Holly Uverity CPO®, Office Organizers
How often are you faced with completing, or even worse, beginning, a task that you dread? Daily? Weekly? What do you do? Do you grit your teeth and get it done? Or do you delay the task until the last possible moment? Do you work on other less important tasks as a way of saying to yourself that you’re too busy to get the important one done? Do you approach your tasks with a proactive attitude or a reactive one?
If you procrastinate, you are not alone. Everyone does it – some people do it because they thrive on the adrenaline rush of getting something accomplished at the last minute. Others do it out of fear; they are overwhelmed by what needs to be done and have no idea where or how to begin so they become paralyzed and do nothing. Procrastination is a work strategy, not a good one, but one nevertheless. It’s also a habit and as such, can be changed. The good news is that with a little bit of patience and understanding, you can exchange that bad habit for a good one and begin adopting work strategies that help you instead of hold you back.
- Acknowledge that you are procrastinating. Recognize it, accept it, and move on.
- Check your plan. If you find yourself procrastinating on one task, check your plan to see if you can do something else instead.
- Ensure that the task you are dreading doing really does fit into your overall goals. If it doesn’t, don’t do it.
- Focus on the outcome, not how you got there. What will happen when you get this task finished?
- Start. Do anything. Do the easiest task or part of a task first or do the worst first. Energy begets energy; start somewhere and do something.
- Take small steps. Because it is easy to get overwhelmed by the big picture, break the big picture down into smaller sequences of events. First do A, then do B, and then do C. If A seems overwhelming, break A down into smaller steps. Keep breaking tasks down until they feel manageable to you.
- Pat yourself on the back when you’ve completed something you’ve been dreading, regardless of how small a task it is. Celebrate by surfing the net for a few minutes, chatting with a friend or just taking a short walk away from your desk.
- Mix it up. You don’t have to do all the hard, boring stuff at the same time so mix in some fun. Alternate a dreaded task with something you like to do.
- Get organized. Make sure the reason you’re procrastinating is NOT because you don’t have the proper tools or environment to get the job done. It can be impossible to focus on what you need to do if you’re surrounded by clutter; eliminate visual distractions.
- Get to why. If you chronically procrastinate on a particular task or type of task, see if you can determine why. If it’s something you hate doing, delegate it. If you can’t delegate it, figure out how to make it more enjoyable.
- Understand your personal rhythms. Keep track of when you feel the most motivated, creative and productive and try scheduling your hardest tasks during those times. You could be procrastinating simply because it goes against your internal rhythms.
- Recognize that perfectionism is a form of procrastination. People often don’t begin a task because they know they won’t have enough time or materials to do the job ‘perfectly’ and they end up doing nothing. Let perfectionism go.
- Get a jump start. Many times people simply need a jump start from a buddy. If you’re having a problem writing something, call a trusted friend or colleague and start talking about the project, which will engage your brain, and jump start your creativity.
- Get out of your head. Many times we don’t know where or how to begin so if you’re feeling stuck, instead of thinking what you need to do, start writing down what you need to do. Do a brain dump and get everything out of your head and onto paper. It will be easier to see what needs to be done.
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Holly Uverity, CPO® is the owner of Office Organizers – The Entrepreneur’s Organizer. She can be reached at 281.655.5022, www.OfficeOrganizers.com or www.FB.com/OfficeOrganizers.
