Tuesday, April 15, 2008

so much to do, so little time



I find that the more things that are dumped on my plate, the more I procrastinate. Instead of rolling up my sleeves and diving into the fray, I tend to shy away from even beginning the simplest of tasks. Partially because I'm afraid of failure and my effed up logic is that if I don't start something, then the final product won't be a failure. Ha. Great logic that. Also partially because I'm probably just plain lazy. IDK.

Anyways, I have a big stack of deliverables in my work and school lives this week and I'm trying to find the motivation today to really knuckle down and get to it. Then perhaps that focus will carry over into my blogging life and I'll actually finish some of the reviews I'm working on. heh. All part of my master plan.

How do you push yourself to finish things that you don't really want to do? Any great tips for self-organization? Time management skillz? Let's hear it.

7 comments:

KT Grant said...

Take a few shots of Gray Goose and fall right in!

I usually make a list and put everything in order and then go down the list.

Carolyn Crane said...

KB:
That's what I do, too. You can't think about the whole list, just think about one thing at a time.
I always get like half the stuff done that I think I will.

Joanna Chambers said...

I usually find that when the pile gets towering, adrenaline kicks in and I just Do What Needs To Be Done. When that happens I can get quite 'high' on my sense of achievement. It's weirdly when the pile is lower that I procrastinate...

My biggest time management tip is never leave something half-done. You'll end up repeating the effort you've put in later when you revisit it. Even if you can't do the whole task in one, make sure competely finish whatever part you've done and that you're clear on where you need to go next.

Oh - and this is your mantra: Today I Am Going To Kick Ass.

Sarai said...

Um I am just lazy and push it off until the very last minute then I scream OH SHIT and dive in.
Or I start a habit. (this never works but it makes me feel better when people ask what my secret is to my crazy life) I say I will do something and I continue to do it every flipping night i.e. Dishes (again never works)
I would start with the list ideas that works for me at work with deadlines. I usually put the simple task throughout so when I cross them off it looks like a lot!

sula said...

kb, ok grey goose. *makes note* anything else? oh a list!?! heh.

cj, yeah I try to make lists. Problem is that there are SO many tasks that I am stuck trying to figure out if my list should consist of high level items or be a nitty-gritty, blow by blow. Either way, it ends up being so long that I get scared and intimidated and don't want to start it. lol.

T, I too find that I tend to perform better under deadline pressure. Which is weird because I hate feeling too stressed. That's good advice though about half-finished things. I do that a lot without realizing it. So yesterday, I made a point of finishing off some important emails at the end of the day which I had begun earlier...even though I wanted to go home when the clock hit 5. Now I won't have to stress about them when I start work this morning. yay! (and I can start tackling the one hundred other emails crying for attention).

sarai, I like the idea of putting the easy things first and feeling good about accomplishing them. something to try today. :)

Thanks everyone for your input and encouragement. I'm gonna try to plug away at things again today. my last school project is due tomorrow night which basically means I have tonite to work on it. wish me luck.

lisabea said...

LUCK.

And a present. :)

lisabea said...

I still can't believe that PERSON had never heard of LOL cats. Hello????

He had to be joking, right?