How to be lazy and not feel guilty
I got up at 4:00 am this morning, and had my bath. Nothing unusual about it.
Finished all my morning routines. Which includes reading some books written by my gurus. Writing a few pages using a writing prompt. From one of those 'writing prompt' books on Kindle.
I have my job list for the day. It includes finishing the first chapter of my fiction which I have just started. But I am not able to move beyond first gear on that. Is it a mental block? Not sure.
My mind is active. But there is a big gap between thought and action. Am I feeling lazy? Don't think so, I am quite active. So what am I waiting for? Not sure.
I got a gentle nudge from one of my friends who is writing. "Have you read my manuscript?" I had read the first chapter - an absolute winner. I will read the rest of the book today.
I am working with another friend on his favourite project. We are collaborating in getting some ideas for him. I am designing the whole process.
There are a few webinars coming up. I have checked my calendar - I have enough time to prepare for them.
"So why are you dragging your feet Sridhar?" Ah! Prasna** has arrived.
"I am not sure."
"What are you not sure about?"
"I am not sure about why I am not starting the things I want to do today."
"Are you feeling stuck?"
"Not really."
"Are you clear about what you want to do?"
"Yes."
"Do you have to do them today?"
"There are no hard deadlines."
"What do you mean by hard deadlines?"
"Like commitments I have made to clients, associates and friends"
"So you have things to do but no commitments to outsiders."
"Right"
"You have a job list to complete for today."
"Yes."
"And you are feeling lazy... and not starting on what you ought to be doing. You are writing this article instead..."
"Well... yes."
"Why are you writing this article? What is in it for you or your clients? Or your readers. Is it really important? Or are you just fooling around...?"
"I got an idea... and I want to capture it."
"But you have other things to do..."
"Yes. But I am excited about this idea. And I want to capture it..."
"What is exciting about this?"
"The idea that you can feel lazy and not feel guilty about it."
"So lazy and guilty are bad things ...is it?"
"Generally. But I don't feel that way today..."
"What has changed to make you feel not guilty about being lazy?"
"I am not clear about your question"
"Have you been thinking about what you need to do?"
"Yes."
"And you have some clear action steps for each of the tasks?"
"Yes."
"It is just that you have not captured you thoughts anywhere. Correct?"
"Yes."
"But your mind has been working."
"Yes of course."
"It is just that you have not done anything physically about it. Correct?"
"Correct."
"So what is stopping you from acting on your job list for today? Do you believe they must be done today?"
"Yes."
"All ?"
"Well not all but some."
"Can you remove the ones that need not be done today?"
"Yes. Three of them can be done tomorrow."
"Are you sure? They are important but not urgent. Is it?"
"Yes."
"Do you remember the important vs urgent matrix?"
"The Eisenhower Matrix?"
"Why don't look at what is urgent and important first. Can you do that now?"
"Yes. Done."
"How many tasks are there?"
"Two."
"Schedule time for them today and complete them."
"What about the rest?"
"Schedule important but not urgent to another day."
"What about those which are urgent but not important."
"Get some one else to do it."
"And I guess I should drop those that are neither important nor urgent."
"Well ... review them carefully since they appeared your list. Review them at the end of the week."
*Prasna Rao is an unusual friend. He appears every time I start writing something. He is almost always there when I am writing my blog. He asks questions that are razor sharp and often makes me uncomfortable. He is relentless till I answer his questions in simple, clear terms. You might find that he is almost always asking questions that you want to. Therefore he is on your side, while he is putting me in the dock.