A simple (overlooked) tool to help you achieve your goals
Habit tracking, keeping focus and an external scaffold for the mind
External scaffolding for the mind
This here is my habit tracker. I have it stuck to my kitchen pantry door. And you can bet that I visit the pantry at least a million times every day. It feels like this piece of paper is in front of my face all day everyday. This is the best way I've found for achieving a specific result.
As I’ve gotten older and my obligations at work and home have grown, I recognize my brain needs scaffolding. It requires a supporting structure to carry out day-to-day tasks. Without it, three things occur —
Losing focus: The important things tend to fade into the background and less important things that appear urgent, but are not, take their place. Fast-forward three months, I'm left asking, "Where has time gone? Why are all of these crucial tasks still where I left them months ago?”
Untrusting mind: When I’m in the shower, out for a run, or just before I fall asleep, this exhausting voice in my head begins rehearsing the list of tasks that must be completed, much like Arya Stark’s kill list. My best guess as to why this happens is that my mind is terrified of forgetting what needs to be done.
Defeat: Life feels overwhelming. A depressing sense of defeat, as though I can't keep up with life and fulfill my responsibilities.
Keeping focus
At work, I've come to rely on multiple pieces of scaffolding to get my tasks done — Post-its, a notebook and Obsidian
It helps me always know what is important and stay on track with my goals.
After working through an immediate issue it helps me find my way back to the previously incomplete task more easily, i.e., context switching.
It helps me keep a paper trail so that I can periodically reflect on my work and evaluate if my processes need to change or if I need assistance from my team/manager.
Trusting mind
I've discovered that picking up a pen and writing down my thoughts is the best antidote to a noisy mind. This is the form of scaffolding my inner voice needs to be reassured that some action will be taken to address its concerns.
I usually find the need for a brain dump either in the morning when I arrive at work, or right before bed. I use post-its so that this list can travel with me.
Victory
When I check off a commitment from my habit tracker hanging on the pantry/fridge door or my Obsidian task list, I feel a sense of victory. Because it confirms my ability to be disciplined and not be captured by the waywardness of daily life.
Image Credit: Reddit