TJL #36: How to handle your negative feelings (Daily productivity #11)
Simple tips & tricks to be more productive
Welcome back to Today Jan Learned (TJL) #36. In this newsletter I share the best of what others have figured out already. I take the best self-help advice and repackage it into actionable chunks for you to apply to your own life.
Read today’s tip down below! 👇
Daily Productivity Tip #11
We all feel bad sometimes. Sometimes getting started feels like such a big deal. These are what we call negative feelings. If it weren’t for these negative feelings we would all be much more productive, as no one would procrastinate.
The key to being productive is to realise that these feelings are normal, even expected. What matters more is how you handle these negative feelings. Are you going to let them ruin your day? Or are you going to accept them for what they are and overcome them? This is important because how we handle these negative feelings will ultimately decide whether we are productive that day or not.
Realise that these feelings are normal and that they will subside. Just give it some time.
That’s it, that’s today’s tip. Realise that having bad feelings before you start working is normal, just give them some time to mature and let them pass over you. I promise you’ll feel better afterwards.
Negative feelings are normal
Just like your mind has negative tricks that can trick you into scrolling Instagram all day, it also has positive tricks. I found one of these positive tricks in A Mind For Numbers:
It’s normal to sit down with a few negative feelings about beginning your work. It’s how you handle those feelings that matters. Researchers have found that the difference between slow and fast starters is that the non-procrastinating fast starters put their negative thinking aside, saying things to themselves like, “Quit wasting time and just get on with it. Once you get it going, you’ll feel better about it.”
In other words, allow your negative feelings some space. Allow them to breathe and them pass over you. This tip is deceptively simple because it only relies on a new insight.
Use this tip in combination with TJL #35: Use the Pomodoro technique and TJL #26: Use a checkbox for maximum effect.
We tend to procrastinate because we think that the work will give us negative feelings, but this is only temporary. After you start these feelings often subside (exactly because you are working) and you’ll feel better than before.
Thank you for reading!
That was today’s issue of the Daily productivity Newsletter 🚀
Daily Productivity is a newsletter in which I share practical and effective tips on how to become more productive.
I collect these tips from the best self-help books, podcasts, videos, and turn them into immediately actionable tips for you to apply to your own life!
If you want to tag along for the journey, feel free to subscribe here!
As always, you can find me on my website janmeppe.com or on Twitter at @janmeppe.
Previous TJLs
Read my previous TJLs by following on the links down below:
TJL #6: How to remember the difference between margin and padding
TJL #7: According to Jeff Bezos there are two types of failure
TJL #27: Be aware of the spotlight effect (Daily productivity #2)
TJL #28: Start with the upper-left hand brick (Daily Productivity #3)
TJL #30: Start with writing your README (Daily productivity #5)
TJL #35: Use the Pomodoro technique (Daily productivity #10)