Eilat Aviram is a Follow-Your-Truth Catalyst. During her twenty-three years as a sought-after clinical psychologist, energy-healing teacher, author and speaker, she’s discovered something surprising: life actually DOES come with an instruction manual! It’s inside us. Below, Eilat offers her insight on how to tackle your to-dos, no matter how intimidating that list may be.
Is your To-Do List like a wizard’s beard?
Mine is. Since I decided to self-publish my book, my To-Do List is long and hairy and no matter how much I cut off, within seconds it grows back to the length it was before.
I have however, discovered a magical method of managing my To-Dos in a way that’s actually fun! I’m going to share it with you here so your dreaded list can also become less dreadful. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but keep reading and see how empowered you feel to try this by the end of the article.
Why is my to-do list so long?
I’ve just launched my first book, ‘If You Loved Yourself, What Would You Do Now?’ first locally in print, then as a paperback on Amazon and this past weekend as an eBook on Kindle.
It went really well – I ran a free promotion over 48-hours and more than 800 people from over 12 countries downloaded a copy. The Kindle launch cost me a total of $35 but HOURS of my time and labor. (The $35 was to have Ebooster post it onto 45+ sites that advertise free book promotions. You can do that yourself but it takes a lot of time so I chose to pay for that.)
Ahead of me still lies the Audiobook Mountain. I want to climb it. Once I’ve managed to peel myself off the floor where I’m currently lying drooling and immobile in the recovery position, I’ll cast my weary gaze towards that. For now, kindness and rest is what this doctor prescribes.
Why I chose to self-publish and self-launch.
I’ve been doing all this in an extremely DIY way (can you tell?). I’ve been actively involved and directing every single aspect of this – from the writing to cover design, layout, marketing, and set up on Amazon.
I don’t mean I’ve done it all alone. I’ve hired and coordinated professionals for the book design, cover design, editing and proofreading because it’s very important to me that the end result is as professional as possible.
This book is a continuation of my professional practice as a clinical psychologist, workshop facilitator and speaker.
It’s like my business card really, and a very important way I can extend my work to bring healing and empowerment to more people. So it’s been very important to me that every aspect accurately reflects the joyful, loving energy I bring into my work. Self-publishing and being very hands-on was the way I could do this best.
But…
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
You know when people say, “If I’d known how much work this was, I might not have done it”? Well, I would have still done this but I’m very grateful I didn’t realize what my To-Do Lists were going to look like (and still do). I might have procrastinated from sheer terror.
On the bright side…
I’ve discovered a way to deal with them that is actually FUN!
I want to share it with you now as an act of mercy to all of you also on this writing and publishing path.
It begins with a magnificent quote from Joseph Campbell. This quote is, in my opinion, the best advice anyone can give or receive. Are you ready? Here it is:
Follow your bliss.
“What? How does this apply to a dreaded To-Do List?!” I can hear your outraged cries – but also curiosity and, dare I say it, hope.
To this I answer, “It does apply. It applies very well. And it’s been a total life-saver for me”. Let me tell you how I discovered it and you’ll start to understand.
How I discovered my magical method.
One day, I found myself staring in complete panicked overwhelm at the things I had to do within a ridiculously short time-frame.
Now, what I teach in my book, in my workshops, as well as to my clients is a method to listen to your own inner Truth in your choices so that you feel more satisfied in everything you do in your life. I teach people how to love themselves in challenging life situations and I do my best to walk my talk.
If in any moment you don’t feel good, it means you are turning away from what is inherently true for you.
The task at those times is to ask yourself, what your Truth is and turn toward it instead. So that day, in that moment, I felt really, really not good and when I realized that, I turned inwards and asked, “If I loved myself, what would I choose to do now?”
My answer to myself was, “I’d find a way to have more fun. Because this is SO not fun right now!”
I stopped and took stock. I had promised myself at the start of this publishing journey that I would do my best to have fun and focus on joy because, obviously it’s nicer that way, and I have also found that doing things with joy is more impactful, efficient and energizing.
I looked at my To-Do List and asked, “Which of these things feels most fun or energizing for me to do right now?” and the answer was some small thing that I was dangling as a carrot for myself to get to do after I’d finished other, more daunting tasks. Dessert only after you eat all your vegetables sort of thing.
“Dare I do that now? If I do it first, what will motivate me to do the other things I don’t feel excited to do? Won’t it all feel like a drudge after this nice thing is gone?” These and other doubt-filled questions went through my mind.
“But if I loved myself I’d have more fun” I reminded myself.
So, I went ahead, took the risk, and did that fun thing I hadn’t yet allowed myself to focus on. I did it, enjoyed it, completed it quickly and felt energized and motivated. Hungry for more!
I turned again to my To-Do List and asked the same question. “Which of these feels most appealing to do now?” and then I did that next one. Also something small and quick to get out of the way.
And then the strangest thing happened.
After checking those two small, quick items off my list, I turned back to my list with the same question, and the next task which genuinely appealed to me most was the one I had been dreading most!
I was actually excited about doing it and felt motivated to get started. It was a massive task, but that day I made good headway. I continued to focus on it for the next few days and got it done faster than I expected – and in a way that felt very satisfying to me.
Who knew?
It was doing the things I enjoyed that gave me the energy to tackle the things that were harder. The sense of achievement of the small things gave me the confidence to deal with the big things.
Since then (when I remember to!) I’ve been using this method for anything I need to do next and IT REALLY WORKS LIKE MAGIC.
I guess you need some magic to trim a wizard’s beard.
So there it is. My gift to you. A magical question to trim your wizard’s beard:
Share this article with any too-busy person you know and love.
I hope you begin to listen to your own inner Truth and follow it all the way to the satisfying life you long for – in your writing and everywhere else.
If you loved yourself, what would you do now?
Eilat is passionate about helping people learn a simple, powerful method to tune into this internal guidance system – which she calls ‘your Truth’ – and follow it to the life we secretly long for.
Her book, ‘If You Loved Yourself, What Would You Do Now?” is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle eBook. You can contact Eilat and find her books and free resources on her website www.ifilovedmyself.com.
Believe, Plan, Act: A Platform + Productivity Planner for Writers
A complete platform + productivity planning system for your author business.
