"Taking Care of Business in a Flash"TCB is a motto that Elvis embraced and you can see it here on his private plane (taken while visiting Graceland a couple of years ago). I'm sure Elvis was quite a driven and focused person to have attained stardom.
I think it's commonly overlooked that famous people have to work hard to achieve their fame; it's not all just luck or timing but a lot of preparation as well. We think their lives are charmed but forget that they probably had to fight their way to the top, struggling to be productive and successful in achieving their goals.
I often think about the acronym TCB when I'm trying to get into a productive mindset. I find it's useful to tell other people you're TCB so you feel mentally more accountable to have something to show for it.
Remember that TCB requires a specific mindset and commitment to Getting Things Done (GTD is another great acronym from productivity guru David Allen).
All the best as you TCB and GTD!
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3 comments:
I think many successful people instinctively, but mistakenly, dismiss things like this (and even coaching more generally) as gimmicky, but I find, as someone who might fit your description of "overachiever," but who has trouble sometimes staying motivated or concentrated, that whatever works in creating the mindset that keeps you motivated is extremely valuable. It's worth exploring these things to find what works for you; and if something doesn't work for you, it might work for others, so it shouldn't be dismissed.
So much of the things we commonly do to concentrate and stay motivated are little different from these things that some people consider "gimmicks." Putting up a picture of an opponent when you're in the gym training, drowning out distractions with headphones, finding a workout partner to keep yourself committed to work-out schedules are all commonly used and accepted means, and they're no different from telling yourself and others that you're "Taking Care of Business," if saying that puts you in the mindset to actually Take Care of Business.
For me, the most important thing is to simply recognize that my unproductive days usually result from bouncing from task to task, worried about all the things I need to, which keeps me from actually concentrating on any one of them and just getting it done. When I consciously and conscientiously recognize that, I can then tell myself, "this is ridiculous, let's just get ONE THING DONE," and in so doing, "allow" myself to focus on one thing without worrying too much that I'm letting other things slide (and of cousre, they aren't actually sliding, b/c they're going to move up on the list of things that are now ACTUALLY going to get done).
Getting ONE THING DONE for me is a way of "returning to fundamentals" like a batter in a slump is taught to do. Focus on the fundamental mechanics of batting, focus on the simple building blocks of what needs to be done, and the extraneous stuff becomes less of a distraction.
Thanks, Anonymous. I totally agree - often mindset is the most important thing to being productive and then whatever "gimmicks" you want to use are still helpful if they allow you to achieve your objective.
way too much trouble ...
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