So You Got Off Track

How to rediscover your productive self.

Falling out of your routine can crush your ability to do work. To make matters worse, one of the only things harder than establishing a new routine is getting back on track when your good habits falter. I recently experienced a bout of complacency and laziness, and I have to say it was lousy. Time wasted is such a horrible feeling. Here are 10 actions you can start implementing within the hour to pick yourself up and get back to your best work.

1. Admit that you’ve fallen off the horse.You can’t get back on if you don’t know you’re in the mud. Stop denying it. You’re stuck, do something about it or get some help.
2. Focus on developing keystone habits and appreciate small wins. Keystone habits, as Charles Duhigg says, “…have the power to start a chain reaction, shifting other patterns as they move through our lives. Keystone habits influence how we work, eat, play, live, spend, and communicate. Keystone habits start a process that, over time, transforms everything.” Learn to appreciate the small wins from your keystone habits. As Duhigg puts it, “Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach.” Learn more about keystone habits and small wins here.
3. Maybe your old routine was the problem. Routines should be like diets. The good diets are ones that you can maintain over a long period of time. The same should be true for routines and habits. If you can’t find something that sticks and allows you to do your best work, it’s time to retool your approach.
4. Take imperfect action. Get out there and DO SOMETHING. Let yourself fail and learn from your mistakes. Pay credence to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.” It does not matter what you are doing, just keep moving. Even if you’re going down the wrong track at first, you will find your way back. Don’t stop, not ever.
5. Review your goals. What motivates us to do anything? Why do we start businesses? Or start families? It’s because we have something in our mind that we want to possess or achieve. I truly believe that focusing on a small set of very specific goals is the best approach to reaching them. When was the last time you reviewed your goals? Are you progressing? Do you even have any goals to work toward? If this is an area where you need help, I have created a goal planning guide you can download for free right here.
6. Surround yourself with good people. “Environment is stronger than willpower,” says Paramahansa Yogananda. The people you surround yourself, the situations you put yourself into and the habitat in which you do work all have a powerful impact on behavior. It’s great to have grit and use willpower to force things to happen, but willpower is limited. Hang around people doing the work you want to do. Identify and avoid the activities that are keeping your from performing at a high level. Create an environment for yourself that will force you to excel.
7. Make your sleep schedule consistent and stick to it. Sleep is so important to your mental and physical health. When you aren’t getting enough sleep, it can disrupt every facet of your life. Ensure that you are getting enough quality sleep by creating an environment ideal for slumber and sticking to a consistent sleep schedule. In this great podcast, Ameer Rosic talks about how sleep impacts us and how to achieve quality sleep.
8. Eat healthy foods and exercise. It should be no surprise that treating your body right will make it perform optimally. Pay close attention to your diet and exercise habits. Just like sleep, you need to be consistent with how you eat and exercise. Doing so will give you more focus and energy to accomplish the important things in your life.
9. Define your resistance. If you haven’t read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, I suggest you do so. Pressfield discusses the idea of resistance, where it comes from and how to overcome it. The book is a very quick read and is great for anyone struggling with any form of resistance in their life. You can grab a free audio copy of the book here.
10. Get some help. One of the things that crushed me recently was taking on too much and asking for too little help. Yes, successful people are usually busy, but they don’t waste time performing tasks they can easily delegate. Pay attention to the Law of Comparative Advantage, first mentioned by Adam Smith and later refined by David Riccardo. Imagine a lawyer who is also an exceptional typist. His bread and butter is practicing law, should he take away from that by doing all his own typing? Or does it make more sense to hire someone who is less skilled (but competent) at typing to take that off of his plate? If that hire will result in the lawyer focusing his energy on what he can do best (or where he has a distinct comparative advantage), the second situation is best for him. What tasks are keeping your from focusing on what you do best? Seek them out and get someone else to handle them.

I hope this information gets you back on the right track. It’s never fun to struggle with complacency. If you found the article useful, please share with someone you think might be idle and needs a push in the right direction.

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