Leonard Ng

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Horror: The Ultimate Procrastination Inducer

05.04.2017 by leonard ng // Leave a Comment

Image by Krzysztof Krupa.
Image by Krzysztof Krupa.

Have you ever felt that you simply can’t get started or simply can’t focus your attention on a specific task?

It’s like the task has a force field around it, a sort of deflector shield that keeps moving you away on a tangent to go start doing something else.

This task could be anything.

It could be writing a report, preparing a lesson, filing your taxes, crafting an ad, going for a run, killing a roach, reading a textbook, sending an email, making a phone call, filling out a form, cleaning your kitchen.

It could be a big project that feels too large to tackle, or a small project that requires a significant mental shift from what you’ve been doing.

Whatever it is, it feels like the task is beyond you. You procrastinate like mad. It escapes you, it deflects you, you’re completely paralysed when you try to deal with it, your brain somehow seems to shut down and stop working.

And whenever you try to get it done you always seem to wind up doing something completely unrelated instead.

This happens over and over again, becoming increasingly traumatic each time.

I have a name for this state of affairs.

I call it horror.

[Read more…]

Categories // A meaningful life, Life hacks, Peak performance, Productivity, The art of living well Tags // clarity, concentration, emotions, energy, fear, finishing, focus, goals, horror, life hacks, paralysis, procrastination, productivity, work

Slow Down to Go Faster: What to Do When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

01.02.2017 by leonard ng // Leave a Comment

low gear
Image by hhabicht.

Life can feel too much for us sometimes.

It feels like we have too many things to handle at once. Too many things to think about, too many things to juggle.

And when this situation lasts for too long it can start to feel like there isn’t any point to life any longer. After all, what’s the point of living when we no longer have the time or energy to do the things that are actually important to us, that actually give our lives meaning?

When faced with such a situation, it’s very easy to give in to despair and hopelessness. And most of the advice out there doesn’t help.

Because most of the advice out there falls into 2 broad categories: either 1) quit or 2) suck it up / force your way through.

The problem is that, in a great many situations, neither of these solutions is realistic.

Fortunately, there’s a better option.

[Read more…]

Categories // A meaningful life, Peak performance, Productivity, The art of living well Tags // energy, finishing, growth, overwhelm, productivity, rest, rhythm, work

The Art of Momentum: How to Actually Finish What You Set Out to Do

22.01.2017 by leonard ng // Leave a Comment

waterfall
Image by Isabella Jusková.

Those who make no mistakes have policies which naturally lead to victory. — The Art of War, 4

So you’ve made your resolutions for the new year, and hopefully at least one or two of them are achievement-based goals. As I pointed out in my last entry, achievement-based goals are the ones that give you the qualities money can’t buy: discipline, resourcefulness, commitment, and skill.

So how can we make sure that we successfully achieve what we have set out to do?

The answer lies in momentum.

Momentum is nothing more or less than the deliberate organization of your goals in a way that makes success inevitable.

Momentum is about creating a process and routine that will take you to your goal in the easiest possible manner. Then, once you have crafted your process, all you have to do is commit to it.

The process will then do all the heavy lifting for you.

Creating a Process that Works

When I was in the military, the army had a very simple way to increase the number of pull-ups new recruits could do:

  1. Drop by the conveniently located pull-up bar before lunch and before dinner.
  2. Pull till you can’t pull any more.
  3. Repeat.

It worked.

This process exemplifies the four most important principles behind any successful process: simplicity, convenience, frequency, and humility.

[Read more…]

Categories // A meaningful life, Peak performance, Productivity Tags // beginnings, deadlines, energy, finishing, fulfillment, goals, growth, momentum, productivity, vision, work

Leonard Ng

Leonard Ng is fascinated with the practice of both the active and contemplative modes of life.

He is the founder of the copywriting agency Text/ure Collective, and is the author of two collections of poetry: This Mortal World and Changes and Chances.

Find out more about Leonard, or get in touch.

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© 2016 Leonard Ng.