Sometimes life can be stressful and overwhelming because we have too many things to manage at the same time. Those moments in which we are struggling to stay focused can lead us to a vicious circle. Indeed, the more we feel anxious about completing our To-Do List, the more we feel discouraged and the less productive we are. These little exercises will help you declutter your mind to boost your productivity.
Know how to write your To-Do List.
Of course, everybody knows how to create a To-Do List. Indeed, it is the list of the things you have to do during the day. Once you complete a task, you have the satisfaction to strike it out on your notebook. In addition, having this list will help you manage your time and declutter your mind.
But what we don’t know is that creating a To-Do List should be an exercise we really focus on, every morning. In fact, the more our list will be fun, the more we will rush to complete it. So the question is : how to make unpleasant tasks fun ? Well, the answer is quite simple: add a little reward to yourself after every unpleasant duty.
It is not about going to your favorite shop and buy something expensive every time you complete a task. It is more about taking few minutes to celebrate yourself each time you manage to accomplish something without procrastinating.
For example, if you have an unpleasant labor to do, write it down and underneath, add an activity that will only take a few minutes but that will make you happy. It can be the intention to make yourself a cup of your favorite blueberry tea or a two-minute meditation. In any case, make sure that, once you’re done with these heavy tasks, you have a moment for yourself.
Something is also important: your notebook. Indeed, having a beautiful and personalized notebook will change everything! Dare to use stickers and color pens or markers. They are not only for children (and even if they were: let’s take care of our inner child, we deserve it!).
This will boost your will to complete your tasks and will make space for gratitude and self-love in your daily life.
Use your environment as an unexpected tool to stay focused.
Even if you have a very motivating To-Do List, you can sometimes be struggling with concentration. Indeed, some days can be more overwhelming than others. It is precisely during those days that you will need some help to stay focused.
Let’s say you are in an open space, in your office, or your home. Suddenly, an unpleasant idea comes to you and you can’t take it out of your mind. You start to overthink and realize that you are making mistakes in the email you were writing. Here, the exercise begins, the key to a peaceful mind.
Start to breathe with your eyes closed. Take a deep breath and imagine that your obsessing idea goes with your breath when you exhale. Then, open your eyes, calm yourself and put all your attention to what is surrounding you. The challenge here is to notice five things you’ve never seen before. And I can assure you that, even if you think it is impossible, you will find five things you never saw before.
Let me give you an example. It can be a very small crack in the ceiling, a tiny trace of paint on the wall, etc. Even I you have known your office for twenty years, believe me, you will find five things you never noticed before. In fact, even if you do the exercise every day, it will continue working because your environment evolves with you.
Deep focusing is blind!
Another powerful exercise to chase away the dark thoughts or overthinking is to listen to your environment. What does this mean? Here, you will listen to your environment as if you were blind. As a matter of fact, blind people develop an amazingly acute and sharp sense of hearing.
Close your eyes, even put your hands before your eyes if you need, and listen. Listen very carefully to every sound that is around you and try to distinguish three. Isolate and analyze every of the three sounds that you could tell apart. Who is making them? Are they natural or industrial? Do they come from outside or inside? Try to imagine the lives of all these sounds.
And now, open your eyes: overthinking is gone for good. Also, I am sure you are feeling so excited to go back to work in this beautiful environment that is yours and that you just discovered with a new perspective.
And never hesitate to send good vibes and spread kindness around you, this is the real secret to a peaceful mind!
Also by Victoria: How To Free Yourself From The Need For Validation & Find Peace
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Photo: Paico Oficial via Unsplash; Jeff Hardi via Unsplash
