👟 How to Just Do It

Hey there! Welcome back to The Flow by Flocus. If you’re new around here, welcome! 👋  You can catch up on our previous editions right here.

This week: We’ve all heard “Just do it” — but what does it really mean? And how can adopting it make a real difference in your life? Let’s get into it!

🧐 First, What Does “Just Do It” Even Mean?

“Just do it.”

This advice is the foundation for lots of popular productivity techniques (including the ones we’ll share today).

And it might be something you try to urge yourself to do on bad days.

It sounds so simple on the surface, doesn’t it?

But it’s also notoriously hard to do often and well.

Someone who’s able to “just do” things consistently has mastered the art of:

• Reducing the time it takes to go from receiving a new task to working on that task

• Preparing well to remove friction (without overthinking or causing delays)

• Anticipating issues, tackling them in advance where possible, and responding skillfully to incidents as they arise

This groundwork takes lots of time and effort — but it’s well worth it for your productivity and overall sense of balance.

So, how can you get better at it? And are there any times where you shouldn’t “just do it”? Let’s take a look!

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Now, let’s jump into how you can “just do it”!

👟 3 Ways to “Just Do It”

The methods we’ll share below work well for tasks that:

• 🏃‍♂️ Are actionable in the short term

• 🛣️ Have no major blockers or dependencies

• 🗓️ Include clear deadlines or start/end dates

• 😌 Don’t require excess energy or external resources

⚡️ Do It Right Now (DIRN)

If you can do a task right now, do it.

Try not to put things off until later (unless you have a legitimate reason to, of course).

Our guide: DIRN

🧹 One-Touch Method

Complete a task as soon as you “touch” it so you don’t have to come back to it later.

Originally applied to cleaning, this method is all about thinking ahead and saving your future self some work.

Our guide: One-Touch Method

➿ Open Loops

Keep your list of unfinished tasks (or “open loops”) to a minimum.

The more open loops you have, the less brainpower you have to spend on the important stuff. (And the more time and energy you’ll waste bouncing back from all those micro-distractions.)

Our guide: Open Loops

🥵 What to Do When You Can’t “Just Do It”

Like all productivity techniques, “just doing it” won’t work for all types of tasks. And your ability to use it may vary from one moment to the next.

So when you can’t “just do it”, here are a few things you can try.

☕ Take enough breaks

Sometimes, when you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or distracted, a total reset is the best thing you can do for your productivity.

Take a walk around the block for some fresh air, or grab a healthy snack from the kitchen to refuel. Whatever you do, try to take a break once every 2 hours — to learn why, check out our past edition.

🫶 Seek support

Planning, organizing, and managing tasks uses a lot of brainpower. All sorts of things can affect how much brainpower you have to spend on a given day, from your physical and mental health to family and home matters.

Plus, everyone’s brain is different. “Just doing it” comes naturally for some people, while others need external support.

Wherever you may fall on that spectrum, don’t be afraid to seek support if you think you’ll benefit from it.

💆‍♀️ Be gentle with yourself

Falling behind on tasks and responsibilities can cause a vicious cycle of shame, disappointment, and self-loathing.

Remember, you have big dreams and goals, for good reason. Your ambition is a big win that’s worth celebrating.

And when you slip up along the way, beating yourself up will only disrupt all the progress you’ve made — and make you feel worse, not better.

You have this one life to shape however you like. Try your best not to spend it fighting with yourself.

🪅 Flocus Picks

A curated list of things worth sharing.

• The Most Important Productivity Hack is to Just Do It — More thoughts on this method, and productivity in general

• Autumn Lofi (Playlist) — For our friends in the northern hemisphere, here’s some chill autumn lofi to amp up the back-to-school vibes

• Spring Lofi (Playlist) — And for our pals in the southern hemisphere, a soft springtime playlist to bloom to

🖥️ Flocus: Your Personal Productivity Dashboard

Ready to turn “just do it” into a habit? Flocus helps you stay on track with your goals.

Organize your tasks, set a timer, and dive into your focus sessions with soothing ambient sounds and customizable ambient worlds. Perfect for taking action one step at a time.

While it may not always be easy, “just doing it” can be super effective for certain types of tasks. Try these methods and tips this week, and let us know how it goes!

Until next Sunday,

Flocus Team