Howdy Reader!

“A rocking horse gives the illusion of moving, but doesn’t actually go anywhere.”

I saw that line this week, followed by:

“Motion isn’t Momentum”

That phrase caught my eye, especially after Lou Mongello’s excellent Momentum Conference in Orlando, and hit me right in the solar plexus.

After Googling where my solar plexus actually is (don’t judge), I realized how much this rings true for anyone who struggles with procrastination.

Why do we tend to avoid hard (even not-so-hard) things?

Even writing this, I’m swerving around notifications, short-form content singing its siren song, and messages from friends.

I give myself the illusion that I’m doing work, but when I get right down to it… is it actually moving the needle for my business?

Is that new AI tool really going to speed up my productivity or help me be a better storyteller, or am I just buying into the hype from that influencer, probably promoting it for their affiliate income?

At Momentum, lots of folks were excited about the new tools my fellow presenters and I shared.

The danger (for me as well) is that we think the tools will magically be an “easy” button that will skyrocket productivity.

What usually happens is that we try the tool or new workflow and realize that it does take some thought, a learning curve, or more effort than we originally planned.

That can lead to frustration, burnout, and wasted time when we could have been doing hard things that move the business forward.

So what is a creator to do?

Here’s what I’m trying to do to help with my own struggles.

I’m staying off or severely limiting my time on platforms that I know are my kryptonite.

For me, that’s Instagram Reels. That platform sucks me in faster than green grass goes through a goose. That algorithm knows me so well that I look up and 3 hours have passed. Anyone else?

So I try to keep off of that as much as possible or at least set a timer so I don’t wake up like Rip Van Winkle (although I do look a little like him).

Even doing things like checking messages or responding to friends can seem like important work, but in reality, I’m procrastinating from doing something that takes effort.

One tool that has really helped me is Focus To Do. This allows me to set my tasks for the day, and run them through a Pomodoro timer that keeps me on task while still allowing me to take breaks and stretch a bit.

The Pomodoro technique is super simple. You work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. After four rounds, you reward yourself with a longer break to recharge.

The Focus To Do app does that for me automagically, so it’s one of those apps that I use every day.

TL;DR: Fewer “rocking horse” tasks, more needle-movers. Guardrails beat guilt.

How are you putting guardrails on your time and attention so you make real progress? Hit reply and let me know. I’m all ears!

See ya around the interwebs,

-Jeff