Stop Procrastinating and crack on!

Procrastination is an easy trap to fall into in any aspect of life, but in business in particular we often put off the tasks that are not something we necessarily find riveting, even though they are a valuable cog in the wheel of your functioning business.

So how do we stop faffing and motivate ourselves to crack on with the tasks in hand, make our working days more efficient and productive and hands down manage our time better?

First of all, slow down and don’t panic!

Many of us give ourselves a hard time over not meeting deadlines, self -targets and ticking everything off our to do list each day, but in the grand scheme of things- does it really matter?  Can that job be carried over to the next day?  Most of the time the answer is yes, unless of course you have committed to an important lead time or deadline, then more often than not we can take the pressure off ourselves straight way, put things into perspective and give ourselves a pat on the back for the work we have done today rather than what we haven’t managed to achieve.  You will notice an instant improvement in your productivity once you change your perception around to this way of thinking.

It’s never too late

Are you stressed over certain tasks you never got a round to months ago or new ideas you haven’t yet had time to implement?  Looking at it serendipitously, maybe you didn’t push yourself to do them for a reason- perhaps it wasn’t the right time then but it is the right time now…re-evaluate those things and go for it!   Look for opportunities and take them when you can and equally don’t be afraid to un-shelve (if that’s a word) certain ideas you almost gave up on – now may be the perfect time for you to start a new venture or launch a new initiative within your business.  The point is as long as you are keeping productive working not only in the day to day stuff to keep the cash flowing in, but also spending a certain amount of your day on the business, working on development and growth strategies, then however slowly you are moving the point is you are moving in the right direction.

Break it down

Whenever I get a new idea, I look at the end goal, where I want it to be, the customer reaction, my feelings towards it If it were to be the best it could be.  Then I work backwards.  I figure out the journey I need to go on in order to reach that end goal, that perfect scenario, breaking it down into simple, manageable steps from my now current situation to the last hurdle.  By formulating a strategy in this way, you are making it seem far more achievable, less daunting to you from the out-set and are without realising it putting in place measurable goals in stages for you to monitor and adapt as you go along where needed.  All of this avoids committing to anything too large,  too far ahead that could be deemed too high risk. 

Write it down

I don’t know about you but when I write something down in my own handwriting, I feel as though I have committed and I am then much more motivated to see it through.  There is something to be said for making lists and ticking them off as you go along- its not only productive but immensely satisfying.  This kind of motivation is what we all need in our day to day life in business, is so simple and yet so many of us still forget to write our to-do list at the beginning /end of each week.  Buy yourself a nice notepad, position it on your desk in your peripheral vision and be aware of its presence each day, to keep yourself accountable; but remember as said before if you don’t achieve everything on it by the time you clock off for the day its not the end of the world!

Fiona Duncan-Steer, RSVi