.
Many people believe that if they could only initiate tasks they’ve been delaying at the “right time,” the tasks would be easier to begin and complete. For most tasks, there is no objective “perfect” time. I know of people who always wait until the top of the hour to start something, others who wait for a certain day of the week, and yet others who wait for a certain type of whether pattern! This is a self-deluding mind game. As much as you’d like to believe it does, the cycle of the moon does not determine when you should start your work. Give it up.
While there are work-related tasks for which starting at one time is preferred over starting at another, many of the tasks you face in the workplace could be tackled at this time or that with little repercussion. If you fill out your report log at 8:42 rather than 9 A.M. when it’s not due until the afternoon, does it make any difference to anybody?
Do you believe that the IRS cares whether you initiated your taxes and ultimately filed them on February 27 at 10:36 in the morning or at 11:08? If you remove the clothes from the dryer before the news or after the news, are there any notable ramifications worth citing so long as no one is waiting for clean, dry underwear?
If you find yourself waiting for the perfect chance to begin a task, you’re wasting precious time. You are a work in progress, and you can change. Let go of perfectionism. The project you’ve been delaying may not turn out perfectly. Follow through on your plan anyway.
For most of the tasks you face right now that you have delayed starting, the hard-core reality is that there is no perfect time to begin. In many cases, the “perfect” start is simply another in a long line of tricks that your mind plays to make it seem as if there are legitimate reasons for not getting started.
Once you acknowledge that most tasks have no perfect start time, you may recognize that the best time to begin could well be right now! If you find yourself caught in the bind of waiting for a perfect time, such as when the whether changes or when you feel more like doing it, consider that for virtually all indoor tasks, the whether is arbitrary. As for waiting for when you feel like it – “feeling like it” is a state of mind that is under more of your control than you might suppose. When will you ever actually feel like cleaning out the hamster cage? The longer you wait, the dirtier it gets, whether you feel like it or not.
When people receive a check or a complimentary letter in the mail, they often regard that as a good day. Suppose the check or the letter came the day before or doesn’t come until the next day? Determining that one day is better than another because of some external event is part of human nature. Yet, whatever you did to earn the sum or merit the letter was put in motion before the day you received it.
So too, it is erroneous to believe that there is a perfect time to start on tasks. The mental energy you need to put toward a task may already be working for you, long before the time you think is perfect for beginning. Often, the first moment you can start a task is as good a time as any.
When you talk to people who finally finish a project that they have been putting off, all the mental claptrap about the “perfect time” to start falls away. The act of getting started often makes tat moment a perfect time. So, like a “good day,” the concept of a “perfect time” is illusory. When you are able to engender positive feelings – when you get that warm tingling feeling all over – it is a good day. When you are able to begin an important tasks you have been putting off, it is a perfect time.
Regards,
Timben
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Disconnect Yourself
.
Sometimes it makes sense to simply hole up somewhere so you can give your full attention to your task. When you have resolved that any disturbances in completing your task will not be tolerated, condition your environment for no distractions. Instead of going in to work, maybe you can work at home one day. You could barricade yourself in a room and post warning signs, take the far cubbyhole on the top floor, or find any remote location where you avoid distracting influences. Oh, wait, considering where you live, maybe you need to go to a hotel and book a room.
You want to move yourself totally away from others so that you have the opportunity to give your full attention to that which you want to accomplish. Often, you can accomplish in hours what otherwise might require a week because you’re that good when you’re not distracted!
Question: It sounds like a luxury to be able to allocate a block of time just like that. How many people can actually do this?
Answer: Nearly everyone has some discretion over how he or she will complete a task. If you have to leave your workplace for what you need to complete the job at hand, most bosses understand. After all, they’re not paying you to procrastinate.
In advance, identify those places where you will be able to work steadily:
* A conference room
* A coworker’s office
* A park bench
* The attic or basement
* A library
* A cabin at the lake
* The back porch
* A hotel room
* The car, while parked
* A picnic table
* An airport check-in line
* The children’s tree house
You’ll know when you’ve found the right spot. You’ll feel good, productive, and unhurried.
Once you’ve found your location, you still may face the challenge of maintaining concentration. Someone once told me, “I’ll get into a project, and I’ll remember that I need to be doing something else.” That’s procrastination phenomenon in full bloom: when you’re tackling something that is difficult for you to tackle, undoubtedly you’ll think of other things you have to do.
You task is to stay with what you choose to do at that time and let all the rest to go. That almost sounds a little callous – to let all the rest go for the moment. Once you’ve gotten onto that big project that you’ve been putting off time after time – let’s face it, you’ve let a lot of things go from time to time – you’ll realize that being isolated helps!
Come on now, what better use of your time is there than to complete what it is you’ve chosen to complete?
Regards,
Timben
Sometimes it makes sense to simply hole up somewhere so you can give your full attention to your task. When you have resolved that any disturbances in completing your task will not be tolerated, condition your environment for no distractions. Instead of going in to work, maybe you can work at home one day. You could barricade yourself in a room and post warning signs, take the far cubbyhole on the top floor, or find any remote location where you avoid distracting influences. Oh, wait, considering where you live, maybe you need to go to a hotel and book a room.
You want to move yourself totally away from others so that you have the opportunity to give your full attention to that which you want to accomplish. Often, you can accomplish in hours what otherwise might require a week because you’re that good when you’re not distracted!
Question: It sounds like a luxury to be able to allocate a block of time just like that. How many people can actually do this?
Answer: Nearly everyone has some discretion over how he or she will complete a task. If you have to leave your workplace for what you need to complete the job at hand, most bosses understand. After all, they’re not paying you to procrastinate.
In advance, identify those places where you will be able to work steadily:
* A conference room
* A coworker’s office
* A park bench
* The attic or basement
* A library
* A cabin at the lake
* The back porch
* A hotel room
* The car, while parked
* A picnic table
* An airport check-in line
* The children’s tree house
You’ll know when you’ve found the right spot. You’ll feel good, productive, and unhurried.
Once you’ve found your location, you still may face the challenge of maintaining concentration. Someone once told me, “I’ll get into a project, and I’ll remember that I need to be doing something else.” That’s procrastination phenomenon in full bloom: when you’re tackling something that is difficult for you to tackle, undoubtedly you’ll think of other things you have to do.
You task is to stay with what you choose to do at that time and let all the rest to go. That almost sounds a little callous – to let all the rest go for the moment. Once you’ve gotten onto that big project that you’ve been putting off time after time – let’s face it, you’ve let a lot of things go from time to time – you’ll realize that being isolated helps!
Come on now, what better use of your time is there than to complete what it is you’ve chosen to complete?
Regards,
Timben
Decimate Distractions
.
Suppose you’re working with your computer and the monitor starts fading. It flickers back on, then conks out for good. Bingo, your tension level rockets upward because this event is frustrating. You had a decent notion of what you wanted to finish that morning. Waiting around for your office’s tech support staff wasn’t included on your list. Office distractions and interruptions, in a word, suck!
When you find yourself in an environment (or for that matter, a whole society) that subjects you to all manner of distractions and interruptions, even the smallest of tasks can loom larger. Sometimes the reason that you procrastinate on a project is that you anticipate interruption. To eliminate this possibility, eliminate distraction. It’s like Terminix without the bugs.
To concentrate, you may have to escape from everyday events. For example, hold your calls, don’t accept visitors, and forgo constantly checking e-mail. These distractions could be a reason for your procrastination, so eliminate them and give yourself some uninterrupted time. Yes, that means no Facebook or MySpace. If you’re constantly tempted to surf the Web, check your e-mail, or play Spider Solitaire when you should be working, you might benefit from a program like Temptation Blocker, at http://sourceforge.net/projects/temptblocker , which enables you to “lock yourself out of specific applications” for the amount of time that you specify.
If you think the task will take an hour, make sure that you don’t have distractions for at least ninety minutes. If you finish sometime between thirty and ninety minutes later, you can always re-enter “the world” as you choose. Occasionally, it makes sense to simply go to a private place, such as a soundproof room or bank vault, so that you can give your full attention to a particular task.
Combating Distractions and Interruptions
Not surprisingly – to me, anyway – the single most challenging workplace stressor is interruption. From a list of more than fifteen stressors at work cited by managers, including work load, organizational politics, disciplining someone, dealing with upper management, balancing work and personal life, working within budgets, conducting performance reviews, and interruptions, you guessed it… interruptions was number one!
Years back, a study conducted by Industrial Engineer magazine found that the typical interruption sustained by managers lasted between six and nine minutes… bad but not crushing. Now hear this: The average time managers needed to “recover” from interruptions last an additional three to twenty-three minutes! Even if your math SATs weren’t that great, you can quickly surmise that even a mere handful of distractions and interruptions per hour can flatten your productivity like a pancake. It is any wonder that most career professional consider interruptions to be the most stressful aspect of their jobs? Now throw 120 people into one large room separated by flimsy cubicles and I think you see where office productivity is headed.
Never mind the old adage, “It’s so noisy, I can’t hear myself think.” Today, in some environments it’s so noisy, you can’t hear yourself speak!
A consultant consulted for a manager who supervised six employees. He sought to accomplish more on the job, but with each of his staffers coming to him with questions every couple of hours, he was at his wit’s end. If each employee asked a question every two hours, in total the manager was asked an average of four questions each day, per person.
With six employees, that meant he fielded twenty-four questions a day, or 120 interruptions per week. This resulted in disruptions of the manager’s work three times each hour in a forty-hour week! Now add in how long it took to “recover” from each interruption and, potentially, his whole day was consumed by distraction!
Not fun.
Consultant suggested a system to help him cope with the interruptions and to gain control of his time. Consultant called it the J-4 System. (The “J” was for “Jeff”. You can use your own initial.) Consultant requested that the manager allocate the questions he received into four categories:
1. The answer to the first type of distraction, a J-1 type distraction, was already in print and did not need a personal reply from the supervisor (it was in the company policy manual or someplace similar). The manager could tell his staff people, “Please don’t concern me with these kinds of distractions (J-1); go ahead and review materials you already have to find the answer.”
2. A J-2 type distraction represented a question that peer of bookkeeper could answer; the manager did not need to handle the question and could either quickly refer the employee to another person or ask that certain questions be taken directly to someone else.
3. J-3 type distractions required only a straightforward yes or no answer. These questions required interaction with the supervisor, but not much – a quick phone call, buzz on the intercom, or beep on a pager.
4. Last came the J-4 type distraction. It represented a question that required the manager’s input – one that he needed or wanted to, answer. “Yes, send it my way.” “I’ll handle it.” “You bet I’m concerned.”
In the course of a week, how many questions might be of the J-4 level of importance? Assume that each person asked two J-4 questions per day for a total of sixty interruptions each week.
Regards,
Timben
Suppose you’re working with your computer and the monitor starts fading. It flickers back on, then conks out for good. Bingo, your tension level rockets upward because this event is frustrating. You had a decent notion of what you wanted to finish that morning. Waiting around for your office’s tech support staff wasn’t included on your list. Office distractions and interruptions, in a word, suck!
When you find yourself in an environment (or for that matter, a whole society) that subjects you to all manner of distractions and interruptions, even the smallest of tasks can loom larger. Sometimes the reason that you procrastinate on a project is that you anticipate interruption. To eliminate this possibility, eliminate distraction. It’s like Terminix without the bugs.
To concentrate, you may have to escape from everyday events. For example, hold your calls, don’t accept visitors, and forgo constantly checking e-mail. These distractions could be a reason for your procrastination, so eliminate them and give yourself some uninterrupted time. Yes, that means no Facebook or MySpace. If you’re constantly tempted to surf the Web, check your e-mail, or play Spider Solitaire when you should be working, you might benefit from a program like Temptation Blocker, at http://sourceforge.net/projects/temptblocker , which enables you to “lock yourself out of specific applications” for the amount of time that you specify.
If you think the task will take an hour, make sure that you don’t have distractions for at least ninety minutes. If you finish sometime between thirty and ninety minutes later, you can always re-enter “the world” as you choose. Occasionally, it makes sense to simply go to a private place, such as a soundproof room or bank vault, so that you can give your full attention to a particular task.
Combating Distractions and Interruptions
Not surprisingly – to me, anyway – the single most challenging workplace stressor is interruption. From a list of more than fifteen stressors at work cited by managers, including work load, organizational politics, disciplining someone, dealing with upper management, balancing work and personal life, working within budgets, conducting performance reviews, and interruptions, you guessed it… interruptions was number one!
Years back, a study conducted by Industrial Engineer magazine found that the typical interruption sustained by managers lasted between six and nine minutes… bad but not crushing. Now hear this: The average time managers needed to “recover” from interruptions last an additional three to twenty-three minutes! Even if your math SATs weren’t that great, you can quickly surmise that even a mere handful of distractions and interruptions per hour can flatten your productivity like a pancake. It is any wonder that most career professional consider interruptions to be the most stressful aspect of their jobs? Now throw 120 people into one large room separated by flimsy cubicles and I think you see where office productivity is headed.
Never mind the old adage, “It’s so noisy, I can’t hear myself think.” Today, in some environments it’s so noisy, you can’t hear yourself speak!
A consultant consulted for a manager who supervised six employees. He sought to accomplish more on the job, but with each of his staffers coming to him with questions every couple of hours, he was at his wit’s end. If each employee asked a question every two hours, in total the manager was asked an average of four questions each day, per person.
With six employees, that meant he fielded twenty-four questions a day, or 120 interruptions per week. This resulted in disruptions of the manager’s work three times each hour in a forty-hour week! Now add in how long it took to “recover” from each interruption and, potentially, his whole day was consumed by distraction!
Not fun.
Consultant suggested a system to help him cope with the interruptions and to gain control of his time. Consultant called it the J-4 System. (The “J” was for “Jeff”. You can use your own initial.) Consultant requested that the manager allocate the questions he received into four categories:
1. The answer to the first type of distraction, a J-1 type distraction, was already in print and did not need a personal reply from the supervisor (it was in the company policy manual or someplace similar). The manager could tell his staff people, “Please don’t concern me with these kinds of distractions (J-1); go ahead and review materials you already have to find the answer.”
2. A J-2 type distraction represented a question that peer of bookkeeper could answer; the manager did not need to handle the question and could either quickly refer the employee to another person or ask that certain questions be taken directly to someone else.
3. J-3 type distractions required only a straightforward yes or no answer. These questions required interaction with the supervisor, but not much – a quick phone call, buzz on the intercom, or beep on a pager.
4. Last came the J-4 type distraction. It represented a question that required the manager’s input – one that he needed or wanted to, answer. “Yes, send it my way.” “I’ll handle it.” “You bet I’m concerned.”
In the course of a week, how many questions might be of the J-4 level of importance? Assume that each person asked two J-4 questions per day for a total of sixty interruptions each week.
Regards,
Timben
Live “in the Zone”
.
Being “in the zone” is wonderful. You know about the zone – not the diet, but the place and space where you do your best work. Where you’re in your groove. Where your work is exemplary. Where computer solitaire or FreeCell has little chance to derail you.
Regardless of what you call it, would it be useful for you to know how to get into the zone on a more consistent basis? You bet it would! Here’s a simple exercise you can undertake to help create that environment in which you can work at your best.
Recall a time when you were highly productive:
• Where were you?
• What time of day was it?
• Was anyone else around?
• What was the lighting?
• What was the temperature?
• What resources were available?
Think about what you did at that time:
• What were you wearing?
• What did you consume the night before?
• How long did you sleep the night before?
• With whom did you sleep the night before?
• How did you feel?
• What was your level of fitness?
• What did you eat that morning?
Consider the time of day and week
• What time of day was it?
• What day of the week was it?
• What had transpired earlier?
• What was forthcoming?
Think about the tools available:
• Were you using a computer or PDA?
• Were you using other equipment?
• Did you have a pen or pencil?
• Did you have a blank pad?
• Were you online?
• Were other resources available?
• Were periodicals, books or directories present?
Assess other factors that were present:
• Did you have a view? (a room with a view!)
• Were you in a comfortable chair?
• Were you at a desk or at a table?
• Were you in a moving vehicle, such as a plane or a train?
• Was there quiet, or soothing, background noise?
• What were the colors of the walls surrounding you?
• Were you in a room with rugs?
• Could you hear others?
• Was water nearby?
• Were you near the coffee machine?
• Was the coffee decent?
Circle each item in the previous list that was present or was a factor when you
were in the zone. Undoubtedly, insights will emerge. Next, recall another similar experience and read through each of the questions again. Which items now been circled twice?
If you can recall a third or fourth time in which you were highly productive, and run through the questions again, a strong pattern may emerge. You’ll know which factors were present at those times you seemed to be highly productive. When they’re stuck getting started on some task, self-starters emulate their zone scenarios to increase the probability of achieving great results.
Regards,
Timben
Being “in the zone” is wonderful. You know about the zone – not the diet, but the place and space where you do your best work. Where you’re in your groove. Where your work is exemplary. Where computer solitaire or FreeCell has little chance to derail you.
Regardless of what you call it, would it be useful for you to know how to get into the zone on a more consistent basis? You bet it would! Here’s a simple exercise you can undertake to help create that environment in which you can work at your best.
Recall a time when you were highly productive:
• Where were you?
• What time of day was it?
• Was anyone else around?
• What was the lighting?
• What was the temperature?
• What resources were available?
Think about what you did at that time:
• What were you wearing?
• What did you consume the night before?
• How long did you sleep the night before?
• With whom did you sleep the night before?
• How did you feel?
• What was your level of fitness?
• What did you eat that morning?
Consider the time of day and week
• What time of day was it?
• What day of the week was it?
• What had transpired earlier?
• What was forthcoming?
Think about the tools available:
• Were you using a computer or PDA?
• Were you using other equipment?
• Did you have a pen or pencil?
• Did you have a blank pad?
• Were you online?
• Were other resources available?
• Were periodicals, books or directories present?
Assess other factors that were present:
• Did you have a view? (a room with a view!)
• Were you in a comfortable chair?
• Were you at a desk or at a table?
• Were you in a moving vehicle, such as a plane or a train?
• Was there quiet, or soothing, background noise?
• What were the colors of the walls surrounding you?
• Were you in a room with rugs?
• Could you hear others?
• Was water nearby?
• Were you near the coffee machine?
• Was the coffee decent?
Circle each item in the previous list that was present or was a factor when you
were in the zone. Undoubtedly, insights will emerge. Next, recall another similar experience and read through each of the questions again. Which items now been circled twice?
If you can recall a third or fourth time in which you were highly productive, and run through the questions again, a strong pattern may emerge. You’ll know which factors were present at those times you seemed to be highly productive. When they’re stuck getting started on some task, self-starters emulate their zone scenarios to increase the probability of achieving great results.
Regards,
Timben
Get Your Ducks in a Row
.
It is reasonable to schedule time to take care of life’s administrative tasks, such as handling correspondence, paying bills, straightening up, and keeping things in order. These activities can be as important as anything else in helping you attain your optimal performance level. They can prepare you to best tackle critical tasks and projects. Heck, the grounds crews take time to mow the grass and line the fields before every baseball game, so there has to be some sense in tidying up!
Some people find it advantageous to set aside a whole day solely for taking care of “administrivia.” Thereafter, they have uninterrupted days of highly productive activity. For a specific task, when you know that there are going to be bottlenecks, you have a tendency not to get started. If you marshal your resources and take care of contingencies, you have a far greater chance of starting and staying with the project from the outset. Often it makes sense to handle minor tasks before tackling something larger.
If you know you’re going to need support somewhere down the line, ensure at the outset that it will be forthcoming. This will help you to get started on projects that you otherwise may find yourself lingering over.
You intend to come into the office Saturday (yeah, right) to reorganize your now messy filing system. So, during the week, as you pass by retail stores, or the company supply closet, you accumulate file folders, hanging folders, identification tags, and a waste bin for documents you no longer need. This way, when Saturday arrives, you have no excuse!
By assembling these items in advance – lining up your ducks – you all but ensure that you’ll proceed at a productive pace on Saturday when you tackle the job you have been planning. If you buy too many garbage bags, bring too many folders, don’t worry. You will use them eventually. Garbage happens. And you’ll likely need even more in the near future. You are not likely to use all the glass cleaner either, but it will certainly come in handy for other windows at other times. As far as the bug spray, hopefully you won’t need that again.
To not line up your ducks before starting a big project would ensure inefficiency, excessive downtime, and (need I say it?) further procrastination!
Lining up your ducks doesn’t always equate to buying things. It may be as simple as assembling items that you already have at your disposal, such as that all – important duct tape. For work-related projects, lining up your ducks might entail identifying key resources in advance, such as phone numbers of contact people, URLs of vital Web sites, or a list of usernames and passwords.
Lining up your ducks complements plotting a course. Simply jotting down the items or resources that you might need in advance of tackling the project represents prudent time management, is comforting, and, in retrospect, almost always proves to be rewarding. Then, go have a life, at least for the rest of the day. It’s rumored that time off can be quite enjoyable.
If you’re in need of an effective scheduling system, these days there are software programs across the Web designed to help the organizationally challenged. The time management software for Windows, Achieve Planner, allows you to arrange tasks hierarchically and color-code your priorities. The distributors at www.effexis.com.achieve/planner.htm assert that this program will help increase your productivity. You can also identify others easily. The point is, find something that works for you and stick with it.
Regards,
Timben
It is reasonable to schedule time to take care of life’s administrative tasks, such as handling correspondence, paying bills, straightening up, and keeping things in order. These activities can be as important as anything else in helping you attain your optimal performance level. They can prepare you to best tackle critical tasks and projects. Heck, the grounds crews take time to mow the grass and line the fields before every baseball game, so there has to be some sense in tidying up!
Some people find it advantageous to set aside a whole day solely for taking care of “administrivia.” Thereafter, they have uninterrupted days of highly productive activity. For a specific task, when you know that there are going to be bottlenecks, you have a tendency not to get started. If you marshal your resources and take care of contingencies, you have a far greater chance of starting and staying with the project from the outset. Often it makes sense to handle minor tasks before tackling something larger.
If you know you’re going to need support somewhere down the line, ensure at the outset that it will be forthcoming. This will help you to get started on projects that you otherwise may find yourself lingering over.
You intend to come into the office Saturday (yeah, right) to reorganize your now messy filing system. So, during the week, as you pass by retail stores, or the company supply closet, you accumulate file folders, hanging folders, identification tags, and a waste bin for documents you no longer need. This way, when Saturday arrives, you have no excuse!
By assembling these items in advance – lining up your ducks – you all but ensure that you’ll proceed at a productive pace on Saturday when you tackle the job you have been planning. If you buy too many garbage bags, bring too many folders, don’t worry. You will use them eventually. Garbage happens. And you’ll likely need even more in the near future. You are not likely to use all the glass cleaner either, but it will certainly come in handy for other windows at other times. As far as the bug spray, hopefully you won’t need that again.
To not line up your ducks before starting a big project would ensure inefficiency, excessive downtime, and (need I say it?) further procrastination!
Lining up your ducks doesn’t always equate to buying things. It may be as simple as assembling items that you already have at your disposal, such as that all – important duct tape. For work-related projects, lining up your ducks might entail identifying key resources in advance, such as phone numbers of contact people, URLs of vital Web sites, or a list of usernames and passwords.
Lining up your ducks complements plotting a course. Simply jotting down the items or resources that you might need in advance of tackling the project represents prudent time management, is comforting, and, in retrospect, almost always proves to be rewarding. Then, go have a life, at least for the rest of the day. It’s rumored that time off can be quite enjoyable.
If you’re in need of an effective scheduling system, these days there are software programs across the Web designed to help the organizationally challenged. The time management software for Windows, Achieve Planner, allows you to arrange tasks hierarchically and color-code your priorities. The distributors at www.effexis.com.achieve/planner.htm assert that this program will help increase your productivity. You can also identify others easily. The point is, find something that works for you and stick with it.
Regards,
Timben
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Set Up Your Desk for Decision
.
Given that you’ve gotten you desk under control, now go a step further. Set up your office to enable you to focus on the task at hand, and ignore other less important matters. This might involve neatly arranging papers, file folders, reports and other items, while working at a clear desk, with only the issue hand in front of you.
Remember that simply having too much in your visual field can be an impediment to beginning a task.
When you have only a single project or task at hand, your odds of maintaining clarity and focus increase dramatically. This is even truer if you’re not in your own office or cubicle but at a conference table or at some other location at which you only have the project materials at hand.
Did you see the movie Top Gun, in which Tom Cruise plays a Navy fighter pilot? (“Your ego is writing checks that your body can’t cash.”) Among his many responsibilities in flying some of the nation’s most expensive aircraft is landing those jets safely on aircraft carrier decks.
Months after seeing the movie, I read an article in Smithsonian magazine about how aircraft carrier decks are to be completely clean and clear before a plane lands. “All hands on deck” on an aircraft carrier means that everyone, even senior officers, needs to pick up a push broom and sweep the deck clear. The goal is to leave nothing on the surface of the deck, not even a paper clip, in order to ensure a successful landing. If there is debris on the deck as a plane approaches, or an earlier plane has not left the landing strip, the approaching plane is likely to crash.
Your desk is like the deck of an aircraft carrier. If you take the next pile of stuff you receive and park it in the corner of your desk with the notion that an organizing fairy will leave a nice, neat file under your pillow in the morning, good luck! Nobody’s coming to help you manage your desk. Each new item you pile on will figuratively crash in the smoldering ruins if the accumulations in progress.
Get into the habit of managing your desktop as if it’s important in enhancing your productivity – because it is. Don’t let glut put you in a rut. Cut through the clutter like hot knife through butter. If you only have whatever you’re working on in front of you, and the rest of your desk is clear, you’re bound to have more energy, focus, and direction. You’re in a far better position to take action. The top executives of major corporations know this; that’s why their desks remain clear and uncluttered.
Regards,
Timben
Given that you’ve gotten you desk under control, now go a step further. Set up your office to enable you to focus on the task at hand, and ignore other less important matters. This might involve neatly arranging papers, file folders, reports and other items, while working at a clear desk, with only the issue hand in front of you.
Remember that simply having too much in your visual field can be an impediment to beginning a task.
When you have only a single project or task at hand, your odds of maintaining clarity and focus increase dramatically. This is even truer if you’re not in your own office or cubicle but at a conference table or at some other location at which you only have the project materials at hand.
Did you see the movie Top Gun, in which Tom Cruise plays a Navy fighter pilot? (“Your ego is writing checks that your body can’t cash.”) Among his many responsibilities in flying some of the nation’s most expensive aircraft is landing those jets safely on aircraft carrier decks.
Months after seeing the movie, I read an article in Smithsonian magazine about how aircraft carrier decks are to be completely clean and clear before a plane lands. “All hands on deck” on an aircraft carrier means that everyone, even senior officers, needs to pick up a push broom and sweep the deck clear. The goal is to leave nothing on the surface of the deck, not even a paper clip, in order to ensure a successful landing. If there is debris on the deck as a plane approaches, or an earlier plane has not left the landing strip, the approaching plane is likely to crash.
Your desk is like the deck of an aircraft carrier. If you take the next pile of stuff you receive and park it in the corner of your desk with the notion that an organizing fairy will leave a nice, neat file under your pillow in the morning, good luck! Nobody’s coming to help you manage your desk. Each new item you pile on will figuratively crash in the smoldering ruins if the accumulations in progress.
Get into the habit of managing your desktop as if it’s important in enhancing your productivity – because it is. Don’t let glut put you in a rut. Cut through the clutter like hot knife through butter. If you only have whatever you’re working on in front of you, and the rest of your desk is clear, you’re bound to have more energy, focus, and direction. You’re in a far better position to take action. The top executives of major corporations know this; that’s why their desks remain clear and uncluttered.
Regards,
Timben
Monday, September 21, 2009
Manage Your Desk for Performance
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The quality and ambience of your work space is at its best when it demonstrates the quality and ambience of your life, or how you would like your life to be: rearrange your desk, change your life. Find your personal “zone.” The zone is the place and space where you do your best work, where you are in the groove and where your work is exemplary. Procrastination has little chance here, even with you.
Joe Sugarman, in his book Success Forces, explains that by clearing your desk every evening, you automatically have to choose what to work on the next day. Though such reasoning is contrary to the advice of time management “experts,” I wholeheartedly endorse it. It is a discipline that yields a marvelous ability to get started in the morning while others find themselves only slowly getting out of the gate.
To create my own “mini-desk workout,” I keep some items on the far end of my desk so that I have to reach to use them. I fight procrastination, and I stretch my muscles!
What about inside your desk? Include frequently needed supplies, but remember: a desk is not a supply cabinet. Maintain a drawer of personal items – your desk is there to support you. Tissues or cough drops are okay. Sorry, your Game Boy is not. Include any needed forms of heavily used items, but leave a 20 percent vacancy. Constantly review what you’re holding and decide to retain or toss it. Near, but not on your desk, go the familiar items such as pictures, plants, and motivators. Also, install any supporting accoutrements, from full-spectrum lighting to ocean wave music, if they support your productivity, efficiency, and creativity (and if your coworkers don’t mind).
To ensure that your desk and work environment support your productivity, invest in yourself. If you need them and can obtain approval from the powers that be, room dividers and sound barriers are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and can improve upon any existing sound barriers. The gentle, rhythmic “white noise” of a small fan’s motor serves as a sound buffer to many of the sounds that may distract you.
Every evening after you’ve cleared your desk, congratulate yourself for what you accomplished that day. Don’t do a number on yourself and beat yourself up for what you didn’t do. Nothing would be accomplished, and you’d be in pain. It’s likely that you’re doing the best you can. If you can do better, you will – maybe not immediately, but soon enough, certainly by the next millennium.
So as previously recommended, do your filing and come up smiling. Use the end of the day, slow periods, or periods of low personal energy to revamp your files, keep your desk orderly, and better prepare yourself for high-octane output when you’re ready to get started again.
After you’ve cleared your desk, apply the same principle to your computer’s desktop, your inbox, the top of your file cabinet, closet shelves, and other areas of your life – your dining-room table, your car’s glove compartment, the trunk of your car, and your health club locker (if not for better organization than at least for your personal hygiene). The fewer things you have in these places, the greater sense of control you have over your environment. Once these flat surfaces are under control, self-starters gain a heightened sense of control over their time.
Regards,
Timben
The quality and ambience of your work space is at its best when it demonstrates the quality and ambience of your life, or how you would like your life to be: rearrange your desk, change your life. Find your personal “zone.” The zone is the place and space where you do your best work, where you are in the groove and where your work is exemplary. Procrastination has little chance here, even with you.
Joe Sugarman, in his book Success Forces, explains that by clearing your desk every evening, you automatically have to choose what to work on the next day. Though such reasoning is contrary to the advice of time management “experts,” I wholeheartedly endorse it. It is a discipline that yields a marvelous ability to get started in the morning while others find themselves only slowly getting out of the gate.
To create my own “mini-desk workout,” I keep some items on the far end of my desk so that I have to reach to use them. I fight procrastination, and I stretch my muscles!
What about inside your desk? Include frequently needed supplies, but remember: a desk is not a supply cabinet. Maintain a drawer of personal items – your desk is there to support you. Tissues or cough drops are okay. Sorry, your Game Boy is not. Include any needed forms of heavily used items, but leave a 20 percent vacancy. Constantly review what you’re holding and decide to retain or toss it. Near, but not on your desk, go the familiar items such as pictures, plants, and motivators. Also, install any supporting accoutrements, from full-spectrum lighting to ocean wave music, if they support your productivity, efficiency, and creativity (and if your coworkers don’t mind).
To ensure that your desk and work environment support your productivity, invest in yourself. If you need them and can obtain approval from the powers that be, room dividers and sound barriers are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and can improve upon any existing sound barriers. The gentle, rhythmic “white noise” of a small fan’s motor serves as a sound buffer to many of the sounds that may distract you.
Every evening after you’ve cleared your desk, congratulate yourself for what you accomplished that day. Don’t do a number on yourself and beat yourself up for what you didn’t do. Nothing would be accomplished, and you’d be in pain. It’s likely that you’re doing the best you can. If you can do better, you will – maybe not immediately, but soon enough, certainly by the next millennium.
So as previously recommended, do your filing and come up smiling. Use the end of the day, slow periods, or periods of low personal energy to revamp your files, keep your desk orderly, and better prepare yourself for high-octane output when you’re ready to get started again.
After you’ve cleared your desk, apply the same principle to your computer’s desktop, your inbox, the top of your file cabinet, closet shelves, and other areas of your life – your dining-room table, your car’s glove compartment, the trunk of your car, and your health club locker (if not for better organization than at least for your personal hygiene). The fewer things you have in these places, the greater sense of control you have over your environment. Once these flat surfaces are under control, self-starters gain a heightened sense of control over their time.
Regards,
Timben
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Aspire to Be Organized
Do you think of becoming and staying organized as sheer and utter drudgery? If so, you’re not alone! You don’t see people shooting movies, writing Broadway plays, or producing hard rock albums on the topic (though I might be on to something here…). Yet it’s an unheralded key to being productive. From pack rat to Jack Sprat to Jack Black, when you’re in control of your surroundings, you have a better chance of staying focused, efficient and effective.
Everything you’ve ever filed presumably has future value if only enabling you to cover your ample derriere. People often avoid filing because they don’t see the connection between filing and its future impact on their careers and lives. Simply organizing materials, hard copy or on disk, putting them into smaller file folders, stapling them, or rearranging the order of things often represents a good, pre-emptive move in the battle against procrastination.
File, smile and work in style. For each item that crosses your desk or hard drive, ask these fundamental questions:
What’s the issue behind the document?
What does it represent?
Why did I receive it? (This one is biggie)
Why keep this? (Is it important? If it will be replaced soon, I don’t need it.)
Should I have received this?
How else can this be handled?
Can I delegate it?
Can I file it under “Review in six month?”
Can I shred it with glee?
What will happen if I don’t handle this?
Next, create a folder on your computer “desktop” and establish a physical drawer
(make it a big drawer) where you can temporarily house what you want out of sight. Many people have inbox folder, which they label with months and weeks. It’s a place to park things when you can’t figure out what else to do with them.
You may ask, “Aren’t I postponing my ability to deal with an over accumulation of information? Aren’t I throwing this in with the files I’m going to have to deal with in another three weeks?” No way, Jose and here’s why: When those three weeks roll around and you find the information you filed, the answer may take care of itself. You know it can be sent to the recycle bin or that it is more important than you first thought. Often, you get a definitive answer in a short period of time. You’re reviewing it at a better time. Out of sight, but not out of mind.
Eliminate clutter without shudder. Then when you’re in control of your information and files, you’re able to retrieve items easily and use them, as opposed to having them buried and inaccessible for all eternity. In the meantime, you are not visually bogged down by such things, and you are also more prone to initiate action on the task at hand. Let’s face it, we all know people with dozens – no, make that hundreds – of electronic file folders, housing thousands of e-mail messages. Likewise, we all know people with desks and file cabinets that are packed to the gills with over-stuffed file folders. Is this any way to manage your career? I think not!
One of the familiar laments among those who put off getting organized is, “I have never been food at organizing.” All is forgiven. Start now, and you can do as good of a job as the next person. The only difference between people who are “good at organizing” and people who think they are “not good at organizing” is that people who are organized recognize that it takes some effort to maintain the organization. The people who are “not good at organizing” think they missed out at birth (or is that at conception?) on the “organizing gene”.
Those who are “not good at organizing” further believe that somehow things mysteriously get out of order or become lost. Many people even think that there are forces in the universe operating in opposition to them and conspiring to keep them disorganized. Get it off – you can maintain control of what crosses your desk and how it is handled. And I have news for you – your dog did not eat your homework, and that important document did not just sprout legs and walk away.
Regards,
Timben
Everything you’ve ever filed presumably has future value if only enabling you to cover your ample derriere. People often avoid filing because they don’t see the connection between filing and its future impact on their careers and lives. Simply organizing materials, hard copy or on disk, putting them into smaller file folders, stapling them, or rearranging the order of things often represents a good, pre-emptive move in the battle against procrastination.
File, smile and work in style. For each item that crosses your desk or hard drive, ask these fundamental questions:
What’s the issue behind the document?
What does it represent?
Why did I receive it? (This one is biggie)
Why keep this? (Is it important? If it will be replaced soon, I don’t need it.)
Should I have received this?
How else can this be handled?
Can I delegate it?
Can I file it under “Review in six month?”
Can I shred it with glee?
What will happen if I don’t handle this?
Next, create a folder on your computer “desktop” and establish a physical drawer
(make it a big drawer) where you can temporarily house what you want out of sight. Many people have inbox folder, which they label with months and weeks. It’s a place to park things when you can’t figure out what else to do with them.
You may ask, “Aren’t I postponing my ability to deal with an over accumulation of information? Aren’t I throwing this in with the files I’m going to have to deal with in another three weeks?” No way, Jose and here’s why: When those three weeks roll around and you find the information you filed, the answer may take care of itself. You know it can be sent to the recycle bin or that it is more important than you first thought. Often, you get a definitive answer in a short period of time. You’re reviewing it at a better time. Out of sight, but not out of mind.
Eliminate clutter without shudder. Then when you’re in control of your information and files, you’re able to retrieve items easily and use them, as opposed to having them buried and inaccessible for all eternity. In the meantime, you are not visually bogged down by such things, and you are also more prone to initiate action on the task at hand. Let’s face it, we all know people with dozens – no, make that hundreds – of electronic file folders, housing thousands of e-mail messages. Likewise, we all know people with desks and file cabinets that are packed to the gills with over-stuffed file folders. Is this any way to manage your career? I think not!
One of the familiar laments among those who put off getting organized is, “I have never been food at organizing.” All is forgiven. Start now, and you can do as good of a job as the next person. The only difference between people who are “good at organizing” and people who think they are “not good at organizing” is that people who are organized recognize that it takes some effort to maintain the organization. The people who are “not good at organizing” think they missed out at birth (or is that at conception?) on the “organizing gene”.
Those who are “not good at organizing” further believe that somehow things mysteriously get out of order or become lost. Many people even think that there are forces in the universe operating in opposition to them and conspiring to keep them disorganized. Get it off – you can maintain control of what crosses your desk and how it is handled. And I have news for you – your dog did not eat your homework, and that important document did not just sprout legs and walk away.
Regards,
Timben
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Stake Your Claim on a Task or Goal
There’s a common misperception that a goal you undertake has to be your own, devised by you, set by you, and pursued by you. Oust that thought. Studies have shown that it’s entirely possible for one person to set goals for another and to have the entire process work. In fact, this happens every darn day in sales organizations, where sales managers develop quotas for the sales staff, and it happens as often elsewhere.
The key element here is to have the person for whom the goal is set adopt the goals as his or her own. It’s okay; it’s not stealing. This is welcome news for parents, managers, or anyone else who has responsibility for the performance of others.
On a daily basis, when you claim ownership of the goal to complete a task or project, you organize yourself in ways that support that goal. When a goal is yours, you don’t need as many external motivators, such as deadlines. Besides, for many of the long-term and continuing goals that you set for yourself, waiting until a minute before the deadline would be foolhardy. You can’t accumulate vast sums of cash, lose huge amounts of weight, or finish writing all your reports at the last minute. (Well, not yet, at least…)
Stand Up to the Challenge
If it’s easy for you to slough off the blame, disassociate yourself, and pretend you didn’t have any input – all easily perfected skills – chances are you were never committed to a project in the first place. When you’re willing to take responsibility for the outcome, whether good or bad, the project is yours. If others come along and ask who’s responsible and you tell them that you are, then, for sure, the project is yours.
A wonderful gauge for determining whether or not you are steadfastly committed to your project is to think about a situation in which the goal is taken from you. Suppose you could no longer proceed down your chosen path. Suppose all activity in pursuit of a goal had to cease. Would you be outraged? Would you object? Would you fight for your right? Would you call in the SWAT team? If so, it’s your goal.
Alternatively, if you could take it or leave it, if you wouldn’t be that upset, if it all would be forgotten by the next day, if it won’t keep you awake at night, chances are it’s not your goal. If you haven’t claimed ownership, procrastination is predictable.
If a goal or a simple task or assignment was not originally your creation, perhaps you have some leeway in shaping it. There are plenty of things you can do to make it your own goal. You may choose to begin with some easy entrance point. Perhaps you can tackle the job one section at a time. You might devise other methods for proceeding that enable you to retain some amount of control and sanity.
Regards,
Timben
The key element here is to have the person for whom the goal is set adopt the goals as his or her own. It’s okay; it’s not stealing. This is welcome news for parents, managers, or anyone else who has responsibility for the performance of others.
On a daily basis, when you claim ownership of the goal to complete a task or project, you organize yourself in ways that support that goal. When a goal is yours, you don’t need as many external motivators, such as deadlines. Besides, for many of the long-term and continuing goals that you set for yourself, waiting until a minute before the deadline would be foolhardy. You can’t accumulate vast sums of cash, lose huge amounts of weight, or finish writing all your reports at the last minute. (Well, not yet, at least…)
Stand Up to the Challenge
If it’s easy for you to slough off the blame, disassociate yourself, and pretend you didn’t have any input – all easily perfected skills – chances are you were never committed to a project in the first place. When you’re willing to take responsibility for the outcome, whether good or bad, the project is yours. If others come along and ask who’s responsible and you tell them that you are, then, for sure, the project is yours.
A wonderful gauge for determining whether or not you are steadfastly committed to your project is to think about a situation in which the goal is taken from you. Suppose you could no longer proceed down your chosen path. Suppose all activity in pursuit of a goal had to cease. Would you be outraged? Would you object? Would you fight for your right? Would you call in the SWAT team? If so, it’s your goal.
Alternatively, if you could take it or leave it, if you wouldn’t be that upset, if it all would be forgotten by the next day, if it won’t keep you awake at night, chances are it’s not your goal. If you haven’t claimed ownership, procrastination is predictable.
If a goal or a simple task or assignment was not originally your creation, perhaps you have some leeway in shaping it. There are plenty of things you can do to make it your own goal. You may choose to begin with some easy entrance point. Perhaps you can tackle the job one section at a time. You might devise other methods for proceeding that enable you to retain some amount of control and sanity.
Regards,
Timben
Friday, May 15, 2009
Rethink Your Priorities and Supporting Goals
Priorities are the handful of things in your life or career that are important to you. Priorities are broad elements of life, and they often become misplaced somewhere within your daily high-wire, somersault-through-flaming-hoops balancing act. In this society and in this era, it is wise to have only a few priorities. If you have too many, you’re not likely to respect each of them. At some point, too many priorities become paradoxical – only a few concerns can be of priority. Goals support priorities.
A single priority may have one or more goals associated with it. For example, if becoming supervisor is a priority in your life, you might set goals to get to work early, contribute as much as possible around the office, and speak to your superiors about any additional tasks that need to be done, and maybe compliment the right people here and there.
The choices confronting most individuals are often similar: career advancement versus a happy home life; income goals versus income needs; and social-, or employment-induced priorities versus individual wants or needs.
A goal is a statement that is specific to what you intend to accomplish, and when. All the goal setting and attainment if your goals don’t support your carefully chosen priorities.
Your goals can change as old ones are accomplished and, of course, if some of your life priorities change. Here are some well-constructed goal statements:
“To work out for thirty-five minutes, three times a week, starting today.”
Underlying priority: Staying fit. And as a side note, notice I said starting today,
Instead of putting it off until tomorrow.
“To recruit four new qualified salespeople by the end of the next quarter.”
Underlying priority: having the optimal size staff on board.
You can use the same procedure as you did for choosing priorities when choosing goals. The major difference is that each goal has to support a priority, and each priority is supported by at least one goal. Here are some poorly set goals. Tell me why (silently).
“To sell as much as I can in the next six month.”
“To complete the study for my client.”
“To be the best employee in the division.”
“To be a more loyal Britney Spears fan.”
Give up? They lack specifies and target dates. Impression in goal setting leads to missed goals. If you frequently find yourself procrastinating, often it’s because your goals are not well defined. Study the most successful people in your industry or profession. You’ll find that the majority are take-charge, confident, action-oriented individuals with clear priorities and supporting goals. In essence, they are self-starters. They know they can’t remain productive if they are not making the effort to determine what represents their next best move. Hmmm, sounds a bit like chess…
Regards,
Timben
A single priority may have one or more goals associated with it. For example, if becoming supervisor is a priority in your life, you might set goals to get to work early, contribute as much as possible around the office, and speak to your superiors about any additional tasks that need to be done, and maybe compliment the right people here and there.
The choices confronting most individuals are often similar: career advancement versus a happy home life; income goals versus income needs; and social-, or employment-induced priorities versus individual wants or needs.
A goal is a statement that is specific to what you intend to accomplish, and when. All the goal setting and attainment if your goals don’t support your carefully chosen priorities.
Your goals can change as old ones are accomplished and, of course, if some of your life priorities change. Here are some well-constructed goal statements:
“To work out for thirty-five minutes, three times a week, starting today.”
Underlying priority: Staying fit. And as a side note, notice I said starting today,
Instead of putting it off until tomorrow.
“To recruit four new qualified salespeople by the end of the next quarter.”
Underlying priority: having the optimal size staff on board.
You can use the same procedure as you did for choosing priorities when choosing goals. The major difference is that each goal has to support a priority, and each priority is supported by at least one goal. Here are some poorly set goals. Tell me why (silently).
“To sell as much as I can in the next six month.”
“To complete the study for my client.”
“To be the best employee in the division.”
“To be a more loyal Britney Spears fan.”
Give up? They lack specifies and target dates. Impression in goal setting leads to missed goals. If you frequently find yourself procrastinating, often it’s because your goals are not well defined. Study the most successful people in your industry or profession. You’ll find that the majority are take-charge, confident, action-oriented individuals with clear priorities and supporting goals. In essence, they are self-starters. They know they can’t remain productive if they are not making the effort to determine what represents their next best move. Hmmm, sounds a bit like chess…
Regards,
Timben
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Watch What You Say to Yourself
In What to Say When You Talk to Yourself, author Shad Helmstetter says that 80 percent or more of your internal dialogue focuses on your shortcomings; that is, much of what people say to themselves is negative. That means that most of us, all day long, are internally saying things such as, “I didn’t do that right,” or, “My collar is off,” “I should have never sent that e-mail,” or, “I’m fat,” or, “I didn’t do this job well,” or, “They’re going to think I’m stupid.” If anybody ever heard this stuff they’d think we had gone off the deep end.
What about giving yourself some positive message? I mean, you can’t possibly be that bad, can you?
These messages work particularly well when it comes to self-starting:
“I choose to easily complete this transaction.”
“I choose to feel at ease in finishing this project.”
“I choose to masterfully complete this task.”
“I choose to be effective in all aspects of my job.”
Suppose that you have to learn how to operate new equipment at work. It’s taking you longer than you wanted or expected, and you’re now totally stressed out. You’d rather put off the task than continue. You’re probably giving yourself one of these messages internally:
“I can’t stand this.”
“I’d rather be anyplace else.”
“I can’t do this.”
“Get me outta here.”
You could be saying to yourself:
“I easily accept this challenge.”
“I’ve mastered situations that were more difficult than this.”
“I am going to be more productive because I know how to use this to its best
advantage.”
“By tomorrow this will be a piece of cake.”
To make self-talk work for you, particularly for becoming a self-starter, be more conscious of what you say to yourself. If you have a hard time thinking of positive things to say to yourself, take time to generate a list of statements you can use, and either write them down or record them. Such a list will help you replace the negative statements that you more routinely offer yourself. By letting positive, self-boosting statements into your internal dialogue, you enhance the learning process, experience less stress, and feel fat better about yourself.
When in doubt about what type of positive self-talk to employ, self-starters think to themselves: “I choose to feel good about what I’m about to do” or “I choose to easily take appropriate action.” The great news is that you only have to make these silent choices (people might stare if you say them loud) when you’re having trouble getting started and not taking action.
Regards,
Timben
What about giving yourself some positive message? I mean, you can’t possibly be that bad, can you?
These messages work particularly well when it comes to self-starting:
“I choose to easily complete this transaction.”
“I choose to feel at ease in finishing this project.”
“I choose to masterfully complete this task.”
“I choose to be effective in all aspects of my job.”
Suppose that you have to learn how to operate new equipment at work. It’s taking you longer than you wanted or expected, and you’re now totally stressed out. You’d rather put off the task than continue. You’re probably giving yourself one of these messages internally:
“I can’t stand this.”
“I’d rather be anyplace else.”
“I can’t do this.”
“Get me outta here.”
You could be saying to yourself:
“I easily accept this challenge.”
“I’ve mastered situations that were more difficult than this.”
“I am going to be more productive because I know how to use this to its best
advantage.”
“By tomorrow this will be a piece of cake.”
To make self-talk work for you, particularly for becoming a self-starter, be more conscious of what you say to yourself. If you have a hard time thinking of positive things to say to yourself, take time to generate a list of statements you can use, and either write them down or record them. Such a list will help you replace the negative statements that you more routinely offer yourself. By letting positive, self-boosting statements into your internal dialogue, you enhance the learning process, experience less stress, and feel fat better about yourself.
When in doubt about what type of positive self-talk to employ, self-starters think to themselves: “I choose to feel good about what I’m about to do” or “I choose to easily take appropriate action.” The great news is that you only have to make these silent choices (people might stare if you say them loud) when you’re having trouble getting started and not taking action.
Regards,
Timben
Monday, April 13, 2009
Engage in Creative Procrastination
Everyone procrastinates now and then, including the person in your seat at this moment, whether or not you care to admit it. It is part of the human condition. To make the best of a lingering case of procrastination, fill your time with efficient activity prior to getting started on the task you’ve been avoiding. Although you are not tackling the item that merits your current attention, you use this period of “creative procrastination” to take care of all those other things which you would eventually handle anyway.
Rather than simply frittering away the time when I procrastinate, I try to accomplish as many of the other small task as I can while putting off the big one that I know I need to be tackling. Too often, many people who procrastinate not only ignore the main task at hand but also fail to accomplish all the other little tasks that will eventually need attention. They dawdle. They surf. They hurl.
If you complete secondary tasks, eventually – when you’re able to begin the major task and finish it – the major task and all the secondary tasks are done. Given that someone is not awaiting your completion of the major task, you’re in the same place you’d be if the major task had been tackled first and the secondary ones last! So, just when you thought you were the master procrastinator, you were being productive after all! It’s a form of time-shifting. The key is to continue to do things that are of some importance during your procrastination, rather than dilly-dallying.
Once you begin to tackle the larger project or assignment, you can approach it with the mindset that “I completed all these other things and now the slate is clear to do a good job on this.” Hereafter, if you simply can’t get started on a project, undertake other secondary tasks that you’ll need to do anyway. In that way, you’re at least taking care of other useful business. Once you finally initiate and finish the big, important task you’ve been shirking, all of these smaller but necessary tasks will already have been done.
On occasion it is understandable and even desirable to do something else other than the task you had originally set out to accomplish, such as when short-term, high-priority tasks or opportunities arise. Don’t beat yourself up over such incidences – they happen to everyone. When that “something else” is finished, you can return to the task at hand. It’ll be waiting for you, “cause it’s not going anywhere by itself no matter how much you want it to.
Regards,
Timben
Rather than simply frittering away the time when I procrastinate, I try to accomplish as many of the other small task as I can while putting off the big one that I know I need to be tackling. Too often, many people who procrastinate not only ignore the main task at hand but also fail to accomplish all the other little tasks that will eventually need attention. They dawdle. They surf. They hurl.
If you complete secondary tasks, eventually – when you’re able to begin the major task and finish it – the major task and all the secondary tasks are done. Given that someone is not awaiting your completion of the major task, you’re in the same place you’d be if the major task had been tackled first and the secondary ones last! So, just when you thought you were the master procrastinator, you were being productive after all! It’s a form of time-shifting. The key is to continue to do things that are of some importance during your procrastination, rather than dilly-dallying.
Once you begin to tackle the larger project or assignment, you can approach it with the mindset that “I completed all these other things and now the slate is clear to do a good job on this.” Hereafter, if you simply can’t get started on a project, undertake other secondary tasks that you’ll need to do anyway. In that way, you’re at least taking care of other useful business. Once you finally initiate and finish the big, important task you’ve been shirking, all of these smaller but necessary tasks will already have been done.
On occasion it is understandable and even desirable to do something else other than the task you had originally set out to accomplish, such as when short-term, high-priority tasks or opportunities arise. Don’t beat yourself up over such incidences – they happen to everyone. When that “something else” is finished, you can return to the task at hand. It’ll be waiting for you, “cause it’s not going anywhere by itself no matter how much you want it to.
Regards,
Timben
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Discard Limiting Language
Some words such as “must”, “should”, and “ought” seem a little less than positive. So do cuss words, but that’s a different story.
If you were told by your parents, teachers, or coaches that you should do something, you must do something, or that you ought to do something, chances are that you regarded such exhortations as commands or burdens. As an adult, you unconsciously may still regard such terms with disdain, even when you use them in your own thinking!
I shall elaborate. If you think to yourself, “I must finish the ABC report by Thursday, “you unconsciously may be regarding the completion of the ABC report as overly burdensome, sort of life making your bed or being nice to your sister.
Each time you think to yourself, “I should, I must, I ought to do something,” the energy that you naturally have for such tasks is not nearly as high as it would be if you changed your internal language. Instead of thinking, “I must finish the ABC report by Thursday,” replace that language with “I choose to finish the ABC report by Thursday,” “I want to finish the ABC report by Thursday,” or “I will finish the ABC report by Thursday.” Instantly, your entire being realigns and re-energizes itself to aid you in your proactive choices.
Suppose you receive a call, and a customer or client requests a certain bit of information. Instead of saying, “I’ll have to dig up that file for you,” instead say, “I will be happy to locate that file for you.” This conveys a more upbeat message to the caller. Even more important, it makes the task seem far less onerous for you.
Your use of language within the confines of your own thinking or conversation with others magically and rapidly transforms your ability to begin tasks of all sizes. Hereafter, if you find yourself reluctant to handle a task, employ language such as “I choose,” “I want,” “I will,” and “I will be happy to,” and notice the dramatic improvement in your energy and attitude!
Some words such as “must”, “should”, and “ought” seem a little less than positive. So do cuss words, but that’s a different story.
If you were told by your parents, teachers, or coaches that you should do something, you must do something, or that you ought to do something, chances are that you regarded such exhortations as commands or burdens. As an adult, you unconsciously may still regard such terms with disdain, even when you use them in your own thinking!
I shall elaborate. If you think to yourself, “I must finish the ABC report by Thursday, “you unconsciously may be regarding the completion of the ABC report as overly burdensome, sort of life making your bed or being nice to your sister.
Each time you think to yourself, “I should, I must, I ought to do something,” the energy that you naturally have for such tasks is not nearly as high as it would be if you changed your internal language. Instead of thinking, “I must finish the ABC report by Thursday,” replace that language with “I choose to finish the ABC report by Thursday,” “I want to finish the ABC report by Thursday,” or “I will finish the ABC report by Thursday.” Instantly, your entire being realigns and re-energizes itself to aid you in your proactive choices.
Suppose you receive a call, and a customer or client requests a certain bit of information. Instead of saying, “I’ll have to dig up that file for you,” instead say, “I will be happy to locate that file for you.” This conveys a more upbeat message to the caller. Even more important, it makes the task seem far less onerous for you.
Your use of language within the confines of your own thinking or conversation with others magically and rapidly transforms your ability to begin tasks of all sizes. Hereafter, if you find yourself reluctant to handle a task, employ language such as “I choose,” “I want,” “I will,” and “I will be happy to,” and notice the dramatic improvement in your energy and attitude!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Experience the Fear and Proceed Anyway
Dr.Susan Jeffers, in her book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, discusses how tasks and activities outside of our comfort zones may cause us to feel uneasy. This discomfort is predictable – it is a typical human response to challenges that may seem a bit out of the ordinary.
Jeffers suggests that when you encounter a task that represents a hurdle or a roadblock, you need to let yourself feel all the emotions that arise. Are you uneasy? Quivering? Lightheaded? Is your stomach upset, are you trembling, or do you feel fearful?
When you’re forthright with yourself about how you feel (namely, scared!), initiate your action anyway, Jeffers says. Often you’re able to break through your fear and overcome the obstacle that loomed so large when you weren’t being honest with yourself.
It is vital to recognize that fears about certain situations or tasks you face need not be debilitating. You don’t have to hide underneath to covers when the big, bad deadline is out to get you. Indeed, if you allow yourself to feel the fear of whatever task you have been putting off, in whatever form the fear takes (facing penalties for missing a deadline, missing out on a one-time opportunity or investment, and so on), you actually position yourself to more easily begin the task at hand. So, get scared, and get started!
Before a car’s ignition will start, you need to turn the key, unless of course it’s hot-wired. Before you blast through the procrastination, you feel the fear. When regarded as a routine, feeling the fear can become an important weapon in your arsenal. The next time you dread launching a new project, allow yourself to experience the full gamut of fear-related sensations. Feel the fear and start anyway.
If one of your underlying reasons for procrastination is the fear of success, then your immediate mission is to gain reliable knowledge of how this success would actually affect your career and life. You can talk to or read about others who have achieved similar success, or you can talk to associates and friends about the success. Or, simply sketch out on paper how you see the situation unfolding. Your guesstimates are as good as anyone’s. In any case, get your thoughts down on paper; doing so helps deflate the fears and uncertainties.
Hereafter, rather than letting feelings of fear stop you, you may be pleasantly surprised to find how much easier it is to start. Indeed, you have passed the first step on your road to self-starting you have felt the fear.
Dr.Susan Jeffers, in her book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, discusses how tasks and activities outside of our comfort zones may cause us to feel uneasy. This discomfort is predictable – it is a typical human response to challenges that may seem a bit out of the ordinary.
Jeffers suggests that when you encounter a task that represents a hurdle or a roadblock, you need to let yourself feel all the emotions that arise. Are you uneasy? Quivering? Lightheaded? Is your stomach upset, are you trembling, or do you feel fearful?
When you’re forthright with yourself about how you feel (namely, scared!), initiate your action anyway, Jeffers says. Often you’re able to break through your fear and overcome the obstacle that loomed so large when you weren’t being honest with yourself.
It is vital to recognize that fears about certain situations or tasks you face need not be debilitating. You don’t have to hide underneath to covers when the big, bad deadline is out to get you. Indeed, if you allow yourself to feel the fear of whatever task you have been putting off, in whatever form the fear takes (facing penalties for missing a deadline, missing out on a one-time opportunity or investment, and so on), you actually position yourself to more easily begin the task at hand. So, get scared, and get started!
Before a car’s ignition will start, you need to turn the key, unless of course it’s hot-wired. Before you blast through the procrastination, you feel the fear. When regarded as a routine, feeling the fear can become an important weapon in your arsenal. The next time you dread launching a new project, allow yourself to experience the full gamut of fear-related sensations. Feel the fear and start anyway.
If one of your underlying reasons for procrastination is the fear of success, then your immediate mission is to gain reliable knowledge of how this success would actually affect your career and life. You can talk to or read about others who have achieved similar success, or you can talk to associates and friends about the success. Or, simply sketch out on paper how you see the situation unfolding. Your guesstimates are as good as anyone’s. In any case, get your thoughts down on paper; doing so helps deflate the fears and uncertainties.
Hereafter, rather than letting feelings of fear stop you, you may be pleasantly surprised to find how much easier it is to start. Indeed, you have passed the first step on your road to self-starting you have felt the fear.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Visualize Yourself Succeeding With Ease
You hate public speaking and find yourself having to prepare for a banquet speech. Horrors. You continually put off working on your address because you’ve always been so nervous before a speech that you can’t even wedge a morsel of dinner down your throat.
Visualization to the rescue! (And I don’t mean visualizing the audience members in their underwear.) Undoubtedly you’ve read about Olympic athletes who have used visualization technique to enhance their performance. Have you ever tapped into this powerful technique yourself? Using it, you can blast through your reticence to get started on your speech, or even combat long-term procrastination on lengthy projects.
Olympian Dwight Stones, a high jumper who represented the United States in the Olympics some thirty-five years ago, was one of the most avid and prominent users of visualization techniques in the sport. His method was so precise and so observable that he influenced the generation of high jumpers that followed him. You don’t have to be an Olympian athlete in pursuit of a gold medal to engage in this process, but his experience in the Olympics is a good place to begin the discussion.
Before every jump, during practice or actual competition, Stones took his place a measured distance away from the high-jump bar and paused for several seconds. He then envisioned himself taking every step on the way toward his launch over the bar. During televised competitions, particularly the Olympians, you could see Stones moving his head up and down, seemingly counting the steps, as he visualized his approach and takeoff.
When he “reached” the final step before the jump, you could see him contemplating the angle at which he approached the bar, where he’d plant his foot, how he’d use his arms and upper torso to create upward thrust. Sure it looked a little mystical, but the guy could jump! Stone’s head movements told you in advance that he planned to clear the bar easily, land on his back in the proper position, and be pleased with his efforts.
Dwight Stones used such visualization techniques to help achieve record-setting performances. Certainly, he didn’t clear the bar at every height every time. Many of his jumps were misses – he knocked over the bar and in some cases, failed to make the jump altogether. But, such misses and failed attempts are never the focus of visualization. Success is!
Likewise you can visualize succeeding at every step along the way to giving an effective speech, from writing it to arriving at the meeting site, approaching the lectern, not losing your lunch, speaking with eloquence, and receiving hearty applause. In this, and in virtually all professional as well as personal endeavors, employing visualization helps you to perform well and accelerate your progress. You accomplish your task in ways that non-self-starters, who don’t use visualization, cannot appreciate. Too bad for them.
Be Like Mike
Here’s a variation on visualization that may work for you: simple observation. During his heyday as a basketball player and ever since then, Micheal Jordan has been paid a small fortune to endorse products. One of his earlier commercials offered the then-famous line, “Be like Mike” The advertising ploy was that if you bought and used this product, you could be like Mike, because he bought and used it too.
We certainly can’t be like Mike was on the basketball court, but if we shine a little in the workplace like Mike, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
When it comes to self-starting, is there a “Mike” in your office – not someone six feet, five inches, but someone widely regarded as having a take-charge attitude? This is the person who seemingly never procrastinates, at least not in a way that others can notice. This is somebody who “takes the bull by the horns” and dives headlong into complex tasks and demanding projects. You know, the exact opposite of the Cowardly Lion.
Action-oriented role models are all around us; largely, they are the winners in life. We see them on television, in newspapers and magazines, even walking down the street. Although you previously may not have considered the value of studying the behaviors of action-takers and high achievers, now is the time, so get ready.
What can you learn by observing such role models in your office or anywhere else you find them? Discover how they launch into arduous tasks and blast through any feelings of procrastination. Summon up your courage and ask what makes them get started so quickly on challenging tasks. Glean from them any shreds of wisdom they will impart.
Hereafter, if you’ve been stalling on a project, consider one of the high achievers in your organization. How would the person act in the face of the task you’re confronting? Sometimes simply envisioning this person and the kinds of action he or she would take is enough to get you started. Be like Mike, or Moby, or Mikhail, or Marianne, or anyone else whose action-oriented behavior is worth emulating.
Regards,
Timben
Visualization to the rescue! (And I don’t mean visualizing the audience members in their underwear.) Undoubtedly you’ve read about Olympic athletes who have used visualization technique to enhance their performance. Have you ever tapped into this powerful technique yourself? Using it, you can blast through your reticence to get started on your speech, or even combat long-term procrastination on lengthy projects.
Olympian Dwight Stones, a high jumper who represented the United States in the Olympics some thirty-five years ago, was one of the most avid and prominent users of visualization techniques in the sport. His method was so precise and so observable that he influenced the generation of high jumpers that followed him. You don’t have to be an Olympian athlete in pursuit of a gold medal to engage in this process, but his experience in the Olympics is a good place to begin the discussion.
Before every jump, during practice or actual competition, Stones took his place a measured distance away from the high-jump bar and paused for several seconds. He then envisioned himself taking every step on the way toward his launch over the bar. During televised competitions, particularly the Olympians, you could see Stones moving his head up and down, seemingly counting the steps, as he visualized his approach and takeoff.
When he “reached” the final step before the jump, you could see him contemplating the angle at which he approached the bar, where he’d plant his foot, how he’d use his arms and upper torso to create upward thrust. Sure it looked a little mystical, but the guy could jump! Stone’s head movements told you in advance that he planned to clear the bar easily, land on his back in the proper position, and be pleased with his efforts.
Dwight Stones used such visualization techniques to help achieve record-setting performances. Certainly, he didn’t clear the bar at every height every time. Many of his jumps were misses – he knocked over the bar and in some cases, failed to make the jump altogether. But, such misses and failed attempts are never the focus of visualization. Success is!
Likewise you can visualize succeeding at every step along the way to giving an effective speech, from writing it to arriving at the meeting site, approaching the lectern, not losing your lunch, speaking with eloquence, and receiving hearty applause. In this, and in virtually all professional as well as personal endeavors, employing visualization helps you to perform well and accelerate your progress. You accomplish your task in ways that non-self-starters, who don’t use visualization, cannot appreciate. Too bad for them.
Be Like Mike
Here’s a variation on visualization that may work for you: simple observation. During his heyday as a basketball player and ever since then, Micheal Jordan has been paid a small fortune to endorse products. One of his earlier commercials offered the then-famous line, “Be like Mike” The advertising ploy was that if you bought and used this product, you could be like Mike, because he bought and used it too.
We certainly can’t be like Mike was on the basketball court, but if we shine a little in the workplace like Mike, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
When it comes to self-starting, is there a “Mike” in your office – not someone six feet, five inches, but someone widely regarded as having a take-charge attitude? This is the person who seemingly never procrastinates, at least not in a way that others can notice. This is somebody who “takes the bull by the horns” and dives headlong into complex tasks and demanding projects. You know, the exact opposite of the Cowardly Lion.
Action-oriented role models are all around us; largely, they are the winners in life. We see them on television, in newspapers and magazines, even walking down the street. Although you previously may not have considered the value of studying the behaviors of action-takers and high achievers, now is the time, so get ready.
What can you learn by observing such role models in your office or anywhere else you find them? Discover how they launch into arduous tasks and blast through any feelings of procrastination. Summon up your courage and ask what makes them get started so quickly on challenging tasks. Glean from them any shreds of wisdom they will impart.
Hereafter, if you’ve been stalling on a project, consider one of the high achievers in your organization. How would the person act in the face of the task you’re confronting? Sometimes simply envisioning this person and the kinds of action he or she would take is enough to get you started. Be like Mike, or Moby, or Mikhail, or Marianne, or anyone else whose action-oriented behavior is worth emulating.
Regards,
Timben
Reflect on Past Achievement
Have you ever been into situations where it is easier for you to achieve something because you have done it before? Well actually it is something that is happening not only on you but on everyone else. It’s just we don’t realize the power of past achievement can affects the present and the future achievements.
For example, schools that have the record for winning in any event tend to keep on being on the winning side. The reason behind this was that inside the mind of the school’s staffs and students, winning are their tradition and that will become their mental booster which at the same time will enhance their physical ability. And also, their rival will be intimidated by their winning history which will help them better to reach their goal to get another trophy for the season.
This is why capturing memory is so very important. The usage of camera and video to capture the moments of glory is crucial as it can help us in the time of distraction from the path of victory. Each time we look back at the pictures and videos, our fighting spirit will be on the optimum level and no distraction manages to pull us down.
So do you having trouble getting started? Dig up those letters of praise you received for meritorious efforts. Think about the times you had trouble getting started, and how good you felt once you accomplished what you set out to accomplish.
When you can reread your kudos, or simply summon those same feelings of satisfaction, happiness, and accomplishment, you may well have the winning formula for getting started on a troublesome task. Did I tell you what a great reader you are?
Regards,
TimBen
For example, schools that have the record for winning in any event tend to keep on being on the winning side. The reason behind this was that inside the mind of the school’s staffs and students, winning are their tradition and that will become their mental booster which at the same time will enhance their physical ability. And also, their rival will be intimidated by their winning history which will help them better to reach their goal to get another trophy for the season.
This is why capturing memory is so very important. The usage of camera and video to capture the moments of glory is crucial as it can help us in the time of distraction from the path of victory. Each time we look back at the pictures and videos, our fighting spirit will be on the optimum level and no distraction manages to pull us down.
So do you having trouble getting started? Dig up those letters of praise you received for meritorious efforts. Think about the times you had trouble getting started, and how good you felt once you accomplished what you set out to accomplish.
When you can reread your kudos, or simply summon those same feelings of satisfaction, happiness, and accomplishment, you may well have the winning formula for getting started on a troublesome task. Did I tell you what a great reader you are?
Regards,
TimBen
Friday, April 3, 2009
Associate the Meaning with Something Larger
In the bestseller All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, author Robert Fulghum discusses a bricklayer who merrily goes about his business while other workers seem to be plodding. When his buoyant laborer is asked how he can be so cheerful toiling all day long in the hot sun, while his colleagues seem to be less than excited about their work, he says, “They are laying bricks; I am helping to build a cathedral to celebrate the glory of God!”
Who knows whether or not the story is true, or if the bricklayer was even sane. The point is that whenever you face a task itself. Sure, some tasks you have been assigned may seem tedious and even uninspiring. Yet, your performance will surely affect your team, and what the team does will surely affect the division or department, which may affect the organization, which could conceivably affect society, ad infinitum.
On a piece of paper sketch out a simple diagram or flow chart of how your contribution impacts others, and so on. Keep that perspective in mind, and those mornings when you would rather not be at work will start to vanish.
One way I’ve been able to blast through any potential roadblocks and be a self-starter is to contemplate how the completion of a new chapter adds to the
overall progress of the work. It means that much more people will benefit from this.
The types of tasks and projects that you handle in your career undoubtedly affect others. Come on, you know that they do. Identify those players and related issues, and you will have an easier time getting started, day after day, even when it would be oh-so-inviting to simply “put things off” for a while.
Regards,
Timben
Who knows whether or not the story is true, or if the bricklayer was even sane. The point is that whenever you face a task itself. Sure, some tasks you have been assigned may seem tedious and even uninspiring. Yet, your performance will surely affect your team, and what the team does will surely affect the division or department, which may affect the organization, which could conceivably affect society, ad infinitum.
On a piece of paper sketch out a simple diagram or flow chart of how your contribution impacts others, and so on. Keep that perspective in mind, and those mornings when you would rather not be at work will start to vanish.
One way I’ve been able to blast through any potential roadblocks and be a self-starter is to contemplate how the completion of a new chapter adds to the
overall progress of the work. It means that much more people will benefit from this.
The types of tasks and projects that you handle in your career undoubtedly affect others. Come on, you know that they do. Identify those players and related issues, and you will have an easier time getting started, day after day, even when it would be oh-so-inviting to simply “put things off” for a while.
Regards,
Timben
Redefine The Challenge
Have you ever seen Kenneth Branagh’s movie Henry V? If not, get it on DVD! The enactment of a miraculously redirection in military history is worth it all. Greatly outnumbered by the French at the Battle of Agincourt, Henry offered a speech so stirring and inspiring that his troops fought with vigor transcending that of which they previously seemed capable.
The king spoke of the glory of England and how history would look back on that day. By doing this, he reframed his troops’ view of the forthcoming event as not merely a battle, with the odds stacked against them, but as one of the greatest encounters of history. Win or lose, his men would forever be remembered as the valiant soldiers that they were. And while that might not be true, he sure did get them fighting.
So, too, we hear of coaches who give halftime pep talks that turn their teams around and enable them to achieve victory. Or, at least we see this stuff in the movies.
Generally speaking, unpleasant tasks don’t tend to get any more pleasant with the passage of time. Certain tasks that are delayed, such as cleaning out the stables, get much worse over time. So, if you have to do something, you might as well take care of it now. There is often no advantage in putting off the task.
The problem most often arises when you perceive a task as difficult, inconvenient, or scary. This is when you are likely to shift into procrastination mode. If you reframe the task, however mundane it may seem, as something contributing to your long-term prosperity, growth, career advancement, or domestic tranquility, you’ll be far more productive.
You may protest! “How can a mundane task be exalted?” Usually it’s not the task itself that is vital but what the task represents, which could encompass:
• Keeping your word.
• Displaying your professionalism.
• Maintaining Personal Discipline.
• Serving as a model for others.
• Breaking past old barriers.
Remember, even the smallest seeds cab yield a bountiful harvest.
Regards,
Timben
The king spoke of the glory of England and how history would look back on that day. By doing this, he reframed his troops’ view of the forthcoming event as not merely a battle, with the odds stacked against them, but as one of the greatest encounters of history. Win or lose, his men would forever be remembered as the valiant soldiers that they were. And while that might not be true, he sure did get them fighting.
So, too, we hear of coaches who give halftime pep talks that turn their teams around and enable them to achieve victory. Or, at least we see this stuff in the movies.
Generally speaking, unpleasant tasks don’t tend to get any more pleasant with the passage of time. Certain tasks that are delayed, such as cleaning out the stables, get much worse over time. So, if you have to do something, you might as well take care of it now. There is often no advantage in putting off the task.
The problem most often arises when you perceive a task as difficult, inconvenient, or scary. This is when you are likely to shift into procrastination mode. If you reframe the task, however mundane it may seem, as something contributing to your long-term prosperity, growth, career advancement, or domestic tranquility, you’ll be far more productive.
You may protest! “How can a mundane task be exalted?” Usually it’s not the task itself that is vital but what the task represents, which could encompass:
• Keeping your word.
• Displaying your professionalism.
• Maintaining Personal Discipline.
• Serving as a model for others.
• Breaking past old barriers.
Remember, even the smallest seeds cab yield a bountiful harvest.
Regards,
Timben
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Tackle Procrastination Head-On
Don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself procrastinating a bit more these days. When faced with too many assignments or too many things to accomplish, procrastination is an all too common inclination for many people. Tasks that might normally seem mundane appear more difficult when there’s too much on your plate.
By the way, there’s too much on your plate!
Be honest with yourself and admit your procrastination. Say it in the mirror if that makes it more real for you! “Hello, my name is _____, and I am a procrastinator.” If you make excuses or rationalize why you’re not getting started, you open up the door to even more delay. If you’re honest with yourself and acknowledge when you are procrastinating, then you’re closer to taking action. Even the teeniest action in pursuit of a long-term goal is far better than nothing.
When push comes to shove – and here comes a shove – sometimes your best approach to procrastination is to simply face it head-on by searching for what exactly is blocking you. What is the real reason you can’t seem to get started? Many moons ago, in her book Creative Procrastination: Organizing Your Own Life, author Frieda Porat offered a host of reasons why individuals procrastinate:
Fear of disapproval, failure, making mistakes, being wrong.
Sticking your neck out, being noticed, not being noticed.
Confronting the unknown, committing ourselves, exposing our inadequacies.
Taking on too much difficult task, getting into trouble, being less than perfect.
Being rejected, being on the wrong side, and getting criticized.
Could it be that one or more of these issues ring true for you? If so, your quest is to find the root cause of that fear. Did something happen on an earlier job, or even earlier in life, that is prohibiting you from getting back on the horse? Do you fear that you won’t do a good enough job or that you’ll fail if you try?
Keep in mind that if the task is vital, it’s worth starting, even of you do fail. Allow yourself to have a less than gracious start. Proceed in the face of choppy progress. Expect nausea. Barf if you have to. The boat will still sail.
When facing a notable task, self-starters recognize that true and lasting accomplishments require high costs in terms of hours, energy and commitment.
Give yourself periodic acknowledgement as you progress toward your final desired objective. Progress is not always even. Heck, is it ever even? Anticipate some level of breakdown and backsliding. Two steps forward and one step back is more often the rule than the exception.
Be gentle with yourself and cut yourself some slack, Jack. After all, if you made no attempt, your chance of succeeding would be zero, a perfect goose egg.
Perhaps you can’t get started on something because you haven’t identified some lingering issues that are impacting your feelings. Such issues might include.
Having mixed feelings about the task.
Thinking a task is unnecessary or unworthy of you.
Resenting having to follow through on a promise because you weren’t able to say “no” in the first place.
If you can identify some of the underlying reasons behind procrastination, you have a more decent chance of surmounting them than if you didn’t articulate the issues to yourself. Fess up and win! When you can identify the root cause of your procrastination, ask yourself about the consequences of not getting started. If the consequences you will experience as a result of not initiating the task are minor, you probably will not get started. If you recognize that the consequences are significant, then get a move on!
Occasionally you procrastinate because the issue at hand does not need to be handled, and the consequences of not taking action are minimal. Hold on there, bro, I’m not introducing this observation as an easy way for you to rationalize delaying tasks and responsibilities.
I’m simply saying there are occasions when your hesitation is based upon sound reasoning, such as when the task you have been putting off:
1.Doesn’t need to be done.
2.Doesn’t need to be done by you.
3.Doesn’t need to be done in this way.
4.Doesn’t need to be done now.
It’s worth making the determination.
Regards,
Timben
By the way, there’s too much on your plate!
Be honest with yourself and admit your procrastination. Say it in the mirror if that makes it more real for you! “Hello, my name is _____, and I am a procrastinator.” If you make excuses or rationalize why you’re not getting started, you open up the door to even more delay. If you’re honest with yourself and acknowledge when you are procrastinating, then you’re closer to taking action. Even the teeniest action in pursuit of a long-term goal is far better than nothing.
When push comes to shove – and here comes a shove – sometimes your best approach to procrastination is to simply face it head-on by searching for what exactly is blocking you. What is the real reason you can’t seem to get started? Many moons ago, in her book Creative Procrastination: Organizing Your Own Life, author Frieda Porat offered a host of reasons why individuals procrastinate:
Fear of disapproval, failure, making mistakes, being wrong.
Sticking your neck out, being noticed, not being noticed.
Confronting the unknown, committing ourselves, exposing our inadequacies.
Taking on too much difficult task, getting into trouble, being less than perfect.
Being rejected, being on the wrong side, and getting criticized.
Could it be that one or more of these issues ring true for you? If so, your quest is to find the root cause of that fear. Did something happen on an earlier job, or even earlier in life, that is prohibiting you from getting back on the horse? Do you fear that you won’t do a good enough job or that you’ll fail if you try?
Keep in mind that if the task is vital, it’s worth starting, even of you do fail. Allow yourself to have a less than gracious start. Proceed in the face of choppy progress. Expect nausea. Barf if you have to. The boat will still sail.
When facing a notable task, self-starters recognize that true and lasting accomplishments require high costs in terms of hours, energy and commitment.
Give yourself periodic acknowledgement as you progress toward your final desired objective. Progress is not always even. Heck, is it ever even? Anticipate some level of breakdown and backsliding. Two steps forward and one step back is more often the rule than the exception.
Be gentle with yourself and cut yourself some slack, Jack. After all, if you made no attempt, your chance of succeeding would be zero, a perfect goose egg.
Perhaps you can’t get started on something because you haven’t identified some lingering issues that are impacting your feelings. Such issues might include.
Having mixed feelings about the task.
Thinking a task is unnecessary or unworthy of you.
Resenting having to follow through on a promise because you weren’t able to say “no” in the first place.
If you can identify some of the underlying reasons behind procrastination, you have a more decent chance of surmounting them than if you didn’t articulate the issues to yourself. Fess up and win! When you can identify the root cause of your procrastination, ask yourself about the consequences of not getting started. If the consequences you will experience as a result of not initiating the task are minor, you probably will not get started. If you recognize that the consequences are significant, then get a move on!
Occasionally you procrastinate because the issue at hand does not need to be handled, and the consequences of not taking action are minimal. Hold on there, bro, I’m not introducing this observation as an easy way for you to rationalize delaying tasks and responsibilities.
I’m simply saying there are occasions when your hesitation is based upon sound reasoning, such as when the task you have been putting off:
1.Doesn’t need to be done.
2.Doesn’t need to be done by you.
3.Doesn’t need to be done in this way.
4.Doesn’t need to be done now.
It’s worth making the determination.
Regards,
Timben
New Approach to your task
People are more likely to delay action when they perceive that something is difficult, unpleasant, or represents a tough choice. We tend to find something that is easier to do and procrastinate when it comes to something new or considered hard even though we know that it is important.
Much of what you may need to undertake to achieve a desired outcome may not please you while you’re doing it. Jogging miles to reduce your waistline or saving more money and spending less will not necessarily make you feel better on any given day. One find day, however, when your waistline is at the trim target you’ve chosen and you’ve become the svelte version of yourself, or your savings account has grown to a healthy balance, you begin to understand that less-than-pleasing means contribute to the highly pleasing outcome.
One way to get started when you’re stuck particularly for work-related tasks is to approach the issue from a different perspective. When Tom Wolfe, the novelist with those semi-dapper all-white wardrobes, was already past the deadline on an article for Esquire magazine, his editor gave him a wonderful suggestion. Wolfe was directed to write a letter to his editor, describing how he would approach the article and what he would put in it. So, he submitted a draft that started like a letter.
Sure enough, by eliminating the first paragraph or two and retaining the body of what Wolfe had written, the editor had the requisite material. Like Wolfe, you may not have trouble with a task, but simply with starting. By approaching your task in a different way, it may become a whole lot easier to handle. You will see clearly, now that the rain is gone.
Unblock Writer’s Block
One of the tasks that makes many people’s list of areas where they frequently procrastinate is writing, or more specifically, as in the case of Tom Wolfe, getting started on writing. Writer’s block, a term that refers to little more than procrastination related to writing, hangs heavy over the head of many a would-be achiever. If writer’s block is a problem for you, if you’re having trouble getting through that project report or analysis the boss wanted on his desk last week, the following suggestions, which will be discussed throughout the book, will help you to get started:
Visualize yourself completing the last sentence.
By Visualizing the completion of your writing task, you can break out of the chains that hold you back and get started on the assignment.
Clear your workspace.
Remove everything except what’s needed to write your document. People often have trouble writing because their office is a mess and not conductive to creativity. Recognize that during the time you’re preparing a report or other assignment you need to tune our distractions. Working on a clear surface is an effective way to do this.
Outline Your Ideas.
Producing a one-page outline, or writing as few as ten key words on a page, can guide you through the preparation and completion of an article. Devote a block of time to simply preparing report outlines or chronological sequences that can later serve as a useful tool when you’re ready to write the full-blown document.
Write For A Few Minutes
And watch what happens. Forget all the excuses. You don’t really want to offer them, and who wants to hear them? Set an alarm for four minutes, sit down, and start writing. Often you’ll find that you don’t want to stop after a few minutes. Getting started is the key obstacle to writing productively.
Once you can master this “few minutes technique”, you’ll develop a habit that will blast the term “writer’s block” out of your vocabulary. This technique is so effective that even if you can’t complete the document at the initial sitting, you’ll finish faster and more easily than you would have otherwise.
Regards,
Timben
Much of what you may need to undertake to achieve a desired outcome may not please you while you’re doing it. Jogging miles to reduce your waistline or saving more money and spending less will not necessarily make you feel better on any given day. One find day, however, when your waistline is at the trim target you’ve chosen and you’ve become the svelte version of yourself, or your savings account has grown to a healthy balance, you begin to understand that less-than-pleasing means contribute to the highly pleasing outcome.
One way to get started when you’re stuck particularly for work-related tasks is to approach the issue from a different perspective. When Tom Wolfe, the novelist with those semi-dapper all-white wardrobes, was already past the deadline on an article for Esquire magazine, his editor gave him a wonderful suggestion. Wolfe was directed to write a letter to his editor, describing how he would approach the article and what he would put in it. So, he submitted a draft that started like a letter.
Sure enough, by eliminating the first paragraph or two and retaining the body of what Wolfe had written, the editor had the requisite material. Like Wolfe, you may not have trouble with a task, but simply with starting. By approaching your task in a different way, it may become a whole lot easier to handle. You will see clearly, now that the rain is gone.
Unblock Writer’s Block
One of the tasks that makes many people’s list of areas where they frequently procrastinate is writing, or more specifically, as in the case of Tom Wolfe, getting started on writing. Writer’s block, a term that refers to little more than procrastination related to writing, hangs heavy over the head of many a would-be achiever. If writer’s block is a problem for you, if you’re having trouble getting through that project report or analysis the boss wanted on his desk last week, the following suggestions, which will be discussed throughout the book, will help you to get started:
Visualize yourself completing the last sentence.
By Visualizing the completion of your writing task, you can break out of the chains that hold you back and get started on the assignment.
Clear your workspace.
Remove everything except what’s needed to write your document. People often have trouble writing because their office is a mess and not conductive to creativity. Recognize that during the time you’re preparing a report or other assignment you need to tune our distractions. Working on a clear surface is an effective way to do this.
Outline Your Ideas.
Producing a one-page outline, or writing as few as ten key words on a page, can guide you through the preparation and completion of an article. Devote a block of time to simply preparing report outlines or chronological sequences that can later serve as a useful tool when you’re ready to write the full-blown document.
Write For A Few Minutes
And watch what happens. Forget all the excuses. You don’t really want to offer them, and who wants to hear them? Set an alarm for four minutes, sit down, and start writing. Often you’ll find that you don’t want to stop after a few minutes. Getting started is the key obstacle to writing productively.
Once you can master this “few minutes technique”, you’ll develop a habit that will blast the term “writer’s block” out of your vocabulary. This technique is so effective that even if you can’t complete the document at the initial sitting, you’ll finish faster and more easily than you would have otherwise.
Regards,
Timben
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