Woke up today thinking about how I am grateful to past me for implementing a couple of self-rules a while back that I take for granted now. They are glacial in scope, but they really see the difference now, even though I didn't notice changes when I started.

For example, when I put something into any to-do list or calendar app, the first word is a verb. When I first started doing it, I was like, “ I'll know what to do if I see "Drum Rudiment" in my task app.”

The problem with that is when I read "Drum Rudiment”, I have to think about what that means. I equate that split second of decision like leaving the window open and letting flies (distractions) in. When I start chasing the flies, I don't do the task.

If I read "Do a drum rudiment", I do a drum rudiment right away without opening the window of distraction.

Another benefit of verb first is that on apps, they often truncate the task when they display it. So on my Apple Watch, "Do a drum rudiment" sometimes gets shortened to "Do a drum...". It makes your brain crazy because you want to know "Do a drum what!?". I click to see, and now drumming is on my mind. Just having "Drum Rudiment" does have that effect.

Give verbs to the things you need to get done and write instructions for your future self. You'll start to notice things starting to get done.

( ^ . ^ )y