We all have obstacles to overcome, it’s one of the ways that we grow. Some of them just filter into our lives from external sources, and it’s our job to deal with them as they come along. That’s just a normal part of this experience we call life.
Today, I want to discuss a different kind of challenge. I want to talk about the roadblocks that we put in our own way, and then avoid dealing with for various reasons.
When we purposely avoid facing our self-imposed obstacles, what happens? Well, what happens in the case of a literal roadblock? Usually, traffic backs up, people get frustrated, and progress comes to a screeching halt. So then what? Then people look for ways to avoid the congestion even if it takes longer to get where they want to go.
The same exact thing happens to us
If we don’t deal with our personal roadblocks, our life gets congested. Everything begins to take longer as we search for ways to maneuver around the mess. Eventually, we start to get frustrated as we see progress grinding to a halt.
I just figured out that I am in this very situation!
As embarrassing as it is to admit, I must confess to being so busy that I wasn’t really aware of the extent of my own self-imposed roadblock. So now that I have decided to face it head on, I thought that sharing my experience might help you identify similar hidden roadblocks in your own life.
You see, it’s quite easy for any of us to run avoidance tactics underneath the surface, while continuing (or attempting) to function normally. By the time we become aware of this subtle maneuvering, chances are good that we have been costing ourselves valuable time and energy. This is the situation I currently find myself in.
What’s my personal challenge?
In a nut shell, I am so extremely resistant to organizing my time and workspace that it’s at the point of ridiculousness. It almost feels like a reverse psychology thing that I pull on myself. Whenever I decide to make a schedule, I immediately find some distraction so I can avoid the challenge. I vow to clean up my desk, and what do I do? I shuffle things around just enough so I can keep working.
What is the effect on my productivity?
At first, it was manageable, but now it’s really beginning to cost me. Not only in terms of productivity, but it is also cutting into my free time and my ability to focus. The more scattered we become, the less efficient we are. When it takes longer to accomplish necessary tasks, the time has to come out of other activities.
The closer I looked, the more I felt the negative implications of not facing this obstacle. A careful examination of the situation and asking myself: “What is the cost?” has accomplished several things that avoidance never would.
Here are five specifics
1) Motivation to move away from pain. We are all motivated by a desire to avoid pain and move toward pleasure. Now that I am fully aware of the personal cost of this problem, it has come to represent pain that I want to move away from. I want this pain out of my life ASAP and that is highly motivating.
2) Reversed emotional anchors. Where getting organized once represented an uncomfortable restriction, it now represents pleasure. Having a schedule, and a well organized workspace is the antidote for my pain in this area. As I move away from the pain, I am motivated to move toward a pleasurable solution.
3) Increased sense of accomplishment. Having a schedule will allow for greater focus and concentration. When I set aside a certain allotment of time for each task, it creates a deadline. Knowing that allows me to really focus on the task at hand without letting myself get sidetracked. Deadlines might feel restrictive, but the resulting sense of accomplishment is well worth it.
4) More free time. I can’t count the number of times I have stayed up late or foregone some other activity with the excuse “I need to work.” Had I been better organized, the work would have been done. So this personal roadblock was affecting more than my work schedule, it was having an impact on my entire life. Truth be told, as much as I enjoy my work, I enjoy spending time with my wife even more.
5) Balance. A happy and satisfying life is all about balance. For busy people who wear many hats and have lots of interests, achieving balance has become an advanced life skill. The more enthusiastic we are about life, the greater the need for this skill. If you want to live life to the full and really enjoy the journey, balance is required.
Like everyone else, I am a student of life. I love to teach, but I also love to learn. Evidently, my next life lesson is organization. Now that I recognize this, I am excited to make it happen. How about you? What personal roadblocks are you dealing with? Are you ready to meet them face to face and get past them? Are you ready to ask yourself: What is this costing me?
Are you well organized?
If so, please share your insights and tips.
The lines are open!
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
My personal roadblock once was… time. Like many others i used this stupid excuse “If I’d only had more time”. But hey! Everyone has 24 hours a day – both winners and losers. That struck me and I become very conscious about time. I started to treat as a budget – allocating it only to strategic stuff. Guess what? – no more roadblocks
Hi Alik, time is a precious commodity, that is for sure. I wrote an article about the value of time that you might like. It’s called What is the True Essence of Life?
We have the same thing in common, I look forward to the insights and tips.
Hi Brynn, I think there are a lot of up with a similar challenge.
Great post… our personal roadblocks tell us so much about ourselves. The problem carries the solution. We create our problems by ourselves, our advantages turn into disadvantages – seen from another point of view. E.g. my personal strength is the ability to see things from different points of view, which helps me to understand other people better. But it turns into a roadblock when it slows down/ impedes my decision making process.
Very well said Carina, I love this phrase the problem carries the solution.
It certainly takes a good amount of inward thinking to be able to handle these kinds of problems. We all have our roadblocks, and it’s up to us to handle them.
I think that for most people, the fact that in order to overcome their roadblocks, they have to sacrifice something, whether it be time, money, or energy.
People don’t want to sacrifice time, especially if they already work a regular job. They want to be able to earn a paycheck, work on their blog, or whatever, AND go out and party on the weekends. Unfortunately, there’s not usually enough time do all 3, and something must be sacrificed.
Some people need to invest money to get their dreams rolling, but they still want to be able to live a life of comfort. The idea that you might have to stop going to the movies, or buying new clothes for a while is enough to deter a lot of people from working on their dreams.
And lastly, there’s energy. It’s hard to build something, when you’re not making it a priority. If you aren’t focused on something, and want it badly, it can be hard to devote enough energy to it.
Interesting observations Trey, everything has a price. That’s where choices come in. Like it or not we all have to choose what is the most important. Avoiding the making of a choice is also a choice.
My mind has been quite focused this two weeks on getting rid of roadblocks. Mine lately revolve around the “not organized enough” arena as well.
I used to be very organized so I have the knowledge. I had plenty of systems in place to efficiently get things done. Due to an extended illness those systems eventually dwindled down. Now I find myself not nearly as productive as I could be, and really feeling the urge to re-implement many of the time saving, cost saving, efficient systems. So thanks for the reminder of the benefits of doing so.
Number 5, balance is the thing that suffered the most. I believe this comment of yours in right on : “The more enthusiastic we are about life, the greater the need for this skill.”
Hi Leisa, being better organized is something I struggle with in some areas, especially paperwork and clean up. I need to implement some systems myself.
Hi Jonathan,
Many people (sometimes I am part of them) use the excuse of “I don’t have enough time”. I have recently written an article about that in my blog with the title “the most terrible excuses ever between you and your dreams”.
To answer to your question, I am very well organized. On the other hand I am very strict with myself. Many friends of mine admire my discipline but this discipline ends up by creating a problem especially now that i am working to build my own business: I feel remorse very often. To give you an example, I work a lot and i am very disciplined. If one day i don’t work as many hours as i wanted…I feel remorse.
Thank you for this article!
As I read your story, Jonathan, my overflowing in-box came immediately to mind. There are some other hiccups too. Not focusing on priorities could be one of them! I’m inspired to dismantle these roadblocks as they do cost time, money, and dissatisfaction. I love the idea of balance that is exactly what I am seeking in my life!
One organization tip which I’ve found helpful in staying focused at work is to write a pen on paper to-do list (yes, even in these electronic, paperless days), and to stick to that list. If while you’re doing one activity, you recall that you need to do something else important, DO NOT jump to do it immediately. Write it on the list – in the priority spot where it goes. It can supersede everything else and be the next thing you do – but first finish whatever you’re doing.
I find this useful too. I use a steno pad, and when I make my list, I leave a space between items so there’s a place to scribble something in, or change the order of operations going forward.