“Do it today or later you’ll pay!”
I could lecture you day and night about “setting goals” and “creating your best life” or whatever people do at the start of a new year. But instead, I would rather you just do that thing you’ve been putting off.
If “that thing” is a few steps or less (scheduling an annoying appointment, filling out a form, or god-forbid… going to the post office), this article won’t help you.
This is the kick-in-the-rear, straightforward sign you’ve been trying to avoid, telling you to put that procrastinated crap at the top of your list and get it done.
At this point, this “thing” has probably inflated into a stress tornado in your mind or has become so convoluted that you can’t remember why it was important in the first place. I’m going to use one of my own desperately avoided projects as an example:
I seriously needed to get the landscaping around our house cleaned-up before an inspection.
Overgrown plants, a yard full of dog… you know where this is going. A physically and mentally insurmountable chore that unfortunately, I can’t just whip out a credit card and pay someone else to complete. How did I finally get it done?
Break it down into bite-sized chunks
Only you know what’s bite-sized for you. It may be 30 minutes at a time, one single task at a time, or one “block” of similar tasks from this project of yours that can be done simultaneously.
For me, the project seemed insurmountable because it would not only be time consuming, it would also be physically demanding, require tools and materials I didn’t have, and cost an indeterminate amount of money that didn’t seem worth it to begin with.
My bite-sized chunks include: one 2-hour block of like-tasks or a 2-hour block of mindless single-tasking (i.e. yard work).
Make each bite as easy as possible
One of the biggest detractors from my productivity is distraction. If you can figure out how to insulate yourself from distractions, you’ve already made this procrastinated project easier.
Try turning on a podcast, audio book, or playlist while you complete the task. Make sure you have a special (tasty) snack or reward ready for you to make the activity that much sweeter. Silence your notifications for the duration of your “bite-sized” effort and put your phone out of arms reach so you don’t get sucked into a scroll.
Start at “completion” and work backwards
Once you know what size bites you’re able to take and how to make it easy and worthwhile for yourself, you can get real about what is actually required to get it done.
Ask yourself: What does this thing I’ve been putting off look like once its complete? Can you see the picture in your head?
Of all the elements of this completion picture, which ones do you already have? Which ones are easy to get? Which ones do you need more information on before you can take action?
Take the image of completion and break it down into individual efforts. For me, that looked like: trim the bushes and plants then rake the leaves then transfer the leaves to the garden then apply a mulch border. Hard stop: I don’t have any mulch — research what I need to buy, where to get it locally, how much it’ll cost, and when that’ll be in the budget.
The key to getting anything done is to know what’s necessary, when is realistic for the activities to take place, and whether or not you have the resources to complete it. In other words: what — when — how much?
Create time for these activities and protect that time with commitment
You may not be into using a calendar as much as I am but the only way to know how much time you have is to account for it. Calendars are the easiest time accounting tool available.
Put a time value on each of your activities — even the intermediary ones where you’re figuring out the unknowns in the process (researching, purchasing items, etc). Then, plug these time values into your available time outside of work, family, school and other existing commitments.
If you follow this guide, you will have taken a procrastinated, put-off, insurmountable chore and transformed it into a series of clear efforts with committed time and a clear outlook on when it’ll finally be off your to-do list.
However, if you go through all of this effort and still don’t do the thing, ask yourself: Why am I placing this expectation on myself in the first place? If you are avoiding it that hard, maybe it isn’t for you.
Or maybe you just need the best shortcut of all: Ask someone you trust for help.
