What’s Getting In the Way of Following Through on Your Plans
Case Study
As a highly sought-after consultant, Kayla had many strong thinking skills, including being able to plan easily.
However, following them through on the plan, was a challenge. Especially when it was a big new task.
It wasn’t uncommon to find herself doing things that weren’t on her plans, which would throw her off track & leave her feeling a deep sense of disappointment.
Thinking Skills
While you are doing any task, you (without even realizing it!) are using your 28 thinking skills.
When the thinking skills you need to use are strong, doing the task is easy.
If the thinking skill you need to use is weak, doing the task will be a challenge.
The struggle that Kayla had, came from a weak thinking skill of categorization.
Understanding What's Getting in the Way
Procrastination is a sign of a weak thinking skill. (Even when you’re really good at planning :))
So the first thing I did with Kayla was walk through the process of figuring out what thinking skill was weak & was getting in the way.
Here’s how you can do it by yourself:
- Ask: What part of the task is a challenge or does my brain not like? (For Kayla, it was a big overwhelming task with many parts and figuring out what to do.)
- Ask Again: What part of the task is a challenge or does my brain not like? You're gonna go deeper till you can’t go anymore. (For Kayla it the part she struggled with was by the time she figured out how she was going to conquer this task, she had no more energy to actually do the task)
- Compare your answer to the 28 thinking skills (which you can get at www.lifepixuniversity.com/cf) There will be a direct connection between a thinking skill & your answer. (In Kayla’s case, not having the patience to do the task after figuring out the strategy comes from categorizations.)
Solving the Real Issue
Once we understood the real reason as to why she was not following her plans, we can come up with a solution so it's no longer a challenge.
Your root cause may look very different and will need a different solution.
Kayla's challenge was due to categorizations.
If this is your blockage too, the rest of this episode will share with you what to do to improve it.
If your challenge is due to a different weak thinking skill, other episodes may have your answer or can DM me on Instagram & I can help you come up with a solution.
Improving Categorizations
Every time we do a new task it uses the most amount of energy to get into it.
If you think about it, coming up with the strategy & actually doing the task is two different tasks.
So Kayla decided to categorize her tasks differently. Instead of thinking about the complex task with many moving parts, Kayla broke down this big task into two separate tasks.
One block of time to come up with the strategy & another block of time to execute on the strategy.
This simple switch drastically improved the way she executed these complex tasks.
While this simple categorization switched helped her with big challenges tasks, I knew categorizations had to be getting in her way of planning effectively, organizing or doing other activities, so I gave her more exercises to do to improve this thinking skill.
Here are some you can try at home:
- Take all the tasks you need to do this week, write them out on index cards and organize them in what you think will be best. Once you’re done, shuffle all the cards and reorganize them in another way. Then explain to yourself why one way is better than the other.
- Reorganize a closet or draw. Now don’t make the mess neat. Take everything out and think about what is the best place to keep this item?
- Look at all your tasks and see what tasks (or parts of tasks!) are similar so that you can do them together.
By doing these exercises, not only were these complex tasks no longer an issue, but how Kayla approached any task was now easier.
Your Challenge
Your challenge this week is to find the root cause as to why you procrastinate often following the 3 steps we spoke about:
- Ask: What part of the task is a challenge or does my brain not like?
- Ask Again: What part of the task is a challenge or does my brain not like? You're gonna go deeper till you can’t go anymore.
- Compare your answer to the 28 thinking skills (which you can get at www.lifepixuniversity.com/cf) There will be a direct connection between a thinking skill & your answer.
Bonus: See if you can come up with an exercise to improve this thinking skill. I’m happy to help you out with it, just DM me @lifepixuniversity
Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
Hi, I'm ST,
Just like you, I want to be more efficient and effective.
Most entrepreneurs want to grow their business but already got a lot of stress.
At LifePix University we help you rewire your brain to become more efficient and effective while experiencing more inner peace.
Learn more here.
Your Essential Guide
to Cognitive Functions
This guide will give you all you need to start improving your cognitive functions. Learn what all 28 thinking skills are, how they apply to you and what you can do today to begin improving them.
Cognitive Functions Assessment
Thinking is not one big thing. Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
Take the FREE assessment to see where each of your cognitive functions are currently at.
We're on for 1M downloads
By the end of 2025
Can you help us reach our goal?
Share this podcast with someone you love!
What’s Getting In the Way of Following Through on Your Plans
Case Study
As a highly sought-after consultant, Kayla had many strong thinking skills, including being able to plan easily.
However, following them through on the plan, was a challenge. Especially when it was a big new task.
It wasn’t uncommon to find herself doing things that weren’t on her plans, which would throw her off track & leave her feeling a deep sense of disappointment.
Thinking Skills
While you are doing any task, you (without even realizing it!) are using your 28 thinking skills.
When the thinking skills you need to use are strong, doing the task is easy.
If the thinking skill you need to use is weak, doing the task will be a challenge.
The struggle that Kayla had, came from a weak thinking skill of categorization.
Understanding What's Getting in the Way
Procrastination is a sign of a weak thinking skill. (Even when you’re really good at planning :))
So the first thing I did with Kayla was walk through the process of figuring out what thinking skill was weak & was getting in the way.
Here’s how you can do it by yourself:
- Ask: What part of the task is a challenge or does my brain not like? (For Kayla, it was a big overwhelming task with many parts and figuring out what to do.)
- Ask Again: What part of the task is a challenge or does my brain not like? You're gonna go deeper till you can’t go anymore. (For Kayla it the part she struggled with was by the time she figured out how she was going to conquer this task, she had no more energy to actually do the task)
- Compare your answer to the 28 thinking skills (which you can get at www.lifepixuniversity.com/cf) There will be a direct connection between a thinking skill & your answer. (In Kayla’s case, not having the patience to do the task after figuring out the strategy comes from categorizations.)
Solving the Real Issue
Once we understood the real reason as to why she was not following her plans, we can come up with a solution so it's no longer a challenge.
Your root cause may look very different and will need a different solution.
Kayla's challenge was due to categorizations.
If this is your blockage too, the rest of this episode will share with you what to do to improve it.
If your challenge is due to a different weak thinking skill, other episodes may have your answer or can DM me on Instagram & I can help you come up with a solution.
Improving Categorizations
Every time we do a new task it uses the most amount of energy to get into it.
If you think about it, coming up with the strategy & actually doing the task is two different tasks.
So Kayla decided to categorize her tasks differently. Instead of thinking about the complex task with many moving parts, Kayla broke down this big task into two separate tasks.
One block of time to come up with the strategy & another block of time to execute on the strategy.
This simple switch drastically improved the way she executed these complex tasks.
While this simple categorization switched helped her with big challenges tasks, I knew categorizations had to be getting in her way of planning effectively, organizing or doing other activities, so I gave her more exercises to do to improve this thinking skill.
Here are some you can try at home:
- Take all the tasks you need to do this week, write them out on index cards and organize them in what you think will be best. Once you’re done, shuffle all the cards and reorganize them in another way. Then explain to yourself why one way is better than the other.
- Reorganize a closet or draw. Now don’t make the mess neat. Take everything out and think about what is the best place to keep this item?
- Look at all your tasks and see what tasks (or parts of tasks!) are similar so that you can do them together.
By doing these exercises, not only were these complex tasks no longer an issue, but how Kayla approached any task was now easier.
Your Challenge
Your challenge this week is to find the root cause as to why you procrastinate often following the 3 steps we spoke about:
- Ask: What part of the task is a challenge or does my brain not like?
- Ask Again: What part of the task is a challenge or does my brain not like? You're gonna go deeper till you can’t go anymore.
- Compare your answer to the 28 thinking skills (which you can get at www.lifepixuniversity.com/cf) There will be a direct connection between a thinking skill & your answer.
Bonus: See if you can come up with an exercise to improve this thinking skill. I’m happy to help you out with it, just DM me @lifepixuniversity
Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
Hi, I'm ST,
Just like you, I want to be more efficient and effective.
Most entrepreneurs want to grow their business but already got a lot of stress.
At LifePix University we help you rewire your brain to become more efficient and effective while experiencing more inner peace.
Learn more here.
Your Essential Guide
to Cognitive Functions
This guide will give you all you need to start improving your cognitive functions. Learn what all 28 thinking skills are, how they apply to you and what you can do today to begin improving them.
Cognitive Functions Assessment
Thinking is not one big thing. Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
Take the FREE assessment to see where each of your cognitive functions are currently at.
We're on for 1M downloads
By the end of 2025
Can you help us reach our goal?
Share this podcast with someone you love!
