{"id":2421,"date":"2019-07-26T01:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T08:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.physicianzen.com\/?p=2421"},"modified":"2019-07-26T01:00:50","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T08:00:50","slug":"clear-your-mind-by-listing-all-projects-and-next-actions-step-8-of-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/clear-your-mind-by-listing-all-projects-and-next-actions-step-8-of-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Clear Your Mind by Listing All Projects and Next Actions (Step 8 of 12)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>&#8220;The Mind is Meant for Creating Ideas, Not Storing Them&#8221;<\/p><cite>-Physician Zen<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Being a health professional is not easy. We are constantly stressed with attempts to juggle multiple projects and tasks at once. It feels like our work, career, and personal life are pulling our minds in all directions. In order to stay afloat we end up trying our best to address the most urgent issues and tasks in our lives. Almost everything else gets put as a second or third priority.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I give productivity lectures, I often ask the audience to start writing down the list of projects that are occupying their mind. A Project is anything that requires 2 or more actions to complete. This includes work projects, personal projects, health, etc. The average list comes out to about 30-40 projects for most people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I then ask them how they keep track of their projects. Most of the time I get back blank stares. How can someone expect to have a clear mind when most of their mental resources are used just trying to not forget things. These persistent thoughts of possibly forgetting important items leads to stress and anxiety. Instead of using the mind to create, it is instead just used to \u201cnot forget.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cEmpty your&nbsp;mind, be formless, shapeless \u2014 like&nbsp;water. Now you put&nbsp;water&nbsp;in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put&nbsp;water&nbsp;into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now&nbsp;water&nbsp;can flow, or it can crash. Be&nbsp;water, my friend.\u201d <\/p><cite>-Bruce Lee<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal of this post is to help clear and empty your mind by listing all the Projects that may be occupying your mind and setting Next Actions for each project. This is my interpretation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2YstuwY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Getting Things Done (opens in a new tab)\">Getting Things Done<\/a> process by David Allen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container\" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Declutter, Externalize, and Organize Thoughts from the Mind (Steps 8-9\/12)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Sc07_-R39rQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>What You Will Need:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><g class=\"gr_ gr_6 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"6\" data-gr-id=\"6\">Time<\/g> needed<\/em><\/strong>:&nbsp;Approximately 1 hour<br><strong><em>Materials needed<\/em><\/strong>:&nbsp;Just your mind, a pen or pencil, and a notepad. For a list of recommended supplies for productivity please see the&nbsp;<strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.physicianzen.com\/essential-office-supplies\/\" target=\"_blank\">STEP 1 blog post on getting supplies<\/a>.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>The Importance of Clearing the Mind and Listing Projects<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Each person has only so much physical capacity to get things done. Most people do not realize what their physical capacity is and continue to take on more and more projects without considering the negative consequences to the projects they have already committed to.&nbsp;Remember saying &#8220;Yes&#8221; to something is saying &#8220;No&#8221; to something else in your life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your mind also has a finite amount of mental space. It is not good at prioritizing a list of more than 3 projects. With 30+ projects, it just goes into triage mode and tries its\u2019 best to do whatever is due first. All other projects just sit and wait. It\u2019s like having a general fight in the front lines while his troops watch in the background. Your mind should soley be used to create or execute the immediate task at hand, all other tasks and projects should be transferred somewhere else.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The combination of overloading the physical capacity and mental space leads to extreme inefficiency, stress, and anxiety.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.physicianzen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-2-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2428\" width=\"423\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-2-1.png 626w, https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-2-1-300x212.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 423px) 100vw, 423px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So how does Listing Projects help you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listing all Projects benefits you in the following ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Gives you a clear view of what is actually going on in your life<\/li><li>Helps prioritize the Projects that actually mean something to you.<\/li><li>Allows you to visually compare all projects next to each other<\/li><li>Allows you to see if there is any overlap among projects<\/li><li>Takes away the responsibility of tracking projects from your mind<\/li><li>Allows you to define actionable items for each Project (Next Actions)<\/li><li>Prevents you from overcommitting to more Projects<\/li><li>Allows your mind to be used for Creation instead of Storage<\/li><li>Helps you define the Most Important Tasks (MITs) in your life<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people will try and skip this step or are resistant to completing it because it \u201ctakes too much time.\u201d Trust me, the time you spend on this step will save you at least 5 times the amount of time you put in. Without doing this step you will not have a true productivity system.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It may be tempting to start using a productivity app on your iPhone. However, without defining all your projects and next actions, those apps will be nothing more than just a glorified \u201cTo Do\u201d list. Even a perfect looking physical and digital workspace mean nothing if you have not defined all of your projects and next actions. These workspaces only allow you to most efficiently complete the projects and next actions that you will list in this step.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Mind Dump \u2013 List All Projects Occupying Your Mind<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>How can you clear your mind? The first step is to list every single project that may be occupying your mind. This will involve listing all current and someday\/maybe projects in your mind. You will eventually place all of these projects into a reliable system that will help you manage them in the next step (Step 9).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Give yourself about 30 minutes for this exercise.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would recommend taking out a physical notepad and writing everything down that is taking up any mental space in your mind. This can include things from work, personal life, health, other people, ideas, tasks. Literally anything that is occupying your mind, no matter how big or small you may think that thought is. Any and all ideas should be externalized.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you truly wrote out all projects that were occupying your mental space you should have a feeling of <em>immediate<\/em> mental relief.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moving forward, do not treat your mind as a place holder for thoughts anymore, any thought that comes into your mind should immediately be externalized (we will discuss where and how these thoughts can be stored in Step 9)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Define an Immediate Next Action for each Project<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>David Allen defines <g class=\"gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar multiReplace\" id=\"4\" data-gr-id=\"4\">a next<\/g> action as the immediate action that leads to the completion of a project. This is usually something simple such as send email to colleague, brainstorm topic, outline project, call someone, etc.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without actively defining next actions, projects will become stale with no direction. Next actions allow you to have a feeling of control over all of your projects because you know what you need to DO about each project.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason large projects are difficult for people to complete is because people think of a project and what the end product should look like. They then see so many steps to reach that end product that it seems daunting to even start the project. So, what do they do? They start an easier project and tell themselves they will get to the larger project \u201clater.\u201d Often times, \u201clater,\u201d never comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s reframe and stop thinking of the end product of a project. Instead, try to only think about the immediate next action to complete a project and ONLY focus on that. Any project, regardless of complexity, is completed by a series of next actions. If you complete enough of these small and manageable next actions, any project can be completed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about climbing a mountain. If you were at the base of the mountain and then look at the peak, you might be discouraged to even start climbing the mountain. Now instead of looking at the peak of the mountain you just focused on what is the best way to take the first step to go up the mountain.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All it takes is for you to lift your leg and move one step up that mountain, no big deal. The next thought you have is how to take the next step and so on. Eventually, with enough of these small manageable steps, you will climb that mountain! This is exactly how you should think about completing projects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.physicianzen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-4-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2431\" width=\"469\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-4-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-4-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-4-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-4-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/000-4-2048x1536.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 469px) 100vw, 469px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So let\u2019s get started and go ahead and list the immediate Next Action for each one of the projects you listed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Clarity of Mind and Sense of Direction in your Life<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you completed the above actions, you will not only have a clear mind but will also have a sense of direction for all projects in your life. I think this is one of the most important steps to be productive and <g class=\"gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling multiReplace\" id=\"9\" data-gr-id=\"9\">stress free<\/g>. Moving forward, in order to maintain this clarity of mind and direction in your life, never allow your mind to be used as a reminder or storage system anymore. It should primarily be used to create and produce <g class=\"gr_ gr_8 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling multiReplace\" id=\"8\" data-gr-id=\"8\">high quality<\/g> content.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you have all of your projects and next actions listed, in the next step will go over how to place these projects and next actions into a productivity app that will bring your productivity to a whole new level!<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The Mind is Meant for Creating Ideas, Not Storing Them&#8221; -Physician Zen Being a health professional is not easy. We are constantly stressed with attempts to juggle multiple projects and tasks at once. It feels like our work, career, and personal life are pulling our minds in all directions. In order to stay afloat we &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/clear-your-mind-by-listing-all-projects-and-next-actions-step-8-of-12\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Clear Your Mind by Listing All Projects and Next Actions (Step 8 of 12)<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenproductivity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}