If you're thinking about putting something off ... don't

Procrastination is never a good thing

I'm usually pretty good at doing things at the time, but I do have moments when my Taurean bull raises its stubborn head and I dig my heels in because I don't want to do something.  I can turn procrastination into an art form.

Typing up minutes and actions after meetings is a good example.  I take the minutes for around 12 different meetings (there's that many I've lost count) so they come at me pretty thick and fast throughout the month.  In a bid to keep on top of them, I quickly type up a draft copy of the minutes and actions either immediately following the meeting or the day after.  However, other work comes along in-between time and I do sometimes procrastinate on the minutes, especially when the meeting is very technical and complex.  I've already sat through the meetings for goodness sake, I don't want to relive the pain again.  Then there's the whole acronyms and business lingo to contend with.  When I first started in this role, I didn't know my BAU from my SLA and I used to think that 'being agile' meant being able to slide across your boss's desk Starsky and Hutch style whilst still taking down notes.

BUT, procrastination is never a good thing because it comes back to bite you on the bum.  You think 'oh it'll be fine, I can do those minutes in a few days' time' and then another huge piece of work lands on your desk!  Eek, how are you going to fit everything in now and there's another four meetings heading your way.

I'm a planner, I love nothing more than making lists, lists of lists, sub-lists of lists, master lists.  What I'm not always good at is turning those lists into actions.  Why?  Simple ... I don't want to fail at that thing I'm supposed to be doing.  I think everything has to be perfect, I never want to let anyone down so I procrastinate.  In my eyes, procrastination = fear of failure.  The technical, complex minutes I have to type up ... I don't want people to think I'm stupid and don't understand.

That's the weird thing about procrastination, in most cases we really want to do that thing but the fear of failing paralyses us from starting in the most place.  So what can we do to help ourselves?

How to overcome procrastination

  • Start with one small step.  Don't even think about making another list!  Just start doing something, anything.  
  • Set a timer for 25 minutes.  Promise yourself that you can have a 5 minutes break at the end of the time - have a coffee, go for a walk round the garden and then move onto something else.  Don't feel like you need to be brave and keep going until the bitter end.  Bite size chunks work best.
  • Listen to music or a podcast.  Rather than being a distraction this can sometimes help you focus and make the task more enjoyable.
  • What do you need to stop doing / delegate?  Having too much to do can be overwhelming and stop us from doing anything.
  • Stop multi-tasking. Despite being seen as a skill, multi-tasking just means doing lots of things at the same time but not very effectively.  Focus on the task in hand and do it to the best of your ability.
  • Use a mindmap.  Write your task (or problem) in the middle of a sheet of paper and from there write down the reasons you don't want to do it, along with any possible solutions.  Seeing things written down are often not as scary as when they're racing through your mind.  Pick out one actionable step you can take ... and do it!  For example:

The above are just a few things to try out, I don't want to overwhelm you by giving you yet more lists! Let me know how you get on. Remember, break tasks down into bite size chunks. When we first moved into our new house, I was surrounded by boxes and just cried, I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel (I couldn't even see the light coming through the front window for all the boxes!). But I pulled myself together and started with just one box at a time.


Have a great week, full of actions!!

#2020

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