Alex Shalman.comPractical Personal Development

Over the years scientists and other experts have done hundreds of thousands of experiments on procrastination. It all came down to one simple conclusion: procrastination is the lack of taking next action.

People seem to have formed the habit of day dreaming, and partaking in activities that take up less mental resources, instead of taking the next action. The good thing about simple problems is that they also come with simple solutions.

How did we all come to form this habit? I’m thinking our school system, which told us how to dress, move, breath, and act created a bit of a subordinate condition. Making us day dream until an outside impulse demands a next action.

It takes less energy to use what we have than to create a new way of life. That is why I have come up with the next action cheat sheets, which have been working wonders for me for years.

I keep each productivity cheat sheet on it’s own 3×5 index card, and whenever I’m experiencing a mental lapse as to ‘what’s the next action’, I grab a card and zoom off. You can keep them in a central location, or put them next to the place you will need them most.

The Benefits of Productivity Cheat Sheets

1. Save Mental Ram. After doing some planning, hacking, and tweaking, you can come up with your ideal cheat sheet. You no longer have to think about this one area of your life, or store it in memory. Just don’t forget where you keep your cheat sheets!
2. Destroy Procrastination. Seeing how the loss for next action is one of the main causes of procrastination, this will allow you to nip it in the bud and have next actions available on demand.
3. Eliminate Distractions. Since cheat sheets are so time oriented you won’t have the opportunity to sneak in any unplanned action items. Yes, this takes away from spontaneity, but it also promotes you to the ranks of productivity General.
4. Become a Lifehacker. It takes true ‘geek to live’ mentality in order to trade in your freewill in exchange for more productivity. Luckily free will isn’t as important as our souls (which I hear you can trade in for a MacBook Pro).
5. Appear Spontaneous. While keeping a concrete action list will trade spontaneity for productivity it doesn’t have to appear like you’re a robot. Simply keep several cheat sheets for the same work (like 4 exercise cheat sheets) and pull out different ones throughout the week. You’re still a robot, but other people won’t notice.

Creating Productivity Cheat Sheets (Simple Method)

1. Use 3×5 Index Cards. This is readily available resource that can be appropriated from just about anywhere. I prefer the ones that are ruled on one side and blank on the other.
2. Purpose on Blank Side. On the blank side of the index cards use a word or two to define the purpose of the cheat sheet. For example, Morning Routine, Bedtime Ritual, or Cleaning Order.
3. Rules on Line Side. Once you have the purpose of the cheat sheet on the blank side it’s time to use the lined side to write out all the instructions. You’ll notice detailed instructions below.

Morning Routine Cheat Sheet (Example)

• 15 minutes | Wake up – Drink 1/2 Liter Water – Full Stretch
• 45 minutes | Have breakfast – Make lunch
• 30 minutes | Read
• 120 minutes | Write blog articles
• 30 minutes | Exercise (Urban Rebounder)
• 30 minutes | Shower – Get ready

Bedtime Routine Cheat Sheet (Example)

• 02 minute | Water Cactus
• 1o minutes | Hygeine
• 30 minutes | Read
• 15 minutes | Plan (Tomorrow’s Schedule and MITs)
• 05 minutes | Pray – Express Gratitude
• 03 minutes | Make love to wife (passionately)

Gratitude Cheat Sheet (Example)

• For a Healthy Family
• For the Food I Ate Today
• For all My Senses
• For Having Enough of Everything
• For Having Great Friends
• For Living Into My Goals
• For All My Readers

Other Uses For Cheat Sheets

So far I’ve given you 3 basic examples of where you can use cheat sheets in order to eliminate ‘thinking’ from taking the next action. There are of course an infinite number of ways to use these cheat sheets. You can use them for main shopping lists, work flow management at school or work, favorite food preparation, car maintenance, house cleaning checklist, and much more.

Get creative and list other methods you could use cheat sheets to replace the need to think about next actions in your life. Do this in the comments section below.

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