Zen of Procrastination
Played a few hours of table tennis in Medford with my tt friends. One fellow tried to hit my high shot and hurt his back, I am so sorry to say. I hope he is better soon. Now I am trying to get motivated to complete some work, distracted by LJ postings. I like ZTD from Zen Habits. It is Zen to Done, kind of like GTD. It is an ebook that I got to help be organized and motivated. The idea is that you have 3 big things (rocks) to do each day and you try to get them done early.
Here is the Minimalist Version for you. The other version is more involved with nifty forms to fill out. Oh, I like nifty forms and I have a small notebook to carry around.
It’s only four habits: collect, process, plan, and do. It also only
uses two tools: a small notebook, and a pen.
1. Collect: Carry a small notebook and write down any tasks,
ideas, projects, or other information that pop into your head.
Get it out of your head and onto paper, so you don’t forget it.
2 Process: make quick decisions on things in your inbox,
do not put them off. Process your inboxes (email, physical,
voicemail, notebook) at least once a day, and more frequently if
needed.
3. Plan: set MITs (most important things or big rocks)for each
week, and each day. Do your MITs
early in the day to get them out of the way and to ensure that
they get done.
4. Do: focus on one task at a time, without distractions.
Eiminate all distractions, then just focus on your task for as
long as possible. Don’t let yourself get distracted from it. Don’t
multi-task.
Now how do you get stuff done?
What I do is make a list with two sides. One is for me, one is for the Universe to do. I put fun and easy stuff on my side like eat breakfast and shower and be happy. On the Universe's side of the list, I put what I want to get done. I then rate as an A, B, or C in level of importance> I do the A tasks, and sometimes get to other stuff effortlessly. Sometimes I rate a task as an A- or B+ meaning it isn't as important as an "A" task.
This seems to work, and it helps if I start tidying my home, moving around which makes me remember what I am supposed to do and get doing it.
Sometimes I list the first step on each task to motivate me. I also may put an estimate of the time involved. How often do we put more energy into dreading a 5 minute task when we could just do it and get it done?
Now to actually do something ....and cross it off the list.
Here is the Minimalist Version for you. The other version is more involved with nifty forms to fill out. Oh, I like nifty forms and I have a small notebook to carry around.
It’s only four habits: collect, process, plan, and do. It also only
uses two tools: a small notebook, and a pen.
1. Collect: Carry a small notebook and write down any tasks,
ideas, projects, or other information that pop into your head.
Get it out of your head and onto paper, so you don’t forget it.
2 Process: make quick decisions on things in your inbox,
do not put them off. Process your inboxes (email, physical,
voicemail, notebook) at least once a day, and more frequently if
needed.
3. Plan: set MITs (most important things or big rocks)for each
week, and each day. Do your MITs
early in the day to get them out of the way and to ensure that
they get done.
4. Do: focus on one task at a time, without distractions.
Eiminate all distractions, then just focus on your task for as
long as possible. Don’t let yourself get distracted from it. Don’t
multi-task.
Now how do you get stuff done?
What I do is make a list with two sides. One is for me, one is for the Universe to do. I put fun and easy stuff on my side like eat breakfast and shower and be happy. On the Universe's side of the list, I put what I want to get done. I then rate as an A, B, or C in level of importance> I do the A tasks, and sometimes get to other stuff effortlessly. Sometimes I rate a task as an A- or B+ meaning it isn't as important as an "A" task.
This seems to work, and it helps if I start tidying my home, moving around which makes me remember what I am supposed to do and get doing it.
Sometimes I list the first step on each task to motivate me. I also may put an estimate of the time involved. How often do we put more energy into dreading a 5 minute task when we could just do it and get it done?
Now to actually do something ....and cross it off the list.