Done is Fun.
What is done? And why is it fun? How do you get to done so you can have the fun?
Done is used to communicate the message of being finished. Done is that great state of being finished, concluded, no more, a thing of the past and a big check mark of completeness.
“Done” Is A Famous Word
“Done is better than perfect.”The word “done” appears in many famous quotes:
“Done is the engine of more.”
“Well done.”
“Well done is better than well said.”
“Get stuff done.”
“Well begun is half done.”
“What’s done is done.”
“Thy will be done.”
Done Is The Completion State
Done brings with it a feeling of accomplishment. The feeling of doneness is quite enjoyable and fun. That’s because there is a feel-good brain chemical called dopamine that gets released when you complete something. That is when you experience “doneness” – the state of being done. Completing even the smallest task releases the dopamine. It feels so good to check off that little box or put a line through a completed item on your list.
What’s Not Fun is Not Finishing
When something drags on and you don’t complete it you feel fatigue and frustration. Remembering that Done is Fun will help you. When you feel the fatigue of not finishing or the overwhelm of having too many things to do, just remember Done is Fun.
You Can Make Doneness Happen
Now you know that Done is Fun, you can make doneness happen. One of the first things you can do is to break down whatever you are working on into some smaller doable chunks. Make the first few chunks very small and easy to complete. Once you hit doneness with those you will start the dopamine flow. This will increase your motivation to want to do more – hence the phrase “Done is the Engine of More”. The completion of the small easy chunks brings on the feelings of fun over frustration. That’s why chunking it down works. It’s really just brain chemistry. Your brain wants to reward you when you get things done because its progress, it’s getting things done that keeps you alive.
When you feel overwhelmed because you have too many things to do, just remember Done is Fun. Get started with some action – you know “Well begun is half done”. The first task to complete is to make a quick mind dump list of everything on your mind that you have to do. Just taking a few minutes to get that done will start the dopamine pump going.
Overcome Your Overwhelm (OYO)
Once you have the list, look it over for higher priority items and then pick the one that you can complete the fastest because, as you remember, Done is Fun. That will give you the momentum to get more things done. What you do does not have to be perfect just done – you remember “Done is better than perfect”.
Life Is Doneness
Done is the stuff life is made of. There are some things that get done over and over like making your list for the day or following up with clients. Then there are things that you only do once like pass the Bar/Medical exam or get married – well hopefully only once for those. Some can be more fun than others. There can be things that you have to get done – maybe appear in court, write a brief or pick up the kids. Then there are things you should get done like time blocking to work on the business instead of in the business. Lastly, there are things you want to get done like building systems to run your business or taking a big family vacation.
Doneness Delegation
What about when you delegate something to another person to get done? Is that fun? It is when it’s done right. There is still a brain boost of dopamine when a delegated task is completed. The key is to delegate the task out in small but measurable chunks and have a tight communication loop. For example, let’s say you need to call 10 clients and you want to delegate that item to someone else. First, delegate in small measurable chunks. Give them clear instructions and make sure they tightly communicate back to you. This will allow, not only your dopamine to flow, but also theirs! You would communicate that they are going to call these 10 clients. If you get voicemail to then we want to do this, if you get them live then communicate this with them. Then, tell them once you reach out to 3 of them, send me an email about how it went and any questions that came up. A short quick email just to give me the status. That step will get them moving and feeling some of the doneness after just 3 call attempts. The tight and quick communication back to you will help you know that progress is being made and keep your brain chemicals pumping.
There is a wide range of things to get done. Remember that Done is Fun and that even the smallest thing done will start the flow of dopamine. Bring yourself out of any funk with a little doneness.
Your results matter so get something done and make it a great day,
Blaine
Blaine Oelkers is a lifetime entrepreneur, a graduate of Purdue University and Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship program. He’s achieved over 100 Million dollars in sales and has coached 1000s of business owners. He’s America’s Chief Results Officer® (CRO) helping business owners and their companies get results. He can be reached at blaine@selfluence.com.
Blaine is America’s Chief Results Officer® and the world’s greatest creator of doneness. He knows your results matter and he can help you get better, faster and more long-lasting results. Get started with one simple and elegant results technique that activates your mind with your top goal over 100 times a day. He explains it in a short TEDx talk he did which has been viewed by over 120,000 people! Your results matter – get access immediately at www.BlaineTEDx.com