Not quite! But hopefully a welcome gift.
At this time of year it is easy to feel overwhelmed by just how much you have to do. In addition to our already busy jobs and lives we also have to fit in Nativity Plays, Carol Concerts, writing cards, buying presents – and for some of us recently, clearing snow!
So where does the extra time to fit in all of these additional tasks come from?
No one can create a 25 hour day or an 8 day week. Every human on the planet shares that limitation.
So the changes are that you are trying to fit both the doing and the thinking about these things into the time you have already. I have found that one of the common tricks that our brains plays on us every day, is even more in play at this time of the year.
Our brain is absolutely brilliant at enabling us to find reasonable and rational excuses to avoid the things we don’t want to do. Have a look at your to-do list or just pause and think for a moment. What is the thing on that list that you really don’t want to do?
Maybe there is a call you need to make that you are scared might go wrong. Perhaps a conversation that you know will be unpleasant or difficult that is already overdue.
Chances are at this time of the year your brain is even more able to convince you that it can wait until the New Year. Or that once you have sorted out the Christmas Party you will get to it.
Avoiding things we don’t like is built into all our wiring. It is there to protect us from things that we think might do us harm – perhaps a failure or an aggressive reaction. So the excuses that come to you to avoid things will be really convincing.
So here is my simple gift to those feeling like their to-do list is fit to bursting.
Take that thing that you are avoiding the most. Do it now. Literally now. If it is more than a 5 minute job, then at least take the least pleasant part of it and spend 5 minutes on it.
I promise you that afterwards you will feel a burst of joy and a lightness to your step that has nothing to do with your favourite Christmas song coming on the radio.
You may even find that like lots of my clients, suddenly you feel very able to handle your massive to-do list, and feel a real sense of “Bring it on” instead of a fog of “Oh god I will never fit all this in.”
I’ll bet my current glass of mulled wine that the first thought in your head is something like “Well I can see how that would work for some people, but my “thing” really wouldn’t be a good thing to do right now.” Totally normal. It’s your brilliant brain playing delaying tactics with you.
Why not have a go anyway and see if your brain could possibly be wrong – despite the mountain of rational excuses you can immediately bring to mind?
We can meet with you in the New Year and share the science about how this works or see more at our websites below. But in the meantime we will assume you are too busy to read it and just happy to get the gift of feeling that you really can take on the world today.
Tweet us via @dulciestbam (short on time, big on ambition anyone?!) and let us know what you did and how you feel.
Have a very, very, very Merry Christmas!
www.teabreaktraining.com
www.profitablyengaged.com
