Overwhelmed? Here are a few steps to walk your way out

Posted on May 22, 2007

My todo list has been overflowing lately. How did I know?….I was subconsciously avoiding adding any tasks to it. I was barely finding time to get the basics done, let alone attack anything on my list. Like a deer in headlights, I wasn’t even getting things done when I had time. My so called productivity system left me wasting valuable time searching Steve Pavlina’s sleep experiments for more time. For days and maybe weeks I was making feeble attempts to drag myself out of the hole I was digging. Nothing was working. I wrote these steps while having too much on my todo list in mind, but I think they are applicable to creating freedom in other areas like debt and finances.

The breakthrough came when I asked myself “What would I say to a reader who asked for advice?”. Here is what I came up with and what I have been personally working through :

Realize You Are Overwhelmed - The first part is realizing that you are overwhelmed and not just procrastinating on a few tasks. If you are just procrastinating, look here for some tips. It may sound stupid, but I often find myself wandering frustrated for days until I recognize my patterns that point to deeper problems. My signs were the not using my PDA for processing and recording tasks, needlessly unproductive in ‘free’ time(avoidance), looking for quick fixes, and devouring of some junk food.

Accept Reality - Again, this sounds easy, but it really isn’t. For me, it took the form of admitting to others that the ship is sinking. I mean an author of a productivity blog, can’t admit this sort of stuff, right? Father and husband of the year(sarcasm), can’t admit to his family that he is struggling. Well, I did. I resigned to write a post addressing the exact issue. Then, the next morning I shared with my wife how I was feeling. In a world that tells you not to show weakness or rely on others, it sure feels cathartic to let those false pretenses go despite the uncomfortableness. It paves the way for true change.

Get Perspective – This took two forms :

Step Outside Yourself – First, I started thinking through my blog post. What would I tell someone who asked me how to deal with a similar situation? The answers become a lot more clear, manageable, and practical when not trying to deal with my own baggage. Stepping outside myself on my journey also leads me into prayer.

Life Is A Journey – Again a productivity blogger has to have it all together, right? Nope, that is why we call it a journey. Epiphany moments are rare, so most of life is filled with gradual up and downs. Some months are better, some are worse. Remember, we are steering a boat through this journey. You don’t automatically turn a boat around 180 degrees, it takes time to navigate that big boat from the valleys to the peaks. This type of perspective helps us to accept our reality without the self-pity and frustration that helps keep us trapped in the mud.

Priorities – At this point we can begin to look at the overwhelming list of things to accomplish. I like to keep these rules in mind when sorting through which tasks are the most important, which can be put off, and which can be outsourced/delegated or deleted:

People are more important than things – For me family comes first
Bills before thrills, or more clearly needs before wants

This time around there wasn’t anything that I removed from my list, but I did realize that there were a at least dozen tasks that would probably take less then fifteen minutes each.

Seek Simplicity – Focus on removing clutter from your life, your time, your systems, and your mind. It is amazing how quickly ‘stuff’ builds up as time goes on. I will let Leo over at Zen Habits who is a master at writing about simplicity guide you through some of that process.

Focus and Do – Finally, comes the DOING! After I told my wife about how I was feeling, she let a gentle pearl of wisdom fly. You just need to “reorganize and tackle one thing at a time”. Yeah, great pearl of wisdom, right? Well maybe it was more of a motivational boost, but it did help me remember that this is how I should be tackling things. It gave me some control back. Even with a trip to Longwood Gardens for Mother’s day, I was able to take a few hours on Saturday to focus and tackle one thing at a time with the help of The Happy Rockette. There were a bunch of small tasks that I knocked out, and even a larger one or two that I got through. It has been much better sailing the last few days, and it will continue. Hope this helps, I know it helped me. I’ll leave with a Thoreau quote :

Our life is frittered away by detail… Simplify, simplify, simplify! … Simplicity of life and elevation of purpose.

- Henry David Thoreau (”Where I Lived and What I Lived For” Walden)

» Filed Under Motivation, Procrastination, Productivity

13 Creative Ways to Push Through Procrastination

Posted on May 10, 2007

Here are thirteen tips that can help you push through those times were you find yourself avoiding the things that you want to get done.

1. Find Meaning- We don’t usually have problems accomplishing the tasks that we really want to do, so try connect deeper meaning to the task at hand. For me this will take the form of gaining perspective. Realizing that wasting time trying not to do some task is keeping my from doing the things that I truly enjoy. Maybe the task means a lot to someone else, maybe it affects other areas of you life, maybe it will grow your character. For example, doing the dishes might make you wife very happy, or cleaning up a bedroom will give you restful sleep and energy for the rest of your life.

2. Rewards - Treat yourself to something special when the task is complete. Head for ice cream after you cut the lawn, or maybe buy a new tool after you clean out the garage. It may not seem like much, but it can really help our motivation. One caveat is to make sure the reward is appropriate for the task.

3. Realize your tendencies - Take note of the type of tasks that you procrastinate and the things that you do to procrastinate. Just being aware of your pattern will help you see the procrastination coming and help you create the structure to deal with yourself. Awareness will also help to attack our procrastination head on.

4. Create a time budget or plan - Managed time is less likely to encounter procrastination. Having already made conscious and active decisions about how you are going to spend you time, can really help fuel your motivation. For me structuring my time helps me feel more in control instead of the tasks controlling me. Not being in control is one thing that leads to procrastination. With a plan in place it becomes easier to see were you are going, and that vision can push you through the wall.

5. Create a deadline - Seems obvious, but I often found myself floundering in a task as the hours just roll by. By setting a deadline, and sticking to it, we create built in motivation. Decide that you will have the vacumming done by 7, or that you need to have a book read by Thursday at midnight. Avoid vagueness, since it will only afford us the ability to rationalize moving or missing the deadline.

6. Don’t do it/be lazy - Take stock and see why you are actually doing a task. Does it really need to be done? Can you do it in a more efficient way? Be creative. A fellow blogger Scott Young had a nice post on ‘being lazy’.

7. Create Accountability - It is amazing how much accountability can do for our desire. People in AA find accountability one of the mainstays to getting over an addiction, and it can help avoid procrastination too. Anyone who is married has a good idea of how accountability can shape our behavior. Ask a friend to ‘check up’ on you. The embarrassment of being caught not doing the task can be a motivator. Sometime even a To Do list can provide enough accountability to move us to action.

9. Break it up - Large tasks are often overwhelming and energy killers. One of the toughest parts is usually just starting a large task. Once we break through that barrier we start to flow. Break the activity up into smaller milestones that are easily accomplished and start it the first one. The idea of a 20 page research paper is daunting, but take some time to break it up into smaller parts like research X, create an outline, write part 1 of the outline, and so on.

10. Visualize - Someone next to you brings in a scrumptious piece of chocolate cake. Your mouth waters and without realizing you are subconsciously picturing yourself eating chocolate cake. A day later while grocery shopping, you pass the bakery section and throw a chocolate cake in the cart. We are not all wired the same way, but the idea is clear; the mind can be a powerful tool for accomplishing your goals. Visualize not only the act of doing the tasks, but also the completion, reward, and even the satisfaction you will gain from completing it. Try it, it does have some science behind it.

11. Delegate/Outsource - This one is the new fad. Don’t like to clean, hire someone else to do it. Maybe a neighborhood teenager would be interested in cutting your lawn for a reasonable price. If you find yourself struggling to motivate yourself, be creative and find ways to offload the activity. I have noticed that if I delegate, I am even more willing to ‘help out’, because I am helping someone else now and not doing the task myself. This could even include a task trade. Maybe your wife would rather cut the lawn in exchange for some other thing that she wants done. The great thing about outsourcing is that it will free up some large chunks of time in your life. The downside is usually the cost.

12. Involve Others - This is different then accountability. Having others around creates social energy that can motivate and energize us to action. Find a friend to go out walking to burn a few calories, or to head to the gym with you. Is your son or daughter interesting in learning how to change the oil on the car. Maybe if they are good they will be able to do it themselves after a few tries.

13. Make it Fun - Finally, find interesting ways to spice up your mundane and/or tough tasks. If it takes using the hamper as a basketball hoop to pick up some clothes, so be it. For me, I will often make tasks competitive. Can I run to the store and pick up msoe milk faster than the 8 minutes I took last time(without speeding!)? I am not sure, but it certainly gives me something motivate me to action and accomplish as fast as possible. A bonus making it fun is bringing a smile to my face. Even as I sit here I am laughing at the silliness of some of things I have done in the past!

Enjoy

-The Happy Rock

» Filed Under Motivation, Procrastination