Do you have a whole bunch of half-finished projects gathering dust?
Perhaps it's that fitness routine which you swiftly abandoned (along with all the accompanying equipment). Maybe it's a craft project which has been taken up space for months. You might have musical instruments which you never learned to play, college courses left unfinished, websites half-created, a novel that you started writing and never finished.
I used to be great at starting things, and really bad at following through. Over the years, I've learned to get better at finishing what I start.
Step 1: Decide Whether it's Just a Whim
Sometimes, you'll have a great idea for some new endeavor. Maybe you want to:
... and so on. Your interest might have been sparked by something you read, or by a movie you watched, or a friend who's passionate about a particular hobby.
Before you run out and buy a ton of stuff, and before you sign up for evening classes or dedicate every weekend to this, give yourself some time to figure out if it's just a whim. However keen you feel right now, wait a few weeks. Sometimes, an idea which seemed great at the time just doesn't last.
Step 2: Make a Firm Commitment
If you are going to start something new and finish it, you need to really commit to it. I wouldn't recommend spending large amounts of money (though that definitely can make you feel a stronger attachment to something) – instead, I'd suggest that you block out some time to spend on this project on a regular basis.
That might mean that you have to take a hard look at your diary and get rid of some other activities. You're not suddenly going to find a spare hour or two every day ... you need to think about what you're already spending your time on.
Step 3: Keep Track of Progress
It's easy to start off keen, spending a diligent half-hour a day on your project for a week or two ... only to hit a busy patch in life. I'm sure you've had projects which got put aside "just for now", only for months to go by without any progress at all.
It's easy to lose momentum when you're working on lots of different things. If I've got a project which I really want to move forwards on, I find that the best way is to keep track of the progress I'm making.
There are all sorts of ways to keep track, depending on your project. Here are some possibilities:
Step 4: Have an End in Sight
It might seem like a silly point, but if you're going to finish what you start, you need to know what "finished" looks like!
Some projects have a natural end point – but many don't. For example, when have you "finished" with a diet? When have you "finished" learning to play the piano?
If your goal is to "write a book", be clear whether you mean "write a draft" or "finish it to the best standard I can" or "get it published". These are all different goals and different endpoints. If you're doing your first NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, every November), then just finishing a 50,000 word draft is a great achievement. If you're aiming for a career as a professional writer, then you'll be looking at an end point of publication.
You might find that your goal doesn't have a finish line at all. If you're getting fit, you don't suddenly achieve fitness and then stop! With goals like this, set yourself some targets to keep you going. You might want to run a half-marathon in two years' time, and a marathon the year after that. You might aim to bench-press a certain amount of weight.
Finally ... if you have lots of half-done projects, don't feel bad about letting some of them go. That might mean throwing out old materials, selling those books you'll never read, or formally resigning from that course. Quitting is a way to finish a project – and it can free you up to take on something new.
Written on 5/09/2010 by Ali Hale. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.
How to Finish What You Start
Posted by SoMeOnE at 10:01 PM Labels: Goals, Procrastination, Productivity
How Procrastination Can Make You More Productive
Posted by SoMeOnE at 6:14 AM Labels: Procrastination, Productivity
Some mornings, I can't wait to get to work. I jump out of bed, my mind already mulling over the various projects I want to complete. I pour myself some cereal and gulp it down in my home office while waiting for the computer to boot up.
Today is not one of those days. Outside, the sun is shining, birds are chirping and the dogwood tree is getting ready to bloom. Yet even with the windows open, my home office feels like a prison.
Call it spring fever. Call it burnout. Whatever you call it, one thing is clear: I do not want to work today.
My Revelation About Procrastination
I was feeling this way a few weeks ago, too. Despite my lengthy to-do list, I really just wanted to lay in the grass and finish reading "Switch," the latest book by Chip and Dan Heath.
Instead, I forced myself to sit at the computer and get some work done. But I kept getting distracted. I'd pull up the internet to do some research and wind up on Twitter instead – or I'd open my email to respond to a client, only to get called away by an email.
I spent several hours bogged down by one distraction after another, and finished the day with no work accomplished. Then it dawned on me: I wasn't procrastinating from work. I was procrastinating from reading. I was totally ignoring the side of me that wanted to read for an hour or two, and I was punishing myself by wasting the entire day.
It's as if one side of me said, "Not going to pay attention to my needs, huh? Well, I'm not going to let you get any work done. So there."
My brain can be tricky that way.
The Real Reason You Aren't Getting Stuff Done
We've all read productivity tips such as, "Check your email once a day" and "Unplug the internet so you aren't tempted to surf." But these suggestions are no match for an unacknowledged urge stewing in your subconscious.
If you really don't want to work, it won't matter if your internet is unplugged. You'll find other ways to procrastinate.
The same forces are at work when you forget to attend an appointment you've been dreading, or binge on cookies before you can reach for the celery. Sometimes, you just can't shut out those competing urges.
The Solution: Procrastinate More
Once I realized what I was doing, I shut off the computer and headed outside to read. I spent a lovely couple of hours that way, and later I had an easy time getting back to work -- real work, not just goofing off at my desk.
You can become more productive by paying attention to competing urges. Ask yourself:
If your urge to procrastinate stems from anxiety or avoidance, the best solution may be to simply get to work. But if you're feeling truly burnt out or in need of a creative boost, you may be best served by taking a day of play. Cancel your appointments and head to the park, or spend the afternoon in a hammock sipping lemonade. You may not pare down your to-do list, but you'll feel much better about work in the morning. Over time, you may even get more done.
Written on 4/22/2010 by Kelly Watson. Kelly is a web copywriter and online marketing consultant who blogs about being a one-woman marketing team at OneWomanMarketing.com.
Doing Battle With Procrastination? Here's How to Win – For Good
Posted by SoMeOnE at 5:19 AM Labels: How To, Procrastination, Productivity
Sometimes I get emails from Dumb Little Man's readers – and it's always lovely to receive these! One problem that people often mention is procrastination. They know that this bad habit is holding them back, but they're not sure how to beat it.
All you procrastinators out there – even those of you who told me not to write about this because you'd no longer have an excuse! – listen up. Here's my four-step battle plan for beating procrastination right into the ground:
Are you winning the war on procrastination? What are your tips from the trenches?
You're going to have a hard time beating procrastination if you don't recognize your enemy. Procrastination is a cunning creature and can sidle onto the daily battlefield in various guises:
Sometimes, you know you're faced with the enemy. You've just spent the last half-hour Twittering and looking at amusing pictures of cats online; procrastination's got you by the neck. Other times, procrastination wears the guise of productivity. Surely, getting your inbox cleared out is important? Well, maybe it is but are you just using that as an excuse not to get on with your really important work?
Procrastination often wins by making small, incremental gains. Those five minutes of reading the newspaper turn into twenty. That coffee before making a start on work turns into a half-hour natter with your colleague.
Recognize the enemy – and that's half the battle won.
If you're going to beat procrastination – especially if you've done battle and retreated wounded in the past – then you need the big guns.
My favorite way to blast procrastination right back into oblivion is what I call the just make a start method. When that cloud of procrastination hovers over a task, the best way to banish it is to dive right in. Get your hands dirty. Don't stop to think too much. Just open up that Word document, find that file, or pick up that phone. Taking action is the fastest possible way to send procrastination running.
Some of the other big guns that will obliterate procrastination are:
There's no point tackling procrastination head-on if you're not protecting your flank. Don't leave yourself open to attack. People do this all the time by working so much that they burn out, or by forgetting the physical aspect of procrastination.
You need what the army calls R&R – rest and relaxation – if you're going to perform well. Trying to work long days, or working every weekend, is going to leave you wide open to procrastination's lure: when you're tired or stressed, it's hard to stay motivated. Learn to leave work at work.
And, like any soldier, you need to stay fit. Getting regular exercise – just half an hour's brisk walking each day – is enough to really improve your focus. Stay well hydrated, and eat sensibly. You might have laughed in the face of procrastination in the morning, but huge lunch and a couple of beers aren't going to leave you in good shape for the afternoon.
Finally, recognize that there will be times when procrastination gets the better of you. You'll have days when you don't accomplish any of the tasks on your to-do lists. You'll lose whole afternoons to web comics and Facebook. You'll spend whole weekends watching DVDs, even when you planned to finally give the house a spring-clean.
Don't let one lost skirmish turn into surrendering the war. You're always stronger than procrastination, and you can bounce back. The more often you win, the easier it'll be. Never retreat – never give up! Pick yourself off the ground, and start the battle again.Written on 4/05/2010 by Ali Hale. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.