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.