THE PRINCIPLE

If what you’re doing isn’t moving you forward, then it’s holding you back

Everybody is familiar with the to-do list. Sometimes it’s equally important to have a not-to-do list of the things that discourage you or hold you back from putting in the time necessary to make your project a reality.

Here are some items to get you started:

• During working hours, do not watch television ‘for just a little while’.
• Do not think about how much money J. K. Rowling or the superstar in your field is making with products that may be no better than yours.

• Do not review your rejection letters.
• Do not think about how many people in your field were successful before they reached the age you are now.
• During working hours, do not read your favourite newspaper or magazines ‘for inspiration’.
• Do not alphabetise your books ‘because it will make it easier to find things’.
• Do not start shaving any of your body parts because it’s easier than working on your project.
• Do not answer any of those ‘you have won the lottery’ or ‘a Nigerian banker will give you a million pounds for helping to transfer money that belonged to a person who died in a plane crash and has no living relatives’ just in case one of them might actually be for real.

No doubt you have your own list of displacement activities. Go write that list and post it where you can see it. The problem with distractions is that they sneak up on you and suck you in, and it’s only a couple of hours later that you snap out of your trance and realise you’ve wasted a big part of the day. By making them specific and visible, they are easier to conquer.