5 Ways to Erase Daily Procrastination in Your Business

According to Real Simple magazine’s survey of 10,000 readers, the average daily to-do list has 5 to 9 tasks on it. Only 5% of the readers are productive for 3 hours during a 9-to-5 workday as a result of web-related distractions. According to the Procrastination Research Group, based on some figures, it is estimated that as much as 95% of the people are prone to procrastination. Amongst them, 20% of them are chronic procrastinators.

Procrastination is generally defined as avoided tasks or activities that need to be accomplished. Poor time management and procrastination can be a direct result of having unreachable goals, having to meet others’ standards, disorganization or the inability to handle the task. Below are ways to erase daily procrastination in your business.

1. Use the first hour or two of your day to work on things that require your attention or have deadlines. Accomplishing necessary tasks will invigorate you to do more.
2. Inspire yourself with insightful reading. Read at least one business article daily and take action. Try implementing a new idea. Don’t just read about it, but do.
3. Afternoon organization can make the next day easier. Take 15 minutes at the end of each day to think about tomorrow’s priorities. Knowing what needs to be done at the beginning of each day gives you focus and direction.
4. Break large projects or tasks into smaller activities and schedule them on your calendar as appointments. Do them in 30-minutes, 1-hour or 3-hour time blocks. You wouldn’t interrupt a scheduled appointment, so don’t allow unnecessary interruptions when working on your projects.
5. Don’t make lofty goals. Be reasonable in your expectations of yourself, your time and your commitments. Overextending yourself can cause you shut down. Be practical and realistic.

It’s always helpful to identify the source of your procrastination. Take some time to think about why you are putting things off and then try one of the above techniques. Procrastination can really be a struggle and challenge for small business owners, especially when they are simply overwhelmed and unsure of their next move. Take it one step at a time and be conscious of your actions AND inaction.

A.Michelle Blakeley is the Founder and CEO of Simplicity, Inc.; a progressive small business development firm. She manages her clients’ business expectations and prevents information overload via Micro Business Therapy™ and Micro Business Action Plans. She is featured in Forbes.com and the Financial Post as one of 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter and the host of Simple Truths for Women Entrepreneurs on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Tuesday’s Tip – Go and Set Some Goals

Everyone talks about goal setting these days. But why exactly should you do it? Just because people keep telling you to is probably not a good enough reason. And I completely agree with you on that one. But what about if you look at these 5 reasons:

1. Goals can give you a target to aim for
   If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to get there?
2. Goals can help you focus
   What do you want to achieve today?
3. Goals can motivate you
   If you know what’s at stake you will want to stop procrastinating.
4. Goals can help you set priorities
   Find out what’s really important to you and do something do improve exactly that.
5. Goals can be a roadmap
   Find your way from where you are now to where you want to be.

Start today by writing down your goals and see where they can take you.

Today’s tip is the first in a series of posts on goal setting. I believe that goal setting is a great way to organise your mind and your time so it’s very relevant to the Well Organised philosophy.

Tuesday's Tip - Think on Paper

Whenever you are planning your day or thinking through your goals, do it on paper. It makes your thinking sharper and more focused.

A written To-Do List is more likely to get done. A written goal is more likely to get achieved.

With written lists you also have the satisfaction of ticking things off once you achieve them, making you feel more successful, like a winner.

Writing things down also helps you prioritise since you see in front of you all the things that need to be done. It makes you a better planner and helps getting things done.

What Are My Top Priorities?

Finding out what you really want and need to do.

First of all, sit yourself down, with a cup of tea if that helps, and do a complete mind dump. Write down all the big and little projects that you need to do. Don't worry about any particular order just get them on paper. Consider it a shopping list for the great supermarket of life. You wouldn't go shopping without a list, would you? Of course not. Well, I don't recommend you do anyway.

This is your master list. Now look at the list in detail. There will be obvious groups. Items related to your home for instance, your work, your family, your health etc. (I did say "complete" mind dump.) You can either colour code them, or if it works better for you rewrite the list and this time put each item on your list in a different category. These categories can be on different sheets or in columns or any other form of visual separation.

Next you need to decide which of the categories are your top priories. I am sure there is more than one and that is absolutely fine. You don't need to sacrifice your health for your family or your family for you work. All of these can be top priorities. But you choose. Whatever is really important to you.

Next look at the items within the categories, which of these are urgent and important? These are your A priorities. Next find the ones that are urgent, but less important. These are your B priorities. And finally the ones that are important but not so urgent. These are your C priorities. Whatever is left are D priorities, if they don't get done, nothing bad will happen, but if would be nice if they did get done. Items from your less important categories will probably never make it into the A priorities. Now using the Rock, Stone, Sand and Beer Analogy from last week, fill your diary with these items, scheduling them, given them the time and attention they need.

Using lists and writing things down can really help you accomplish things. Tasks that are written down and scheduled, have a much higher chance of getting done than tasks that are kept them in your head.