Home
Free BusinessSuccess Kit
Free Organizing
Quiz
How toOrganize Your... Desk Files Time Goals Space Sales
About Barb
In the News
Testimonials
Our Clients
Contact Us
Memberships and Certifications:      |
Organize Your Time 
The Six Traps of Procrastination by Barb Friedman Have you fallen in the trap? How many times have you put off doing a task that you know is important, but you can't face it? Then, the boss wants to know the results, and you don't have any. Arghhh. We know that being organized is a learned skill. Throughout your life you have developed various ways to procrastinate yet still cope and get by. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to worry about ‘getting by'? You can do it! Why do we put things off? There are as many reasons to procrastinate as there are tasks to do. The key is to discover what your particular ‘style’ is. Beware of the Six Traps. Which ones are trapping you? 1. Putting things off. A difficult task awaits you and you keep putting it off. It never seems to be the right time. Unfortunately, putting it off only heightens the anxiety surrounding the actual task itself. Best advice: Do it first thing in the day and get it over with. 2. Not breaking it down. You are working on a project that is overwhelming. You don’t know how to organize it, where to begin, and it is sitting on your shoulders like a 200 lb. monkey. Let’s take the monkey off your back and put it where it belongs. Instead of procrastinating, break the project down into small, individual tasks that can be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time. As you complete each item, another part of the project will be done. 3. Saying 'Yes' to everyone. You have been asked to help out on several committees, some professional and some personal. You didn’t know which ones to accept, so it was easier to say ‘yes’ to all of them. Now you notice that you have overcommitted yourself. Are you stuck? You don’t have to be. Prioritize the commitments you have made and decide to drop out of the bottom 20-30%. Explain that you cannot do your part this year, but would love to be considered again at another time. It is a disservice to the committee, as well as to yourself, to serve at a time that is difficult for you. It is better to rotate your commitments and feel good about what you can offer. 4. Being a perfectionist. So, you want to set up a new filing system? Congratulations! In order to begin, you need to purchase the appropriate supplies. At the office supply store, you are disappointed to find that they do not have certain colors that you want. Instead of making other choices, you insist on waiting until the colors you want become available. As time goes on, the filing system is put on ‘hold’. Should you procrastinate and wait until everything is perfect? Realistically, most things in life aren’t ‘perfect’. Don’t put it off - go ahead and get started with what you have. You can always change or tweak the system as time goes on. 5. Crisis management. Every day seems like one long 8 hour crisis. All you do is put out fires and react to the environment around you. Would you consider that a productive day? More likely, you are frustrated and annoyed that your work is not getting done. How can you prevent this? Think in terms of how to cover all the bases so that a project doesn’t come to a ‘crisis’ point. Plan ahead and allow enough time for the work to be completed in a thorough manner and make use of deadline dates. 6. Resentment. Often we are asked to fulfill a responsibility that we just don’t want to do. Perhaps it’s because of the way we are asked...or rather told. Our only control is to put it off because we resent the way we were ‘told’ to do a task for someone. It always works better when we ‘suggest’ or ‘ask’ someone to help us. People are much more likely to respond positively. Stamp out procrastination. We all have our own ways of putting off the inevitable. But at what price? Many times it is our way of keeping control of the situation, or perhaps we feel that it is not ‘our job’. Take Action. There are many ways to overcome procrastination. The key is to monitor yourself and determine what your obstacles are. Then develop a few techniques to eliminate that behavior. Now is the time to learn a new skill - the art of overcoming procrastination! © 2005 - Barb Friedman - Organize IT Get organizing tips, ideas articles and more at the Organized IT web site. http://www.organizeitbiz.com Editors and publishers may reprint this article as long as it's reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact. Please direct a courtesy copy to 
or snail mail it to: Barb Friedman Organize IT 9411 North Waverly Drive Milwaukee WI 53217
Click to Return to the Organize Your Time Index Click Here to Receive Your FREE Organize IT Business Success Kit Return to the Organize IT Home Page
Barb Friedman Organize IT 9411 North Waverly Drive Milwaukee WI 53217 Click Here to Contact Us |
Products: Home Organizing 101 Paper Training 101 Make Time Work for You Insights on Productivity: The GO System Book Goals, Priorities & Procrastination Finally Organized, Finally Free for the Home Finally Organized, Finally Free for the Office Easy Organizer Holiday Planner Ultimate Guide for Professional Organizers Give to Get Marketing Solution Services: Coaching Teleseminars Consulting Services Workshops & Seminars  
|
|||
| Organize Your Desk | Organize Your Files | Free Business Success Kit | Organize Your Time | Goals/Priorities | Organize Your Space | Organize Your Sales | About Barb | Our Clients | Products | Contact Us |