Hate it, don't you?

When everything is going smoothly and suddenly you begin to slow down.

You start questioning, hesitating, and the path a moment ago seemed so right now feels like it's not.

And it scares you because you don't want to go back to being unfocused, unproductive, and depressed.

Feel the moment...

They seem to come out of nowhere.

Paralyzing moments of intense self-doubt, like the one I'm having today.

Moments when I struggle to stay productive and motivated, and when I start to question what I have done and wonder about where I'm going.  

Plan ahead...

Although we can't always predict when these moments will come, we can control the way we react.  It's not that hard, really?  

All we need to do is pay attention to when they happen and prepare for when they do. This way, we're not caught off guard and can minimize their disrupting effect, which for me is severe procrastination and depression.   

Develop strategy...

I've been there many times before and don't want to go there anymore.

I have a plan now.  

And because everyone experiences moments of self-doubt, let me share the simple strategy I use to create action plans for moments like these and others too.

1. Learn to detect them.  Feel their presence.  The best radar to detect them is paying attention to the way you feel. If you're hesitating, doubting, feeling anxious and can't explain why, then you know something's going on.
2. Stand still.  Pause.  Stand still and silent and observe the moment.  What do you see? What's going on?  Is there a reason for feeling the way you do?  
3. Give it form.  Although I try not to label anything anymore, in moments like these, I do.  I have to.  Because the power of these moments is embedded in their formless nature, when you give them form, they lose it. 
4. Create action plan.  What can you do?  To minimize their effect and duration.  When the moment passes, examine it.  There's always something you can do.  But please, don't try to come up with something while you're in the grip of the moment.  
5. Reach in your toolbox.  You're prepared now, and when they come, all you need to do is reach into your productivity toolbox and grab your action plan.  
6. Take action.  Execute your plan.  

Get back on track...

This morning I had one of these moments.  As soon as I detected it, I stopped, observed, realized what was going on, and immediately took action. 

I knew what to do.

I had to work on something other than what was on my regular schedule, which was where my doubts and anxiety were coming from.  By doing this, I took the focus away from it while keeping busy and productive, which then kept me from procrastinating and feeling depressed.  

What could've been an unproductive and depressing day turned out to be a pretty good day after all.  I wrote this post, got rid of the doubts, and went back to my scheduled work. 

It's good to have a plan!

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