Laura Wheeler refers to it as "scary hour". I find a lot of my writing anxiety goes away if I am able to consistently hit my target word goal for the day first thing in the morning. It works for other "big willpower" tasks as well (though I always get the writing done first if I can!)
I like that term "scary hour" -- the best cure for stress and anxiety is action (and a blank piece of paper that needs lots of words on it is indeed scary!).
I used to study late into the night because I thought that was putting me ahead. But I was actually getting much less done during those hours because I was tired from the rest of the day. I've been strongly moving in the direction of crafting a strong morning routine that focuses on time-blocking my day and allows an early-day Cal Newport inspired "deep work" session. "Do your hardest task first thing in the morning" is another development that I think compliments this nicely. Thanks for sharing! I'll try this out.
Nailing the morning routine has been critical for me because (1) I feel great and "feel" like I already got a lot done (workout, etc); (2) The energy momentum carries over. And 100% to time blocking your calendar, it's become my to do list.
If it isn't on my calendar, I don't do it. It feels great and is effective! Also helps with Eat the Frog because I ensure the most important thing gets done.
Laura Wheeler refers to it as "scary hour". I find a lot of my writing anxiety goes away if I am able to consistently hit my target word goal for the day first thing in the morning. It works for other "big willpower" tasks as well (though I always get the writing done first if I can!)
https://fortune.com/well/us/2023/03/24/scary-hour-productivity-hack/
I like that term "scary hour" -- the best cure for stress and anxiety is action (and a blank piece of paper that needs lots of words on it is indeed scary!).
I used to study late into the night because I thought that was putting me ahead. But I was actually getting much less done during those hours because I was tired from the rest of the day. I've been strongly moving in the direction of crafting a strong morning routine that focuses on time-blocking my day and allows an early-day Cal Newport inspired "deep work" session. "Do your hardest task first thing in the morning" is another development that I think compliments this nicely. Thanks for sharing! I'll try this out.
Nailing the morning routine has been critical for me because (1) I feel great and "feel" like I already got a lot done (workout, etc); (2) The energy momentum carries over. And 100% to time blocking your calendar, it's become my to do list.
Yeah time blocking is just a to-do list with the added critical step of thinking about how to do the to-dos!
If it isn't on my calendar, I don't do it. It feels great and is effective! Also helps with Eat the Frog because I ensure the most important thing gets done.
Your posts have been a real efficiency booster. Thanks for posting
Love to hear that Sonali, thank you for sharing!