How the list of five things gets you unstuck and going

Whenever I get stuck and feel unmotivated, I write up a list of five things to do. I recommend you do this too. The list can be trivial tasks that can be done in a minute. Nevermind, just write them down. Then do them. Then take a break and congratulate yourself! Only moments earlier you were not able to do anything and you  just did 5 things!

Here’s some things you can put on your list if you can’t think of anything:

1. Take deep breaths
2. Stretch
3. Drink some water
4. Have a snack
5. Empty the garbage
6. Tidy your desk
7. Email a quick thank you/note of appreciation to someone
8. Water your plants and see how they are doing
9. Eat a piece of fruit
10. Read something inspiration
11. Write something inspirational for you to read tomorrow
12. Delete unwanted emails
13. Unsubscribe to unwanted emails
14. Check your spam folder for important emails
15. Declutter your desktop a bit / a lot
16. Change into better clothes
17. Wash your face
18. Brush your teeth
19. Sweep or clean an area of your home
20. Plan to do something you enjoy

You can easily pull five things out of that list.

Once you get the five done, do five more. Maybe you now have the momentum to tackle something bigger? Great, then do that!

I find this technique good when my energy levels are low, or if my todo list seems daunting. Give it a try: you might find yourself getting more things done.

(Photo by ANIRUDH on Unsplash)