2020 has been a right off for many of us and our plans. Weddings have been postponed, plans for holidays in exotic places cancelled and even smaller projects have been altered. The uncertainty of what can we do when has tremendously impacted my family, friends and clients. Are you in a similar boat?
Earlier this month, a friend finally came to visit. Originally, she was to fly with 2 other friends. Getting 3 friends to book an overseas trip is not that easy. Family commitments, no time off from work, financial constraints, you know how it is. So said to herself: “Why wait?”
“I don’t have time.” How often have you heard that? We all have 24 hours with 1,440 minutes in a day. How come that some of us seem to get everything done, just like they planned while others always seem to have an excuse? I remember the days when I’d hear “I’ll do it in a minute.” Guess what! That minute never came and it often ended in a big last minute rush.
Here are our top tips for using your time wisely:
Today’s job market is tough, just ask any of my friends looking for a new role. One way of standing out amongst hundreds of applications is being certified in the field. Sounds easy, right? Well, not quite. Most professional certifications require practical experience, theoretical knowledge and passing that exam. How do you just find the time to pass your test while working full-time, looking after your loved ones, running a household and having a social life? You get organised!
Have you ever experienced this? Your life is fine, you have a beautiful home and yet, there’s a room or an area which is just full of clutter. You feel it’s just too much to tackle. It’s so much easier to close the door or put a blind eye to the mess. In short, you’re overwhelmed!
Last week, a client felt overwhelmed with the question: “Where do I start?” She had a number of areas in her bedroom which she wanted to organise: The closet, the dresser and the en-suite bathroom. Yet, she didn’t know how to get there and became overwhelmed working on these 3 projects simultaneously. Since we started working together, we broke down her projects, removing the feeling of being overwhelmed and replacing it with the joy of quick successes!
Isn’t it ironic to write about national procrastination week a week after it took place? It amuses me as, like most of us, I can also procrastinate certain tasks and am actually quite good at that at times. Even now, I’m procrastinating. Being home alone, I can watch “The Peanuts Movie”. Yes, I hear you. I should either watch the film or write the post. Focusing on one thing is quicker than working on 2 activities at the same time. Sometime, I too have to revert to doing two things at once. And so procrastination starts.
Why do we procrastinate?
Last week, my friend and study partner found out how terribly lazy and what a master procrastinator I can be. You’ve probably heard of writer’s block? I was stuck with a “study block”. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t focus and instead could see any other project needing immediate attention. I could see what I was doing and even wrote down a few notes as time passed.
2:02 pm: started reviewing… Felt hungry, looking for something to snack on… I didn’t really like these vegetable crisps, it’s been too long since I’ve eaten them last time…
… One more look at the news. There was a prominent event that influenced Dubai that day….
… Just 2 more games of Mah-jong. I lost the first one, so I had to play the second one…
2:39 pm: got a bit done… Time to look at the telly again and to take a break with a cup of tea. My tea is already cold and the smell of the chips is annoying me. Better put the bag in the bin. Oh, it’s getting really interesting on the TV now…
2:43 pm: only 4 minutes lost, not feeling too bad about it. Better continue…
…No, just one more game…
3:21 pm: finally working on my review again. Yeah!
3:31 pm: That’s done. Now let’s start the questions. Maybe I can play one quick game of Mah-jong….
Something that should have taken me about 20 minutes took 1 ½ hours. That’s 4.5 times the original time!! To beat procrastination and to gain your time back, try these tips:
Does this ever happen to you? There’s something lingering on your to-do list. No matter how often look at it, it’s still there. No matter how much you wish it away, it’s still there. It’s procrastination of its finest and it happens to all us.
Having to write that business report, ironing the shirts or deciding when to visit relatives may make you cringe. It’s easier to wait for another day, then tackle it. How many other things can you do than the one you should be doing? It happens to all of us. Yes, also to me. Rather than cleaning my stove top yesterday (it was already long overdue), I could find everything else to do. Calling a friend, doing the weekly shopping, watching TV, surfing the web, you name it. It’s procrastination of its finest.
What can you do to eat your frog first? Here are 10 tips to beat procrastination: