Diane Birch Business Coaching Solutions

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  How can I be more effective?

Q:
My office is a mess, I never get time to go to those big jobs that take time; I know what I need to do but I just don’t seem to get around to doing it.

A:
There are many ways we avoid success but the most destructive way is Procrastination: putting off something for a variety reasons; it could be because we just don’t like doing it or because we are scared that we will fail or we’ll look stupid. It could be because the job is just too big and we don’t want to face it or that our work is never quite good enough.

Some of us give the excuse that we procrastinate because we work better under pressure, and do you think it could even be that secretly we are actually a little bit scared of success?

Basically it’s doing anything other than what we should be doing.

What can we do about it?

Putting things off is part of being human so don’t be too hard on yourself! It’s not an untamable beast and it doesn’t make you inherently lazy or inefficient, it’s a habit that you can overcome. There are no quick fixes but you can take immediate steps to overcome it, these are a few:

  Check your environment: does it help or hinder your progress?

  When does it happen: make sure you plan your most odious tasks for the times when you work best (e.g. first thing in the morning)

  Challenge your myths: “I can’t do it now because I really do have to wash my cat first……..”

  Break it down: Doing something in chunks makes it seem much more manageable.

  Get started and remember ‘done’ is always better than perfect!

  Visualize what will happen if you don’t do it: A late tax return will give you a grumpy accountant and cost you a fine.

  Change your attitude: Telling yourself how horrible something is and how much you don’t want to do it will compound your reasons not to start it. Telling yourself that actually it isn’t that bad and the result of doing it is a good one, will make you feel more positive about starting it.

  Learn how to tell the time: Be realistic about how long something is going to take. Convincing yourself that something will only take a couple of hours when in reality it’s a day’s work, won’t help you. Don’t be a rushaholic!

What happens when you actively change the way you work?

It’s taken you a long time to perfect your procrastinating skills but by experimenting with strategies that will help you work differently you will overcome it, get more sleep, be less stressed and have a happier more successful life!

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