What does ‘Done’ look like?

Motivate yourself with a vivid picture of the outcome

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to create a very clear picture of
what done looks like. You'll be more motivated to achieve

(00:23):
your goals if you can see vividly what the outcome
will be. Today's tip, like another this week, comes from
Greg McEwen's new book Effortless. This book looks at ways
to make important actions automatic or at least easy. Gregg
points out that we often set very vague goals, you know,

(00:47):
the sort, lose weight, read more books. The problem is
that we have no idea what done looks like, and
so it's hard to feel a motivating sense of progress
an accomplishment. So he suggests creating a vivid image of
what done would look like for you. For instance, someone

(01:08):
trying to lose weight might picture done as I look
down at the weighing scale and see the number one
seven staring back at me. Someone trying to read big
important books might say done is on my digital reader.
It will say finished next to war in Peace. Someone
trying to walk more might decide that done is to

(01:30):
reach ten thousand steps a day on my fitbit for
fourteen days in a row, Greg writes, and someone trying
to launch a product might instead view an intermediate version
of done, as have ten beta users try the app
for a week and give feedback. The upside of these
visions of done is that they are very, very specific.

(01:53):
By giving your mind clear instructions, Greg says, things click
into gear and you can begin charting, of course toward
that in state. The good news is that creating this
vision really doesn't take long, Greg betts, you can do
it in about sixty seconds. So think of a goal

(02:14):
you've been pondering for a while. Launching a podcast, eating healthier,
building a better relationship with your neighbor. These are all
great ideas in any case, take one or two of
them and write them down. Then, next to this nice,
but let's face it, vague goal, write a specific vision

(02:38):
for what done would look like. Maybe done for eating
Healthier is that you've eaten five servings of fruits and
vegetables every day for a week. Or with the better
relationship with the neighbor, you chat with your neighbor for
at least ten minutes each week and make a point
of saying hello every time you see him. When you

(03:00):
have a picture of done, you'll also know when you
are done. Then you can decide to re up the
goal if you want change it, or maybe be content
with where you are. But either way you'll get a
sense of accomplishment and that can motivate you to two
more great things in the future. In the meantime, this

(03:25):
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

(03:46):
and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,
then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

(04:14):
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