Get Off Your Ass Already!
OK, I have a confession to make.
My past is littered with plenty of half starts, projects put on hold (indefinitely) – and plain old bad habits.
These days, I’m doing a lot better. I put so much energy, determination and self- discipline into my career as a server, that I’ve made more money than I ever dreamed possible (and I don’t even work that much. Often just four dinner shifts a week).
Really, I don’t repeat that fact to brag; I say it to remind you of what’s possible for your life. But people are going to tell you it’s NOT possible. They’ll think – and maybe even outright tell you straight to your face – that “Johnny’s a procrastinator. There’s no way he could do it.”
Here’s what I want you to do: I want you to implement just one of these simple techniques to “get off your ass already,” stop procrastinating – and make your dreams come true. Because it’s only when I started using some weird willpower tricks that I started to make some headway toward making those dreams a reality.
• Slice That Shit Up
They call this the “salami method.” Think of a task you’ve been putting off. Now, break that task down into the easiest possible “first step.”
For example, let’s say you’ve been wanting to work on your resume. The easiest possible first step is simple opening your laptop or turning your computer on. That’s it. Just turn the damn thing on.
So when you think about “working on your resume,” all you have to do is turn the computer on. Bet you can do that! And you know what? When you do that simple task that takes just a second, you’ve already gotten started.
And that’s momentum you can run with.
OK, turning on the computer not enough for you? Fine. Open up your resume. Tada! You’ve started on the task. It’s going to be a whole lot easier now to keep going than to get started in the first place. Now that the first step has been achieved, focus on just completing the second step. And so on.
When you really think about this, you never have to “work on a resume”, you’re always doing one specific physical task at a time. So slice it up and you’ll see how much easier your tasks become.
• Do a Little Bit Every Day
Instead of thinking you have to go “balls to the wall” with some project, working for hours on end, try breaking it up into short periods of time over the course of days.
This is similar to the salami method—except this time, you’re slicing it up into days.
Psychologically, there’s a big difference between thinking you have to work on something for 10 minutes a day versus five hours at a time. Plan on doing a little bit every day, even if it’s just five minutes. Anyone can work on something for five minutes a day.
This is a little meditation exercise. But there’s nothing mystical about it and it takes no longer than 10 seconds or so.
Visualize what you’re going to feel like tomorrow morning if that task or project doesn’t get done. Seriously, imagine yourself in detail, waking up in bed and realizing that thing is still unfinished (total bummer).
How will you feel? What will be going through your head? What does that regret and feeling of failure look like in your mind?
Now, visualize what you’ll feel like tomorrow morning if that task were done. Imagine walking with a little swagger. Feel the confidence of having that resume polished, or that important phone call made … whatever your task or project happens to be.
Sometimes we procrastinate because we schizophrenically forget what we’re going to feel like in the morning when we realize we didn’t get that shit done we were supposed to. But when we bring the consequences vividly to our mind, it can motivate us to get up off our ass!
In the end, getting things done means tricking our intensely lazy brains into doing the right thing, because it’s just the easier thing to do – that is, in the long run.
When you make your dreams a reality, life becomes a lot easier.
And if you’ve been procrastinating about getting my course The Valdivieso Method: Discover the Proven Secrets of the Highest-Paid Professional Restaurant Server on the Planet! …don’t put it off any longer! That first step for your future is just a simple click!
Thank you for reading
Get Off Your Ass Already!
That knowledge and experience is available to you. Right now
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