Tampilkan postingan dengan label getting things done. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label getting things done. Tampilkan semua postingan

Sabtu, 30 April 2011

How To Overcome Laziness And Do The Things You Need To Do

There have been several occasions where I have thrown my Saturday morning TO DO list out the window, in favor of an extra two hours of sleep! (For someone writing a personal development blog, I am bit embarrassed to admit it)
Given the choice of work and sleeping, I am sure many would prefer the latter. It came as no surprise when one of my friends' recently said, “My hobby is sleeping!”


We all struggle with bouts of laziness and for many of us it is a very frustrating. You know what you “should” be doing, when you are doing something totally irrelevant. But sometimes, we are all tempted by another activity, which might be more enjoyable that what you actually have to do!

Laziness is defined as a demoralizing feeling that often results in a cycle of feelings where we question our ability, our drive, our character and even our place in this world.

Given the things that we have to do in a day, whether work or at home, you will no doubt find a couple of things that you don’t feel like doing. Being lazy is what our unconscious minds would rather being doing anyways!

I personally think that we are all entitled to some level of laziness once in a way! However, the power of laziness cannot be underestimated. If it has too much of an impact on your day to day activities, it can be very destructive and crippling.

So at the end of the day, you somehow need to get around to those annoying little tasks that you feel too lazy to get done!

How To Do Things You Do Not Feel Like Doing

1. Find some sort of leverage to help you get the task done!

You would have noticed that it’s been a while since I last posted on this blog. Believe me, I have been meaning to write for a long time but I never got around to it. It’s not like I don’t want to write or I don’t have ideas to write about. It’s the feeling of, “I can’t be bothered!”
So today, I told myself that I am not going to watch any movie or TV series until I have published a post on EnhanceLife! (Mine was more of a negative “enforcement” but you get my point)

2. Use a simple planning software


I came across a productivity software called The Action Machine (The videos provided were impressive!)
However, I was unable to find a trial version on the website. I usually like to try software before I buy it! Then I saw the 8 week money back guarantee, so I went for it.

The Action Machine really forces me to
1. Decide on a set of tasks to do daily (I usually write it down the night before so that I don’t spend too much time, in the morning trying to figure out what to do today!)
2. Allocate a beginning and end time for each task
3. Get the tasks done!

3. Look at the Consequences of NOT doing what you need to do

Sometimes, thinking of the negative consequence of not doing what you NEED to do can be really beneficial, to get the task started!

4. Get started even for a short time

This is sort of the “trick” my mother used on me when I was a kid, to get me to clean my room! Her initial attempts, “Shamelle, you have to clean the room today” didn’t get her anywhere. After a while she would say, “Just spend 15 minutes and clean your messy table”. So I thought, it would only take 15 minutes and would satisfy my mother, so I’ll get it done. Of course it didn’t stop there, after about a week she would say, “You have too many cloths lying around, you need to sort all the cloths” etc etc. Before I knew it, the room was clean!

5. It all comes down to self-discipline

No one can make you take action; You have to find the motivation within;
It’s you that need to resist the laid back attitude and avoid finding excuses.

You have to take concerted efforts and push yourself to make some sort of progress each day. It saves time in the longer run and possibly a lot of pain later, if you get it done now!.

Senin, 10 Agustus 2009

Waiting Time Doesn't Have To Be Wasted Time!

waiting timeI left work early today so that I could get to my dentist’s appointment on time. I arrived 10 minutes ahead of time, only to find out that the doctor was running an hour and a half behind. Obviously, the staff never bothered to call and tell me the doctor was running so far behind! < Imagine my annoyance, when a load of things I could have done at work flashed through my mind!>

I didn’t have time to go back to office and come back, since the journey itself would have taken another hour. So, my only option was join the others in the waiting room. Most of them were sitting impatiently counting ceiling tiles, except for one lady. She had several small sheets of paper (looked like bills) around her, and she was writing on a checkbook. She seemed wrapped up in what she was doing and didn’t look as if she was bothered by the delay.

I was impressed by HOW she decided to spend her “waiting time”. Even more, I was inspired by her preparation. It was as if, she expected to wait a long time!



Unfortunately, I didn’t have my checkbook with me, to do something similar. However, I dug out my notebook and pen from my handbag, and started drafting this post…

Most of us don't see that waiting time as a cost to us; but it is. Minutes add up to hours and hours to days. As we spend time waiting, we end up wasting days of doing nothing but just waiting.
That’s not the only thing, how your waiting time goes affects your mood and productivity, long after the waiting time is over!

So, my message for you today is..

Realize in advance when you may be forced to wait.

Expect to be delayed; Expect to be waiting => Be Prepared


Some of us are better at dealing with that than others. What about you?
Are you the sort of person who is generally prepared for delays/waiting time?

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Minggu, 05 Oktober 2008

13 Ideas To Make Boring Jobs Bearable And A Little More Interesting


Have you ever noticed that when you’re doing something you enjoy, you’re right there in the moment? Sometimes, you don’t even notice time passing by. Your mind is on what you’re doing, and you’re awake and alert. Then... there are those mundane and boring tasks where five minutes of work feel more like an hour!
Cutting grass, using a carpet cleaner, folding laundry or doing simple paperwork don’t inspire a lot of abstract thought, but it has to be done. While you can evade (delegate!) some boring jobs, often you just have to do it yourself. Sadly, there is no magic wand that can be used to make these jobs easier. Making it more interesting..Again, it’s not something that automatically switches on when you want to. It requires a bit of tact and mental refinement! Here’s a few ways I’ve found this to work:

1. Break it down into smaller chunks. This really works for jobs that span across several hours/days. By breaking it down into smaller chunks, I can spend less time and complete a ”sub task” and have the satisfaction to cross it off in the TO DO list.

2. Resist the impulse to overdo. If you're the kind of person who tends to throw yourself into a job only to burn out after a week or two, consider giving yourself a break. Don't let yourself become obsessed in the beginning. If you have the flexibility to determine the “completion date/time”, carry out the task for a few hours each day and then continue with your daily routine. And all of us benefit from scheduling time for fun, even if it's only sneaking out to a movie or calling up an old friend.

3. Look beyond the actual job. One way to expand your focus when you’re engaged in a task that doesn’t interest you is to find out how it’s connected to something that you do find interesting.
Sometimes only a change of viewpoint is needed to convert a tiresome duty into an interesting opportunity.
~Alberta Flanders
For example, when Tsunami struck in 2004, I volunteered at the tourist board. As a volunteer, I didn’t have much say on the work that was given to me. It had to be done by somebody. I was given several bundles of paper work. My task was to enter these into a database. The database was supposed to be linked to the web site. The data I was entering were details foreigners who had died, information of hotels in the affected area, contact numbers of relevant authorities etc. I must admit, found the data entry part to be boring and exhaustive. But I did it anyway. I somehow got myself to think beyond what I was doing. I convinced myself that I had to completed this as soon as possible. I kept saying to myself, "once I finish this, relatives in foreign countries will be able to find more information on their loved ones (visiting Tsunami affected areas).... "

4. Use your prime time. Everyone has recurring lazy spots throughout the day. What’s the best time of day, YOU can fully concentrate? Basically, timing plays a big part on how soon you get the boring job done. So, tackling such a task just after lunch wouldn’t be the smartest thing!

5. Set time limits for tasks. How much can you get done in the next half hour? Set a target and see if you can reach it. This makes a tedious task less boring and, as a bonus, frees up more time for things you like to do.

6. Challenge yourself. This works well for me with repetitive tasks. For example, I sometimes keep a record of the time. If it took me 30 minutes to complete the task previously, I would challenge myself to finish in less time.

7. Add variety. Variety is a great way to spice up boring tasks. Try doing your activity in a new way. See if there is a different method for solving the same problem and try that. Having routines can keep you productive, but if you are starting to procrastinate, try switching things up to make it more engaging.

8. Learn more details. There are times when we are hesitant to do a job because it’s too complex. I head over to google and see what I can dig up on the subject. Usually the information I come across, make the job more interesting and sometimes, I even find better ways of doing it.

9. Accept Help. Now, this not imply “dump the task on someone else”! If someone offers to help you in any way, let him/her help. They wouldn’t be offering if they didn’t want to genuinely help you. Remember to be gracious and thank the person for helping you.

10. Engage in enough exciting tasks within the rest of the day. Doing one boring job a few hours won’t be much of a “big deal” if you fill the rest of the day with other interesting things.

11. Pump up the enthusiasm with music. For most people, it’s more fun to do physical work while listening to good music, than it is working in silence. I have mentioned about it before, and I can’t stress this enough.

12. Eliminate Negative Self Talk. Sometimes, even before we take on a task the mind is made up and the task is tagged as “boring”. The little voice in your head serves to make you feel bad and rob you of your energy. If you catch yourself slipping, change gears and focus on appreciating all it is that you already have and the things you have achieved.

13. Reclaim Your Sense of Humor.I know.. it doesn’t seem funny when you lose your motivation and can’t seem to find your way. The best way to change this is by simply deciding to do so. Look for the humor in things large and small, even in taking yourself so seriously to begin with. With a little change of perspective, the world can seem like a whole lot nicer place and that goal of yours not quite so out of reach.

I like to hear how you get through those boring tasks. (without driving yourself crazy!)

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