Powering Through Procrastination

A four-part series by Robin Mahle-Piccione.

We’ve all struggled with procrastination at some point in our lives. Especially as busy business owners, everything seems to demand our immediate attention. Learning how to power through procrastination, and prioritize along the way, can be instrumental to moving the needle in your business growth and for high performance. This four-part series is designed to help you identify which type of procrastination styles apply to you, and how to overcome the urge to put things off until tomorrow.

Part 1: Procrastination by overwhelm.

As busy business owners, we have a lot that falls onto our plates every day. Never ending to-do lists seem like the norm, and when we feel like we have too much to get done all at once, we become overwhelmed and let procrastination take hold.

Here’s what our brains are telling us when we start to get overwhelmed…so, we don’t do any of it.

• “There is too much to get done.”
• “I can’t do it all at once.”
• “I don’t know where to start.”
• “I am paralyzed by all these possibilities.”

When you start to feel like you’re falling behind because you’re feeling overwhelmed – take a deep breath (Or several, if you need them. Breathing is important, after all!) and remind yourself of this age-old adage…

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

Don’t try to tackle everything all at once. Understand that anything can be broken down into bite-sized pieces. My colleague and good friend Jen Hill with Jen Hill Organizing famously preaches the 15-Minute Rule. If you feel like you don’t have the time or bandwidth to get everything done, just start with 15 minutes. It’s easy to find 15 minutes in your schedule here and there, and it’s certainly better than nothing. You’ll often be surprised at what you can get done when you set a timer for 15 minutes and dive right in.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, to-do lists are your BFF but managing the to-do list properly is key. Start by writing it all down and getting it out of your head. This gives you back your mental capacity to process the tasks at hand instead of just trying to remember everything that you need to get done.

Here are some more pointers for to-do list management.

• Use an app or note keeping system on your cell phone. This means your to-do list is always in your pocket. Bonus points if you have talk-to-text capabilities so that you can safely add something to your to-do list if you think of it while you’re driving.
• As soon as you think of a task that needs to be tackled, add it to your to-do list right away! The longer you take to get it on your list, the less likely you are to get it done.
• Have a system for visually prioritizing the tasks that are on your to-do list. Whether this means color coding, or creating different sections on the list, do something that helps the most important items stand out from the crowd. This might even be an opportunity to practice Sticky Note Magic! Write the important items on sticky notes and stick them everywhere they’ll get seen frequently. If out of sight is out of mind, then hopefully everywhere you look becomes top of mind.

Prioritize

Next, prioritize based on your personal style and needs. Mindset can be everything, and it’s important to understand what motivates you the best. I like to break this down as Momentum vs. Inertia.

Momentum – This is the snowball effect. Start with some little tasks first. Get the easy stuff out of the way and build up your momentum for tackling the bigger projects.
Inertia – As we like to say, eat the ugliest frog first. Get the hard stuff out of the way, and the rest of your tasks will seem easy in comparison.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, celebrate your wins. When you have a lot to get done, it means you have lots of opportunities to celebrate your accomplishments. Remember that you’re not alone and find someone to celebrate with you. I’ll always be happy to hear from a client who’s completed something on their task list. No matter how big or how small the task, progress is progress – and any progress is worth celebrating!