Every so often something really useful comes through in a
newsletter. My friend Jan Jasper is an
organizing and productivity consultant who has a lot of good ideas. Her newsletter this month was on
procrastination. In spite of business
being a little slow, many businesspeople and professionals I know are
procrastinating more earnestly than ever.
Jan's advice, excerpted below, is simple, profound and timely. I especially like the second point. Heaven knows I’ve wasted a huge amount of
time and energy in my life putting off something I didn’t want to do. I also
find this particularly relevant to my clients when it comes to marketing tasks
(ahem)…
Jan's Top Procrastination Busters
-
Prune your to-do list of the non-essential items
you know you'll never do.
-
For that must-do task you've been putting off,
just do it - ideally, the first thing in the morning. This frees your mental
energy - often, not-doing something drains you more than doing it.
-
Identify a part of the disliked task that's
fairly pleasant - such as calling a colleague for information - and do that
first, to get your feet wet. Or make a list of the various steps involved.
-
Schedule hunks of time to tackle work that
requires concentration. Actually make an appointment with yourself. Let voice
mail pick up your calls. You'll make a lot of headway in a short time.
-
If the task is really objectionable, promise
yourself you'll tackle it just for 10 minutes, then if it's killing you, you
can stop. You may find it's not so bad and can easily keep going until
finished.
-
If you want to avoid being distracted by email
or the internet, put your computer behind you. You'll have to swivel around in
your chair to check your email for the umpteenth time, or to Google something
you're only mildly curious about. Going to the computer will now be a conscious
decision.
- Avoid the temptation to shift from one
half-finished task to another. This task-hopping is a form of stealth
procrastination that many of us do without knowing it.
- For digitally managing tasks with sub-tasks,
watch for our upcoming article "Use Outlook to Keep Track of Multi-Part
Tasks" in the next issue of this eLetter.
- Some of the best procrastination advice is from
Alan Lakein - pre-tech era, but still excellent.
Jan Jasper is author of Take Back Your Time: How to Regain
Control of Work, Information, and Technology, published by St. Martin's Press. Find her on the web at www.janjasper.com