How to Get Things Done

Your reptilian brain loves the comfort of your familiar routine even if your routine makes you miserable. 

When a million thoughts pop up each time you want to try something new, about how difficult it’s going to be, allllllll the things that can go wrong, and how you’re just not ready, that’s your reptilian brain at work. 

Your  reptilian brain was designed to protect you, it wants to keep you safe in your predictable routine, so that you have enough food to eat, water to drink, and a place to sleep. 

It’s like parental controls on your human self, your reptilian brain wants to limit your options to the ones it thinks are safe. 

But staying in that safe-predictable routine feels repetitive, stifling, and frustrating. 

So what’s a girl to do when she wants something new in her life? 

Remind your reptilian brain that you are safe, your base needs are met, and you are awesome enough to try something new. 

Plus there’s a super simple trick to bypass your reptilian brain’s parental controls. 

Journaling. 

It’s my favorite hack. 

When you connect pen to paper, you bypass your reptilian brains programming. You connect directly to your subconscious instead. That’s your place of creativity, expansion, and deeper understanding. That’s why journaling is awesome, it’s this super simple tool that can unlock what’s blocking you and comfort your reptilian brain all at the same time. 

Last week I talked about being stuck in the procrastination-perfectionism loop. 

I need to update my website and yet I’ve been dragging my feet because I want to finish this copy course first, so that my words will be THE BEST for my website. Except I still have many hours left on the course, and waiting until I finish, means that nothing is changing on my website for a looooooonnnnngggggg time. 

I felt so stuck, I didn’t know what words to write, I was worried they’d be wrong or wouldn’t make sense. 

As I journaled, I let myself just write on the page, I gave myself permission that my words didn’t need to make sense. I just had to start. 

That journaling session was so fun! Here are the photos of what I wrote (no promises that you can read my handwriting or understand it, this is me holding myself accountable, by showing you that I did a thing I said I was going to do!) 

I’ve written waaaaaay more words than should ever be on a homepage AND that’s 100% ok! It’s easier to narrow down your words than to start from nothing. 

Thank you for being my accountability buddy. I appreciate you. 

Grab a piece of paper and journal on: 

What’s something you want to shift in your routine? 

Comment below if you need help getting started on your journaling or if you’d love an accountability buddy too. 

P.S. Save the date! I’m teaching my proven journaling method: Thoughtful Journaling on February 13th at a super cool co-working space in Berkeley (called Sway). I’d love to see you there! 

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