In today’s fast paced world, so many of us fall prey to spending the majority of our time on reactive work. If you want to get work done that’s truly important to you, this simply won’t cut it.

If all your time is spent working out your inbox, who are you really working for? Inbox zero feels good for a minute until you realize you haven’t gotten any closer to your goals. Reactive tasks never end. With social media and endless emails, there will always be something to take your attention away. You can wake up after years and realize you’re not any closer to finishing that big creative project than you were when you started.

Proactive > Reactive

I get stuck in this same rut all the time and have to step back and look at what I’m spending my time doing, and what’s actually being accomplished. I have music projects I’m trying to finish, screenplays to be written, and the ever looming book I started a few years back. These will all gladly take a back seat to your friends DM, or that work email that popped up overnight.

Get proactive work done first.

By focusing on accomplishing even one task towards your own goals first thing each day, you’ll be amazed at how much progress you can make. And I mean first thing. Use that fresh unaltered mind to dive into your creative endeavors, before checking anything on your phone. This doesn’t have to take a long time! Maybe you get one melody idea out or write one paragraph. I promise it adds up and a month later you’ll have accomplished so much. There will always be time to do all the reactive work afterwards, but this way you’ve gotten one step closer to YOUR goal.

Just like exercising, the only way to make progress is through incremental action. Which leads to incremental change overtime. This is also how you build habits, which in turn will lead to more and more confidence.

So remember, take one small creative step first thing in the morning and you’ll find those big goals happen without even trying.