As I’m writing this article the stopwatch on my iPhone is set for 30 minutes to complete this article. Then I’ll take a 5 minute break, come back and set the stopwatch for another 30 minutes to upload on my blog, send to my S.O.S. Newsletter community and post this to my social media. I have allowed myself an extra 30 minutes for editing and troubleshooting in case any technical issues come up. So that’s a total of 1.5 hours from beginning to end to complete this task. Oh and before I even started this article, I posted on Facebook that this article was coming in a few hours. So, talk about beating procrastination!
What is Procrastination?
According to Wikipedia, procrastination is ”the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time.”
Yes, I see how procrastination as crept into my day on certain tasks because it’s a lot more fun to do the pleasurable tasks. Can you relate to this? I’m sure I’m not alone.
Missing opportunities, being late for work, class, meetings or other appointments creates undo stress, overwhelm, guilt and often times resentment from those who were waiting for us and these are just some of the symptoms. And what about the physical and mental impact this has on our body and mind.
How about all the times you said you would do something for someone else? Or all the times you promised yourself that you would take time to go for a walk, exercise, eat healthier meals and take time for yourself.
So What Are You Procrastinating On?
I’ll share with you one task I procrastinated on for years. The night before my bookkeeper would come to my office, I’d be stressed, frustrated and up till 2:00am and then get up early the next morning to finish the task. When I first started my business it was growing fast and I didn’t have all my business systems in place. Plus, I didn’t know what I needed to have in place. For years I made the mistake of scheduling in my calendar “Get ready for Bookkeeper” and proceeded to procrastinate. Hmmm…I wonder why?
Well, I don’t like the task and its low on my priority list, but it’s a necessity as a business owner and I don’t like the penalties and late fees if I’m late on my reporting. One day I said enough stress and last minute drama and I opened up a calendar event in Gmail and proceeded to write down all the tasks involved in “Get ready for Bookkeeper.” Wow, there were a lot of tasks and it always took a lot longer to do than I had scheduled for.
One of the tasks in preparing for the meeting with my bookkeeper was to print off receipts from all my online services so she could match them up to my credit card statement, merchant account and bank statement. In Canada, it’s a requirement to have printed receipts and this is such a time consuming task. So, I bookmarked all the login pages and created a folder on my browser toolbar called “Finance” and a sub folder called “Month End”. I also typed out all the tasks in my Gmail appointment and made it recurring once a month.
Do you know how much time that has saved me over the years and it can be totally delegated. Stress levels are reduced significantly whenever I see the task in my Calendar now and there are only a few tasks that I need to do and the rest are delegated. When I see the task “Month End – Prepare for Bookkeeper” I simply open up the task and all the next action steps are planned out and a click away.
Tip #1 – Your Calendar is Your Stress Reducer
Your calendar is your stress reducer and a place to get things out of your head and onto paper or into your electronic calendar. Take it a step further and write in the amount of time you think the task will take. Than double the time and schedule a more realistic time-frame into your calendar. Refer to your calendar often to see what the next step is.
Tip #2 – Get Clear on the Next Step
Often times, we procrastinate on a task or big project because we are unclear about what the next action step is. You’ve heard the saying “you can’t eat an elephant in one bit.” Well the same is true for getting things done whether it’s a small task or a big project. If you are procrastinating on a getting something done, take a time out, and write out all the tasks that are required to get that task or project to completion.
Many times when we have a task in our calendar like “go to gym,” organize garage,” “launch new product,” “return phone call,” or “get taxes to accountant” there are probably several tasks inside the task that need to be done first. Get clear on the next step and schedule each task with the appropriate amount of time.
Tip #2 – Delegate or Streamline Unpleasant Tasks
Sometimes it’s just not a pleasant task to do and you simply don’t want to do it. We can come up with all kinds of reasons to procrastinate on the task. When all you need to do is ask yourself “What is the next action step?” When you are clear on the next steps that is what you schedule into your calendar. When you look at your calendar it’s easier to see yourself actually completing the task at the specified time and less chance of procrastinating.
Create a recurring appointment in your calendar and list all the tasks inside the appointment. Include any links to documents, websites and resources that you may need to complete the task. Set yourself up to succeed at completing the task.
Tip #4 – Build in Accountability
Setting boundaries, building in accountability and creating realistic time frames is a great first step to set you up for success, change a habit and beat procrastination.
Action Required: What will you do today to set yourself up for success and beat procrastination? Leave your comments below.
In part two, we’ll discuss other topics like perfectionism which is a big and a huge time-waster that steels away our time. Stay tuned next week.