No matter what style of organization we use to track our “to do” items, we all have items on our lists that fill us with mild but annoying dread. You know the ones. They’re the unpleasant, onerous things we know we must do, but dread doing.
Maybe you hate filling out forms, and you have to fill out a particularly long and complicated one. Or maybe you fear the dentist, so you resist calling for an appointment. Or maybe you have to make a difficult decision about something, and just the thought of figuring it out gives you that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach.
These loathesome but unavoidable tasks tend to get stuck in our lists. They land there one day, and, because we really don’t want to tackle them, they stay there for a long time. Each time we see them, our stress level jumps up, and we avoid them once again.
Here’s a little trick to help get those stubborn items off your list. I call it the Morning Blech.
The Morning Blech has nice side effects:
- It gives you momentum first thing in the morning
- It boosts your energy for the rest of the day
- It helps you start the day with a sense of accomplishment
- It makes your queue of tasks less ominous
Sound good? Great! Let’s try it. Here’s what to do:
- Wake up and get ready. The Morning Blech should be the first thing — or nearly the first thing — you do for the day. So, get up and get ready for your day. Once it’s time to start doing things, it’s time for the Morning Blech. Earlier is better.
- Choose a blech from your list. Pick one and only one blech to knock off your list. The ideal blech is something you dread doing, but must do. It should also be relatively small. Something that takes less than 30 minutes is best. Chances are, you already know which blech you should choose without even looking. It’s that little but onerous thing that’s been nagging your mind for days.
- Do the blech. Crank that widget! Give it your full attention and throw yourself into action. Remember, it’s not going to take more than 30 minutes — probably less, so just get it done.
- Mark the blech done. Do whatever you ordinarily do to mark a task done, whether that’s crossing it off your list or marking it complete on the computer or PDA.
- Take a moment to acknowledge your little victory. This is an optional step, but it doesn’t hurt, and very well may help. Be careful though. If, for instance, you high five yourself and shout, “Oh YEAH, baby!” in a crowded coffee shop, people will notice.
And that’s it. Now you can go on with your day. Try it out for a few days and see if it works for you. I hope it does.