Hey {{ first name | there }}! Welcome back to The Flow by Flocus. If youโ€™re new around here, welcome! ๐Ÿ‘‹ย  You can catch up on our previous editions right here.

This week: Weโ€™ve all heard โ€œJust do itโ€ โ€”ย but what does it really mean? And how can adopting it make a real difference in your life? Letโ€™s get into it!

๐Ÿง First, What Does โ€œJust Do Itโ€ Even Mean?

โ€œJust do it.โ€

This advice is the foundation for lots of popular productivity techniques (including the ones weโ€™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, doesnโ€™t it?

But itโ€™s also notoriously hard to do often and well.

Someone whoโ€™s able to โ€œjust doโ€ 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 โ€” but itโ€™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 shouldnโ€™t โ€œjust do itโ€? Letโ€™s take a look!

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Now, letโ€™s jump into how you can โ€œjust do itโ€!

๐Ÿ‘Ÿย 3 Ways to โ€œJust Do Itโ€

The methods weโ€™ll share below work well for tasks that:

  • ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธย Are actionable in the short term

  • ๐Ÿ›ฃ๏ธย Have no major blockers or dependencies

  • ๐Ÿ—“๏ธย Include clear deadlines or start/end dates

  • ๐Ÿ˜Œย Donโ€™t require excess energy or external resources

โšก๏ธ 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

๐Ÿงนย One-Touch Method

Complete a task as soon as you โ€œtouchโ€ it so you donโ€™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

โžฟย Open Loops

Keep your list of unfinished tasks (or โ€œopen loopsโ€) 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 youโ€™ll waste bouncing back from all those micro-distractions.)

Our guide: Open Loops

๐Ÿฅตย What to Do When You Canโ€™t โ€œJust Do Itโ€

Like all productivity techniques, โ€œjust doing itโ€ wonโ€™t work for all types of tasks. And your ability to use it may vary from one moment to the next.

So when you canโ€™t โ€œjust do itโ€, here are a few things you can try.

โ˜•ย 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 โ€” to learn why, check out our past edition.

๐Ÿซถย 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, everyoneโ€™s brain is different. โ€œJust doing itโ€ comes naturally for some people, while others need external support.

Wherever you may fall on that spectrum, donโ€™t be afraid to seek support if you think youโ€™ll benefit from it.

๐Ÿ’†โ€โ™€๏ธย 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 thatโ€™s worth celebrating.

And when you slip up along the way, beating yourself up will only disrupt all the progress youโ€™ve made โ€” 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.

๐Ÿช… Flocus Picks

A curated list of things worth sharing.

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

  • Autumn Lofi (Playlist) โ€” For our friends in the northern hemisphere, hereโ€™s some chill autumn lofi to amp up the back-to-school vibes

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

๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ Flocus: Your Personal Productivity Dashboard

Ready to turn โ€œjust do itโ€ 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.

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While it may not always be easy, โ€œjust doing itโ€ 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

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