It's all about little substitutions

Have you seen the Simpsons episode when Marge hires a nutritionist Betsy Bidwell to help Homer lose weight? Her simple, foolproof diet. It's all about little substitutions, she says: "Instead of french toast for breakfast, why not eat a bell pepper? When you crave something sugary, eat a bell pepper!".

My to-do list would benefit from dieting so let’s see if this approach works.

I hear Betsy's voice in my mind: "Are you tired of replying to all your e-mails? Why not clean the shoes? Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of projects on your desk? Try emptying the dishwasher."

When my energy is so low that if I was weather I would just freeze, because raining seems too tiring, it’s time to try the bell pepper method.

I try to come up with one tiny crunchy thing I can do. Antyhing!

Making a bed is a good thing if this energy low hits in the morning. If it’s later in the day, I try to pick anything else that does not seem too hard and maybe can bring a visible impact (for the ego boost) - making dishes, collect all dirty clothes for laundry.

Even if these things may not be on my work to-do list, they build up momentum. and get me out from just dilly dally bell pepper stage to doing stage, where doing anything is better than doing nothing.

Different days, different people, and different stages of life impact how long energy needs to recharge. So once I am ready, I move to the list - to do something specific from the list I had prepared. And hopefully, I get the ball rolling.

How charged are you today? What works for you? What are your favorite little subsitutions? Let me know :)