We are failing at being resourceful. Failing miserably.
Big marketing budgets have trained us to always want to buy things no matter what we are trying to do. There is always a product that will magically help us get what we want.
Personal productivity is no different.
Whenever we set a goal, the first impulse is to buy something – a sports watch, step tracker, new notebook, productivity app, self-help book, running shoes, or budgeting app.
As if it is a requirement for starting. But it is not. It’s procrastination.
How to stop the productivity shopping spree
Every time I have an urge to go shopping for a new goal I set for myself, I ask myself a question,
“What CAN I do today with the time, resources, and knowledge I have available?”
Unavoidably, I come up with at least 3 actions I can take without purchasing anything, without doing additional research with little time I have available.
It’s much easier to swipe a credit card and feel like you’ve made progress towards your goal. But you didn’t.
“How would my grandma go about achieving this goal?”
She didn’t have internet. She didn’t even have easy access to books like we do. She couldn’t spend hours doing research and then shopping for fancy gadgets.
“Are there people in the world who achieved this goal without making the purchase I want to make?”
You already have everything you need to start
I bet whatever your goal is, you already have everything you need to start.
You have a pair of shoes to go for a walk.
You have some veggies to add to your meals.
You have a smartphone with a camera to start shooting videos or taking pictures or writing text.
You have a pen and paper somewhere in your home.
I bet you already have enough to produce your first desired outcome. Or 10.
Purchases as rewards vs. requirements
I like to flip the shopping desire and use it as a reward instead of a requirement.
I’ll buy myself X, when I do Y number of desired actions.
I’ll buy myself new running shoes, once I complete the first 10 runs.
I’ll buy myself a good camera once I upload 10 videos to my YouTube channel.
This way, the purchase feels much better. You’ve earned it. And you know for sure you’ll use it because you’ve already started building a new identity of being a runner, a creator, a reader, an entrepreneur. It wasn’t a fluke.
In a lot of cases, you learn you don’t need the new gear. You are doing just fine with whatever you have.
But most importantly, the act of purchasing won’t be you procrastinating on doing the hard work.
Time to become resourceful
With the rising cost of living, it’s a wise idea to become a resourceful person this year. In everything we do.
Our resources are limited.
Time, money, mental load, attention, and patience. We don’t have a lot of it.
But we do have enough to start. We already have enough knowledge and time to start. Just start. Without needing to buy anything.
Despite the best business practices, I’m not listing any other posts for you to read or a course to enroll.
That’s all. By now you have everything you need to start.
Go do the thing you said you were gonna do. I bet it wasn’t buying yet another thing or reading yet another article online.
Don’t buy. Do.
