This Time Management Tool Really Works!

by Nancy F. Clark (Follow her on Twitter)
Named one of Forbes: Thirty Women Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter

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First, declare that procrastination is not a good thing. Then, admit that you are indeed procrastinating on a task or project. Get out your To Do List. Take a look at each item and ask yourself, “Am I procrastinating on this? Maybe just a little bit?” If so, put a “P” in front of it and go to the next item. Now, look at your list. Do you have a “P” in front of items that should be of high priority? That’s bad, admit it. Don’t beat yourself up too much. You’re beginning a reframing process and you’ll be better after you put into action the Tip of the Week.

Confess (to yourself) why this is happening. It may be a different reason for each item. Here are some of the possibilities:

1. I’m overly optimistic, as in “I could get that whole project done in 3 days, and there’s 2 weeks left, so what’s the hurry?” –
2. I see it as too overwhelming – “Great! Why did they give that to me? How could I possibly do it? It’s way too big of a project. I’m not good enough. Sob, sob.”
3. I’m too busy. Don’t ask me!.– (In this case take a look to see if you’re using precious time to complain to people here and there about how busy you are. This is time that could be better spent. Is complaining wasting your valuable time?)
4. This task is unpleasant. I dread doing it.  (It could merely be that you have to make a phone call to tell someone that they are not going to be happy with a new bit of information. Sound familiar?)

Time to confess to you. This blog was due to go out last week. What happened? It took me a while to see through my own procrastination habit. My idea is to select a blog topic that I think needs to be covered in the next week. I jot the idea down, and then finish the one I jotted down last week. What happens in my mind is that I succumb to #1 above: I think, “Oh, I didn’t write down next week’s topic. Well, that’s OK, I have plenty of time.”

Time management is a problem area for me, so I’m eager to delve into more ways to improve the situation. Stay tuned if you have this in common with me!

Break the procrastination cycle with one of these choices.

1. Delegate the task to someone else. Wouldn’t that be great?
2. Tell someone else that you’re going to do the task in question by X date and ask them to help hold you to it. (That’s why I confessed to you about next week’s blog.)
3. Picture the result of not doing the task—this is the negative incentive approach.
4. Or break the procrastination cycle by using my Tip of the Week.

Tip:

I’d like you to take a positive approach. Picture the result of doing the task in question. Fo r one thing, your To Do List will be shorter. And you’ll feel better about your productivity. Maybe you’ll gain gratification, if you’ve taken on a challenging task. For an extra positive approach, let’s add pleasure to the mix. Plan ahead to give yourself a little reward—a big reward if it’s a big task—when you’ve handled the item in question. Who said getting rid of procrastination couldn’t be fun? Fun is a great motivator!

Now, take a look at your list and decide if you want a little or a big reward!

Be sure to visit our website, WomensMedia.com, for Expert Advice for Working Women.

On our website, WomensMedia Expert Advice for Business Women you should read these excellent articles:

Making the Most of Criticism and Praise by Pat Heim, PhD with Susan Murphy, PhD

Money Worries: When Settling for Less Is Not the Answer by Eleanor Blayney, CFP

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