Get Yourself Unstuck: 8 Smart Reminders
By Helaine Iris in Featured, Productivity, Small Business Life
Whether you consider yourself an occasional procrastinator or a terminal one, getting stuck in the mud - paralyzing your ability to act - sometimes happens. While it’s certainly useful to explore the reasons behind persistent procrastination patterns and resolve them, this article is intended to offer you 8 smart reminders to free you up and get you moving again. Here they are:
Recall your greatest vision. Your actions should always match the values you hold for your self and your business if they don’t, you will find it hard to summon the energy to act. Find a way to bring each task into congruence with your vision -if you can’t, ask yourself why you’re doing it in the first place.
Once you’re moving keep going. When you’re inspired, act immediately. Create a short, written plan and avoid getting distracted. This will maximize your ability to accomplish. It’s important to keep your plan simple and start with the most important task first giving you a sense of accomplishment. Balance the time spent planning with time spent doing and by all means -avoid over planning which is yet another clever method of procrastination.
Get tasks into your planner. Pretend your tasks are appointments with clients. Determine how much you can realistically do at a time and work it into your schedule. Don’t leave tasks for when you have spare time. Work only as long as you stay interested and set a completion point for accomplishing each task. Completion points give you an end in sight to look forward to.
Chunk it down. Don’t put any task on your list that takes more than 30 minutes. if it takes longer, it’s actually a series of smaller tasks. Break each step out and list it separately. Remember, you don’t have to tackle all the steps of a project in one sitting. Spread a large task out over several work sessions you will see greater progress as you check more items off your list.
Done is better than perfect. Don’t try to do everything perfectly, perfectionism often causes procrastination rather than perfection, aim for progress any small step toward completion is an accomplishment.
Eat the Frog. According to Brian Tracy’s book of the same title, do the worst task (or part of the task) first and get it out of the way. Once you tackle the part you are dreading, the rest is easy.
Make it fun. Make the project and also the environment enjoyable. Play your favorite music, open the window, Have a great snack, Also, give yourself the best tools and work space possible. Take a few minutes to organize your work space before you start so you feel good in the space. Always remember to reward your accomplishments, this will encourage productivity. Give yourself a break, a treat, a nap - whatever works for you.
Be accountable. Giving your word to someone else is a great tool to facilitate results. Remember, you don’t have to do it alone. Find an accountability partner who will track your progress, problem solve, and celebrate success with you.
It’s YOUR life…imagine the possibilities!
On Oct 1, 2007, Iskwew said:
Excellent piece, Michael. Thanks! This is bookmarked. I’ll read it over again later.
On Nov 3, 2007, Internet Marketing Blog said:
EAT THE FROG is right…
I do the worst task of the day first then it’s all uphill.
On Nov 4, 2007, solarium said:
very nice WP designs!
On Nov 5, 2007, Work At Home Ideas said:
Thanks for such great reminders. You are right to call them as such since a lot of us must have heard, learned or read them somewhere before but guilty of not practising them. Thanks for the smart reminders.
Peter
On Nov 11, 2007, Work From Home Business Blog said:
I totally agree with you a lot of us forget to give ourselves a good break and get lost in our business. Thanks for this reminder.
On Dec 2, 2007, S. Kumar - Learnhomebusiness.com said:
Planning out things is easy…
Working out the plan is difficult!
It requires,
1. Focus
2. Time frame for completion
3. Commitment to the tasks that
are simpy there to be done.
Courteoulsy — S. Kumar
http://www.learnhomebusiness.com
On Dec 12, 2007, Insane Wealth Expert said:
“Make it fun” is the most important aspect.
On Jan 3, 2008, Martin said:
Great Tips - thanks! I like the one on accountability. In fact, when I’m planning to do something that’s important to me I will always let a few people know what it is, even if they’re not directly involved. Making a ‘public’ commitment is a great motivator - especially as the people I tell are likely to ask how my task or project is coming along.
On Jan 23, 2008, home business builder said:
Great post, I agree writing things down it brings them into reality and they seem to get done and best of all when you complete at least one activity on your list it creates such a positive attitude that it snowballs your efforts.
On Feb 27, 2008, Frank C. said:
Keeping on track is the key to success and life. Hard to do sometimes but just keep postive and know where you are heading
On Mar 20, 2008, David said:
That was a great piece.I’m a chronic procastinator and it could’ve been written about me!
On Apr 14, 2008, Accessible Website Development said:
This is a great way to think about things.
I wouldn’t consider myself a procrastinator but instead I have too many things going on in my head to execute.
Which I guess can be just as much of a problem as being a procrastinator.
I’m gonna try breaking things down into smaller chunks, like your “chunk it down”. I like that one :)
On Apr 18, 2008, Darrin said:
Michael, Great advise and timely just what I needed today.
Regards,
On Apr 19, 2008, Peter said:
Great post. There are times when I find myself stuck and these tricks will help me out in the future.
Thanks,
Peter
On Apr 24, 2008, chris said:
You are right. Tackle the toughest task at the start of your day. If not, the day will be focusing on that one task and not the others that you need to do.
On May 7, 2008, Vicki Flaugher said:
I love the advice you offer here. All of us get stuck and sometimes there seems to be no way to fix it. I especially like the “done is better than perfect”. A lot of us, women in particular, seem to get hung up on this one. Thanks for offering workable, practical solutions for entrepreneurs!I am going to be sure to post your site on my blog so the female entrepreneurs that visit there can enjoy your wisdom.
Vicki Flaugher
On May 12, 2008, James Sanders said:
Inspiring post, I like the tip about braking down 30 minute tasks, will be able to cope more efficiently in smaller chunks! Printed and stuck on my office wall!
James
On May 15, 2008, SystemsThinker said:
Good ideas. Chunking has been the most important thing of all for me, I think. And doing that itself can seem to affect the perfectionism issue. I also think it’s important to keep in mind your highest values and vision as you consider doing the project.
One last note. Sometimes I think we procrastinate because a part of us realizes we really shouldn’t do the task at hand, that it isn’t really the right priority for us. Separating this from other issues like simple fear of success or fear of failure or just lack of focus is a difficult but important task.
On May 16, 2008, Josette Skilling said:
It’s so true that is you just start to break it down into chunks you can manage and not being perfect. I’m going to print this out so I remember when I’m stuck!
On Jul 15, 2008, Jonathan Clark said:
Great post - thank goodness its not just me! I’d like to share this url with my students if that’s OK? All new or recently launched practitioners. Let me know if that’s ok.