MBA2556 How To Get Things Done Even When You Don't Feel Like It

0:05Hey everyone, welcome back to the$100 MBA show. I'm your host Omar Zinhome. And today's lesson is for those days when you just don't feel like it, right? When you just don't have the motivation to make things happen. We've all been there, right? We've all had that feeling of low motivation, low energy, where everything feels heavy. Almost like you just can't get yourself to do something that you need to do to build your business, to have that success you're looking for. But what I found is that successful people, they know how to push through those moments, how to push through those days and get things done regardless of how they feel.

0:40No matter what is going on, they get it done. So today I want to share with you what has worked for me. I've published this podcast for 10 years, over 2 ,500 episodes. I haven't missed an episode yet. And I'm going to share with you the strategies that really have pushed me through those moments where I just don't feel like doing it, right? Not every day you're going to be super motivated, right? And not every day you're going to feel it, right? So what we're going to do today is I'm going to walk you through my plan. You're going to want to take some notes because this is going to help you big time.

1:08So grab a notebook or a note-taking app on your phone and let's get into it. If there's one big note that I want you to write down and circle and underline and point arrows to, it's this one. Discipline beats motivation every time. Motivation is unreliable. It comes and goes, right? You just can't bank on it. Motivation might hit you and it feels great, but it's not consistent, right? But discipline, that's a skill that you must build and rely on every day. Discipline is what's going to make you successful. Discipline is what makes anybody successful, getting them to do what they need to do, right?

1:46Let's talk about how to create that discipline and push through those tough days, even when your motivation tank is on E, right? Totally empty. So let's just take a moment to talk about why do you feel like you're in a funk? Why do you feel low? Why do you feel unmotivated to do what you have to do? Well, it's exactly that. You feel a certain way. There's an emotion that's happening. And where does that emotion come from? It comes from things we're thinking about, things we're exposed to, things that are going on in our life. So really, if you want to change how we feel about something, we also have to change how we think about it.

2:19Right. Our mindset has to change in order for us to start understanding why and how to get going. Right. So the first step is really getting your mind right. And this is a quick exercise I'm going to give you to get your mind right with gratitude. I know this sounds very woo and very kind of self-helpy, but this is not anything that you probably never heard of before. It's probably something you've heard of before, but this is going to give you some structure on how to implement it. so you can start feeling different, so you can start feeling a little bit more motivated, more ready to kind of get going and do the other steps I'm gonna be talking about today, okay?

2:57So one of the quickest ways to shift your mindset is by practicing gratitude, and what I like to do is I like to focus on what's going well in my life, what's going well in my business in particular, what am I thankful for, what are the things that I'm taking for granted in the moment, right? It helps me tackle the task that I have to do right now and get clearer with a positive mindset. For example, on tough days, I take a moment to list three things I'm grateful for. I actually use a journal. It's called the Five Minute Journal and it's one of the prompts. But you could just do this by just writing it down in a piece of paper, writing it in a notebook, right?

3:32What are three things you are grateful for in your business? A simple exercise that lifts your mood and gets you into the right headspace to get productive, okay? So I'm gonna give you a gratitude exercise that takes five minutes. you could do right now. You can pause this podcast right now and get going after I give you the instructions and then come back to it if you'd like. But what you want to do is write down three things you're grateful for, especially related to your business and your work life. This could be a client that you enjoy working with. This could be a skill that you're grateful you have that helps you grow your business.

4:03This could be an opportunity that's meaningful for you that not everybody has this opportunity. You want to reflect on each of these. You want to visualize what your day is like with and without these, right? And just have this sense where you're just living in that moment, right? It's literally, you're just pretending you're imagining in your head for a moment, you know, what life would be without that? Wow, that would be really tough, right? And it allows you to make sure you are feeling that sense of gratitude. I'll tell you like what I've written down in the past, some of the three things I've written down, like, hey, I have all my faculties, I have a sound mind.

4:40I have all my limbs. Like I physically am able to pull this off. It would be really difficult if I didn't have, you know, like my hands, I didn't have my legs. I didn't have my mind. You know, it's great to have these things because I have all the tools I need to pull this off. Another one for me is I have a supportive partner in my life who's also my partner in business. It's very hard to pull things off if you don't have the support of others. So that's my kind of one of my grateful things. Another one is I'm grateful that I live in a place that's safe, that gives me shelter, that gives me electricity, that gives me a chance for me to put things out on the internet, a place that is not in the middle of a war, right?

5:21This is a reality for a lot of people in the world that we just kind of ignore and forget about. But this is a huge advantage and gives you the peace of mind to be able to build for your future. So those are my grateful things, you might have something different. Go ahead and give this exercise a try. So for me, the reason why this exercise really works is because it gets me going. It makes me feel grateful that I have what I have and that I should show my gratitude by using these things, by using these opportunities, by using the abilities I have to be able to build this business that I want to build.

5:54Okay. So now that we have our mindset, right, let's go to step two and that's setting micro goals to build momentum. When you don't feel like tackling a big task, let's say for example, you're building a product, a course, a coaching program, you're building out a software, whatever it might be, break it down to smaller bite-sized pieces. Micro goals make the work feel achievable and the satisfaction of completing each step fuels the next step and gives you momentum. Micro goals are huge. It's one of the best hacks I can give you. So if I'm having a low energy day, but need to record a podcast episode like this one, I break it down.

6:30What are the micro steps, the micro goals I need to take to pull this off? So maybe I need to just come up with the title, the topic of today's podcast I need to record. Then from there, let me have some bullet points outline this topic. Maybe I can set up my audio equipment, my camera and my lights. That's part of the process. right? I need to script this episode. So maybe I'll start scripting off the outline. These are all small little milestones, small little goals. And as I do each one and I get to the point where I'm recording the episode, this is amazing. I'm feeling like I have so much momentum because what happens is when you just start with one little thing, this is what happens in reality, in practice.

7:19You start with like, for example, in this example, the podcast episode, I come up with a title, right? Just by writing down the title, I've invested some energy and it makes me want to continue. Oh, I really did came up with the title. Let me come up with a little bit of a summary or a little bit of an outline of what this, this, this topic will be about. What kind of things I want to cover in this topic. I get to there. Okay, fine. Now I'm, let me flesh this out a little bit more. Let me write a script. Okay. From there, how do I want to shoot this? Let me put some cameras together. So as you can see, each step builds upon each other.

7:49And as I complete each one, it gives me the motivation to keep on going. So as an action step, identify the first smallest step you can take right now for this big project you're working on. Focus on that and let each task build into the next, right? Let each task motivate the next one, or I should say, let each completed task motivate the next task. step three use the 10 minute rule sometimes you're just so demotivated you're just like i don't feel like doing anything i just want to lay on the couch i'm feeling totally blah right so what you want to do is you want to promise yourself hey listen i'm not asking you to do a lot just give me 10 minutes you're literally promising yourself you'll work on the task for just 10 minutes.

8:37Often just starting is the hardest part, right? But once you are in motion, you are likely to keep on going beyond that initial 10 minutes. This is what I found. I use this rule when I have to tackle a big task, like writing a script. I tell myself, this is going to take 10 minutes and 10 minutes becomes 15 and 15 becomes 20 and 20 becomes an hour and I'm done. And you just naturally keep going because of this sunk cost fallacy. They call it sunk cost fallacy. But in this case, it works to your advantage where you've put in some effort, right? You've already invested. You're like, I might as well keep on going, right?

9:11Because I've already put in 10 minutes. What's another few more minutes? What's another few more minutes? What's another few more minutes? This is what happens a lot with other parts of our life, whether it's a gym or even people that love to gamble. They're like, okay, I've already spent, you know,$100 on the blackjack table. What's another$10, another$15? And that kind of snowballs. Now you want to use that psychology to your advantage in getting things going for your business and the task at hand. So here's the action step. Start a timer for 10 minutes. Just use your phone, whatever, and commit to focusing on that task just for 10 minutes.

9:44Right. If you still don't feel like working after that, take a break. Go for a walk. Get some fresh air. Do some pushups. Right. I don't know. Listen to some music. Right. You'll find that the hardest part was just getting started and it's kind of over now. OK, put 10 minutes. Let me do another 10 minutes. See how you feel. Step four, change your environment. Sometimes just changing your environment shakes things up. Sometimes it just helps you get out of that funk, right? Changing your surroundings can give you a new burst of energy. A different environment can break down the mental patterns or the things that we're used to refreshes your focus in a lot of ways.

10:15Kind of like, okay, I have a new focus now. It's a different world. So if I'm struggling to focus one day, if I don't feel like doing what I need to do, I'll try to move on to a task that I can do outside of my home office, right? I might go to a co-working space. I might go to a coffee shop. I might go to the park if the weather's nice. New environments can shift your mindset and make you feel more engaged. And it allows you to actually focus more because you're not distracted by the normal distractions you have around you in your normal space, in your normal office, in your normal work environment.

10:46So as an action step, think about changing your workspace when you're in those funky days, right? Go for a quick walk, even just switch your chair in your room, you know, maybe play some music that you don't really play a small change in just maybe your scenery, maybe just move from one room to another in your house. Maybe do it from the balcony or the porch. Do the work you have to do. A small change will just make a big difference in a lot of ways. And just kind of get you out of that mundane feeling that you feel doing the same thing in the same place. Step five, remind yourself why. Sometimes you need to give yourself a wake-up call.

11:23And that wake-up call is your why. When you reconnect with the purpose behind your work, it reignites your commitment. Your why is often more motivating than the task itself, right? Maybe you don't feel like doing this task, right, that you have in front of you, but why, what it's going to get you is going to help you do the task. For example, on tough days, I remember myself of the bigger picture of why I started this podcast, right? The value it brings, the listeners, the impact the work has on other people, but also the impact it has on my life. What it allows me to have in my life, what it allows me to experience.

11:59experience that reminder helps me push through that rough feeling and feel like okay i remember now why i did this in the first place let's make it happen so as an action step i want you to take a moment to think about how this task you're about to do has a long-term impact on your goals on your why right even visualize right some people they have a screensaver of what their vision is whether it's like, this is a house I want to build on the coast, or this is the lifestyle I want to have. It's kind of like a collage. Maybe for you, it's like, I want to live in a bigger house for my family, or maybe I want to have longer holidays with my loved ones.

12:35Look at some images, right? Maybe visualize in your head what that is all about and what that could feel like. And now remind you of your why. Okay. I know that by doing this, this is one step forward towards that goal. Step six, our final step. And this is one that a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with, and that's celebrating small wins. Celebrating a small achievement allows you to stay motivated. And a lot of people belittle this. They're like, oh, why am I celebrating this? It's not such an achievement. It's not such a huge thing. But we're not celebrating an achievement, so to speak. We're celebrating progress, right?

13:12Progress is huge. No matter how small, we have to acknowledge that it helps you stay on course by progressing, by keeping it consistent, by staying disciplined, that's a win. So you should celebrate this. So for example, I keep track of how many episodes I recorded this week. And I give myself a quick break and give myself a reward. That could be going out for a cup of coffee or having an ice cream at night, whatever it might be, right? These are mini celebrations to keep my energy up, to help me through the way. There's nothing wrong or silly about giving yourself a gift and giving yourself a reward for doing, you know, something that's really needed for you to be successful.

13:53You have to remember that you have to be your own boss, your own motivator. When we were in jobs, you know, our bosses used to give us, you know, plaques and rewards and maybe bonuses and things like that and gifts, you know, on the holidays or whatever it might be. And it kind of gave us a sense of motivation. Okay, cool. I'm doing a good job. No one's doing that for you anymore, right? So you have to do it for yourself. So celebrate those mini wins, celebrate consistency, celebrate the fact you're staying disciplined. Those are huge. So as an action step, just to get started, just track the tasks that you get done every single day, every single week, and celebrate each one once they're completed.

14:30Even if it's just checking it off your list and, you know, giving yourself a fist pump, you know, saying yes, celebrating with a song, play your favorite song on Spotify, whatever it might be, right? The point here is, is that don't just let it go by, right? Connect an emotion, connect a celebration to each time you check something off and it will motivate you. I know it seems silly and weird and whatever, but it actually works, right? Small wins add up and it creates a sense of accomplishment that keeps you going right now. You know, we're trying to break free from this like funk, this feeling of, I don't feel like doing something.

15:06And it's going to take us doing different things for us to kind of change that pattern. So trust me on this, celebrate these mini wins. They add up that those celebrations and that positive vibe of the celebration adds up and continues to motivate you to keep on going. So in conclusion, being disciplined, getting things done consistently is not about feeling like doing it all the time, being motivated all the time. No, it's about building that discipline that we talked about to act no matter what, you know, to start your day with gratitude, to get in the right mindset, to set those micro goals.

15:40Use that 10 minute rule I talked about, where you're just like, give yourself 10 minutes to work on it. Change your environment if you need to reconnect with your why, why you're doing this in the first place, right? Celebrate each win every time it happens, right? These strategies will help you power through, even through some of the hardest days. And listen, I've had some hard days, some tough days. Trust me, days I just didn't feel like doing it. But luckily, these strategies worked for me and I want to pass them on to you so that you can get through your tough days because I'm not here to sugarcoat it.

16:09It's not all going to be easy. It's not going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time. It's going to be tough sometimes. And I want to give you some strategies, the strategies I shared with you today to get through those days and you can do it. And by doing it, and guess what? Every time you get through a tough day and you do what you're supposed to do, regardless of how you feel, it It gets easier the next time because you remind yourself, oh, I did it last time when I didn't feel like it. I could do it again. And then after doing that over and over and over for weeks and months and years, you don't even think about it.

16:37You just do it. Thank you for tuning into the$100 MBA show. Remember that we're just looking for progress here, right? We want to make sure that we're getting better every day. We are pushing ourselves every day. We're not looking for perfection. We're not looking at us to be some sort of hero. No, let's just get one step in front of another every single day. I'm Omar Zanom. And please, if you want more of these lessons, check us out on our website, 100mba.net. We have over 2 ,500 business lessons like I talked about in our podcast, plenty for you to consume. So go ahead and check it out. And you also have plenty of freebies there, our escape plan, our templates.

17:13Check them out over at 100mba.net. So I'll see you next time in the next episode. Until then, take care.

17:24Welcome to the