This is Skeever Robbins. Welcome to the Get It Done Guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Since you're listening to a podcast on productivity, I'm going to take a wild, fanciful, glorious guess and suggest that you're probably an overachiever, or you're my parents.

Part of being an overachiever is the nagging fear that you're not getting quite enough done

even when you are.

Part of being my parents is the sincere belief that you have done enough even when you haven't.

My therapist and I are working on it.

But for us overachievers, we really believe that if we do just a little bit more, then

everything will be all right.

Of course, we did a little bit more yesterday,

and today, is everything all right? No. All we've done is up to the bar. If you want to know

how to reduce anxiety by getting things done, setting goals like a little bit more isn't the way to do

it. First of all, if you want to know how to deal with stress, look to your goals.

What are they? How long have you had the same goals without reaching them? Is there any reason to

believe that you'll do it this time? If you've had the same goals for a long time, maybe they're

too big. Yes, yes, yes. You're supposed to have a big, hairy, audacious goal. That's a B-Hag. But if you make it too big, too hairy and too audacious,

then it just sits in the corner eating all your protein bars and scratching its balls.

The reason your goals are too big may be because you've stated them as comparatives rather than

absolutes. Someone once asked John D. Rockefeller, how much money is enough? His answer, just a little bit more.

I mean, isn't that pathetic? Seriously, stop and think about it. He's the richest man in the world.

He can do anything he wants, and basically, he's still spending his time pursuing money.

I'll bet he was the most interesting guy at the cocktail party. Yon! Instead of pulling a Rockefeller, set a specific goal.

Enough money is $100 million in the bank after tax. It's still a pretty shallow goal, but it's a specific shallow goal.

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