Five ways to beat procrastination and be more productive.

Nothing sucks quite like those days when you don’t seem to get anything done. When that to-do list seems to get longer rather than shorter. I’ve spent years of my life trying to be more productive and these are some of the best ways I've found to get things done.

1.?????Start small.

One of the reasons we procrastinate is that we set the bar too high when starting something new. For example, we’ve never run seriously in our lives and then set a target of running at least 3 miles 4 times a week. We might manage to keep this up two or three times, but by Thursday, January 5th you’re feeling a bit achy so skip a day and before you know it you haven’t run in a month, and that spurt of inspiration has passed into resigned acceptance that you were never really a runner anyway.?

It’s far better to set a really low bar – one that you can almost trip and fall over.?

This gives you the benefit of the confidence that comes from achieving what you set out to do, then building from there. You will invariably end up doing more.

I often think that I should go for a ride on my bike but maybe it’s cold outside and I’ve become soft. Instead of telling myself something daunting like: “I haven’t ridden for a bit so I should get at least a 4-hour ride in”, I try to make it easy - "I can just get my Mamil gear on and cycle to the corner, nothing more. If I still don’t feel up to it I can turn around and come home".?

Once I get to the corner of course, I am feeling energized to be out on the bike and a decent ride ALWAYS follows. I haven't turned around and gone home - yet.

2.?????Just start.

When I was writing my book there were times when I just couldn’t work out what to write to start a chapter, a section, or even a paragraph. I’d write a few words, read them, think they were rubbish, and then delete them. Continually starting again and again and never really getting anywhere.?There is of course nothing more perfect than a clean, empty page.

Then a friend told me that I should focus on just starting and writing anything. It could be – and often was – complete nonsense but then, after a few lines something magic starts to happen. The process of just typing starts to formulate into decent thoughts and sentences. This forces through the writer’s block and while you will probably need to go back and edit what you have written, the work is often far more coherent than you might have expected.?

It took me a bit of time to master this as a technique – it’s surprising how old habits hang on - but now I use it all the time on blogs, emails and presentations. I’ve done it a few times on this post alone. It has been hugely helpful in getting me through the pain of perfectionism.?

3.?????Get real about priorities.

I used to stress about never getting through my To-Do list. It never seemed to get shorter, and the really important things often didn’t get done. How could I possibly get through the 50-odd items I needed to do?

Then a business coach I was working with suggested that I don’t need to do all the things on the list to feel satisfied.?The fact is that we will all die with things still on our lists, so we should get comfortable living with them.

What matters is getting the most important things done. What I realized I was doing was focusing on the easier things to tick off and tricking myself into not doing the really meaty, important, hairy to-dos because I told myself I too busy to do expend the mental energy on the harder stuff.

Instead, before I finish work each night, I try to make a list of all the things that need to be done the next day. Then categorise them by importance into A, B and C. Focus on the As first, then the Bs, etc. This has the added benefit that your subconscious starts work, thinking them through while you’re sleeping.

4.?????Get a tomato timer.

The Pomodoro technique is simple but effective at helping to get things done. Sit at your desk and work out what you need to focus on. This works best with written work or things that don’t require you to be in communication with the outside world - as that is where distraction lurks.?

Turn off your phone, mute notifications on your laptop, and do whatever you need to do to make sure you’re not going to be disturbed. Then set a timer to 25 minutes – there are some?great apps?for this - and focus on the one thing at hand.?

If you think of something else worth remembering write a note but stay focused on the task at hand.?It is remarkable how much you can do in such a short period of really focused time. It’s also amazing how few of these sessions you can fit in a day. Three is good, more than five is excellent.

5.?????Eat the Frog.

One of my favorite books on productivity is Brian Tracy’s?Eat That Frog. It’s another very simple, but extremely powerful concept. This builds on the list building the night before above but makes you focus on and complete the number one, fattest, froggiest task first thing in the morning.?

Yes, this might take you most of the day but the fact is that if you can do the one most important thing each day you’ll be doing pretty well.?

Also, once you’ve done that task, whatever it is – tax return, writing that annoying letter, taking something to the post office – you feel super productive and like you can take on the world. It’s set you up for success for the rest of the day.

So, there are my five steps to productivity. I have found that I am doing more than I ever did when we used to go into the office every day but then that’s another story. For now, I hope you found one or more of these ideas useful.?

Let me know what you think and please share this blog with anyone who might find it interesting.?Thanks for reading.