Overcoming Procrastination
Copyright 2006 Synergy Strategies
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, like answering e-mails returning
phone calls, cleaning, taking care of little to do’s on
post it notes… tasks that suck you in and captivate you
until you have no time left to work on what you’ve deemed
important.
These IMPORTANT things are necessary to do at some point
but are not critical or urgent to do right now. IMPORTANT
tasks usually involve something a bit more tedious and time
consuming, like filing, billing, writing, making follow-up
calls, planning, marketing, etcetera. 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 starting 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 your procrastination strategies
are. 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 our time and energy, so we
never get to what is really important. Although it feels
good to check off 10 little things from the list, the
result is that 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 Tracey has a great book,
Eat That Frog, which illustrates the basic concept of
prioritizing. Tracy describes the most IMPORTANT task as
your “FROG”. He supposes if the worse 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 and 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 are more efficient, because you have a clear mind
without nagging tolerations of things you SHOULD be doing.
How do you “eat your frog”?
A)Â Â Â Â Identify what is IMPORTANT. Important things are
items that need to be done, but will not kill you if they
are not done immediately. Note: this is in contrast to
urgent. Urgent are things that 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 until they’ve become
urgent. The problem with always working in urgent mode is
this quadrant does not maximize 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 it causes you to feel stressed confused,
frustrated and 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. Really, I challenge you to
try it out.
B)Â Â Â Â 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-mails 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:
1) Make a “to do” list nightly
2) Prioritize your “to dos”
3) Item #1 is your frog. Complete it before you do any
other projects.
4) Plan for FIRST THING, uninterrupted time.
5) Know and be aware of your personal, subconscious
procrastination strategies
6) Make it your goal to complete the next 5 top priorities
before moving on to other things on the list.
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Christy Geiger, owner of Synergy Strategies, offers
coaching & training programs designed to build solid
visions, goals and strategies that increase organizational
and employee effectiveness, saving time, energy and money.
Christy will work with you to design a program that will
maximize your strengths and address your needs so that you
and your people operate with passion, purpose and
productivity. To get connected with the resources you need
to drive, thrive, and play to win, visit Christy online at
http://www.synergystrategies.com/ or through email at
Christy@synergystrategies.com!
