I had my own bout of anxiety yesterday morning, at 4:14 am. I think the wind woke me and then my brain used the chance to run amok while I tried to desperately bury my face in the pillow in an attempt to block out the dizzying to-do list running rampant in my head. The list racked up all the things I had to cram in this week. Ugh. I laid there and then saw 5 am.

Finally I took a deep breath, relaxed my shoulders and went back to sleep. I was also not opposed to getting out of bed and working for a few hours as well to quell the merry-go-round of BS. But sleep claimed me again for her own.

This morning there will was no anxiety attack because yesterday’s productivity was brought to you by the one two punch of vanquishing bullshit. Two little tricks I love to use (1) The List of Three and  (2) The Pomodoro Technique.

Here’s the low down:

The List of Three

This tool is best used to get yourself moving. Anything can go on the list of three, from simple things like pour yourself some coffee to send the email you’ve been dreading. The rule is once the list of three is made, you must work only on those things. Any order is fine. I layered mine in with some tasks that HAD to get done, but allowed me to move around a bit to. Read: Laundry. I would work at my computer for solid blocks and then get up and change the laundry. Perfect. 

Why it works: Studies show when you check things off a list dopamine is released! Yay dopamine! The success of one item no matter how trivial propels you to the next and so on.

Pomodoro Technique

From small tasks to ongoing projects the Pomodoro Technique is a solid go to. Based on 25 minutes of working blocks of time with a 5 minute rest in between, once the timer starts you must focus on the one task at hand. No flitting around from tab to tab, or picking up your phone, this is a solid work period. Set your timer, put your phone on mute, and relax into focused working without distraction.

Tips: There’s an app for that! And a productivity daily planner if you like to you know, write things down.