Getting Past Procrastination with a Head Down, Bum Up Mentality
This weekend, I took a day to hang out with my best buddy. She’s been struggling with a clean-up project at home, so I went over to help her out. We’ve been friends for 20 years (gulp) this year. We’ve been through lots together, and this was just one example of how we support each other. She also has a phrase that I love when it comes to getting things done: Head down, bum up.
Often the things we need to do are the ones we don’t want to do. So we procrastinate, get easily distracted, and do everything else but The Thing. Usually, it looks like this:
- We either don’t add it to our to-do list at all or,
- It keeps moving further down our to-do list or,
- You start The Thing and let any little interruption distract and stop us from continuing.
It happens with life and business.
Whatever we dislike doing, whether it’s our bookkeeping, creating content, having sales conversations, we find ways to put it aside. At home, it could be cleaning out a closet, folding laundry, or emptying the dishwasher.
The “head down, bum up” saying my friend inherited from her parents. It’s all about focusing on what you’ve got to do and not letting anything distract you.
As we all know, it’s easier said than done.
My friend has to clean out her family home so she can sell the house later this year. If you’ve ever had to clean out a property after losing family members, you know how tough this process can be. She’s done an excellent job so far but was having a tough time getting to the basement where her brother lived.
So how do you get motivated to get into that focused mindset? My friend followed these steps:
Step 1
Be aware. Knowing that you’ve got this weak spot is the only way you’ll ever be able to change the behavior.
Step 2
Create a strategy. Enlist a friend to help you, get an accountability buddy, hire a coach. Sometimes you need all three! The bigger your mental or emotional block, the more help you may need.
Step 3
Follow through. Part of your strategy is also deciding when you’re going to dive in and go “head down, bum up.”
The last part of this is to be fair and realistic with yourself. Now, my friend made some fantastic progress in the basement. But, unfortunately, since I’m still dealing with a heavy onset of my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, my help consisted primarily of chatting and taking cat photos with occasional lifting or moving stuff around. It got her momentum started, though!
Is something nagging you to get done? Try out this strategy and let me know how it goes? If you need any extra help, schedule a free call today!
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