Somedays You Just Don’t Feel Like It!

This is the last entry in the series I have been doing about procrastination.  Ironically, it has taken the longest to put up mainly because I haven’t really felt like writing it and so I have been procrastinating! (lol)

I started this series a few weeks ago, trying to figure out why it is that I procrastinate so much, and what in fact I can to to change it.

• I opened the series with how procrastination can seriously be hurting you and your business.
• Then we talked about how fear can really cripple you, both fear of failure AND fear of success.
• Next was the topic that so many at-home-entrepreneurs face….. PERFECTIONISM! (Ack)
• From there we went into how lack of knowledge can lead to procrastination.
• And then I talked about MY biggest problem and that is Self Sabotage!!! (grrrr)
• Next we talked a bit about feeling overwhelmed and how we can try to pull things back into perspective and concentrate on priorities.
• Another reason to procrastinate is simply that we don’t feel motivated to get the job done, and this is what I talked about in the my last post.

Today, we’re going to quickly get through the last 3 items on my original list.  Procrastination keeps us stuck.  It’s really difficult to move forward in business, in life, in weight loss or whatever you’re trying to accomplish when you keep procrastinating on even getting it started.

There are times when procrastination is nothing more than not wanting to do the task at hand.  We all have things that we need to get done, but don’t bring us any joy or sense of accomplishment in the doing of them:

• It’s way too boring!  Don’t you just have some jobs that are soooo boring… mindless and repetitive?  I do.  I tend to put them off as long as I possibly can because I just don’t like doing them.  But they still have to get done.  One thing to do and that I try and do as often as possible is outsource that task.  Especially when it is a very simple, repetitive task.  I can hire someone to do that train them, and then free up more time in my schedule for more productive (money making) tasks.

• I just don’t feel like it! I have days when I just don’t feel like doing anything, or especially doing the task at hand.

Sometimes you have to be “in the mood”. This is when I ask myself if it something that is necessary to my productivity goals to get this particular thing done. If it isn’t, I re-schedule it and work on a more pressing item for that day.

On the other-hand sometimes it IS necessary to get the task completed.  In that case it’s a matter of “suck it up buttercup”, “put your big girl pants on and just do it!”  Set a timer and start to work through the problem.  Often once you actually get into it, it’s not that bad and doesn’t take nearly as long as you originally thought it would.

I even find that getting that task out of the way early in the day gives me a sense of accomplishment and then I am more productive for the rest of the day.

• Getting easily distracted! The older I get it seems the easier I get distracted. Sometimes I think that I have adult ADD (and I very well could have). It doesn’t matter if I am cooking supper, doing some listing for my business, cleaning the room, or even writing a blog article (lol). I get side track several times during the task.

For this, I think the cure is limiting distractions. Close all your tabs on the computer while you are working, shut off the tv when you are trying to get something done around the house, often times I won’t even answer my phone if it rings and I am in the middle of something.   Just because someone is calling me doesn’t mean that I have to answer it.

Getting distracted is a big deal….

So let’s see if this rings a bell to anyone else…  I go into the kitchen to make some dinner.  Go into the fridge to start pulling out what I need, then I notice the left over spaghetti from dinner last week that needs to be tossed out, but when I go to put it in the trash, the trash is full, so I bag it up and take it out to the back garbage for pick up.

On the way back in, I notice the laundry that needs to be changed over…. well since I’m there, may as well do that.  Then as I am folding that load of laundry the phone rings, and it is so and so whom I’ve been meaning to call all week.  Okay, grab a coffee and go out on the deck to take the call.  Come back in makes some notes or reminders what the call was about.

Go back into the kitchen…. what was I doing in here before?!   Oh Right….. dinner! Now it’s an hour later, and 2 STARVING kids… Huhhhhhh!! hop in van, and go grab and quick and easy pizza (again)!!!

I do the same kind of thing when I’m cleaning, or when I’m creating a blog post, or when I’m searching for product.

Sometimes there isn’t any big hidden meaning as to why we aren’t getting it done… beyond, it’s not something that we enjoy, it’s not something that we find challenging, or we don’t feel like we’re making progress in getting it done.

My suggestion for these situations is outsource or delegate on these items as often as you can.  Paying someone else to do something get it scratched off your to-do list (giving you that sense of progress) but you aren’t wasting your valuable time doing it.

If you can’t hand the task off to someone else, and you do have to do it.  Dive in, and get it done.  Set a timer, turn off all distractions and stay laser focused.  Just do it!!!

You are the owner of your life, the CEO of your business, and you household.  Start thinking like you are.

Tomorrow I will give you the final wrap up of the top tips and techniques I use to get more done with less procrastination.

Talk Soon,

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