Tomorrow’s
another day…but it’s here before you know
it!
By Patty
Kreamer, CPO®
I’ve
done it again. It is 24 hours before my deadline and
I am finally starting to write. You know what I’m
going through because you’ve all done it before.
That’s right, the "P" word that plagues
us all--Procrastination.
Why do we put ourselves in situations that do nothing
but cause us stress? (I did it on purpose so I had
something to write about—are you buying that?)
The worst part about procrastination is that it is
almost always self-inflicted. Let’s look at some
reasons and solutions for procrastination. Which ones
are holding you back from greater success and less
stress?
It is easier NOT to do something than it is to
do it. If you are a to-do list person (in your head or
on paper), you look up and down your list and gravitate
towards the easy tasks that are not nearly as high
priority. It’s easy to scan right over the less-than-attractive
tasks. Solution? Schedule all of your to-do items
in a time slot in your day planner or Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA). A much higher percentage of tasks
will be checked off at the end of the day.
Usually we put off the things that we do not like
to do. Simply put, this is human nature. If you find yourself
pushing a to-do forward day after day, confront it.
Ask yourself if there is someone else that could or
would do it for you. If it is something that you just
are not good at, maybe you should consider educating
yourself in that area so it is not such a big deal
every time it arises. I see this a lot with expense
reports. If numbers are not your thing, find someone
that loves them and ask if they’ll do your report
for you. Work a deal by offering to do something for
them that they don’t like doing. Or ask others
how they do their report—there might be a better
or easier way of which you are unaware.
The task or project seems SOOOO overwhelming.
You have a huge project that is going to take 30
hours to do but you have six months to do it. That
sixth month is here before you know it and you are
scrambling to get it all done. This is not healthy.
Instead of looking at it as a 30-hour project, look
at it as six 5-hour projects. That means you only
have to spend five hours per month over the next six
months! That is much more manageable. Go even further
by breaking the five-hour project per month into five
one-hour projects and schedule those one-hour chunks
into time slots in your day planner or PDA.
You
don’t know where to start. In
looking at a 30-hour project, a starting point can
be tricky and evasive. Look at it like an elephant.
You don’t eat an elephant in one bite…you
take small bites, one at time. That’s how you
break down a big project. List all of the baby bites
and then schedule to do one bite at a time. For example,
if you wanted to organize your whole office (very
overwhelming), start by narrowing it down to your
desk, then a specific drawer. That will get you started,
then you move on to the next drawer, then the top
of the desk, and so on in little bites.
You’ve
heard the old saying "Put it off ‘til tomorrow,
you’ve made enough mistakes today". It’s
just a saying. So go on, get started on that overdue
report. Someone is waiting for it with bated breath.
I have to go write next month’s column!
Here's
to simplifying your life!
Patty Kreamer, CPO®, owner of Kreamer
Connect, Inc., is a Certified Professional Organizer®, speaker,
and author of “…But I Might Need It Someday!”
and “The Power of Simplicity” available at
www.ByeByeClutter.com.
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