Action-Oriented: How to Get Things Done

Do you have trouble taking action? Or do you find yourself procrastinating on the simplest of tasks? It’s time to take action. Action is an essential part of getting things done, and this blog post will show you how to get started!

Procrastination is a problem for many people.

Many people think they’re procrastinating when in fact, they’re just being thoughtful. However, there is a big difference between the two. The problem with procrastination is that it often goes hand-in-hand with laziness and indecision.

Procrastinators rarely progress because their attention wanders to other tasks or goals instead of focusing on what needs to be done now. This could be because the task at hand does not seem like an immediate priority for them, or it may simply be something they dread doing. Still, either way, this habit can lead to many problems if left unchecked.

The worst part of procrastinating is that you can often feel like you’re not making any progress even though you may be working all day long. This is because productive work time gets wasted on pointless tasks or distractions, which can be highly frustrating.

It is important to remember that procrastination is a habit that can be broken with practice.

What action-oriented people do

Action-oriented people do many things, but they seldomly “procrastinate.” They know that there is no such thing as “too soon,” and that even taking care of something in the future can be beneficial.

Action-oriented people are in a continual state of doing what is required, whether it’s now or later. And because they don’t wait for tomorrow to get started on today’s tasks, they’re not only more productive than most, they also have plenty of time left over. 

It’s said that action speaks louder than words. The world needs more action-oriented people because many problems in today’s world need solving. If you’re an action-oriented person, then I have some excellent advice for you: “Don’t wait for tomorrow.” Do what needs to be done now! You’ll be glad you did later when the day has passed, and your work is complete.

Why action-oriented people are successful

We all know people who are much more productive than others, and they seem to get things done in half the time it takes other people. They’re o often seen as leaders in their field or in their company because they accomplish tasks that many of us would consider impossible. But what is it about these people? What makes them so different from everyone else?

The answer seems simple: successful people take action! In fact, according to a study by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, those with a “growth mindset” have an innate drive for achievement and prefer challenges over easy problems. This type of person will see something that needs doing and just do it without waiting for someone else to tell them how and this attitude is a key predictor of success.

Let’s be honest most people often think of a plan but rarely execute it. This might be due to a lack of drive, fear, or simply put, the pain of remaining the same is less than the desire to alter. That’s why people who take action tend to be successful, and they are not bogged down by the fear of making a mistake or feeling overwhelmed by the task at hand.

Why is taking action so important?

I’m sure by now you can see where this blog is going, and you can begin to understand why it is crucial to be an action-oriented individual.

There are many reasons why it is crucial to take action. One reason is that nothing will happen if you don’t do anything. If I don’t start my car and put it in reverse, the car won’t move at all. The same thing applies to taking action in life. If we want something to happen, we have to make an effort to happen by doing something about it.

Another reason why it’s important to take action is because inaction can be a form of laziness or procrastination. Inaction also happens when people say “yes” but never follow through with it. This can be due to being too busy or not having enough energy for the task.

The last reason why taking action is essential is that your dreams will never come true without any effort at all, and nothing will change. If you want something different out of life, you have to go get it. You can’t just sit around and wait for things to magically change.

This is what we call the law of attraction: if you want something bad enough and put all your energy into it, you will achieve it. However, for this to work, you need to take massive action.

How to take action?

Being an action taker is as simple as the Nike slogan and as challenging as rocket science. On one end, you need to know exactly what you want and to be actively involved daily in making it happen. On the other end, you need to work on time management, have good habits, stay focused, and not waste opportunities.

Here are a few steps that any ordinary person can start acting on.

Failure shouldn’t dissuade you

It’s good to be reminded that you are not alone in the struggle, but it can also be discouraging when you feel like your efforts are pointless. You may have many reasons for feeling this way, but I want to share one of mine: I feel like my failures will never stop, and I’m always going to be stuck with them. The thing is, we all fail, and nobody gets away unscathed.

It’s just a matter of how we react to our mistakes – do they make us stronger, or do they weaken us? Do we use them as stepping stones, or do we let them hold us back? We should always try and find the lesson in every failure because there is something there that will help keep us on track next time around! That, my friend, is the best attitude to have towards failure.

It’s as the overused acronym for FAIL goes First Attempt In Learning. As cheesy as it is, it’s actually true. This is a skill I learned in playing football. Anytime the coach pulled me out for messing up, I would ask what I did wrong. Even back in 2008, I was cultivating a growth mindset.

Picture yourself as the person you want to be

One of the easiest things is to picture yourself as the person you want to be, and this will help keep you motivated and focused on your goals.

When training for football, I would often use “What Would Maurice Jones-Drew Do.” This helped me drastically when I would train on leg day. If I’m frank, he’s one of the many reasons I enjoy training legs today. Outside of legs being the body’s foundation, my goal was to have massive legs.

There is nothing wrong with finding motivation or direction in asking what would a person you look up to would do. This can work for anything in life. You can use this method to determine your intent, figure out what you need to do, and discover the motivation to accomplish it.

It’s not about copying someone else but finding what works best for you by using their successes as an inspiration. What would make you excited to wake up and become that person? How could you make their traits your own?

Plan to improve focus

It’s important to plan before taking action because we often make mistakes when we act without thinking things through. Think of the last time you tried to do something, and a lot was going on around you, like in a busy office or at home with kids running around.

You probably got sidetracked by all that activity and couldn’t stay focused on your goal for very long. And chances are, it took even longer than usual to get anything done! Planning is key to success: if you don’t know what needs doing, how can you expect to do it? So be sure to take some time out from the daily grind and set aside an hour or two each week for planning before jumping into any new project.

The curse of too much planning

On the flip side, there is such a thing as too much planning to the point of analysis paralysis. Analysis Paralysis is a severe problem regarding work, fitness goals, or planning the best date. If you’re constantly waiting for the “perfect” plan to materialize, you’ll never get anything done! So try to find a healthy balance between planning and taking action.

A fairly easy way to do this is to give yourself a time limit to get a particular task done. An artificial deadline is a perfect way to tap into urgency. With time in limited resources, you can set tasks where you usually lose focus.

Reward yourself

Reward yourself! When you work hard on achieving your goals, it’s important to give yourself a pat on the back. Rewarding yourself can help keep you motivated and provide an extra boost of happiness in addition to what you get from accomplishing your goal.

There are many ways to reward yourself, including taking action, doing something enjoyable or eating a favourite food. The key is that the reward must be directly related to reaching one of your goals so it will have meaning for you.

Start off by making a list of things that make you happy or feel good about life. Next, determine which activities might not be healthy for you in the long run but would still make an excellent short-term reward for all your hard work. Finally, prioritize each activity by how much it will help you stay on track and motivated.

So remember: work hard, play hard, and reward yourself along the way! You deserve it.

It’s important to find a balance between healthy and unhealthy rewards and short-term and long-term rewards. By rewarding yourself in various ways, you’ll be more likely to stick with your goals for the long haul!

Here are a few examples of rewards you can use.

Healthy rewards: 

• Exercising or going for a walk/run
• Eating healthy foods like fruits and vegetables
• Meditating or practising mindfulness

Unhealthy rewards: 

• Eating unhealthy foods
• Watching TV
• Shopping online or in a store for clothes, shoes or other items you may not need.

Rewards that will keep you motivated: 

• A massage/spa day at home with your favourite oils and relaxing music playing in the background

Discipline yourself

The key is discipline. This means not allowing yourself the luxury of taking time off from acting to daydream about what you could do if you were more motivated or had more energy. It’s okay if your action takes place on a small scale, and that counts too!

For example, taking five minutes during your lunch break at work each day to meditate. That can make all the difference between feeling like you have no control over anything and feeling like there are still some moments in your life where you are in the driver’s seat.

Being disciplined is a skill that can be learned and perfected over time. The action itself is often not as important as the action’s consistency. It needs to be something that you can realistically do every day for at least a year to see results.

Discipline yourself when being action-oriented by practicing self-control, which will result in taking action consistently over time. Building discipline is a good habit to have in one’s organized life.

Remember, action begets action. Once you start taking action, momentum will build, and it will be easier to keep going. Plus, when you do achieve something as a result of all that effort, the sense of accomplishment is that much sweeter!

When you successfully complete your goals, you build a track record that helps make your self-confidence. This is a fairly easy way to improve one’s life & focus.

Remember to take action, stay disciplined and reward yourself along the way! You can do it.

Time management 

Time management is an action-oriented skill that can help you get things done.

The ability to manage time has many benefits, and the most important of these is that it helps you avoid stress. Time management can also help with your focus, productivity and efficiency. If you can manage your time well, then there will be less work for you in the future and a higher quality of work.

If you think about it, time management is one of the only ways to add an extra hour to the day. Sort of, follow me on this one. With proper time management, you get work done in less time, which gives you more free time.

If you are open to going far-fetched here with me, the free time you gain in your day can potentially add up to an extra hour in a day.

If you want to get things done, action is the key. The point of this blog was to show you that by being action oriented, things get done. It’s not always easy or comfortable but it does work!

I’ve seen this work time and again in my own life. The more you take action, the easier it is to do something with less effort over time. It sounds simple enough but so many people never get started because they are too overwhelmed by all of their options or don’t believe that what they have planned will actually happen.

But when you start taking baby steps towards your goal, things seem much simpler than before because you are already building momentum for achieving long-term success. So go ahead-take a step today!