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Motivation

Don’t Do the Easiest Jobs First

January 15, 2024 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Eat that Frog; How to get your working day off to a good start Yes, it’s hard to hit the ground running in the morning. It’s tempting to mark easy tasks off your to-do list—switching over your laundry or checking email in a few minutes, but you never stop there. The sense of accomplishment you’ll get from such small things usually never builds up.

Small tasks may make you feel as if you’re being super-productive, but when you start your working day with such a laid-back approach, it’s easy to get stuck in a pattern of avoiding demanding, complicated tasks. When you reach the end of the day, you’ll find you’ve not achieved anything substantial at all—just a lot of ‘stuff’ that won’t make much difference. Tackling your easiest tasks first won’t build confidence for the harder ones.

In his bestselling book Eat That Frog! : 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time (2001,) self-help author Brian Tracy recommends taking on the most challenging task first—the large, hideous frog. Your frog is almost certainly the task you’re most likely to put on the back burner, but it’ll also have the greatest impact.

If you want to trick your brain into getting started, use my 10-Minute Dash Technique to launch that first step of the ‘frog’ that’s the toughest. Within 10 minutes, you’ll find that getting started and feeling good about your progress means it’s easy to build momentum. Seemingly difficult tasks get easier once you get working on them. That’s how you lower the threshold for taking action and building momentum. When you’ve accomplished a high-impact ‘frog,’ you can power through the rest of the day knowing that your most important task has been achieved.

Idea for Impact: Unleash your productivity potential. Don’t fill your day with small things that add up. Yes, you can move over the laundry in a few minutes, but don’t stop there.

Wondering what to read next?

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  2. Did School Turn You Into a Procrastinator?
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  4. Do Things Fast
  5. Get Unstuck and Take Action Now

Filed Under: Living the Good Life, Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Decision-Making, Discipline, Getting Things Done, Motivation, Procrastination, Tardiness, Task Management, Time Management

Don’t Try to ‘Make Up’ for a Missed Workout, Here’s Why

January 11, 2024 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Why You Shouldn't 'Make Up' for a Missed Workout Fitness enthusiasts adhering to a training plan often grapple with the guilt of missing a workout. The temptation to compensate by intensifying the next session or sneaking in extra exercise on a designated rest day can be counterproductive.

Sustainable progress, not desperate measures, is the key to achieving fitness goals. Trying to make up for missed workouts risks injuries, overexertion, and excessive fatigue, ultimately undermining your training efforts.

Overtraining without adequate recovery hinders progress. Sometimes, it’s wiser to let go of a missed workout, as a single session won’t determine your overall success. By releasing the burden of guilt, you can shift your focus towards establishing a sustainable fitness routine.

Life’s unpredictability means it’s okay to recalibrate your expectations and prioritize consistency over perfection.

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  5. Be Careful What You Start

Filed Under: Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Change Management, Discipline, Goals, Motivation, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Targets

5 Reasons Why You Should “Go For It”

January 8, 2024 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Rather than wallowing, hesitating, and wasting time agonizing over choices, it’s crucial to take action:

  1. Escape comfort’s embrace; you’ll have more to gain and less to lose.
  2. Life’s brevity echoes with unspoken desires. Dreams find their roots in uncharted territories.
  3. Unfettered by opinions, discover your inner strength. Pursuing your passions increases the likelihood of success.
  4. Embrace the journey, bidding doubts farewell. Love-driven pursuits pave the way to success. Adaptability allows for course corrections.
  5. Life’s treasures lie beyond the known; even in the worst case, a participation certificate awaits. The only things you will regret in the future are the things you don’t do today.

Idea for Impact: True greatness emerges through risk and venture.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. What Are You So Afraid Of? // Summary of Susan Jeffers’s ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’
  2. How to Turn Your Fears into Fuel
  3. Did School Turn You Into a Procrastinator?
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  5. Resilience Through Rejection

Filed Under: Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Anxiety, Decision-Making, Fear, Motivation, Personal Growth, Procrastination

Always Demand Deadlines: We Perform Better Under Constraints

December 23, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Always Demand Deadlines: We Perform Better Under Constraints Whenever someone requests something from you, or when you embark on a task yourself, it’s essential to always establish a clear deadline.

Having a well-defined timeframe instills a sense of urgency, raises the stakes, and promotes accountability. These elements are crucial for igniting motivation in just about anyone.

The presence of a looming deadline, whether self-imposed or externally set, can trigger a primal fight-or-flight response. This response releases adrenaline, which can be a powerful asset in surmounting tasks while making distractions far less tempting.

Deadlines serve as effective filters, cutting away unnecessary fluff. According to Parkinson’s Law, a task will often expand to fill the time allocated to it. Having a deadline curtails this tendency and shields you from the relentless pursuit of perfection.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. Personal Energy: How to Manage It and Get More Done // Summary of ‘The Power of Full Engagement’
  2. Did School Turn You Into a Procrastinator?
  3. Get Unstuck and Take Action Now
  4. Don’t Do the Easiest Jobs First
  5. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize [Two-Minute Mentor #9]

Filed Under: Effective Communication, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Discipline, Getting Things Done, Motivation, Procrastination, Task Management, Time Management

Unlocking Motivation: The Power of Starting Small

December 22, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Unlocking Motivation: The Power of Starting Small When you find yourself trapped in the inertia of inaction, weighed down by the anchor of procrastination, and it seems like the lack of motivation is insurmountable, a little trick can help you navigate the resistance holding you back.

Imagine a chilly, overcast day when the mere thought of a 40-minute walk feels daunting. Try this: tell yourself, “I’ll just do five minutes.” Your brain is far less likely to put up a fight in response. Surprisingly, once you’re out there, those initial five minutes often evolve into a more extended and productive walk.

This little mental game can be the key to unlocking your motivation.

Aiming low isn’t just for those labeled as underachievers. On the contrary, setting the bar low can be your secret weapon for overcoming the fear of failure.

There’s indeed something magical about focusing on the bare minimum. Aiming low acts as the spark to get you going and transforms the game into ‘easy mode.’ In contrast, constantly reaching for the stars may, more often than not, sink you in the quicksand of demotivation.

Idea for Impact: Start small. With a modest little spark, you’ll see motivation embark.

Wondering what to read next?

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  5. How to Turn Your Procrastination Time into Productive Time

Filed Under: Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Discipline, Goals, Motivation, Procrastination, Targets

The Best Way To Change Is To Change Your Behavior First

December 14, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

How 'Faking It Till You Make It' Could Help You Change Visualize change as a triangular framework, with thoughts, emotions, and behaviors as its vertices. Manipulate one element, and the other two inevitably respond. When your thoughts evolve, your emotions and actions undergo transformation; altering your emotions can reshape your thoughts and behaviors, and changes in behavior can impact your thoughts and emotions.

This symbolic triangle acts as a guide for fostering meaningful change. It provides the flexibility to choose the route that best aligns with your individuality and circumstances. Start somewhere.

Idea for Impact: If you find yourself at a crossroads, acknowledging the necessity for change but waiting for the mental and emotional shifts to emerge, take a gentle step in the right direction. Embrace the timeless wisdom of “acting as if” or “faking it until you make it.” By altering your actions, you’ll soon notice your thoughts and emotions falling in line, per the Self-Perception Theory. Commitment becomes a potent catalyst for transformation—remember that your self-concept isn’t solely shaped by existing beliefs and emotions but can also be molded by your behavior.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. How to … Change Your Life When Nothing Seems to be Going Your Way
  2. Acting the Part, Change Your Life: Book Summary of Richard Wiseman’s ‘The As If Principle’
  3. Be Kind … To Yourself
  4. If Stuck, Propel Forward with a ‘Friction Audit’
  5. You Don’t Know If a Good Day is a Good Day

Filed Under: Living the Good Life, Mental Models Tagged With: Change Management, Discipline, Emotions, Mental Models, Motivation, Psychology, Resilience

Job Crafting: Let Your Employees Shape Their Roles

October 23, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Job Crafting: Let Your Employees Shape Their Roles Employees invest a quarter of their lifetime in the realm of work; therefore it becomes a moral imperative to allow some of their waking hours to be a canvas upon which they paint the strokes of purpose and significance.

Isaac Getz, professor at Paris’s ESCP Europe Business School and author of the bestselling book Freedom Inc. (2012,) asserts that granting employees autonomy can tailor their learning and development and unlock the doors to realizing their full potential: “A company is liberated when the majority of employees have complete freedom and responsibility to take any action they themselves—not their boss—see as being best for the company’s vision and purpose.”

Idea for Impact: Encourage job crafting. Within reason, allow employees to take the initiative to actively and intentionally shape the contents of their jobs to better align with their skills, interests, and motivations and make them more purposeful. It’s a key talent retention strategy.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. These are the Two Best Employee Engagement Questions
  2. People Work Best When They Feel Good About Themselves: The Southwest Airlines Doctrine
  3. Managing the Overwhelmed: How to Coach Stressed Employees
  4. The Speed Trap: How Extreme Pressure Stifles Creativity
  5. A Rule Followed Blindly Is a Principle Betrayed Quietly

Filed Under: Leading Teams, Managing People, MBA in a Nutshell Tagged With: Human Resources, Likeability, Mentoring, Motivation, Performance Management, Workplace

How to (Finally!) Stop Procrastinating, Just Do It

October 2, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Go to the gym consistently and unfailingly, even if it’s just to walk on the treadmill for ten minutes.

Even if your legs are sore, just go.

Even if you’re not feeling it, just go.

Even if there’s that something else you’d rather be doing, just go.

Just go.

Because once you’re there at the gym, you usually will get into the mood to run or achieve something more substantial.

Just do it.

Compel yourself to do just a bit of what you’re struggling to do.

Just taking action, even if you don’t plan on achieving much, can usually help you get and stay motivated.

Inertia will give way to momentum.

Idea for Impact: The “Just Do It” attitude can help you surmount mental blocks. Folks who actually get things done work at whatever they are interested in, even when they don’t feel like doing it.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. Five Ways … You Could Stop Procrastinating
  2. How to … Make Work Less Boring
  3. How to Turn Your Procrastination Time into Productive Time
  4. 5 Minutes to Greater Productivity [Two-Minute Mentor #11]
  5. What Are You So Afraid Of? // Summary of Susan Jeffers’s ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’

Filed Under: Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Discipline, Lifehacks, Motivation, Procrastination, Time Management

Where Empowerment Fails

September 28, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Empowerment—giving employees greater autonomy—boosts engagement and creativity. It builds job satisfaction and improves retention. However, the success of empowerment initiatives depends on the personality traits of the managers implementing them down in the trenches.

Middle managers who value behaviors like team orientation, collaboration, and respectful interactions are more likely to enable their teams to set their own goals and entrust them to complete tasks in their way. But many managers in hierarchical structures embrace a certain command-and-control reflex that gets triggered in positions of power. Empowerment means transferring power to someone else, something they loathe. The alpha dimension to the personalities of these managers ends up micromanaging and impeding the autonomy of those in their team.

Idea for Impact: Relinquishing control over others and trusting employees not to abuse that responsibility isn’t easy for most managers; it takes someone very self-confident and secure to discharge empowerment.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. To Inspire, Pay Attention to People: The Hawthorne Effect
  2. Don’t Push Employees to Change
  3. Job Crafting: Let Your Employees Shape Their Roles
  4. People Work Best When They Feel Good About Themselves: The Southwest Airlines Doctrine
  5. Seven Real Reasons Employees Disengage and Leave

Filed Under: Leading Teams, Managing People Tagged With: Employee Development, Likeability, Mentoring, Motivation, Performance Management, Winning on the Job

Separate the Job of Creating and Improving

September 20, 2023 By Nagesh Belludi 1 Comment

You can’t write and edit, engrave and buff, or create and analyze simultaneously. If you try to do so, the editor will hinder the creator’s progress.

Don’t let the evaluator’s biases and entrenched behaviors get in the way of the maker’s creative process. Keep the niggling editor from creeping up during the initial draft.

Idea for Impact: In the early stages, the creator’s mind should be free from any judgment. Revising your way into a cut above is far more effective than trying to conjure brilliance out of thin air.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. How to Banish Your Inner Perfectionist
  2. Five Ways … You Could Stop Procrastinating
  3. Why Doing a Terrible Job First Actually Works
  4. An Effective Question to Help Feel the Success Now
  5. Small Steps, Big Revolutions: The Kaizen Way // Summary of Robert Maurer’s ‘One Small Step Can Change Your Life’

Filed Under: Mental Models, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Discipline, Getting Things Done, Lifehacks, Motivation, Perfectionism, Procrastination

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About: Nagesh Belludi [hire] is a St. Petersburg, Florida-based freethinker, investor, and leadership coach. He specializes in helping executives and companies ensure that the overall quality of their decision-making benefits isn’t compromised by a lack of a big-picture understanding.

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Unless otherwise stated in the individual document, the works above are © Nagesh Belludi under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. You may quote, copy and share them freely, as long as you link back to RightAttitudes.com, don't make money with them, and don't modify the content. Enjoy!