I am a restless person. What should I do?

All of us are different. Every person has their own unique set of features of the nervous system, attention, memory, perception, and character. Some features really help us. For example, it is awesome if you have a good memory or you are resilient to stress. But there are features that can make our lives difficult if we don’t find a good way to deal with them. Restlessness is one of such features.

There are restless people. For them, a simple task that could be done in one day is dragging on for weeks: they sit down to work, then they have some tea, then go for a walk, then work again … for a couple of minutes, then check their Facebook account… And the day is over. And there are different people – those who can do a week worth of work in one day – because they are very focused and fast.

So, what should you do if you are a restless person?

1. Create a habit of finishing every task, even if it is small and insignificant. For example, wash ALL the dishes, finish your exercise set till the end, read exactly 50 pages if this was your plan, etc. While you are making an effort to act this way with small tasks, you are forming a new habit. Next thing you know – you will be finishing large tasks as well!
   
2. An elephant must be eaten in pieces. This is important for everyone, but especially for restless people. If it is hard for you to keep the focus on a large and distant goal you need to create smaller sub-goals. Then it will be easier to reach them.  Large tasks need to be divided into smaller subtasks. For example, you need to write an article. Great!
   

• Prepare your desk: remove the clutter, turn on your computer, put your notebook next to you.
• Create an introduction.
• Write down the main points.
• Write texts for each of the main points.
• Write a summary

      And voila – the work is done!

3. Switch context. Seriously, take into account that you are not able to perform long monotonous tasks. In your schedule, put something completely different between the time blocks of work. You can exercise, have some tea, or paint by numbers a little picture. And return back to work.
   
4. Create lists! This is a great way to support yourself when your attention and memory are split between different tasks. You can have different lists: things you need to pack for your trip, things you need to do today, presents you need to buy for Christmas, etc. You must check off the items that you completed.
   
5. Habit tracker – this one is also for you! Create new habits for yourself and mark every day whether you do them in a habit tracker. This will make your life more organized. When something is happening on autopilot you no longer need to spend your attention on it.

And most importantly – do not blame yourself for your character traits. They make you unique. You just need to find your own way to deal with them and everything will be fine!