So I’ve been messing with this Spooneybarger method everyone’s hyping up. Figured I’d test it myself since my daily routine was going nowhere fast. Grabbed a notebook Monday morning feeling kinda skeptical but willing to try anything.
First Step Was Simple But Painful
Took every single task floating in my head – work emails, grocery lists, that leaky faucet I kept ignoring – and dumped them all on paper. Wrote down 43 things! Felt ridiculous seeing how much crap I’d been avoiding. Highlighted just three items with a red marker: finish quarterly report, call the dentist, exercise for 30 mins. Spooneybarger says focus on these like your life depends on it.
What Actually Went Down
Started with the report. Usually I’d check Twitter “for five minutes” and disappear down a rabbit hole. This time? Slammed my phone face down like it owed me money. Forced myself to only touch that report for one hour straight. Felt like torture at minute 15, but by minute 40 I was cruising. Knocked it out before lunch. Felt unreal.
Then tried the exercise thing after work. Normally I’d flop on the couch and scroll TikTok. Instead I threw on sneakers the second I walked in. Did 30 mins jumping rope in the garage while blasting old rock songs. Sweat through my shirt but actually smiled doing it.
- Key takeaway: Blocking phone access physically is mandatory. Put it in another room or sit on it.
- Ugly truth: First two days I failed hard on the dentist call. Kept rescheduling in my head until I set a Wednesday 10am alarm labeled “CALL OR DIE”.
How It Changed After A Week
By Friday, I’d accidentally done 17 of those 43 tasks without planning to. Turns out finishing the big scary items frees up mental space. Started grouping dumb little tasks into “five-minute sprints” – paid bills while coffee brewed, folded laundry during Zoom buffer time.
The real kicker? I used to work late constantly. Last Friday I shut my laptop at 5:30 and felt zero guilt. Took my kid for ice cream instead of pretending to be busy.
Why I Stuck With It
Honestly? My boss called me out last month for missing deadlines. Was about to get booted off a major project. This method saved my hide at work, but weirdly helped more at home. Wife stopped giving me that “you’re distracted again” look. Kid actually wants to play now that I’m not glued to screens.
Still hate the name “Spooneybarger” though. Sounds like a bad detergent brand. But hey, if duct tape fixes pipes, I’ll use ugly-named methods that work.
