Pair Your Tasks

I often think about personal accountability and expectations. Gretchen Rubin explores how people respond to inner and outer expectations in her book, The Four Tendencies.  For me, the tricky part is how to set up my expectations so they produce results. And last week, I discovered something new!

Today’s Inspiration: Vague Things First

How to do it:

• Think of a task you accomplish every day no matter what. Brush your teeth. Make your bed. Drink coffee. Brush your hair. Get dressed.
• Think of a big task you want to accomplish, but never find time to work on. Clean out the closet. Organize pictures. Work on your business plan.
• Every day, set a specific amount of time to do the vague task BEFORE you allow yourself to do the specific task. If you don’t clean the closet for 15 minutes, you won’t be able to brush your teeth, and you won’t be able to leave the house. Fifteen minutes a day adds up to 75 minutes a work week, adds up to over 300 minutes a month. You will sleep better every night knowing you have done a little bit to get closer to your goal.

My Example: I prefer defined, finishable tasks, and I tend to put off tasks that require more thought and time. I tell myself, as soon as I get X, Y, Z done, I’ll tackle it. Last week I realized I always manage to get my blog post written, no matter what. It’s a defined task, and there’s proof! However, I have been putting off working on my book revisions because they are large and looming. So I made a new rule: I cannot work on my blog post until I have worked on my book for a specific amount of time.  So far, it’s working!

Note: Gretchen Rubin calls this the Strategy of Pairing and it’s effective for many people. If you have difficulty meeting your own expectations, it can be helpful to find additional sources of accountability. I highly recommend reading the Four Tendencies. Listen to this episode of Happier for a deep dive on the framework.

Be inspired. Go forth. Create your day.

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