal with emotions

• Give yourself compassion - I'm not sure if there is just one episode where I talk about this, because it is a theme - the Anxiety and Fitness episode comes to mind.

• Add some fun to whatever you are doing or fun afterwards . The Polyvagal Theory episodes talk about how important fun is for regulating our nervous system state and, by extension, our emotions. 

• Practice some emotion coping strategies. You might know these as grounding exercises. I feel like my second ever episode, called You're Still On Keep Riding covers this. 

There's a couple more but I'll leave them as surprise in the PDF.

Has this been helpful? There are more details and squirrel detours in the podcast if you prefer to listen and, of course, you can always grab your copy of the 'Get Shit Done' PDF.