There are times–for all of us–when work prevents us from getting things done.

It could be personal. It could be professional growth. It could be blogging. Ahem.

The fact of the matter is that we will all be underwater at one time or another.

When I get underwater, I find that my effort is often impacted more by what I’m not doing than what I am doing.

I should be blogging. I should be working on that other project. I should be helping those guys. I should be home.

To quote B.B. King, “Worry, worry, worry.”

And all of this worrying doesn’t do anything but exacerbate the problem.

A decade ago, Mary Schmich published this sage advice, in “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young“:

Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.

So, don’t worry. You’ll get there.

Focus on the task at hand.

Oh, and by the way, file this under “Do as I say, not as I do.”