I’ll let you in on a secret: The trick to talking me into a big project (like writing a book or hosting a conference or chairing a committee) is to ask me a year ahead of time. Because although I always feel waaayyy too busy in the present, I somehow always believe that I’ll be less busy in the future.
Do you share this delusional thinking?
I think that’s why so many people put off taking action on their health or weight. We tell ourselves that once this work project/tax season/kitchen renovation/pandemic is out of the way, we’ll have the bandwidth to focus on building a healthier lifestyle.
But of course, our lives never really get less busy. A new project or challenge will come along as soon as this one is in the books. Meanwhile, the costs of not taking care of ourselves accumulate and compound.
And the truth is that we don’t really need to spend more time on the problem in order to solve it. We just need to spend the time we’re ALREADY SPENDING on it more productively.
Instead of complaining about all the things standing in our way, we can move just one of them out of the way.
Instead of endlessly researching our next step, we can take imperfect action right now.
Instead of talking about how discouraged we are about our lack of progress, we can identify one small action that will move us in the right direction. (You’d be amazed at how quickly THOSE things start to accumulate and compound.)
Think of a goal or objective that you’ve been putting off, waiting for a “better time.” There really is no better time than today. What small step can you take before this day is over?