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).

Your hierarchy of needs is important because if you don't fulfill your lower needs, it becomes harder to fulfill your higher needs. It's hard to build an empire if you haven't eaten or slept.