I’m Belinda Goodrich and today’s productivity hack is taking things down a notch. I know we love to think big, right? Big plans, big goals, big lists. I challenge that, and I encourage you to instead of looking at the big picture, think in micro bites and work in micro bites. One piece at a time, get it done and then move to the next task. Now there’s a lot of reasons why a micro bite approach to doing our work is so incredibly empowering.
The first thing is, as we accomplish something, regardless the size, we give ourselves a little hit of really good emotional hormones. We get that little endorphin hit, that win, that hey, I just got something done. Think about the last time you finished something awesome that you were working on, and you were like, yes, it’s done. Or maybe it wasn’t awesome and that made it even better to be done, like doing our taxes or something, right? There’s such a great feeling with getting it done. So when we break our work into these smaller pieces, we’re getting that endorphin hit. We’re getting those quick wins all the time.
The other thing about using a micro bite approach versus looking at a great big list of things to do, is our brain works on comparisons. So, if you are a fan of and you love a to-do list, (and I am a recovering to-do lister), I encourage you instead to go high tech. I use sticky notes. I write maybe the top one or two things that I am supposed to do that day, my highest priority items on my sticky note. I take that sticky note and I put it right there on my computer. And when I’m done with it, nothing better. That task is done. Time to go into the vault and grab the next task, and then I work each step, each micro bite, and I feel great by the end of the day because I got a pile of sticky notes over there with all the work I did. So, I encourage you to step away slowly and carefully from that big, long to-do list. Instead work in micro bites. This is your productivity hack for the day. Let’s get things done.
