Are you in a productivity slump? Doom scrolling? Questioning the purpose of your career? Berating yourself for not working hard enough? Me too. Until a silly little productivity tip crossed my feed last week…
You are the main character.
Someone on TikTok asked commenters for advice–what had helped them get out of a slump? A top commenter gave this productivity tip: I’m the main character in a movie, and the audience is rooting for me to get it together.
Pick any main character you love to watch get their life together. I’m partial to Kirsten Wiig making the carrot cake in Bridesmaids. But Elle Woods is obviously the gold standard. Why do we love the glow up movies so much? I think aside from the feel-good aspects, we get a little contact high from watching someone get their life in order. But we don’t have to be the audience. We can also live our lives this way!
Now go have your montage.
This reframe was just silly enough to help me: if I were the main character, what would I be doing right now? What would the audience be cheering for? What would I be studying for on the treadmill? What would be in my life glow-up montage?
This question quickly reordered my priorities:
-I started the journal revisions I had been putting off
-I started savoring my morning walks and garden time more
-I got off my butt and started producing the content that has been on my to-do list
These weren’t that deep, but I had really been sitting on my couch feeling lazy and bad about it, and now I cannot! let my fake audience down!
I think the movie montage is inspiring because it involves consistency, progress, and a bit of boldness. Amanda Litman, talking with Samantha Bee, posed a question with a similar boost: what would you do if you were 30% braver? They were specifically talking about younger folks running for office, but the question applies in all areas of life, I think.
Thinking 30% braver was a nice reframe, too. I don’t need to be 100% braver. I just need to be a little braver and ask what that version of me would do. This question caused me to:
-reach out about a new idea I want to get started in my community
-decide on a book publisher and just get on with writing (more on that soon, maybe)
It’s not a genius tip, but it’s just the reframe I’ve needed this week. Go Elle Woods it up, people.
PS- looking for a way to organize your writing projects? Or, why you should have a virtual writing party!
Love this!