This is a guest post (submit your guest post) by Laurel Staples, who blogs about how creative people can quit their dayjobs and go fulltime at TheDayIQuit.com.
If you can never seem to get anything done, or are always snowed under with too much to do, then this article is for you. The following tips and techniques will aid you in completing those tasks -- be they trivial items, or life changing projects, enabling you to get back on top of things.
#1: The Task Sheet
If you don’t write things down, you probably won't do them. If you take the time to write a list of tasks that you need to complete, you’re far more likely to begin them. Simply jot down what needs doing, and start with the tasks that take priority.
A good system to use is the "Personal Kanban." This involves using three columns, and writing the tasks on colored sticky notes. The three columns are "backlog," "doing," and "done."
All sticky notes start in the backlog column. Once you start one or more tasks, the related sticky notes moves to the "doing" column. Once complete, the note moves to the "done" column.
#2: Eating the Elephant
This works well with tasks that you either hate doing, or when things seem too big to achieve and keep getting put off for another day.
You may have heard the question before: "How do I eat an elephant?" The answer is: "One bite at a time."
If you writing songs, but know it needs to be done, try breaking the task down into time segments. Instead of thinking, "Oh, I have to write a song," think "I’m going to write, but only for 11 minutes."
It’s much easier to to motivate yourself to do only 11 minutes of work. You’ll also find that you’re likely to carry on doing the task, even after the time has elapsed. It’s also quite surprising how much you can get done in 11 minutes!
Another way to tackle difficult projects is to figure out each activity that comprises the whole, and make each an individual task. For example, instead of working on a "song," break the task down into smaller elements:
- Song title
- Chord changes
- Riff
- Hook
- Bridge
Even if you do only one of these tasks, progress has been made.
#3: Rewards
Rewarding yourself for a completed task can be excellent motivation. If you're looking forward to something you enjoy, then the work does not seem so difficult or boring. How you reward yourself is entirely up to you. It can even be small items, like a nice cup of coffee, or a short break to watch something on TV. Or perhaps something bigger, like buying that item you’ve been wanting for a while.
Self discipline is important here. Make sure you don't grant yourself the reward until you have actually completed the task. Most times, the reward is much sweeter if you work hard for it.
#4: Your Energy Level
Your energy level and mood has a big impact on getting stuff done. If you’re in a bad mood, or feel tired and lethargic, you'll be a lot less likely to be motivated to do anything.
To quickly improve energy levels, exercise is a must. You don’t have to do anything too strenuous or committed. In fact, doing just 10 pushups or jogging in place for 60 seconds can work wonders, and can be done at practically any time. A morning workout routine that gets the blood pumping can give you a great start to the day.
On a long term basis, other things that dramatically affect your energy levels are sleep and diet. Remember how great you feel after a good nights sleep? It may be that you need to get to bed a little earlier each night to take advantage of this more often.
As for diet, too much processed or sugary foods will cause low energy levels. These types of food can give a slight boost to your energy at first, but you'll "crash" shortly afterward.
Have you ever noticed how tired you feel every day after lunch? Again, drastic changes are not needed -- just try not to go overboard on the sugary or starchy foods, and try to add more fruit, nuts, and veggies to your meals and snacks.
Using even one of the four techniques listed above will help you overcome procrastination, and finally get things done. You’ll be amazed at how the mood can lift once you’ve completed things that have been on the back of your mind for so long, sometimes without you realising!