Notes to Self: Emotional Procrastination
I have been using this productivity journal for almost a decade now.? It has shown me some great insights into how to be more effective with my time.? Three of the most powerful insights it taught me were as follows:
Calendar Misalignment - So, I was writing down my top tasks but...my calendar was another story. I would fail to get these tasks done because all my meetings were on other subjects or topics.
Over estimation of effort - I would assign 30 mins, or an hour to tasks I could get done in 15 mins or less. Number two led to the biggest finding.
Emotional procrastination – I found most of my work not getting done was not due to lack of cycles or time but due to procrastination.? I would move an item to latter in the week the main reason was avoiding a feeling.? A feeling of possible rejection or failure, a feeling of boredom or feeling overwhelmed of how to actually do the task.? I needed to learn to overcome short-term mood to achieve long-term goal achievement.
Key learnings of what to do to overcome emotional procrastination:
Chunk task: Broke 'em down into little, doable bits.
Just Dive In: Overthinking? Not today. Jumped straight into tasks. More action less thinking
Morning Power Hour: Hit those big, scary tasks first thing when my energy was highest.
Celebrate the wins – recognize wins and I didn’t bash myself when I spotted procrastination.
#JournalJourney #GrowthAdventure #LearningCurve #ProductivityTal
Glad to see a name put to how I feel sometimes and that others feel it too! #emotionalprocrastination
Certified Financial Planner at Powell and Associates Private Wealth Management
1 年Great insights Kevin, thanks for sharing!
Principal Security Engineer
1 年The morning power hour (eat the frog) is so great because it is so simple to implement. the SMART goal is laid out by definition. Eating the frog, how do you eat the elephant (chunking).. it must be nearing lunch time.
Manager of Cisco Software (EA) Customer Success Team at SHI International Corp.
1 年Great read, thanks for sharing your insights Kevin! "I needed to learn to overcome short-term mood to achieve long-term goal achievement." Loved your thoughts around this. When consciously looking at it this way, it becomes simple and clear. Oftentimes with the busy days/weeks/months it is easy to subconsciously hit that "snooze" button to avoid that feeling/mood. Thanks again for sharing, hope you're doing well!
DevSecOps Manager / Head of IT Security | Senior Linux, DevOps/Kubernetes, & Infrastructure Architect / Consultant - Currently Looking for new opportunities
1 年I am suddenly reminded by all the notes I would bring into Kevin Crowe's office when we were developing stuff together. Hah! Always tried to be prepared, and of course take notes to chew on for the next meeting. I for one note in a bunch of ways, but keep it on a controlled leash. I have notes on my phone that sync's to my own servers, so I can read or take a note at a moment's notice! There are times where notes warrant being transitioned to more permanent documentation, a careful line to walk indeed. And there are times where old notes don't give any value at all! (any more) Maybe stuff them in a desk if you need them later. However too much content in notes works against me at times too. More to keep track of/manage/review, etc. And knowing what is worth writing down, and what is _not_ can really pay off! I eat, sleep, breathe, technology, I suspect Kevin can attest to that. But there are plenty of times still where nothing can even come close to replacing a pen/pencil and a pad of paper/notebook. ?? Verba volant, scripta manent