Good morning everyone! Ever had a deadline looming, knowing you should get started, but instead you find yourself doing anything but that important task? Despite that little voice inside nudging you to begin and the growing anxiety, procrastination often takes over. You're not alone—humans have been wrestling with procrastination for ages. Even Socrates wondered why we act against our better judgment. So, what's really going on here? Procrastination is more about emotions than laziness. It's a tug-of-war between two parts of our brain: the limbic system (our ancient, automatic-response side) and the prefrontal cortex (the newer, planning and decision-making side). That's why simply telling ourselves to "just do it" doesn't always work—we're up against deep-rooted emotional responses. Instead of beating ourselves up, what if we listened to what procrastination is trying to tell us? It's often a sign that something about the task is causing inner friction. Let me introduce you to the DUST model, created by Graham Allcott. It stands for Difficult, Unclear, Scary, and Tedious—the four common reasons we put things off. 1. Difficult: The task feels too hard. Maybe we lack confidence or skills. Solution: Break it down or start earlier in the process. Perhaps take a quick course or ask for help—but be careful not to get stuck in endless preparation. 2. Unclear: We're not sure what needs to be done. Vague tasks lead to procrastination. Solution: Define the task more clearly. Instead of "work on project," try "outline the first three sections of the report by Tuesday." 3. Scary: Fear of failure (or even success) can freeze us. Big goals are exciting but intimidating. Solution: Create accountability. Share your deadline with someone or set up a system where others are expecting your work. 4. Tedious: Let's face it, some tasks are just boring. Solution: Make it more enjoyable. Listen to your favorite music, turn it into a game, or promise yourself a reward when you're done.

#Featuring the concept of Minimal Viable Day. In software startups, there’s a famous concept called the Minimal Viable Product (MVP). The idea is to release your product as soon as it meets the basic needs of its users. From there, you iterate to improve performance, embellish the design, and add new features. We can take this step further and build our work routine around it. I call it the Minimal Viable Day (MVD). An MVD is the minimum amount of productive work that makes your workday feel worthwhile. For example: - Write 800 words - Complete one report - Organize the finance spreadsheet 💡 The main purpose of an MVD is to be so easy it makes any excuse to procrastinate sound ridiculous. It’s just a way to trick yourself into doing tasks that build up over time. The most effective way to stick to your MVD is to turn it into a habit. The science of habit-forming boils down to four laws James Clear explained in his best-selling book—Atomic Habits #1 Make your MVD obvious With the MVD you can use a sheet of paper as a cue. Make it visible in your work setup. For example, mine rests on the left side of my laptop. I see it every time my gaze wanders away from my screen. #2 Make your MVD attractive How do you add anticipation to something that’s supposed to be a chore? Easy. You mix the tasks you need to do with things you enjoy doing. For instance, I only listen to music when I write, read, cook or walk. It’s like a tradeoff: I get to enjoy my favorite artists only when doing something productive. Steal the pattern and create bundles of tasks to create anticipation. Here are some examples: - Listen to a podcast when doing manual work - Call a friend when cooking or cleaning - Go to your favorite café when you have a ton of emails to process #3 Make your MVD easy (super easy) Reduce any friction that may keep you from ticking the boxes of your MVD. Examples: - If you want to increase your chances of going for a long walk, put your sports shoes next to the door - If you want to read before bed, put a book on your nightstand - If you want to cook healthy food, make sure you have a variety of ingredients in your fridge and recipes on your phone

What a great week. Thank you @Suzanne Taylor-King for the training. As always, you over delivered on value. Go watch the videos. So much greatness! Thank you @Charlotte Berry @Else Johnson @Chris Kenny @Jason Croft @Martin Lopez (did I miss anyone?) for being so open and learning along side me. Let’s make those offers and grow together 🥰🥰

1. Honest - They don't deceive or hide information 2. Self-Aware - They are honest with themselves 3. Genuine - What you see is what you get 4. Consistent - They walk their talk and follow through on commitments 5. Purpose Driven - They inspire others with a compelling vision 6. Emotionally Intelligent - They show empathy and genuine care for others 7. Humble - They are confident but not arrogant 8. Ethical - They lead with integrity Thoughts on these being the community values? I woould love your input!

I just finished creating my personal brand summary and this training was incredible. Shout out to @Suzanne Taylor-King for such in-depth walk through of the training. I love to “do the work” with you 🥰 I just upgraded to the PRO version and excited to dive in. Now just trying to figure out the Long Prompt Splitter and work on my content planner. 🩷