Overcoming Procrastination!
Stop for a minute and think: What is the #1 project that you
need to get done, but have been putting off? Every day you try
to get to it, but other things just seem to catch your attention
first: E-mails to answer, phone calls to return, cleaning, going
through notes, take care of little to do's on Post-it notes ...
What sucks you in and captivates you until you have no time
left?
This is a common phenomenon for most people. These IMPORTANT
things are necessary to do as some point but are not critical or
urgent to do right now. IMPORTANT things usually involve
something a bit more tedious and time consuming in nature. They
are things like filing, billing, writing, follow-up calls,
planning, and marketing. Since there is no immediate pressure to
get them done, they remain in our mind and on our to-do lists as
things we should do sometime. They absorb our energy as we
begrudge the thought of needing to start the project and they
actually eat our time as we subconsciously procrastinate, doing
other little things that feel more rewarding first.
What to do? 1) Realize what strategies you use to procrastinate.
What do you do when you have an IMPORTANT project to accomplish?
What distracts you from working on it? What things usually get
on the to-do list before it? Subconscious procrastination
strategies are little and insignificant tasks that take up
enough time and energy so that we never get to what is really
important. It feels good to check off 10 little things from the
list; however, now there is not enough time for that big
IMPORTANT project, so it waits another day. This waiting creates
stress and the act of procrastination makes us ineffective with
our time. Below are links to 50+ ways people distract themselves
from what is IMPORTANT. What are your pet procrastination
strategies? When you become aware of your favorite methods you
are more likely to recognize them when you start doing them and
STOP so you can really focus on and accomplish the IMPORTANT
project.
http://www.businessknowhow.com/homeoffice/procrastinate.htm
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1503/procrast.html 2) "Eat
your frog" first. Brian Tracy has a great book, Eat That Frog!1
This book illustrates the basic concept of prioritizing. Tracy
describes the most important task as your "FROG." He proposes
that if the worst thing you have to do all day is eat a frog,
the rest of the day will be much better. Likewise, if you do the
thing you dislike most and usually avoid first, the rest of your
day will be great. You will find that you have more energy
because you feel charged that you already got "IT" off your
plate. You will have more time, because you are encouraged by
your success and are motivated to do more important things that
really matter. You will be more efficient, because you have a
clear mind without nagging tolerations of things you should be
doing.
How do you "eat your frog"? 1) Identify what is IMPORTANT.
Important things are items that need to be done, but will not
kill you if they are not done immediately. Please note that
important is not the same thing as URGENT. Urgent tasks must be
done IMMEDIATELY. Often people get in a cycle of making
everything urgent. If everything is urgent in your life, one of
two things has happened: you are mislabeling, or (more commonly)
you have let the IMPORTANT projects go too long and they are now
urgent. The problem with always working in URGENT is this
quadrant does not maximize our productivity or give long-term
solutions, just short-term fixes. It might feel good and seem
productive as you run around putting out fires, but internally
this builds stress, confusion and frustration, and will cause
you to feel overwhelmed. In contrast, when you stay on top of
the IMPORTANT projects, you will amazingly have more energy,
more time and be more efficient in dealing with everything else
that comes up. I challenge you to try it out.
2)Do it FIRST. Before you go to bed, pick your frog for the next
day. Then when you get up, before you do anything else on your
to-do list (including urgent things-unless it is a real
emergency), eat your frog. Block time in your schedule for
uninterrupted, focused time. No phone calls, e-mail or talking
until your frog is eaten. Know how much time your frog will take
to eat, so you can consume it before interruptions are
unavoidable. By creating an hour of "no interruption" time, you
will be most focused, productive, and effective in eating your
frog.
Actions: * Make a "to do" list nightly * Prioritize the your "to
dos" * Item #1 is your frog. Compete it before you do any other
projects. * Plan for FIRST THING, uninterrupted time. * Know and
be aware of your personal subconscious procrastination
strategies * Make it your goal to complete the next five top
priorities before moving on to other things on the list.
1 Tracy, Brian. Eat that Frog! 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating
and Get More Done in Less Time. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler,
2001.