As a Visionary, you have a LOT on your plate.
You’ve probably tried all the productivity strategies in the world just to get through your massive to-do list – whether it’s time-blocking, the Pomodoro method, or even a shiny new planner.
But do you ever find that no matter what productivity hack or strategy you use, some things just NEVER seem to get done?
They always fall to the bottom of your list, and looking at those tasks fills you with a feeling of dread.
You know they’re important and need to get done, but something in you just can’t seem to get yourself to take action.
When you finally do, it feels like a massive chore. You feel drained, both physically and mentally.
But on the other hand, there are those other tasks you feel genuinely excited about.
They might not even be the most urgent or pressing, but you find yourself gravitating towards them first.
Maybe you even have a sudden pull towards them or a hit of inspiration to move forward – even when it’s not one of your workdays.
This exact situation happened to me the other day.
Recently, I’ve made a rule for myself. No more working on weekends.
With this boundary, I’m far more productive from Monday to Friday.
It can be so easy to make excuses for you to procrastinate during the week. You tell yourself that you’ll just do it over the weekend, only to find that you end up not doing it anyways.
Then you find yourself stressing about these tasks over the weekend, preventing you from feeling recharged when you start your week.
It was clear to me that I needed this boundary.
But the other day, I decided to break it.
Why?
Because I had a hit of inspiration. I felt a sudden urge to write, and was moved into action.
This got me thinking about the whole concept of inspired action vs. forced action, and how leaders can harness inspired action to do their best work.
Writing on my weekend didn’t feel like a chore. It didn’t stress me out or leave me feeling drained come Monday.
It actually helped me feel like I was living out my Vision.
Ready to feel more ease, fulfillment, and pleasure from your work?
Read on to learn about the differences between inspired action and forced action, and how you create more room for inspired action in your Visionary life. 👇🏼
What is Inspired Action?
Inspired action is doing those things that you just can’t wait to do.
It’s the type of task that gets you lit up and excited; you want to get your hands on it and sink your teeth into it.
Inspired action
Can help you be more creative and productive
Is sometimes referred to as flow
Feels like self-expression and enjoyment
Causes ideas to just flow out of you without even trying
What is Forced Action?
On the other hand, there are those tasks where you feel always seem to feel so much resistance towards doing them. You try to psyche yourself up, but you never seem to feel like doing them.
These tasks are what we refer to as forced action.
While inspired action lights you up, forced action often drains you mentally and physically.
Creating Space for Inspired Action
You know how I mentioned above that I was trying not to work on weekends?
Well one Saturday, I had this sudden feeling of inspiration that I wanted to write.
I had this urge to get my ideas out on paper, collect them and send them to my email list.
And it was such a different feeling than when you get up on a Monday morning and tell yourself to get to work. I felt lit up. Inspired. Like ideas were FLOWING out of me and I needed to make space for them.
So I decided to break my no working on the weekends rule.
I found a spot in the pool area located at my apartment complex that has these cute little cabanas.
As I sat down with my laptop during that one evening, a feeling came over me and I just KNEW it would be my writing spot.
When you create those spaces for yourself, where you can come back to again and again, you automatically get in the zone. Your mind immediately gets into this mode where it thinks “Oh, this is where I’m creative”.
Have you heard of the book Atomic Habits by James Clear?
Clear shares the same sentiment. He says that when you create these patterns for yourself, you’re creating space for yourself to get inspired to take action.
In the book, he gives the example of a writer. Clear shares about a writer who would put on his earphones every single time he’d write. He didn’t even necessarily have to have anything playing!
It was just the ACT of putting on the earphones that transported this writer into that creative space to take inspired action to write.
So my question to you, as you’re reading this is, what will it take for you to get inspired?
What will make you take inspired action?
Where do you naturally feel in the zone?
How do you pave the way so you’re getting to spend more of your time doing inspired action and less of your time doing forced action?
These questions will get you reflecting on all of the places that light you up, so you can integrate them into your life and business to move forward on your goals.
Getting Things Done Using Forced Action
Now obviously, the forced action stuff STILL needs to get done.
These are the things in your business you don’t necessarily feel like doing, but they still need to happen.
Going back to The Law of Attraction podcast, remember that the energy you let out into the Universe will always come back to you.
If you invite feelings of inspiration, productivity, and positivity, that will reflect in your life, relationships, and your business.
And in contrast, if you give off the energy of resistance, lack of focus, and procrastination, that will show up in your life, too.
When I first learned about the Law of Attraction and inspired action, I took it a little TOO far.
It’s easy to get into a mindset of thinking, “I feel inspired to sleep in today!” or “I feel inspired to take a nap with my puppy!”.
But pretty soon, you’ll realize the pendulum has swung too far and you need to come back to the middle to find balance.
You need to recognize those times when you do feel inspired.
Maybe, like me, you have a boundary that you don’t want to work weekends, and instead want to spend them decompressing and recharging.
But if you have a sudden surge of inspiration, do not ignore it or resist it simply because of your “rule”.
Rather than fighting that feeling of inspiration, FOLLOW it instead.
For those tasks that feel more like forced action, ask yourself – do YOU really need to do them?
Could you find a way to automate or delegate them?
If you can’t, see if you can find a way to make those activities more enjoyable.
Do you enjoy nature? If emails feel tedious for you, maybe you could sit outside on your back porch while answering emails to make the task feel a little more enjoyable.
Hate doing your bookkeeping but love drinking tea? Go ahead and pull up your spreadsheets while sipping on your fave cup of tea.
When you create a ritual for yourself, you’ll be able to shift so that the things that used to feel forced now become pleasant.
How to Find Out What Causes Inspired Action and Forced Action
One of the activities I love doing with my clients is creating a comparison chart to figure out which tasks trigger inspired action, vs. which tasks trigger forced action.
Here’s what you’re going to do:
👉🏻 Take a blank sheet of paper
👉🏻 Draw a line straight down the middle
👉🏻 At the top on 1 side write Inspired action
👉🏻 On the other side write Forced action
Now, you’re going to write down the different things that inspire you to take action, and what are the things that cause you to force an action.
Questions to help and ask yourself are:
What do I enjoy doing?
What do I tend to procrastinate on?
Think about these things not only for business but in your life.
By doing this, you begin to plan how you can create more space to do those things that inspire action.
Creating room for inspired action is a HUGE part of living your Vision into existence.
Are you a leader that finds yourself forcing yourself just to get through the day?
Has work begun to feel like a chore, or you’ve lost the fire that lit you up in the beginning?
Let’s brainstorm together how to get your inspiration back so you can return to your ultimate Vision.
Learn more about how you can reach your destination. I can’t wait to support you as you move toward your individual and collective Vision and goals.