Why A Soft Deadline Will Save Your Life

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I like to think I’m pretty good at editing other people’s work- after all, it’s what I do for a living, and I got a lot of practice editing both the newspaper and yearbook in high school (yes, I know my picture is next to the entry for “nerd” in the encyclopedia). So you may not be surprised when I tell you that I ended up editing a lot of papers for my friends and classmates in high school and university as well. This is for free, mind you. I did it for the sheer joy of editing. (Again, yes. I know I’m in the encyclopedia.)

During this time one of my roommates was going through a rough patch; she was really trying to get her act together and pull up her grades so we sat down one day and went over her agenda. She showed me all of the deadlines on her schedule to see if we could coordinate some editing jobs.

At first she wanted to hand me everything the night beforehand but I told her the strategy didn’t make any sense: after I handed her back the first draft, she was going to need time for rewrites and corrections of her own. Depending on how badly she was struggling with the paper, we might want to pass it back and forth more than once; it was important to allow her the extra time she needed to let the ideas marinate without feeling the pressure of a looming deadline.

That’s when we developed the idea of a “soft” deadline- a concept that I’ve since applied to virtually every writing project I’ve worked on personally ever since its inception. Taking into consideration her workload and the other deadlines she was working towards, we created fake deadlines where she would be responsible for handing me a completed first draft of her paper so I could help her out with the corrections well before the paper was due.

Part of our contract was that I was to hold her accountable; if she didn’t hand me a completed first draft by our deadline, I was to refuse to edit it.

To reward her for her efficiency, we scheduled the fake deadlines for dates that were convenient to my schedule as well so I could ensure that I could turn around my edits promptly.

Scheduling a soft deadline for yourself allows time to let ideas flow and develop; at the very worst, it’s a way to save your own butt from procrastination, unexpected hiccups and all of those little pesky details that always seem to creep up at the end of a project and leave us feeling like we want to pull our hair out.My friend usually scheduled her soft deadlines a week-and-a-half or so before her actual deadlines; meatier projects or other things she anticipated taking longer we pushed the deadlines back to give her a two-week gap.

Based on your own workload or the nature of the project you’re working on, you may want to follow her lead and allow yourself a week or two to clean up the small tasks left over to help get it completed. For longer or more involved projects, you may want to be break larger tasks up into smaller steps, and play with scheduling more frequent, smaller soft deadlines for yourself in order to keep your work on track.

Every good editor knows that sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to catch all the sticky little typos and grammatical errors in a manuscript. When we plug away at a piece of writing, or any project for that matter, it can be difficult to take a step back and look at your work with objectivity. Extra time is often required, even if it’s time to walk away and forget what you’ve been working on for a while in order to come back to it with a new perspective.

As for my friend? Well, I’m pleased to report that did she really well that semester. And she made every single soft deadline we set.

KBwB-BFlower-50Want even more ideas on how to manage your time more efficiently? Hop on over to the Busy section of my blog where I talk about the ways in which I’ve tried to make my life more productive. I hope they can make your life more productive, too.

Maximum Productivity

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Here it is: a quick and dirty list of some of the ways in which I have found that I have achieved “maximum productivity”. It’s a state that some people tease me sounds a lot like “maximum overdrive” and in a way it kind of is- I love the feeling of looking up from my desk and seeing that the time has flown by while I’ve been absorbed by a project. Even better is the feeling you get from looking at a to-do list with all its items completed. At least, that’s my idea of a good time. Here’s how I’ve accomplished it.

I have this natural talent for taking on big, complicated projects so I’ve learned that breaking down these behemoths into smaller tasks has done wonders for my productivity, my self-esteem and my procrastination habit. I’ve got tips on how to do this here.

I tend to get easily distracted, so establishing a quiet time for myself with no phone or internet access was a key factor in helping me control my workflow. Sometimes I love this silence so much that it’s tempting to do nothing at all, but it’s still a great way of forcing myself to stay productive. I borrowed the idea from personal organizing guru Julie Morgenstern, whose books I chat about here.

I mentioned briefly in this post about procrastination about how adapting your workflow to coordinate with your energy cycles throughout the day can help prevent putting things off. It took me a lot of time to figure out when I was at my best and it took longer still to assign which tasks to which times of day, but in the end it was worth it because it made a big difference. Those of you who work from home or in another flexible work environment should definitely give it a try.

Incidentally, this practice has also helped me to have a better handle on what my threshold of concentration is, so I know ahead of time to anticipate breaks or shifts in workflow and schedule them accordingly.

Of course, it can become pretty difficult to complete a task (not to mention inefficient) if you’re constantly ill-prepared, are unable to access supplies, or are forcing yourself to work in an environment that’s counter-productive. I’ve got a list of basic needs for any great office here.

And the simplest, dirtiest trick that I could give you? Time yourself on how long it takes to really complete a task, and schedule yourself that exact amount of time to complete it. There are so many things that we put off or ignore because we overestimate the amount of time it will take us, and if you set aside an hour to do something that would normally take you five minutes, you better believe it’s going to take that full hour.

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Ready, set, go! I want to hear about all the things that make you productive and I want to hear them now! Comment below or write to me at keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

And if you still feel like you’re lacking in productivity smarts, I suggest you visit this page immediately! Even if you’re a super-organized professional like myself (mostly), you may still find some good tips and tricks. Productivity is one of the many things that I love to write about!

Chronic Lateness, and How to Cure It

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Everyone has one of those friends in their social circle that is late for everything. I had one such a friend, and he always had the wildest, most incredible explanations for those of us kept waiting. His breathless stories always kept us entertained, but after a while it seemed like too much of a coincidence that all of these crazy things would happen every single time just as he was leaving the house.

It wasn’t until he showed up an hour late to a friend’s surprise party that some of us decided to try and fix the situation. We figured if he was always late by half an hour, telling him to meet us half an hour earlier would cause him to show up right on time. No confrontation, no problem.

Until, of course, he figured it out one day when he actually managed to make it out of the house on time and was forced to wait half an hour, fuming, before the rest of us showed up, cool as cucumbers. The game was obviously up.

Some might read that story and think that my friend didn’t like the taste of his own medicine, but in some ways I think he was more upset that none of us had been honest enough to tell him how we really felt about his chronic lateness, and how much this habit affected our group’s relationship with him. Interestingly enough, after he figured out how we had tricked him, his lack of punctuality became less of a problem.

Does this story sound familiar to you? Maybe it describes someone you know, or maybe it hit a little too close to home. Running late is never convenient for anyone, but when you’re forever falling behind it can have a negative effect on your life, and affects the lives of others in turn.

One of my favorite authors writing about time management is Julie Morgenstern (I talk a little bit about her books here) and she has an interesting way of diagnosing the causes behind chronic lateness. In her book Time Management from the Inside Out, she suggests that if you’re always late by different amounts of time, the problem lies within your schedule and work habits. However, always being late by the same amount of time demonstrates a certain amount of skill and consistency that Morgenstern speculates has psychological roots.

Years later, I found myself in a similar situation with another tardy friend. Remembering how badly my friends and I had handled the previous problem, I figured my best option to fix things was to be honest.

I’m so glad that I did. My friend opened up to me about how anxious it made her to sit alone in a public place, so she would wait until the last possible moment to leave her house and avoid this possibility altogether. It made me less irritated knowing she wasn’t trying to deliberately inconvenience me and instead I was happy to help. We agreed that on our next outing I would pick her up at her place and we would walk to our destination together. The problem was solved, but it made me wish I had handled the situation with my first friend better. Who knows? He may have harbored similar anxieties.

If you’ve got a punctuality problem, then I hope you take heart in knowing that you’re not alone. Everyone is late on occasion. But the more you think about the reasons why you’re falling behind, or always rushing, the closer you are to unlocking the clues to change your habits and finally start showing up on time.

If the problem is technical, try allowing yourself bigger cushions in your schedule between appointments, giving yourself more travel time and streamlining your process for getting out the door so you’re not constantly ducking back in to grab forgotten items or complete tasks.

If the problem is psychological, try figuring out what motivates you to get out the door in time. What’s stopping you? Changing your habits completely is often a challenging task, so push yourself to leave early and plan for an activity while you wait.

Now you know why I always carry a book in my bag with me. I hate waiting just as much as you do!

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What are some of the ways that you’ve cured your chronic lateness, or the chronic lateness of others? Drop me a line at keepingbusywithb@gmail.com or comment below. I love learning from other people’s stories.

I like writing about time management and productivity because it’s something we all struggle with from time to time. (Even me. Shocking, I know.) For more advice on what to actually do when you’re running late, click here. Want to start your mornings off on the right foot and not be late at all? Check out my blog post here. Finally, if you’re looking to create a little extra time throughout your day, I’ve got a few ideas here on how to make running errands a more streamlined process.

How to Salvage Your Morning When You’re Running Late

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$@#! happens. Even the most organized and prepared people (moi included) will on occasion find themselves having a hard time getting out the door in the morning. You know the kind of morning I’m talking about- your alarm doesn’t go off, there’s something wrong with your shower head, you find a stain on your favorite shirt.

Been there. Done that.

Let’s talk defense first. If you’re not a morning person, you may want to check out this post on how I survive my mornings (because, let’s face it, I’m not one either). Ditto if you’ve got kids, or you’re just generally a very busy person. An organized morning routine is one of the best ways to prevent the nightmare I’ve outlined above.

But sometimes, life gets in the way and even good organization can’t help us. Starting the morning off badly can set the tone for the rest of the day, so it’s important to have a good strategy to divert any crises and save your morning from complete ruin. Here are some of the practices that I use during my own crazy mornings.

Call ahead and admit you’re running late. Whether you’re running behind to get to a shift at work, or an appointment, equipping other people with the knowledge you’re running late gives them a opportunity to take action- either to cover for you until you arrive, or to rearrange their own schedules accordingly.

It can be hard to admit that we’ve made a mistake, and yes, your co-workers might be irritated with you, but they’re going to be a whole lot more irritated when you waltz in the door twenty minutes after their shift was supposed to end with no noticed or explanation from you. Believe me when I say it’s worth the hassle (plus you may be surprised at how much more accommodating people can be when you’re just honest with them).

Calling ahead also gives you the opportunity to give colleagues or staff the information they need to continue their work without you. It allows them to get on with their own lives, lets you off the hook until you’re able to make it in, and lessens the impact that your late arrival will have on the rest of everyone else’s day.

Once you’ve made the necessary arrangements, take a quick look at your schedule to see what other meetings and appointments might be affected by your late start. Giving people as much notice when rescheduling or cancelling appointments is not only professional, but also kind, and makes up somewhat for the inconvenience.

Lastly (and I know this is a hard one)- try not to panic. When you’re feeling rushed and frantic you are prone to make mistakes or forget things, which slows you down. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when nothing is going your way, but personally once I let people know I’m going to be late and rearrange the day’s schedule accordingly, I try to stop looking at the clock. Once you’re late, you’re late and no amount of clock-watching or teeth-grinding is going to make a difference.

Time has this funny way of continuing to march through our days without us. It’s important to pause, and find your moment to jump back in on the upbeat. If your timing is right, then I’m confident you’ll get your groove back and restore some of natural rhythm back to your day.

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I want to hear about your worst morning ever. No, seriously. Was there ever a time when you were horribly, inexcusably late for work? I once was stuck on a subway for two hours with no cell phone reception on the way to an appointment across town. I still have visions of the look on the secretary’s face. Comment below or drop me a line at keepingbusywithb@gmail.com if you’re just too embarrassed to share.

How to Get Out the Door in the Morning and Feel Good About Your Day!

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Mornings are not my friend. From the moment my eyelids flutter open, I’m calculating the number of steps it will take until the first sip of coffee passes my lips. (Yes, I realize that this qualifies as a caffeine addiction.) But the bed is so warm, and my dog is so cuddly, and yes, I realize I’m full of excuses about why mornings suck but I’m here to tell you that it really is possible to get out the door and feel good about your day. If I can do it, you can too!

First of all, the real key to making over your morning routine is to be realistic about the amount of time you need in order to get ready. I don’t care if that means timing yourself from the moment you get out of bed to the moment you walk into work. If you don’t plan ahead and allow yourself enough time you’ll never get out the door feeling relaxed and good about your day.

If you’re super organized like I pretend to be then your awesome organizational skills will also save you time during that morning rush. Making sure that the bathroom is fully stocked with toiletries and having an ample supply of fresh socks, underwear and pantyhose at hand can make getting ready more of a pleasure and less of a chore. If you depend on public transit to get to work, it’s always a good idea to stash your bus pass/tokens/tickets or an arsenal of change for fare in a place that’s convenient and ideally on your way out the door. For those who drive, a car that’s stocked and ready with emergency supplies can be a lifesaver for those days when you’re rushing, and a full tank of gas and pre-programmed GPS can contribute to a smoother commute.

For those who aren’t morning people, consider ways in which you might save time in the morning by switching tasks to your evening routine. I usually check the weather the night before to plan my outfit in advance, and prep my coffee and breakfast dishes so I don’t have to stumble around blindly to find them in the morning. People who find themselves rushing and skipping breakfast may want to keep an arsenal of nutritious snacks or meals on hand that are easy to grab to take with you. Those who find themselves really struggling in the mornings may wish to reconsider their morning routine altogether by showering at night before bed instead of first thing the next day.

Even if you are a morning person, I’ve always believed in packing your bag the night before. If you have multiple jobs or divide your time among multiple clients, you may want to keep a checklist nearby of the materials required for each job to make packing easier.

And if you’re super, super smart you’ll have somewhat of an emergency kit stashed away in your desk at work, in the trunk of your car, or on a shelf of your mudroom so you can grab it as you go out the door. Think of it as your terrible morning toolbox. I’ve got one that I keep in a toiletry bag at work that has feminine products, an extra pair of the disposable contacts that I wear, bobby pins and hair elastics, breath mints, lip balm, hand lotion and a granola bar in case I hit an energy slump.

They’re no substitute for an espresso but hopefully by implementing at least one of these ideas into your morning routine, it’ll give you the injection of energy needed to get out your door and feel good about your day, no caffeine needed.

KBwB-BFlower-50Have you adapted one of these ideas into your morning routine? Is there anything that I’ve missed that you think I should try? Tell me your secrets at keepingbusywithb@gmail.com or share with the rest of us by commenting below.

Looking for other ways to jazz up your routine? I’ve got advice on how to start here, how to break down big projects here, and how to change up how you do your errands here.

Book Review: David Allen and the Weekly Review

 

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It took me a few years and a couple of re-reads of David Allen’s Getting Things Done before I finally started to appreciate why his “GTD” methodology has become so popular. (If you’re not familiar with it, you can take a gander at it here, but don’t worry- I won’t get into it too much for this post.) As much as I love productivity and organizing, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Sure, it seemed like a great way to get a grip on everything that was going on in your head, but how could tracking all of those tasks possibly help my workflow?

Actually, it helps a lot. I realized the majority of my time was spent in crisis mode, approaching each project with the grace of a bull in a china shop because it needed to get done, like, yesterday. Long-term projects fell by the wayside because they required too many steps, and appeared insurmountable when lumped in with other tasks on my to-do list, like “get milk”.

Other than teaching me that projects like “design client’s blog” do not belong on the same list as “mail birthday card”, adopting (some) aspects of the GTD methodology in my life has allowed me to improve my workflow by breaking down larger tasks into their most basic parts so that I can better prioritize projects and strategically choose how much time I spend working on them.

One of the best things that has helped me is adopting the practice of a “Weekly Review” even though I avoided it for ages. Putting aside a chunk of time every week seemed selfish and unproductive. I convinced myself that planning work wasn’t actually the same as working.

But it kind of is. One day when I felt like I was finally about to lose my mind, I tried a Weekly Review in a last-ditch attempt to control the swirl of thoughts in my head. Taking a moment to take a step back and take inventory of upcoming projects, meetings, and appointments was like a ray on sunshine on a cloudy day. It gave me clarity and focus where I had previously lacked. In fact, it was such a great experience that I did it the next week, and the next week, and the next.

I’m not perfect; I don’t do a Weekly Review religiously (read: weekly). When I do manage to do sit down and do one, I try to make it seem less like a chore by grabbing a great cup of coffee and putting on some of my favorite music. I mute my phone, grab all of my supplies and give myself an hour or two of pure planning bliss. For me this involves updating all of my to-do lists, planning my schedule for the week ahead, syncing my devices and coordinating all of my calendars. Depending on my time commitment and energy level I use the time to brainstorm future projects, or process notes.

Instead of keeping the practice rigid I try to tailor each weekly review to whatever my current needs are, both personally and professionally. In that way I’ve become to think of it more like a date with myself and so far the relationship is going well- I like to think of the Weekly Review as a way to be kind to my future self so she has some direction to her days and is better equipped to deal with real-life interruptions and crises as they come up.

If you’ve ever found yourself staring down at your desk at the end of the day with no recollection of what you’ve actually accomplished, a Weekly Review is for you. If you feel constantly interrupted, the Weekly Review is for you. Are you the most super-organized person in the world with the prettiest, most colorful agenda ever (like myself)? The Weekly Review is still for you. Use the time and give yourself permission to dream, and plan, and work towards your goals. It’s one of the nicest things you can do for yourself.

And this kind of date is totally free.

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Psst- wanna see which books have previously graced my bookshelves? Click here. Want even more fun reading recommendations? I’ve got some for you here. Don’t forget to find me on Goodreads so we can snoop each other’s bookshelves and dish about our favourites.

Wanna know more about the GTD methodology? Getting Things Done is the book I revisit the most frequently, but you also may want to check out Ready for Anything and Making It All Work. Let me know which is your favorite. Happy reading!

 

 

Book Review: Timothy Ferris on Scrunching Your Schedule

KBB_Book_Review_TimothyFerrisPeople are often surprised to find out that in addition to my freelancing career, I work part-time as an office administrator at a local family practice. It isn’t easy trying to balance a regular job between freelancing clients but I have to admit that one of the ways that I’ve achieved this is through Timothy Ferris’ technique that I like to call “schedule-scrunching”, as outlined in his bestselling book The Four-Hour Work Week.

Scrunching your schedule isn’t necessarily about sacrificing certain key elements of your workflow- for instance; it would be impossible for someone in a service-based business like my own to cut down on time spent with clients. Instead, making extra time during your work week depends on 1) figuring out which tasks can be streamlined or delegated; and 2) maximizing your schedule for efficiency by grouping together tasks.

Ferris sounds like he leads a pretty wild lifestyle- he dances competitively and travels the world- and he claims that his methodology presented in The Four Hour Work Week has allowed him the time and flexibility to pursue his passions. I’m a little skeptical about the feasibility of running a business using only a weekly four-hour marathon work session, but it’s definitely an attractive idea.

When applying this to my own schedule, I tried to make the most of the days when I work half-day shifts by scheduling client meetings or other appointments during the portion of the day I’m free. It means that for a few days every week I’m working my butt off but the payoff of building a couple of flex days into my schedule has allowed me the freedom to take on new clients, keep on top of housework, and develop personal projects.

For those of you who haven’t totally bought into the hype, there’s still lots of interesting tidbits on how to automate your business, on which tasks to delegate and how, and the most interesting of all (to the budget-obsessed like me), Ferris offers lots of different suggestions on how to cultivate the lifestyle that best suits you for as cheaply as possible. He covers everything from cutting down on business costs to finding cheap airfare so you can too make that dance competition on another continent.

As for me? I’m taking Timothy Ferris’ suggestions to heart, but I’m sticking to armchair travel for now.

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Psst- wanna see which books have previously graced my bookshelves? Click here. Want even more fun reading recommendations? I’ve got some for you here. Don’t forget to find me on Goodreads so we can snoop each other’s bookshelves and dish about our favourites.

10 Things to Do on a Snowy Evening

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  1. Give your boots some love. Good maintenance is key in extending the life of your expensive footwear. Shower some extra attention on your boots every once in awhile by wiping them free of snow and salt residue and cleaning with a leather cleaner and/or a spray protector. Store boots in a well-ventilated area with low foot traffic and wait 24 hours before wearing again. (For more tips on this process, click here.)
  2. Start a scrapbook. A creative project that organizes your memorabilia can be both productive and fun and it’s a great way to store your memories in a way that they’re accessible and can be treasured more often. Not into scrapbooking? Create a shadow box, organize a photo album, or create a book online instead.
  3. Dream of summer and plan your garden. Just like a hairdresser needs to plan out a cut before he or she even picks up the scissors, those of us who are fortunate to have green spaces must do advance planning in order to enjoy them. Determine what needs to be done and what improvements you’d like to make to your yard or garden and plan accordingly. Do your research and plan a budget to avoid any unexpected expenses.
  4. Make a Someday/Maybe list. I think wintertime is the perfect time to sit indoors and daydream, don’t you? Take an evening, grab a journal, pour yourself a glass of wine and make your list- books to read, movies to see, music to listen to, restaurants to try, countries to visit, certifications to be earned. The possibilities are endless.
  5. Put together a Command Central binder. If you haven’t done so already, you must. The start of a new year is a perfect excuse to get your organizing system under control and I think there’s no better way to manage it than by using one of these. (I explain how to put one together here.)
  6. Have you done a Yearly Review yet? It’s not too late. Figure out how to do one here and get a firm grasp of what you really want for the year up ahead.
  7. Get your shine on. After all of the glitz and glamour of those holiday parties it’s a good idea to clean and store jewelry pieces carefully for the next round of special occasions. Put on a great playlist, grab your tools and give those goods some elbow grease!
  8. Thank the ones you love. I still believe in the power of a well-written thank you note. It’s a great way to keep in touch and shows people your appreciation and care. Didn’t send out Christmas cards? Sending out non-denominational New Years cards also seems to have become a thing. There’s no reason not to correspond now!
  9. Organize those tax receipts now. Don’t wait until the weather is nicer and you actually want to go outside. Use this period of hibernation as a productive way to get things done!
  10. Pick a drawer, any drawer. That’s it. Dump it, clean it, organize it and make a vow to yourself that you will never, ever let it get disorganized again (or at the very least for another year, until you have another snowy evening on which to organize it again).

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I’ve shared with you some of the ways that I spend my snowy evenings- now I’m interested in hearing how you spend yours! Drop me a line at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or contribute by commenting below. Are you looking for other productive boredom busters? I’ve got plenty of thoughts on organizing here. Looking for something a little more creative? When I’m not busying myself with some project or another I’m reading or whipping up something in the kitchen. Read all about it here and here.

Book Review: Cheryl Mendelson on Mastering Homemaking

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I’m a self-proclaimed Martha Stewart fan, and it’s not because I subscribe to the idea that a woman’s place is in the home; nor should women be the sole person responsible for the health and happiness of the entire household. I’ve just always relished the idea of having a clean and comfortable home filled with things that fill me with joy.

There’s a strange satisfaction that comes with cleaning and organizing that comes with completing even the smallest of domestic tasks. It’s a feeling that I always felt existed in opposition to my desire to pay attention to my career. How does a workaholic like me reconcile the urge to be domestic as well? Is it possible to be both?

While Martha Stewart launched a successful business and television career, lawyer Cheryl Mendelson used her passion for all things domestic to launch her writing career with the two volumes of housekeeping hints of biblical proportions. Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House is a meticulously researched and detailed guide for serious home-keepers who believe in the power of a clean and orderly house.

Note I use the word “home-keeping”, and I use it deliberately: this book is not about how to speed clean your home, or taking domestic shortcuts. Mendelson has amassed an encyclopedia on virtually everything you wanted to know about housekeeping and were afraid to ask. Food storage, linen care, even musical instrument maintenance all make appearances on the veritable laundry list (excuse the pun) of subjects covered by Home Comforts.

This might seem to be a strange subject to write about for someone with a career in law, but Mendelson argues both that her demanding schedule and strong domestic background fuelled her need for keeping an orderly house as an independent adult. Her solutions are practical and yet seem rooted in a more romantic time, where homes were seen as places for families and individuals to flourish and grow instead of storage facilities to keep an increasing amount of meaningless possessions.

A client of mine referred to me this manual for some housekeeping issues that I was having and I was so in love with it that my own copy is being shipped as I type this post. I’m looking forward to creating a new approach to cleaning based on some of her methods. Some people may choose to take or leave her advice if they are happy with their existing routines, but I would recommend reading it anyway. The material is so extensive there’s something there to excite novices and experts alike. For those who think they know everything anyway, they may want to check out her other manual (remember I said she had two?) titled Laundry: The Home Comforts Book of Caring for Clothes and Linens. Three guesses as to what it’s about, and the first two don’t count.

Finally, for all of ye nay-sayers who are reading this and scoffing at the idea of housework as being a vital part of our existence, consider this quotation from Mendelson:

“Housekeeping creates cleanliness, order, regularity, beauty, the conditions for health and safety, and a good place to do and feel all the things you wish and need to do and feel in your home.”

Now that’s one smart lawyer.

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Psst- wanna see which books have previously graced my bookshelves? Click here. Want even more fun reading recommendations? I’ve got some for you here. Don’t forget to find me on Goodreads so we can snoop each other’s bookshelves and dish about our favourites.

More Thoughts on Procrastination

KBB_reading_nookA little while back I wrote about some of the ways in which procrastination is a healthy device that allows us a little more insight as to how we work, why we work the way we do and some of the ways we an embrace procrastination as a natural part of the workflow process. Intrigued? Don’t wait until later to read it. (You can find it here.)

As much as I believe in the potential for procrastination as a useful tool to work smarter instead of harder, there is a fine line between embracing the practice and being overwhelmed by it. When a procrastination habit becomes harmful, it’s probably time to reconsider the reasons behind it and develop new strategies to make sure we meet our deadlines on time, while still on our terms.

There’s no scientific method to my strategy to combat procrastination, but the solutions I’ve found seem to fall into three categories.

Determining the Problem

A doctor can provide relief for certain symptoms; however, he or she cannot treat you until the root cause of the illness has been determined. In a similar fashion, until you determine why it is that you’re procrastinating on a certain task you cannot begin to find a true solution to your bad habit. You’re simply putting a band-aid over the problem. Do some real soul-searching to try and figure out why you’re doing this to yourself.

Are you suffering from a lack of motivation? Set goals, determine rewards and build patterns into your daily life that help you work towards the completion of your project.

Having trouble keeping focus? Shorten the blocks of time you plan to focus on a certain task. More often than not even committing to just ten minutes of performing a certain task can encourage us to focus on it longer. Still not working? Take notes on your energy levels and amount of focus throughout your day and adjust your schedule accordingly. Try saving the more difficult or complicated tasks that require the most of your attention during the times when your alertness is at its peak.

Deleting the Unnecessary

Often our schedules are overflowing with multiple commitments, social engagements and various other personal and professional activities. It’s easy to procrastinate when feeling overwhelmed or stressed so when yourself letting important things slide because of an overcrowded schedule, it may be time to decide what activities and commitments to delete. Can you get by on less shift at your part-time job? Can you get away with dropping an elective? Any commitments, whether they be personal, professional or academic should be dropped if they become toxic, harmful, unreasonably demanding, unnecessarily involved, not enjoyable, or unhelpful towards your goals. If certain tasks are getting out of hand, see how much work you are able to delegate to colleagues, co-workers and friends, even if the arrangement is only temporary. We all need breathing space.

Discipline thyself.

It’s easy to lose focus when there’s no focus to your schedule or work. Blocking off chunks of time and forcing yourself to commit that time to working on certain tasks may be the actual motivation to get things done. If work is ill-defined or poorly organized, it can be off-putting to try and follow a task through to completion, and sometimes even possible to start. Evaluating energy levels, eliminating distractions, and creating environments conducive to our own unique productivity needs are all great ways to enjoy work more, and dare I say make it easier?

If procrastination is a sickness then it’s one we all suffer from, but hopefully by gaining an understanding as to why we do it, we can gain more insight as how to prevent it but for now, hopefully we’ve found our prescription.

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Have you been procrastinating on commenting on this blog? Putting it off can be bad for you and your health. Share your strategies on how you got your life back on schedule by commenting below. Still too shy? I’ll keep your thoughts a secret if you send them to be at keepingbusyb@gmail.com.