|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Monday, January 09, 2012
Monday, January 02, 2012
|
||||||||||||
|
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Procrastination, Again
Getting Over the Procrastination Hump
|
A while ago I realized most
of the tasks I procrastinate on will only take me
5 to 45
minutes to complete. Not very long at all but yet I
would still procrastinate and the task remains incomplete. So I took a
moment to think about why I actually don't want to do the task and why I
don't want to get it done right now. More procrastination but hey, that's
the point.
One thought came to mind is the task is something I didn't want to do. Go figure. But alas, the task needs to get done, also, go figure. But how could I get myself to do the task? Eventually I would grudgingly call upon my will power and do the task that I had to do. Not the best way of doing things if you ask me. My laziness can be mighty powerful sometimes or I have what I consider "better things to do". After countless times of doing this, I had an epiphany. Once I actually start the task, about 5 to 10 minutes in, I get into a groove and get the task done. In that groove my willingness to complete the task goes up tenfold. I'm already doing it, why not complete it and in the end I feel great about completing the task. On top of that, during the task I usually start to do things faster and what I thought would take me 45 minutes actually only takes me 30 minutes to complete. Woohoo! I applied my new thought process to a few tasks. If I can get over the initial hump and get into my groove, I'll get the task done in no time. In the end those tasks didn't seem so bad. I felt rewarded knowing that I got the task done and can move on to something else such as relaxing because no TV and no beer make Jeff something... Crazy? Don't mind if I do! Any way, knowing that I have a groove doesn't necessarily help me do the tasks but knowing that I just have to get over the hump to get into my groove to complete the task helps be start the task. And knowing that there is some sort of reward in the end really helps too. The next time you are procrastinating on a task, once you actually start it, see if you notice the hump and see if once you get over the hump if the task you are doing really is that bad. Jeff Mendelsohn Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364 |
Killing Procrastination in Your Office
|
Procrastinators are
everywhere, and like the common cold, procrastination can be contagious and
is more prevalent during holidays and stressful times. One procrastinating
employee can set off another and another. Before you know it, many hours
are spent checking personal emails, chatting at the water cooler and
surfing the web. But is it really their fault, or did they just lose focus?
Here are some ideas to get
your employees motivated again.
Start a team: Take
a day to start a team that works well together. Team building exercises are
a great way to start. Uniting employees in a common goal makes them feel
that they are part of the solution and keeps focus on the bigger picture.
Make sure you use team building events that create a common goal so your employees
work with each other, not against one another. Teams also give
opportunities for support without drama.
Gain Employee
Insight: Take some time for an all inclusive
meeting. Getting everybody together and sharing ideas on how to gain more
business or solve complaints from customers will show employees that you
care about and respect their opinions. Remember, you hired these people
because they were qualified and met your standards, use their potential.
Make it rewarding: Offer incentives for your employees. If sales are high and mistakes are low, share the wealth. Rewards like buying everyone lunch or a small gift card shows that you appreciate what they have done for you. To make it even more rewarding include a personal note of appreciation to each employee. Employees that feel appreciated and respected are less likely to waste your time procrastinating. Tiffiny Fayerweather |
Hope! Get a Vision
|
If you recoginize when you
are procrasting, get your team on board and even recognize the "hump
and the groove" and maybe you
still feel you are procrastinging, there is
hope. Well actually, Vision!
Often when I talk with
procrastinators, one of the problems is they just don't know where they
want to be or what they want to achieve. I've seen many different ways to
create a vision and authors from Steven Covey, Robert Kiyosaki, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and Lewis Carroll who
would agree that "if you don't know where you are going than any road
will work". Not having a vision can lead to procrastination because
the mind and heart really don't know where you are taking them so
distractions are just more places to go. Or, if you don't know where you
are going, than why do anything.
For businesses and business
owners, I use Jim Horan's (One Page Business Plan)
method of fill-in-the-blank visioneering.
By ______ (year you will
achieve this vision)
grow_____________ (name of
your business or department)
into a successful
$______________________ (gross revenue)
___________________________________
(local, regional, national international or other)
_____________________________________
(type of company)
providing or specializing in
___________________________ (describe products or services)
for__________________________________
(target market description and customer description).
Once you have filled in the
blanks, you can refine this draft to create a statement that you can
believe and follow. This alone may help with some of the distractions,
shiny objects and squirrels along the road to your vision.
A vision also makes it easier
to get your team on board with the work necessary to acheive the
vision. Think of the vision as your shiny object
and follow it.
Linda Fayerweather MBA
EA
419.897.0528
Like us on Facebook
Tweet us
at Twitter
 |
January Workshops!
|
||||||||||
|
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Procrastination
Fighting Procrastination
|
Are you procrastinating or are
you trying to do too much? Or is it both? I am pretty good about not
procrastinating. I do what I need to do sooner rather than later. I get it
done so I can move on to other things.
But I am terrible at limiting the things that I want to get done and I have
little control of the important Have To Do's such as updating a client's site.
Which always leads to a lot of things not getting done. To the outsider
looking in, it looks like I'm procrastinating. Then it hit me, if I had less
to do, I could get more done.
So about a month ago, I looked at my goals for my business. I looked at what I was currently doing and asked myself "Is what I'm doing actually helping me achieve my goals?" For most of what I was doing the answer was a big huge "No". But my business couldn't stop doing most of what it was doing, on the contrary it needed to do more. I was spending a lot of time doing work that I could have someone else do for me and still achieve the same results. So I hired someone to help me out. I also cut one client down to consulting only and let go another. They required more of my time personally with little return. The work was something I couldn't farm out, be able to manage, and still make money. It was a tough decision and a risk. A risk that I wasn't totally prepared to take but a necessary risk that I had to take to grow my business. These changes have freed me up to do the more important things that would help my business reach the next level. Yes, I have less money in my pocket now, but I also have more time to concentrate on taking my business to the next level which will lead to higher profits in the months to come. So how does this tie into procrastination? Because I was taking on so much, I couldn't get everything done. I was procrastinating on things because something would always come up that seemed more important. It was a never ending cycle. There is always going to be something that is important that has to get done "Now". By hiring help, I don't have to do all the little things that take up all of my time. A lot of the important Have-To-Do's were passed off to my help. The important things still get done and the results are the same. I do have to still manage the work load but instead of spending 10-20 hours a week doing the immediate important things. I spend 3 hours a week managing and delegating what has to get done. It has freed up time for myself to get the other equally important things done. To help free up your time and kill your procrastination. Ask yourself these questions
--Am I doing things that keep
me from doing more important things that will help my business?
--Can some of the things I'm
doing be delegated to someone else and still achieve the same results?
--After freeing up my workload,
what can I work on to create more profits?"
To help with the process, start small. I hired help on an "as needed basis". Some weeks I have 30 hours of work to pass off to my help. Other weeks I have 2 hours. But with passing my workload to my help, in 6 months I will have built my business up to the point where I can hire part time or full time help.
--
Copyright 2011 Jeff Mendelsohn Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364 |
Planning beyond Procrastination
|
Getting a plan on paper is a
big challenge. Yes, you heard me, paper. I use the computer to craft, create
and refine my plan, but in the end, my plan for the year is on a single piece
of paper that is with me all the time. This allows me to jot down changes and
corrections to update later no matter where I am; doesn't require
electricity, or a connection.
In Brian Tracy's "Eat the Frog: 21 Great Ways to
Stop Procrastinating", the beginning of getting a plan in order is
"Setting the Table".
If you have ever had a dinner party and you are running behind, a set table
will let the guests know "Yup, the plan for a dinner party is in
place."
In the business world, I call
"Setting the Table",
getting a plan. Although this step may seem easy, here is a process that will
help you build the plan.
For example, if your vision is:
"Publish a
book by end of year". Then you might think
writing the book is the first step. Are you sitting at your desk writing
right now? If not, you may need to back up just a little. Your list might
look like this:
--Create outline
--Do research
--Write chapters
--Contact editor
--Get edited copy to publisher
Each of these can be further
broken down like this:
--Write Chapters
--Write each day from 7AM to 9AM
--Complete Chapter One by February 1 2012
This start does several things;
it identifies that you will schedule two hours every day to write. These two
hours a day will lead to a chapter by February first ready to go on to
chapter 2. By doing this planning, you have gotten into your schedule, made a
time commitment and now have something to hold yourself accountable.
The failure of most plans are
two fold:
No deadline
To big of projects.
Back to "How to Eat a Frog".
This book has a great humor elements and the term comes from Mark Twain saying
"If the first thing
you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with
the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is
going to happen to you all day."
Frog Rules:
Challenge yourself to "Set your 2012 Table"
with two major goals on paper this week that will make 2012 great, break them
into their appropriate tasks and schedule them on your calendar.
If all else fails, buy yourself
the Do it Later 2012 Non-Planner
to help you NOT get your work done!
Linda Fayerweather MBA
EA
419.897.0528
Like us on Facebook
Tweet us
at Twitter
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)