Busy, busy, busy. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and it’s easy to make excuses for why we aren’t getting anything done. Our jobs demand a lot is us, there’s traffic to fight, and the distractions of TV and Facebook are just a click away.

But you have to act in order to move forward. You have to break out the mental bondage of feeling overwhelmed and helpless. To help jumpstart your productivity, use the five-step checklist below:

1. Prioritize Your Needs
There’s a reason why people talk about Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. If you haven’t heard of it, the idea is that all of us have basic needs that have to be met, ranging from food and shelter (survival) to the ultimate goal of self-actualization (such as following The Daily Bell’s Two Year Plan to Freedom).