Unlocking Momentum — Issue #22

Introducing the "do something" mindset.

Hi there,

I kicked off this publication with The Nothing Alternative, a simple productivity tool that enables you to make progress toward your goals. In this issue, I’ll introduce you to The “Do Something“ Principle, a complimentary tool in my productivity toolkit.

Photo by Kwan Fung on Unsplash

In a nutshell, The “Do Something“ Principle asserts that instead of waiting for the inner motivation to strike, you should simply do something, anything towards your goal, and motivation will follow.

Let’s imagine that you have to write an email to an important client and you’ve been postponing it for a while. You can start by doing the smallest viable action. It can be anything, such as opening the email app or outlining your ideas. Soon you will find yourself on a roll.

“Action isn’t just the effect of motivation, but also the cause of it.”
— Mark Manson

In The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson relates how forcing himself to do something enabled him to get back to his feet and build his business. That’s how he came up with The “Do Something“ Principle.

We usually hope for some kind of internal inspiration or motivation to kick in before we can take any action.

The great thing about motivation is that it creates a loop. Our actions create further emotional reactions and that motivates us to take more action.

The common belief is that we first need to get motivated and then take action. However, it’s the other way around — action comes first. You first take action and this motivates you to take further actions, triggering the motivation-action loop.

It is like a complex math problem. If you just sit there and think of it, you won’t solve it. Start working on it and that will cause more ideas to pop up in your head.

When faced with a big, scary task, split it into smaller sub-tasks that you can chew and start by doing something. It can be the smallest viable action that will put you in motion.

If you want to write an article about The “Do Something” Principle, start by writing the title first, then focus on writing the introduction paragraph referencing The Nothing Alternative. Continue reviewing the notes you took from Mark’s article and book and expand on them. And soon you’ll find yourself writing a meta-paragraph on how you applied The “Do Something” Principle to write about The “Do Something” Principle.

The “Do Something” Principle it’s a simple, yet powerful, anti-dote for procrastination. Combine it with The Nothing Alternative, and you’ll get yourself a recipe for success.

Here is what these two combined could look like.

Set aside time to work on your task. During this time you are allowed to do one of the following activities:

1. You don’t have to work on your task,

2. But you can’t do anything else,

3. So, just do something, anything towards your task.

Best regards,
Alex from The Craftsman Mindset