Thursday, January 23, 2014

My System for Getting Sh*t Done

As many articles tout the Pomodoro Technique and GTD, my own habits for increasing productivity and breaking through procrastination are downright crude. I have come to recognize that in the world of productivity tools, my ideas might seem dysfunctional, but at least they are all mine. I present to you:
KiKi's System for Getting Sh*t Done.

Part 1: The Ramen Noodle Method
Ramen noodles are embarrassingly good. At least, I think so. Cheap. Unhealthy. And good.
I can afford better than ramen, but sometimes, on a really hard day, I long for the taste of them. When it's lunchtime and nothing else is around, I'll pop into the little sundries market downstairs and buy a cup of ramen. It's a guilty pleasure...like reading tabloid headlines in the checkout line in the grocery store.

There's just enough nostalgia connected to ramen for me that when I eat it I instinctively release a reflective sigh exhaling the memories of my college days working late editing the school newspaper. The ramen gives me fortitude on an otherwise unremarkable day. Its message is this: You will get through this. The little noodles are surges of power to help you rocket through your day. Just look at them and you might be reminded of your brain's synapses firing off new pathways for learning.

By the time I finish a cup of ramen noodles, I am comforted and convinced I can finish the task at hand.

Do your noodles talk to you? Maybe they should. The Ramen Noodle Method might be the way to make it to the end of that project. Then again, you might need to take a different approach. Something that gives you wings...

Part 2: The Red Bull Exercise
If ramen offers fortitude for day, Red Bull provides power for the evening. Red Bull tastes bad. Even with vodka. But I still drink it. Especially with vodka. It's relatively expensive, as soft drinks go, but people keep buying more and more of it and there is one big reason why.

Red Bull offers one primary benefit: Energy. Its promise is this: If you drink it, you will stay awake...at least for a while...to work, party, or do whatever it is you need to do before you finally go to sleep. Its a little less dangerous than making a deal with the devil, but not by much. A little Red Bull goes a long way.

By the end of a can of Red Bull, I feel like I've white-knuckled my way through driving in a snowstorm...and survived.

Part 3: Cry. Pray. Cry Some More.
That Eat Pray Love book only got part of the answer. Crying is not only therapeutic, but I'm convinced it helps when you regularly clear out the tear ducts. The exact process is still under review, but it goes something like this:

1. Wait until last minute to face the fact that you have to do something
2. Cry in frustration
3. Pray to a higher power that you be delivered from the situation
4. Cry when you realize you'll still have to do it
5. Actually sit down and start working on the thing you must get done

What are your methods for finishing your tasks? What gets you through a tough day or helps you push past procrastination to finish that project? Share your real methods for getting stuff done here!

3 comments:

  1. I could not agree and relate to this post more!

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  2. Sarah, this could have become a *book* rather than a blog post of the actual techniques I use to get through my tasks!

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  3. Great post - humorous, accurate and true.

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Thanks for your comments!