How to Stop Thinking Too Much and Get More Done

This morning, I was having a conversation with a dear friend and colleague who was sharing this all too common scenario with me…She was in bed, procrastinating on getting up, thinking (for about an hour) about all the things she should have been doing as she laid there feeling guilty that she wasn’t “doing” these things.

In my chiropractic practice, we encounter this frequently.  People tell us that they “know” what they should be doing in order to for example…lose weight, cut out sugar, walk and/or exercise more regularly, spend more time cooking etc…Many of us spend an enormous amount of time “thinking” about what we should be “doing”. 

Most of us spend an enormous amount of time thinking about the same thing over and over again.  If fact, the experts say that 98% of our thoughts are exactly the same thoughts we had the day before and that 80% of these are “negative” in nature.  I don’t know about you but to me, this seems like a lot of energy and self-talk spent on repetition, usually centered around guilt and should have, would have, could have. 

For years, I would find myself going over the list of things I needed to do or wanted to do.  At some point, a consultant trained me to literally download it out of my head and onto paper, in a simple, organized way.  Here’s what this life-changing tool looks like. - don’t underestimate it for its’ simplicity - it’s brilliant!

The to-do list in your head gets separated into three categories (I’m including a picture of mine with specific examples)

DOING NOW

This includes everything you’re actively doing presently.  Ex: blog post on thinking and doing, organizing courses and lectures for the fall, reading “Start with Why”.

WORKING ON

These are for the actions you will be taking shortly, the stuff you’re about to start.  Example: Keynote lecture for October, New practice management, Looking into the specifics of opening a juice bar, Look into Jo Dispensa seminar.

PARKING LOT

The things you’re not even close to ready for but that you think about nonetheless like…writing a book, getting a masters in nutrition, spending 6 months surfing around the world and writing a blog about it…this category can include pipe dreams (bold and audacious)…in fact it should!

This thinking map must be easily moveable and shiftable.  I have a huge panel that behaves like a corkboard.  I use index cards and I add to it and move them around constantly.  Some people use dry erase markers in a giant window etc… 

The key to his map is that once it’s written and in your face, it’s no longer consuming your headspace, which means you make room for newer, fresher thought, free of guilt related to procrastination.  The key to this is that you’re downloading the data out of your head, making room for more creating, more enriching, less repetitive thinking.  As you download it, you sort of give it life, making the solutions and follow through more concrete.

For those of you who suffer from monkey brain as I do, trust me, this brings clarity to what’s in your head AND it fills the void with inspiration.