322. Do hard things ASAP to avoid spending days and high stress on small things

Facing procrastination head-on, I share a personal morning journey that transformed my perspective on productivity. It began with a seemingly daunting task: setting up an LLC, securing a business bank account, and filing essential documents with the state. The initial urge to delay was strong, yet diving into the task revealed an unexpected truth – the stress resides in anticipation, not in action. Through candid reflection, I uncovered a powerful lesson: the relief and clarity that come from tackling dreaded tasks far outweigh the temporary discomfort of execution.

Join me as I unravel the transformative practice of converting overwhelming responsibilities into quick victories. By challenging the perception of difficulty, I discovered that tasks often deemed tedious and time-consuming can be completed with surprising ease. This episode is a call to action – confront what you’re inclined to avoid, and enjoy the dual benefit of reduced stress and newfound time for what truly matters. Let this story inspire a more productive, less stressful approach to your to-do list, and find motivation in the simplicity of getting things done.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:32

Good morning, good morning. Well, I went into the studio for a little bit, then caught up with the men's group and now heading back home. Ultimately, one thing that I noticed I went to the studio this morning and I had one goal I needed to set up an LLC, needed to get a business bank account, needed to file some documents with the state, and I gave myself, like today's, the deadline, I'm going to do it today, no matter what. I just had to do some documents with the state and I just I gave myself, like today's, the deadline, I'm gonna do it today, no matter what. I just had to do some like administrative work. It's something I've been needing to do for a while, but I just haven't done it in ages. And so I said, all right, I have to do it today, I'm gonna do it precisely when I'm at the studio. That gives me 45 minutes. I'm gonna get it done and then I'm gonna head out for the. But I need that done so I can do other things throughout the day. And I was like, oh, I don't want to do it, I don't want to go to the studio. Then, when I'm at the studio, I want to like chit chat or I want to do other things that are more important, but I told myself, no, it's got to happen today, right now, before I leave the studio. So then I get it done. I file the stuff and it takes me like just what I expected about 30 to 45 minutes and did all the administrative stuff that I knew I had to do. But I've just been not doing and before I knew it it was done and it's all over. I'm now like on with my day and there's like some state processing, there's like business processing or bank processing, and so now other people can do the work they needed. But that was really insightful to see and I forgot today's lesson, today's takeaway.

Speaker 1: 2:01

Here it is the stress and the anxiety of what you have to do is only in the lead up, it's not in the execution. So, thinking about what I have to do, dwelling on it, what's going to happen, what's the future going to be, do I really need to do this? Oh, I don't feel like doing this. Oh, this is going to be rough. Oh, I don't like this. That is where all the stress and anxiousness originates. Once you're doing it, you're following through, you're cranking it out. It's still a little bit annoying, because I don't like administrative paperwork stuff, but in my head it's like oh, this is going to be an eight out of 10 frustration. In the moment it's like a two out of 10. It's not that big of a deal like filling out forms and applying for things, and so all that to say.

Speaker 1: 2:42

Every day I write down a list of my things that have to get done that day, tomorrow, the next day, and the things that I keep kicking down the road to do later are usually things that I can just crank out in a decent amount of time. The road to do later are usually things that I can just crank out in a decent amount of time. But it's the delay, the anticipation, that not only like makes the waiting process worse, but I now have to do it for multiple days. So now I have like five days or weeks worth of stress or something that could just be started and done within 30 minutes, and there's no value gained. No thing is improved by me doing this stress thing over multiple days. It's only valuable when it's done and over with and behind me in one day, and so not only is it less painful, but it's also less time.

Speaker 1: 3:27

So it's a double win. So that's what I'm learning and that's what I'm sharing for today's takeaway. When there's stuff you don't wanna do a cold call, you don't wanna make an email you have to send, that's bad news for someone, or whatever it is, do it so that it takes less time and you'll find out, it takes less emotional or physical toll on your body than you think it's going to take. Go for the double win. That's where we're at, that's where we're going. Let's rock and roll.