Here are 10 strategies to help you stop procrastinating and get things done!

1. It all begins with action - Resolve to get started or just take a step.
2. Motivation gets you started but habits keep you going – Identify the two habits that are in your way and try to replace them with something more productive. If your habit is to check your email when you come home – and then get lost in surfing on line, resolve to replace that habit with something else until you cure yourself of it.
3. Write your goals down - Post them in front of you in a prominent place. Prioritize them and choose your top three. Focus on ONLY THOSE for one month and see what happens.
4. Develop a plan of action and design a realistic schedule.  Procrastination is often due to a lack of pre-work. Some tasks are too big to handle without putting some thought into the pre-planning necessary to complete them.  Are you procrastinating because you have not completed the necessary steps to get the entire project moving?
5. Routines Help – Do you have regular routines that help you stay on track? Maintenance tasks, chores and errands are often cyclical. Grouping them into like tasks and scheduling time for them will help you stay up to date.
6. Avoid Overwhelm - My sister and I have very different strengths. While I enjoy the spontaneity and freedom of having many options and opportunities, her mind becomes challenged when too many options are available.  During one visit when she wanted something to drink, she opened my fridge and saw juice, milk, water, iced tea, lemonade, beer, wine and coffee. They were all available right there in front of her, staring her in the face. Instead of deciding on what she wanted, she just stood there blinking at the refrigerator shelf. When faced with too many options, some people shut down. If this represents you, avoid them by pre-selecting things you like and limiting your choices.
7. Watch out for fence-sitting - Have the courage to make decisions with less than 80% of the facts.  Delay decisions only until you have enough information; don’t hold out and wait for all the information. It is most often an unrealistic expectation.
8. Chunk It – Break up your projects into small pieces and avoid “all or nothing” thinking. Some projects are too detailed and involved to conquer unless you break them into smaller mini goals. Just like you can’t “boil the ocean”, you have to eat the elephant one bite at a time. So is the case with big projects. Chunking them creates bite sized pieces that you can manage easier.
9. Recognize Perfectionistic Procrastination – Perfectionists often procrastinate because they are challenged with doing things perfectly. “Perfection is the worst enemy of good enough.”
10. Close Your Open Loops – One key trick I learned from David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done, is the time management practice of closing your open loops: an open loop is anything that stays on your mind because you’ve accepted some responsibility for it. To close your open lists,
    first – look at your list of to dos and other items and select one.
    second – determine what your intended outcome is likely to be and write it down.
    third – write out the very next action you have to take to get closer to that outcome.
    Suddenly, that open item that was on your mind has some closure by defining your intended outcome and a next action. This process works for me every time.

Everyone procrastinates to some extent.  Putting these strategies into action will help you start knocking things off your list in no time!

If you or your group need help managing your time – contact me about my workshop:  Managing Time to Get Things Done!

Cena Block Sane Spaces

Cena Block is the Founder of Sane Spaces, LLC is a Productivity Consulting firm that offers training, coaching, and motivational speaking to individuals and organizations. We help clients increase productivity and minimize wasted time by achieving clarity within their spaces, systems, selves and support. Clarity + Action = Results. Get unstuck by releasing the areas where you are blocked. Our clients are high performers who want to see dramatic results. We are committed to partnering with you to create a work environment and a life you love.

Cena is a NAPO National Member, the President of the NAPO-NNJ Chapter. For more information visit www(dot)sanespaces(dot)com

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