[Structure Supports Flow]
On certain days, when there is a lot going on, I notice thoughts pop into my head at a greater frequency than on quieter days. It’s as though my mind knows how busy I am, and wants to make sure I don’t forget anything.
Thoughts pop up in my head, no matter what I am doing, reminding about meetings on my calendar and items on my to-do list, as well as other things that I don’t have written down anywhere.
I love that this busy mind of mine supports me and wants to help me keep all the balls in the air, but all this reminding can be really distracting when I am trying to focus on the task at hand.
All these fleeting “don’t forget this” thoughts take up a lot of my brain space and can make my head cloudy and muddled.
A few years ago, when I began to notice how insidious this is, I began to hear a little voice in my head right after my mind reminded me of something. “Do it now,” I hear loudly and clearly.
What that means is that my mind is suggesting I either do it right away and get it out of my mental space, or write it down somewhere so my mind recognizes a “to-do” detail has been noted and tracked.
This structure is similar to the rule of thumb that if you can respond to an email in less than 2 minutes, it’s best to do it right away.
For example, I may hear “Don’t forget your notebook today!” and then quickly, I’ll hear “Do it now.” So, I’ll take the 30 seconds needed to grab the notebook and put it in my purse. Or, sometimes it’s “You need to call Julie back,” and since this will take longer than 2-minutes, I’ll write down on my to-do list.
Then, having dealt with it, my mind stops reminding me about it every 15 minutes and I can be less distracted and flow with what is right in front of me.
Begin to bring this structure into practice for yourself. First and foremost, start to notice your thoughts, what your mind is afraid you’ll forget, and use that reminder to create a trigger in your mind that prompts the next thought to be “Do it now.”
Next, take the action right away: either do it or write it down.
You could say that this exercise is an inside job because much of it happens in your mind. It takes a lot of awareness and diligence at first while you develop the habit but soon enough, you will find it happening automatically.
This is a great way to train your mind to help you in a way that supports your actually getting things done, rather than distracting you with reminders.
If you want to learn how you can use structures to support your flow in your business, I’m opening up my schedule to speak with ONLY 3 people who want to get results that feel good along the way. If one of them is YOU, reply to this email and reserve your spot!