Before we get into our very first Small Spark Challenge I’d like to talk to you about procrastination. Plain and simple, it sucks.
One of the biggest challenges to being self-employed and owning your own business is getting over time management procrastination. It’s just so easy when you’re the boss to let things slide until it’s an emergency and you must absolutely get the task done. Here are a few tips to get out of this habit and start being productive today, not tomorrow.
Challenge yourself to something achievable but challenging. Sometimes we procrastinate because the task seems too large to manage. For example, you have an information product to create and just don’t know where to start. Rather than putting “create information product†on your task list, break the project up into several smaller steps. The first one could be, “Outline information product†or “Choose title for information product.â€Â These smaller, more attainable goals are easier to accomplish and don’t feel as if they’re looming over your head.
Reward yourself (with a day off). Work hard, play hard is the cliché, right? Well take advantage of it. Make a to-do list at the beginning of the week and promise yourself a day off, where you do something fun, when the list is complete.
It’s easier to commit to this reward if you involve other people. For example, if you make an appointment for a massage on Friday, well you had better have your task list done by Thursday night or you’re going to have to cancel on your masseuse and she’ll never book you an appointment again for cancelling at the last minute. You’re making yourself accountable.
Identify distractions – Find out what you procrastinate with. Do you watch television? Run errands? Surf the net? Facebook? Determine what distracts you. Spend a day or two working, or procrastinating, like you usually do and simply take note of what you do other than work.
Eliminate distractions – Once you know what you’re using to procrastinate then it’s time to get tough. Eliminate the distractions. For example, if you find that you often let household chores deter you from being productive, schedule a time for household chores. Give yourself thirty minutes at lunchtime to get a chore list completed and then go back to work.
Use tools to help you – Time-tracking tools, both online and off, are great for helping you stay on task. You can for example use something as simple as an egg timer. Set it for thirty-five minutes. Work for thirty-five minutes and when the timer dings, give yourself ten minutes or so to stretch, walk around the block, put away the clean dishes or something other than work and then go back and set the timer again.
Get creative with these tools and ideas and use them to help you stay on task and stop procrastinating.
Up next… Your very first challenge.
Some really good articles. I own my own business and the work ethics have to come from with in.
Hey Ron, yes that’s for sure, you’ve got to monitor yourself all the time.
Absolutely. Postponing things to a later time can be very harmful for your business. Staying focused is very important. Very useful article indeed. Thanks for sharing this post with us.
I sometimes designate the least desireable project first, when it’s complete, I feel like a million bucks,even if someone is not there patting me on the back, I can feel the pat anyhow! I’m proud of my achievenents, and I feel inspired to get to the next task. It’salways a good feeling to have a cheering gallery of people,however the inner feeling of accomplishment
cannot ever be matched! Ya!
I agree that procrastination can be a huge problem, especially if you are self employed. When you work in front of a computer all day, there will always be distractions like e-mail, facebook and the urge to surf the web. When you work from home, there are distractions like chores, television, errands, etc. It really takes some self discipline to properly manage your time and avoid those distractions.
I don’t know if I really agree with the egg timer strategy though. It seems to be a way of creating more breaks than necessary. Some people need regular breaks to stay energized, but I find that once I’m working I get into it too much to take so many breaks.
thanks for the post.
very useful. There are bits of every job people don’t care for. Working hard to get them out of the way is a productive use of time. Save some of your favorite projects or each day. Make sure you save time to do them so that you enjoy your job every day.
Thanks for the post, you’ve outlined some great tips. This is something I’ve always struggled with. For me I had a bit of a breakthough once I developed a siimple awareness of what I was doing to waste time. So just a simple awareness and identification of what was wasting my time helped me to stop procrastinating.
Getting organized is actually the key to working smarter and not stressing over projects. I usually arrange daily tasks in order putting what I don’t want to do first. I then proceed in that order. By afternoon, I am much happier and productive and distractions – especially in the afternoon, just aren’t as potent as I am doing what I really want to be doing.
Thanks for this post!
“I’d like to procrastinate, but I keep putting it off”
This is my biggest problem. I still manage to meet client deadlines but end up working very late nights to do so. For me, working 1-2 hrs then taking a break works pretty well but sometimes I just have to talk myself into doing the tasks I dislike.
I also have suggestion that Eliminate distractions – Once you know what you are using to procrastinate then its time to get tough. Eliminate the distractions. For example, if you find that you often let household chores deter you from being productive, schedule a time for household chores. Give yourself thirty minutes at lunchtime to get a chore list completed and then go back to work.
Exactly what I needed to read, a piece of advice about procrastination. I really should identify and eliminate any distraction, not really eliminate but schedule a time for those activities that really distracts me. Helpful advice. Thanks.
I find procrastating helps me get things done. If I’m avoiding doing something I’ll do something else instead (usually lots of something elses). Those things invariably need doing as well, so in some way procrastating is a motivator. 😉
Denver SEOm, really appreciated your comment, that as you finished your tasks you relieved yourself of a lot of stress! Ya!! I’m all for that, a good point well taken, Thankyou
Achievable but challenging is something that everyone should try. Often times, new webmasters would say that they want to make a living on the internet, but they don’t make small achievable goals to get to that point. In the end, they quit after a month or two because they are not even making a penny.
-Kai
hi Vera,
I think procrastination is one of the biggest enemies of small business. When you keep thinking of EVERYTHING you need to do, it is easy to keep putting it off. But as you suggest, if you break it down into a list of specific items and then take care of one item a day, eventually you get it done. I think I must make such a list… tomorrow. 🙂
Steve, Display Booths Chronicles
Great tips. There are so many distractions with owning your own business and working from home. Without proper time management we are all but lost.