My mother taught me well. She would always get me to eat my vegetables first before letting me have my pudding. That lesson filtered down into much of my life as I’ve become older, and it’s formed the way I undertake tasks. Through this, I tend to do the things I’m not keen on first, before enjoying life’s pudding, and it’s worked well for me in business, making me value the fruits of my labours much more.
More recently a perfect example of this came about, and I’d like to share it with you in case it’s of help in your lives, too.
As I spend a lot of time in Portugal, I really feel the desire to speak the language. It’s respectful at ther very least. The problem is, I’ve not been blessed with a penchant for languages, so it’s a chore more than a desire. It took me three years to utter my first words in German when I lived there in my thirties, and I’m twice the age I was then, so things don’t stick like they used to.
What I do love to do, though, is play puzzles on my phone when I have a few minutes to spare. So, recently, I’ve taken to applying my mother’s wisdom, and the first time I reach for my phone and open the puzzles app each day, I force myself instead to do a five-minute Memrise Portuguese lesson. That short burst of learning may not be much, but it does force me to face my daily demons before I enjoy drowning in the delights of a puzzle.
Maybe there’s something in your life you feel you should tackle but always put off? If so, you might like to try a similar ploy. Do a short burst of it before you allow yourself to be distracted by something you enjoy. I’m convinced it will make you feel good about yourself, knowing you’re taking steps to face your challenges, albeit baby ones. And we can all spare five to ten minutes, right? Good luck.