Are You In the Mood?

A lot of people who find themselves procrastinating can’t get themselves to take action because they allow their feelings to determine their actions.  They are not in the mood to do the task, so they simply don’t do it.  It could be that the task is simply not enjoyable, other tasks are more interesting, or that the benefits of doing the task are not enticing enough.  But ask any professional (writer, artist, manager, etc.) and they will tell you that one of the differences between a professional and an amateur is that a professional doesn’t wait on the “mood” to strike.  They perform (write, paint, etc.) whether they feel like it or not.  Many times, simply getting started is all one needs.  Once the task is begun, one usually finds it wasn’t as dreadful as was first thought or it progresses to completion faster than anticipated.

Here are a few ways to get that task started:

• Set yourself a time limit
  Set a limit of 5 – 10 minutes; the exact amount of time is not important.  Then, work steadily on the task until the end of the set time and then stop.  Many times, however, after the project starts moving, you’ll find you want to finish it.
• Set up a reward for finishing the task
  Promise yourself a simple reward such as a dinner out, a tall milkshake, a new Moleskine, anything that will propel you forward.
• Do some “Lead Up” tasks
  Instead of jumping right in, do some tasks that lead up to being able to complete main objective.  Prepare the workspace.  Gather materials.  Find some soft music to listen to while working.  This will sometimes get you “in motion” to the point where it’s easy to remain in motion (Remember Newton?).
• Delegate it
  This one is the most interesting one…and the most fun!  William Onken, Jr. states that the quickest way to raise the importance level of a task and to ensure it’s completion is to delegate it to a subordinate.  Now, if it’s not done, it’s no longer procrastination (something that you do with a self-imposed task), it’s insubordination (something that a subordinate does by not completing an assigned task).  How’s that for kick-starting a task?  Now that’s an interesting take on procrastination.  We also need to remember that some of the things that we find difficulty in starting or doing, others find exciting and interesting to the point that they cannot wait to do them!  If we look at the task at hand, we might even find out that we are not the most appropriate or qualified person to be doing the task in the first place.

Comments

[GBGames]

Timeboxing like you mentioned is great. If you sit down at your desk and think you're working until you complete whatever you're doing, you naturally want to procrastinate.

If, on the other hand, time is a scarce resource for this project, you are compelled to use your time wisely. You don't have 5 minutes to check your email! You can do that later! Right now you need to work on Project X!

[John Richardson]

Boy did you hit the nail on the head. I don't know how many times I've said to myself "I just don't FEEL like doing that." I never really thought about it being a feeling. Your solutions are very interesting. I really like the time limit idea. I figure I can knock that "Nattering Nabob of Procrastination" off of my shoulder for at least 10 minutes or so. I'll give it a try... tomorrow... I don't feel like it right now... John

[Corie]

Great ideas - I should work on the delegating. If nothing else, I know that if someone else isn't doing something fast enough, chances are good I'll get antsy enough about it to take it back and get it done!